** 3.5 Stars **

Well, I hardly know where to start in order to explain my rating. This was a frivolous, lighthearted read that is just the kind of thing I needed after all of the dark and grim books that this COVID pandemic seems to have generated. It was humorous and the dialogue was witty. It also had some of the most immature and silly lead characters I’ve ever read – with that applying more to the male lead than the female. I liked the characters, but I felt they were more on a maturity par with the eight-year-old than the other adults in the book. BUT – all of that said, I enjoyed the read and it was a breath of fresh air among all of the grim releases.

Miss Jane Kent shows up at the door of Surmont Hall, home of the Pehallows. Jane is shivering, shabby, emaciated, starving, and desperate. She’s there because of a letter she found – and it is her last hope. After her great-grandmother Kent passed away, Jane was all alone in the world – with no skills and no funds. She knew she couldn’t stay in their home because she had no funds, so she was cleaning out the attic to prepare for leaving when she discovered an old yellowed letter tucked inside one of her great-grandfather Kent’s pamphlets. The letter was written to Charity, her grandmother, and indicated a relationship with the Penhallow family. Jane swallowed hard, packed her very few belongings, and made her way to Surmont Hall. When Henrietta Penhallow saw Jane, she immediately recognized the family connection because Jane looked just like her grandfather, Henrietta’s son, Titus.

Anthony Farr, the Duke of Radcliffe, is definitely a different kind of duke. He wasn’t supposed to be the duke, he is different from all of the other members of his family, and his sister constantly tells him he is the worst duke in the world. He isn’t polished in his dress, he hates London, he adores his pig (Duchess) who always wins ribbons at the fete, he adores his 8-year-old son Winfield, and he absolutely, completely, and totally hates marriage. He was trapped in a loveless marriage until his wife died five years ago – it wasn’t just a loveless marriage, each of them loathed the other, but he was forced into it. Now, he is free and he never ever intends to marry again no matter what his vile-tongued sister has to say about it.

Jane becomes friends with Wakefield through the local vicar because both Jane and Wakefield are taking lessons there. Wakefield invites Jane to go home with him to meet the Duchess (the pig) and she ends up meeting Anthony as well. Anthony and Jane immediately like each other and enjoy spending time together. Jane’s feelings are steady and they grow over time – until she knows she’s in love with Anthony. Anthony, on the other hand, blows hot and cold. He smothers her with kisses one minute and treats her as a stranger the next. He continues that way until he realizes he may have lost her forever – she is in London having a season – and it turns out she is very popular and has received several proposals. Uh-Oh!

Now, for a brief comment about Margaret, Anthony’s sister. She is a gosh-awful shrew who makes everybody’s life miserable. She’s vile, hateful, and mean spirited. I just don’t understand why Anthony would continue to put up with her. He doesn’t have to. She is a widow who was kicked out of her former husband's home by the man who inherited her husband’s title. Anthony took her in and instead of being grateful, she makes life miserable for everyone. Why wouldn’t a rich, powerful duke like Anthony just provide Margaret with a small home somewhere away from him and let her live her miserable life there? I just don’t get it – and it seems a lot of authors write these kinds of characters.

Anyway, I enjoyed the read, but I just didn’t connect with the characters. Something has to be wrong when the most mature character in the book is an 8-year-old. I did love the final chapter because it did a wonderful wrap-up for all of the threads that had run through the book – as well as a lovely view of what life was like for Anthony, Jane, and Wakefield several years down the road.

If you are looking for a rather inane, fairly witty, lighthearted read, this might be just the book for you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book much more than I did. But I just couldn’t manage to really lose myself in it. This is my first Lisa Berne book and I’m still planning on reading more from her blacklist. But this one just didn’t click for me.

While the dialogue is light and sparkly, something I always like, not much really…happens in this story? Which would be okay, I can hang with a dialogue heavy/lowkey plot story…if I felt some big, heart-stabby emotions and blazing chemistry. But that wasn’t really there either? I held out though, because a grovel was coming. If you know me, you know I love grovels. But she does not get the grovel she deserves.*cries*

The hero is cutely awkward. I will give him that. Who doesn’t love an adorably nervous man? But come on, fella. I just want to see your big feelings.

Like I said, there’s a bright and quirky quality to this book. It’s not bad. This one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you Avon and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read to 40%, then skipped to 70% to finish, but continued to skip around.

I was unfamiliar with this series or author, but I liked the cover and the synopsis was cute.

I liked Jane and Anthony well enough. They’re good people and have a lot of potential. I did like that Jane had experience and wasn’t quite the blushing miss that’s normally in historicals. There’s a good amount of family and characters and I’m guessing the layered story might have been better if I was familiar with the previous books.

Plot wise, it was boring. There’s no chemistry between the two MCs, too much inner monologue, too much repetition. The thing with Wakefield constantly saying the wrong word and being corrected was cute a first, but became irritating.

Overall, this one just wasn’t for me. I always need banter and passion between my MCs and these two didn’t have it.

**Huge thanks to Avon for providing the arc free of charge**

The Worst Duke In The World
By Lisa Berne

The Worst Duke In The World is a fun read and the fifth book in the Penhallow Dynasty by Lisa Berne. This is my first book in the series and I was highly entertained by this historical romance with great characters that kept my attention and turning those pages.

Anthony Farr is the Duke of Radcliffe and once married with a son. Understandably, Anthony is quite reluctant to jump into another marriage no matter how much his sister tries and would rather live the life of a bachelor which would make him the worst duke in the world. Then comes along Miss Jane Kent - will she be able to turn him around and offer that proposal?

This was a really fun read and I did enjoyed the characters and the situation is so much more modern than I thought it would be. i love the banter, the comedic situations that had me laughing out loud. I really enjoyed this one for a fun escape read.

A fun romance, with lots of light hearted banter among the characters. A widowed duke has an eight year old son who needs a mother. Enter Jane Kent, an unconventional young lady from a wealthy, respected family. She wins the heart of the little boy, and eventually, the duke, of course! Something different from the usual in this story is the spotlight on the duke's son, who is a precocious little boy with lots to say. Children are usually just window dressing in romance novels, so this is a nice change. Very charming.

The Worst Duke in the World, is so sweet and funny. The beginning when Jane and Anthony are getting to know each other is quite awkward. He acts like a 13 year old in love and no idea how to express himself. This continues but it's because he's trying not to fall in love with Jane. Silly man! Anthony's son is funny, he's constantly saying, "yes, that's what I said" whenever someone corrects him. Such an enjoyable book to read.

It was the first book I read from the author and it could have been better. The storyline and characters just left me hanging, expecting more; however, I will try to give the author another try in the future.

I really enjoyed the dialogue between Jane Kent and the Duke of Radcliffe, the eponymous duke. The reason he’s the worst in the world is because he shuns living the dukely life. OInstead he likes to take care of his lands, his tenants, his pet pigs, and his adorable son. He doesn’t want to remarry. He’s just happy with his quiet, rural life except that his viperish sister keeps importing single women for him to remarry. The only woman who interests him is Jane, who suddenly showed up and turned out to be the great granddaughter of his neighbor. Jane was suddenly swept into privileged life after having grown up in abject poverty. But she still has a sense of humor and she and the Duke’s son become fast friends. The Duke finds that she’s the one woman with whom he feels comfortable. Their conversations about the most mundane subjects are simply delightful and the Duke’s eight-year old son steals the scene whenever he appears.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Book was decent read. It was a little different or down to earth type characters. It was an easy, quick read and enjoyable.

2.5 stars
I recieved this book as an arc in return for a honest review. These are my thoughts and mine alone.

This book falls under these trope categories: Rags To Riches/different stations in life/second chances. Also, This is installment #5 from the series The Penhallow Dynasty but can be read as a standalone.

I was so excited to start this book. The cover was beautifully designed, and synopsis drew me in but at 20 % I realized this book was not my cup of tea. I struggled to finish this book. At 60% I wanted to dnf but I wanted to give this book a chance.

This book is about Jane Kent and Anthony, Duke of Radcliffe. Their story also revolves around Anthony's son Wakefield. His little personality is cute but can get a bit overwhelming.

Anyways Jane is alone in the world, hungry, and struggling. Then one day she finds a secret letter that binds her to very wealthy and powerful family the Penhallow's. She turns out to be the great granddaughter of the older Mrs. Penhallow.

Anyways the way Jane met Anthony was funny. They meet while having tea and they start a food battle. Each trying to outdue the other.

Anthony vows to never marry again after being in a horrible arranged marriage. When he started to develop feelings for Jane, he builds a wall to protect his heart. I noticed after a few days of him feeling happy is when he gets into his moods. Its his (protect my heart) moods & when that happens he treats her as if she's not important, and gives her the cold shoulders.

She tells him she's falling in loves with him and he goes into the deep end. It takes her to leave to london in order for him to get his act together. That's when he realizes he loves her.

Reasons I felt this book was not for me:
1. Anthony is a weak person/week minded
2. The dialect and writing style did not feel like it belonged to historical romance novel
3. No Romance. I felt like the book was not romantic enough.
4. Too clean, and no steam.

I encourage everyone to try this book out. Just because I felt this way doesn't mean you will.

Somerset County, England - 1817

Anthony, the Duke of Radcliffe, isn't interested in all the glories of being a duke. In fact, he loves being a farmer, taking care of his tenants, and enjoying every minute with his eight-year-old son, Wakefield. And right now, the important thing is to fatten up his giant pig for the annual contest. Duchess, the pig, that is, is more than happy to demolish anything and everything presented to her. Anthony has high hopes that she'll win. However, Anthony's sister, Margaret, is determined that he marry again. It's been five years since the death of his wife, and Margaret thinks that's more than enough time to mourn. Anthony does hate pointing out, though, that Margaret has been a widow for ten years and is still wearing black! Getting married again is the last thing on Anthony's mind as his first marriage was anything but happy.

Jane Kent has arrived at Surmont Hall with an important piece of paper that she discovered upon the death of her great-grandmother. The woman who raised her had kept this secret for all of Jane's life, and now it's up to Jane to discover if it, in fact, has any meaning. Struggling all of her life to survive in poverty has left Jane on the verge of panic. What will she do if the Penhallow family doesn't believe the contents of the yellowed letter? Asking for old Mrs. Penhallow, Jane is escorted to a sitting room to await the mistress of the house. But by the reaction of the elderly woman upon seeing Jane, it's apparent that the letter does have a purpose. It seems that Jane is the granddaughter of Mrs. Penhallow's dearly departed son, Titus, and is, in fact, the image of him.

The pig men of Penhallow, and Anthony's estate, Hastings, have been insulting each other at the local pub, so Anthony ventures to Surmont Hall to discuss the issue with his friend, Gabriel Penhallow. Upon his unexpected arrival, he is ushered into the room where the family is gathered and where a very thin, young woman is wolfing down food as the family discusses her future. Anthony doesn't know why, but he is strangely attracted to the grey-eyed, and obviously a very hungry girl. He's surprised when he's told that she is Mrs. Penhallow's great-granddaughter.

Jane, who has had a limited education, is sent to the local vicar who also tutors Wakefield, Anthony's son. The boy and Jane hit it off right away and he invites her to Hastings to meet the Duchess. Imagine her surprise when she gets there and discovers that it's not Anthony's wife she will meet, but a gigantic pig. When the duke shows up, he finds that Jane is both interested and interesting. They have lunch together and Anthony later cannot get Jane out of his mind. And Jane is equally affected.

What ensues is a light-hearted, humorous escapade as Anthony and Jane get acquainted, Margaret tries to arrange various meetings with eligible young ladies for a brother she considers a poor excuse for a duke, Wakefield mispronounces his way through life, and Duchess grows fatter every day.

THE WORST DUKE IN THE WORLD was a delightfully fun read. The characters are amazing, from Anthony, who doesn't have high expectations for himself, to Jane who is discovering a whole new world where people love her, to sad Margaret, and then to happy-go-lucky Wakefield who rarely lets anything bother him. The writing is brilliant, and readers will thoroughly enjoy THE WORST DUKE IN THE WORLD.

This is a review of a NetGalley ARC. These are my opinions.

I keep trying to like Lisa Berne. I keep trying to invest with the Penhallow Dynasty. But though all the books are pretty good, they're also pretty forgettable.

Anthony Farr loves his son, and his farm, and his pig, Duchess. He doesn't love marriage.

Jane Kent loves... being a girl? finding her long-lost Penhallow relations? starting a new life?

My biggest problem with this book was that neither character was especially interesting, nor interested in each other. There's some push-pull between Jane (who befriends Anthony's son) and Anthony, and between Anthony's duty to his dukedom and his own desires, but there's not much energy or passion. We get a lot about the villagers, about farming, #banter, but not much about what makes these two true lovers in true love.

The Worst Duke in the World by Lisa Berne

A delightful Regency romance set not in the sparkling ballrooms of London but mostly in the countryside where a duke was more caught up in animal husbandry and his farms than the pleasures of town and a penniless young woman had reunited with her long-lost family. The side characters in this book played a big part, particularly the duke’s son, Wakefield, who was a precocious young boy.

I liked the relationship between Anthony and Jane; it was built on time spent together in mundane things that made up life in the country and talking. They had a nice banter, interspersed with inane sentences and awkward silences which showed two people less than 100% sure of themselves falling in love. Anthony was unusual in that the duke was far from the usually self-assured somewhat arrogant dukes that appear in most Regencies. He was more retiring than an alpha male but he was able to assert his authority when it was really needed. Jane was more confident in herself in the relationship and often took the lead which was a nice turnaround from most Regencies.

Sometimes the dialogue got repetitive and robotic. Also, the duke let his sister walk over him far too often. He had a close relationship with his son and it wasn't in his character to let her harangue the boy so much. There wasn't much he could do about her complaining but he did have the ability to stop her actions.

Overall, an enjoyable read that was a little different than your run-of-the-mill Regency.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. It starts with the hero discussing husbandry issues. Then it jumps to the heroine arriving at her family's home. She is the illegitimate grandchild of the Old Mrs. Penhallow's son. That makes Old Mrs. Penhallow her great-grandmother. The family takes her in like a long, lost family member that rises her above starvation to cherished daughter. At some point, the hero and heroine meet at a tea.
This story was very unusual because unlike most romances, where the book is mainly about the hero and heroine, this book is more roundabout. The author has written the book as if the reader is a fly on the wall of everything going on in this little village that impacts the life of the two main characters. There's the hero's young son that is friends with the heroine, because she is finally going to school. And there is the hero's sister, who is bitter at life. There is the generous family of the heroine, a great grand mother, uncle, his wife and their children. There are the servants who they all interact with and the pets and animals of the farms. The crops and the pests that plague them. It is like entering their lives. It is a love story from a different perspective and it worked very well. My only complaint was that this heroine, much like the appallingly high percentage of heroines, is too young for the maturity level that she is written at. This heroine should be 23 or 24. And the maturity of the hero is much younger than that of his age. I mean, there is a small percentage of men who acts like immature assholes, but they seem so prevalent because the goods ones are taken and the immature ones are left over. Ok, rant over.
So overall, I give it 4.5 stars and recommend reading. Any book that has a sweet moppet that says, 'Yes, that is what I said' repeatedly, has to be read.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an hones review. I hadn't read Lisa Berne before so I am not sure is she was trying to do something different here or this is her general style. If it is, she is not for me. the story itself is ok, the characters interesting enough but the way they interact is just downright robotic. If she was trying to make them seem shy and awkward it would explain things a little but they ought to still snap out of it after the first few kisses. I did not feel the love and at times the heroine was dwelling in duplicity - not sure if she was smart or not so much, passionate or dull, truly in love or just going through the motions. And then there were the times when scenes or conversations were just forced into the plot to make it go forward. The epitome for me was the terribly honest discourse of one of the misses looking to marry the Duke. Out of the clear blue sky she gives herself and her family away to Jane who is not a friend, does not promise to keep secrets before they are revealed and does not really encourage said honesty. And all the while, the Duke's sister is outside the door hearing the whole things. Very amateurishly written. I'd give this two and a half stars, only rounded up to three because I liked Wakefield and the Duchess.

This is a slightly odd book in tone, and I truthfully didn't like that. It's lighthearted in some places, but never goes full madcap hijinks. I don't mind when a romance novel doesn't take itself too seriously, and I have definitely read ones that have jokey little cultural references etc, but there were so many moments where it felt like it was trying very hard to be culturally relevant and funny and cute and it just didn't work or feel right for a Regency novel. I don't want the hero to say "redonkulous", I don't want them to mention songs written in the 1930s, I don't even want them to be gently anachronistic by mentioning "restaurants" (in the case of restaurants, it's in the context of a classic waiter joke, so there was no reason to have to do it? Set the joke around a gentleman in his club and it fixes this problem within a line.)

I did like the subversion of usual romance novel roles, the duke being very involved with his estate and the competitions of the local village was nice, and the heroine having been raised poor and a little hardscrabble left her more matter of fact about sex and the ways of the world. That was a good change. I feel like the hero could have been a landed gentleman or have a lesser title and been more effective, as it was, his sister had a bit of a point about him stepping up a bit more. Actually, I have a lot of opinions about his sister in general. She wasn't a full antagonist, she was clearly very unhappy, but she didn't have much narrative function either. She was there to be a shrew, then get stomped on by the plot, and then the last bit of the novel focuses on a two page love story for her, instead of focusing on the couple we are supposed to care about.

Children characters, especially if they are as front and center as they are here, have to walk a fine line between being realistic children and being twee/annoying/difficult to read. Wakefield was fine, but he got pretty grating after a while.

Honestly, as much as I liked the country attitudes of the leads, I liked the book a bit more once the heroine went to London. Overall, I don't think this mishmash of tone and jokes while still asking you to take it seriously worked for me.

I am on the fence about this book, but it might be up your alley, so I will fill you in. The Hero and Heroine are both misfits, but they work together. There is a rather chatty kid who mispronounces big words all the time and is a major part of the story. however, the Duke has the maturity level of his 8 year old son. His internal monologue sounds like a little boy who only wants to do what he wants and "won't get married ever again and no one can make him". It was rather odd. It is almost a completely clean romance, which is important to some people. There is some second base, but nothing more graphic than that. It also loses some momentum towards the end, but I still finished it and mostly enjoyed it. If you like odd H &H, books with a kid as a major character, and a pretty clean romance, then you would likely enjoy this book.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. Having never read this author before, I can't be sure if the things I dislike come down to voice and stylistic choices, or it's just this story that didn't work for me.
The plot concept was fine, but the story lacked action altogether. Nothing actually happens.
It felt as I read, as if this were the draft. Like we've somehow gotten our hands on it before the author could layer in things like tension, emotion, humor, and "showing" instead of placeholder "telling".
The heavy use of adverbs made me agree with that Stephen King quote about the road to hades being paved with adverbs. (Editing the quote so B&N will accept this review without flagging foul language). And I'm not anti-adverb generally speaking. But this? This was a LOT.
Even heavier use of distancing words ensured that the reader never gets into either character's head or understands their motivations.
The dialogue was repetitive and tedious.
And lastly, the punctuation was really bizarre. So many colons. Every time she addresses him as Your Grace, it's its own sentence. Pulled me out of the story time and again.
I wish this book had been a home run. But in the end, it's a strike.
Sorry.

Well this was quite an interesting book. Sort of like a fairy tale! Jane was such a sweet girl, but determined to have love in her life. Anthony was just a second son who suddenly was a Duke. He loved the land, his son, his tenants and live as he knew it. His first marriage was horrible...so he never would marry again! Yup, you're getting the picture! I hate spoilers so I won't ... but I loved this story. All the characters are interesting - Margaret, Wakefield, Mr. Pressley, and especially Bunch the butler! I would have loved to live in their world!

I LOVED this book. Jane is a sweet, sympathetic heroine who is mature and centered, unlike a lot of young heroines. She is a practical, straightforward young woman and very likable. Anthony is certainly likable as well, but not very mature and rather foolish. His eccentricity is refreshing, compared to a lot of toxic masculine heroes, but he occasionally comes off as stupid because he does not know himself. He also avoids his problems, rather than handling them. Still, he's a fun protagonist, if frustrating. The ending is satisfying and joyful.
Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.