If you are a die-hard historical romance lover, you’ll probably really like this book. Thank you @berkley for the free book

Picture this: a Duke + a woman beneath his social class + a whole bunch of drama.

Let me start by saying that if you’re a die hard historical romance fan, I can TOTALLY see you loving this book! I was entertained enough while reading that I didn’t DNF, I didn’t necessarily love it. To be perfectly honest this one felt way too long. I can appreciate how it wanted to explore deeper subjects, but after a certain point, I was just waiting for the happily ever after.

*UPCOMING RELEASE FEATURE*

I'm not going to lie, the gorgeous cover of this book drew me in immediately more than anything. This ended up being a melting pot of romance, witty banter, and important issues all rolled into one.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Anthony to start off with which was my only struggle. However, Lucy's charisma and gumption kept me turning the pages and I am so glad.

The author did a fabulous job of jumping right in with a unique yet hilarious meet-cute. The synopsis reads differently than what actually transpires. As much as this is a formulaic romance, there are issues of suicide, PTSD, and classism that are important and very relevant.

This reads very quickly, has a healthy dose of steam, and is the perfect beach read and/or escape for the moment. I foreshadow this being in a lot of vacation bags this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this advanced reader copy. Be sure to pre-order your copy to be released on April 6th, 2021!

Struggling art student, Lucy Coover, trips over an unconscious naked man in an alley. When she is unable to wake him, she covers him up as best as possible and heads on her way. However, she cannot get him out of her mind, and since women cannot attend the life classes at the Royal Academy she decides to take this opportunity and paint his image. When rent comes due, Lucy sells the painting in order to make the payment. Unfortunately for Lucy, the naked man is none other than the Duke of Weston, and his inheritance is contingent upon his reputation remaining spotless until his 30th birthday. As soon as he gets his hands on the painting and destroys it, he decides to find the artist to ensure their silence. When the two meet the attraction is instant, but of course they would never be an acceptable match. However, they both have problems that the other can help with and so a bargain is struck.
What an enjoyable read! The Duke Undone is perfect for fans of “Bringing Down the Duke”. The characters were well developed, and for fans of steam there is some, though it doesn’t take over the story line. With regards to the plot, if you’re not a fan of romance because of predictable endings then this isn’t for you. However, what I enjoyed about “The Duke Undone” was that I didn’t know exactly how they would get to their happy ever after. My only issue with the book was that almost too much was included, alcoholism, housing issues, class differences, the petition at the art school – some of these seemed to fall through the cracks or just get wrapped up quickly at the end. I would absolutely read a sequel if there is one.

Don’t be deceived by the pretty, flowery cover: this book is full of depth. From the political and social constraints of women, to classism in Victorian England and the trauma of PTSD, there is unfortunately almost too much ground to cover in this size of a book but it is an engrossing read nonetheless.

It is fun to see two strong-willed characters go head to head and the dialogue is snappy but
there is a lot going on in this book and though all of the subplots interested me, some left me wondering why they were included since they never really amounted to anything or weren’t given their due justice.

Lucy is such a rich character but I feel like most of her backstory almost comes too late. And I want more about these women trailblazers pursuing their dreams of art! I’m still unsure how I feel about Anthony’s portrayal of alcohol addiction and how this plays out. The idea of ‘hysterical’ women behind locked up by their families is something I know many are familiar with but I still would have enjoyed if that part was slowed down a bit. There are so many interesting storylines in this book but they never really all came together. It seems like a million social problems were woven into the story but didn’t always serve a purpose. If this was one of my grandmother’s bodice rippers, I’d just ignore some of these issues and move on but it’s clear that’s not the kind of book the author intended to create.

This book reminds me a lot of Evie Dunmore’s A League of Extraordinary Women series which are some of my favorite books in the past few years. I appreciate the trend of creating strong minded women who refuse to sit around and wait for a man to rescue them—of course it never hurts to have a happy ending but it gets boring reading about damsels in distress all the time. It’s clear Joanna Lowell has a keen interest in history and knows how to create compelling characters and I look forward to reading more from her.

Many thanks to Berkley & Netgalley for the ARC.

Great storyline, felt the beginning drug on a bit with build up but the finish made up for the slow start.

There is a trend in historical romance to plop thoroughly modern characters into the past, throw in some real societal issues of the times, and call it a go. The Duke Undone follows this model – very badly. I prefer historically accurate historical romance, in which strong women act within the confines of their times, but sometimes the modern protagonists work well enough. That is not the case in The Duke Undone.

I received a digital advance reader copy from Netgalley. I promise to read and review any galley I request and receive, which is the only reason I finished The Duke Undone. It is a mess. The hero and heroine are inconsistent, unlikable, unbelievable, and out of place. I’m sorry to say the heroine really is a woman of low moral standards (for the time) and I found the idea that a duke would marry her laughable. The big reveal toward the end was a surprise but also very awkwardly done. If I had to hear the hero proclaim one more time some version of “before George died, I didn’t drink”. …” But I digress.

Nothing about this book worked for me. It was draggy and repetitive. Too much sex and nudity for the time period. No actual feeling between the hero and heroine. The author apparently did a whole lot of historical research only to throw it away on characters transported from our time. Her editor should have sent this back for a rewrite.

I will not be reading the sequels. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was just what I needed! It filled the historical romance craving I've has since bingewatching/reading Bridgerton and it had a fun little mystery to boot. A perfect romance to read while cozied up inside. And what a great pairing! I loved the contrast of Lucy and the Duke and their lives.

This book is hard to rate. It started off really fun, stumbling upon a naked man and Anthony being all angry to get some revenge. But then the book became so serious. I hadn’t expected from the fun drawn cover that there wouldn’t be any humor in the book at all. I had a hard time believing in the love story. I kept thinking most of the book that they shouldn’t be together. That was the hardest part for me. Lucy had so many issues with alcoholism, why was she falling in love with Anthony? She’d found him passed out drunk in a ditch and when he was supposed to help her, had shown up drunk instead? I couldn’t get past that and I just couldn’t believe her love for him. Likewise, with all the angst and rejection Anthony received in his life from his family, I wanted him with someone who smiled at him and offered him tender support. Lucy just mainly scowled at him and gave him some harsh truths. Most of which he deserved, but again, it wasn’t believable to me that they’d fall for each other.

Truth be told, I don't know how to rate this book... but since I have to include a star rating with my review, I'd say a 2 and half stars round up to 3 then.

I read it all because somthing inside The Duke Undone made me want to finish it, but I'm not sure what...

The summary and beginning were very promising but after the first few chapters, we got lost in a mashup of every single problems one can think of, that will make good drama. To the point where both main characters became dull and boring enough to want to stop reading.
And yet, something, may it be the writing, or anything else, just something that I can't pinpoint made me plow through it.

In the end, I liked the story, didn't love it like I expected to after reading the first few lines but still...

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

CW: grief, death of a parent, PTSD, emotional abuse, alcoholism; side characters: trapped in a mental institution, suicide

I'm really struggling with how to rate this one.

This book started off strong, with a very surprising we'll call it a meet-cute, some great banter, and instant chemistry. But then it seemed to lose some of the tension, the middle really slowing down.

Lucy was so independent and driven to become an artist. I really struggle believing that she would have fallen for Anthony. While we're told that Anthony has been searching for his sister, mostly in brothels, he's not doing much. He immediately relies on Lucy to keep hunting for his sister. Also, he barely helps Lucy with her mission. Returned home from war after the death of his father and brother (he served in India which is somewhat addressed but more is PTSD for him) he is letting others do things for him. He was such a passive MC. I'm also not sure his alcoholism was represented well. Somewhat shown as an addiction, the book never shows him dealing with it, acting as if it is more of a choice than a disease that can be overcome as part of the HEA. While I understand the times it really pulled me away.

Lucy, the child of an alcoholic father, I struggle imagining her falling for Anthony A lot of the moments between them were passive rather than moving the story forward.

While there was a true villain in this story I do feel like a lot of the problems could have been resolved if Anthony had taken charge of his estate and cared, or even just hired an investigator. He was struggling but I just did not feel the emotional depth was there to explain where he was coming from and why he felt so stalled in his life.

Rating: 2
Steam: 3

I found this book fairly delightful as well as chock-full of the fun historical details I love -- the role of women at the Royal Academy of Art being primary here. There was angst, of course, but so well described and believable. Anthony's struggle with alcohol is visceral and yet described in a period-appropriate way, and I fully enjoyed watching him being awoken to the problems of the less-privileged in Victorian London. The writing flowed, minor characters were engaging and main characters believable despite somewhat extraordinary circumstances. Looking forward to the next installment

Lowell's historical debut is one of the best I've read in recent memory. I enjoyed the dynamic between the working-class heroine and a hero who has to be on his best behavior in order to come into his inheritance, and the relationship that blossoms between two people trapped by their circumstances. Lowell infuses her story with vivid language befitting an artist heroine, but doesn't shy away from covering heavier subjects like poverty, class differences and alcohol addiction. It's not a histrom for the faint of heart, but if you're willing to take that journey, the HEA at the end is ultimately all the more satisfying for it. My one issue was that the hero's struggles with alcohol were something he only seemed to address for the heroine and not necessarily something he wanted to get help from for himself too; I would've liked more of a resolution in terms of his recovery. But overall, an excellent historical romance and an author I'll be looking for more from in the future.

“Greed is like filling a cup with a hole at the bottom, it will never fill.” —Unknown

”To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal.” – Malcolm X

“If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.”. Dhirubhai Ambani

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people's thinking." -Steve Jobs

“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” -Tony Robbins

“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” -Audre Lorde

“Use your anger for good. Anger to people is like gas to the automobile—it fuels you to move forward and get to a better place. Without it, we would not be motivated to rise to a challenge. It is an energy that compels us to define what is just and unjust.” -Arun Gandhi The Gift of Anger

“Out of chaos, there is change” ― Natalie Nascenzi, Out Of Chaos

“Hearts will break and people will hurt you, darling.” Her mother said. “But when you let those people control your outlook on the life, you only allow them to have a greater hold on your happiness. Once you accept the fact that every day is a new day to begin again, life becomes a much easier path to walk.” ― Courtney Giardina, Holding on to Georgia

“Whatever he had found, it made him a better person. Maybe that's what love was, finding the person who brings out the best in you and eliminates the worst.” ― Diana Holquist, Make Me a Match

Take your pick of the above quotes. They each tell part of the story in this book.
-There is the Duke who is being controlled beyond the grave of his vicious father and he resents it. He hides when he breaks the rules hoping never to be discovered or all the years of suffering for his inheritance would have been for nothing. He must not bring shame or scandal to his name or all is forfeit.
-A female art student coming upon a naked man passed out in an alley, she realizes the perfection of his person and brings it to life on canvas never knowing his name.
-The Duke finds the nude painting of himself from the person it was sold to. He takes it so no one will find it and bring scandal to interfere with his inheritance.
-He finds the painter and is immediately attracted to her. She is shocked to find him standing before her thinking he was of the working class. Now to find he is of nobility.
-Her neighborhood is unjustly condemned and evictions have been posted. She turns to him hoping because he is a Duke, he would have some sway with the people in charge of the project.
-As they get to know each other, she confronts him about his secret lifestyle and what it reminds her of. She cannot go down that path no matter what she feels for him and he for her.
-The Duke has a twofold mission. He keeps looking for his missing sister and tries to find a way to save the artist's home and those of her neighbors.
-He feels he must take action to right the wrongs, straighten out his life and win back the affections of the woman who touched his soul.
-This sets him on a path of no return. Lies, deceit, extortion, embezzlement, manipulation and betrayal find him.
-The duke respects and looks up to the man in charge of his fate feeling the man has his best interest at heart. Then he finds out what betrayal he has uncovered. The crimes the man committed were not only against him but his dead mother, missing sister and his dead father. But he also finds out how he was being used to further this man's personal dreams affecting the woman he loves neighborhood.

An amazing story that kept me riveted to each page. I could not put the book down. There is non-stop nerve-racking tension as well as a complicated romance. Be ready to feel the intense emotion the author wrote into the story. It is realistic and compelling. A must read. I highly recommend it.

The Duke Undone matches up a young duke with a student of painting. Anthony is dealing with a lot of past trauma, including his mother's institutionalization and suicide, his own court martial, and a father who never approved of him while alive and is now posthumously controlling the dukedom through a codicil to the will. Lucy has her own issues to deal with: her education at the Royal Academy is hampered because the women students are not given the same access to classes as the men, and because she comes from a lower class than most of the other students. Under most circumstances, Lucy and Anthony would never meet... except for one early morning, Lucy comes across a completely unclothed man, dead drunk in the alley shortcut she uses to go to school. Since she has never been able to attend a "life class" where she could have drawn a nude model, she does what any ambitious artist would do: takes advantage of the situation to make several sketches and studies. Months later, Anthony discovers that he has been made the subject of a nude painting that he must do his best to suppress or risk losing his inheritance.

Full of period details on politics, society, world events, and art history, The Duke Undone is a lush romance. It is reminiscent of many Victorian novels, dealing with the characters' less-than-ideal behavior with compassion but without excuses. Lucy and Anthony's love story is hard-fought, and as the best romances do, there are moments when the reader can't imagine how they'll ever reach a happily ever after... but of course, they do!

There were a lot of things about this story that made it enjoyable to read! The history in this story was really interesting, especially related to the art school. Lucy was likable too! The duke was mostly likable, but there were some plot points about him that didn't really make sense or were not quite developed enough. The circumstances with his uncle were kind of odd and a little hard to track and stretched belief a bit. Also, I thought his alcohol addiction needed to be developed much more--it was kind of dropped in well into the story and then not really dealt with satisfactorily in the resolution. I think, in general, the author was trying to do a little too much in this story--the art school/petition, Lucy's painting, the duke's inheritance situation, his alcoholism, saving the housing. It just felt like plot points disappeared or weren't able to be as focused on as they should have been because there was so much else going on, too. That being said, I mostly enjoyed reading this and thought it was a solid historical romance.

On paper this one was perfect for me; a fresh, new voice in historical romance with an unconventional heroine, what could go wrong? Well, I’m really not sure, but something didn’t fit me. I felt a bit of a disconnect when it came to the characters, but mostly, I just stopped reading because it felt more like a chore than a reward. I’m sure this book will appeal to many, it was just a miss for me.

Rounded up from 2.5 stars. The writing style is absolutely exquisite - stunning visuals, beautiful wording, and a strong voice. However, I found the depiction of alcoholism really distasteful. Addiction was reduced to rebellion that could be fixed by love.

It was an interesting plot but it was a bit to much of a bit of this and a bit of that. It just wasn't my cup of tea to rate higher but it was a good read.

3.5 stars - This was my first outing with this author, and I think it is quite an impressive start! The writing was particularly lovely, so I would definitely recommend this as a good choice for readers who value prose quality. I very much enjoyed all of the individual elements of the story (the main characters were well drawn, the set up/tropes were intriguing & well executed, and I believed in all of the motivations)... however, I did feel like the individual elements didn't quite come together as strongly as I wanted them to. There was something ever so slightly off, but this may also be colored by the fact that this was slightly more angsty than my typical preferences. Still, I would definitely read more from this author & I would recommend it

CW: addiction, depictions of cruelty towards those with mental illnesses

Pretty sure I'm on record as disliking historical romances. Most of the time writers simply transpose modern attitudes and progressive morals onto their characters. As someone who likes Victorian fiction, the disconnect between attitude and era is jarring.

That said, I'm glad I made an exception to read this book. Perhaps it's because I know so little about the Royal Academy and the author clearly knows a LOT, though she never bogs down the plot with historical background. (Also she knows a lot about the Afghan War, Victorian housing reform, and asylums. I'm impressed.) Also, Lucy Coover's lower class would enable her to have some freedoms that middle- and upper-class ladies of the era certainly did not enjoy. And the duke of the story being bound by some awful codicils that prevent him controlling his own life and inheritance make him less all-powerful than his high status would imply. It makes these characters' ability to ignore the rigid social order of their day more believable.

I loved the characters, too. How refreshing to find truly flawed people, not just people who in job interviews would say "I suppose my biggest weakness is I care too much." People who don't automatically trust one another (and for good reason), but who ultimately enable each other to reach their goals. (Not a spoiler - this IS a romance with a mandatory Happily Ever After. Though at the story's crisis point I really wasn't sure how the author would pull the HEA off!)

Top notch all around. For anyone who already likes historical fiction and wants to try out a well-written romance (I'd place The Duke Undone at "sensual" in Susanna Carr's heat level index), this is a perfect place to start.