I was excited about this book when I first read the synopsis. I mean, Wolf shifters but set in this time period? Two of my favorites things to read about, and I was definitely intrigued. But unfortunately, I did not connect with the story and the writing in this one.

From the start of the book it was very hard for me to connect with the authors writing. The pace of the story was very slow and a little too detail detailed oriented for my specific tastes. Also, some of the wording choices kind of threw me off. I understand that with this being a historical, that some of the wording is different to how we speak in modern times, but some of the lingo the author used was just a little too strange for me.

It did take quite a lot for me to push through this book and finish it. I feel like it could definitely benefit from being at a faster pace, but overall I just didn’t click with the authors writing, and that meant I also couldn’t connect with the story and the characters. It just wasn’t for me.

**Thank you to the publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca for the early review copy via NetGalley.**

A Wolf in Duke's Clothing is a book I'd recommend if you were starting your first shifter book. On the romance front, it's not special as there's little wooing and the hero literally kidnapped the heroine, so that grossed me out.

The gist of the story is Alfred, who's a Duke who comes from a special lineage, one of shapeshifters. Alfred needs to find his mate; otherwise, his pack might be doomed. Felicity is a wallflower who loves to be around her horses more than trodding around in stuffy ballrooms. Alfred's wishes finally come true when he scents his mate Felicity and off he goes to kidnap her.

I was still willing to give this book a chance, but unfortunately, it failed to redeem itself. It's not a bad historical/shapeshifter romance in all but I would not outright recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

There was a lot to this that seemed very much up my alley (and was!), especially in regards to the whole pack structure/dynamic and the fabulous group of supporting characters. The whole story very much had Beauty and the Beast vibes, with Felicity ending up on the estate tended to by servants while the alpha Duke tried to figure out how best to win her over. In that same vein, Alfred’s alpha tendencies were kind of expected, and it was a refreshing change to see that Felicity had the ability to resist his influence — although there was at least one scene where they were getting hot and heavy she told him she didn’t want to continue and he tried to sway her anyway, which was a little off-putting. All in all there were moments of this, prose included, that did make the book feel very reminiscent of an old-school romance, which might not make it a read for everyone. I enjoyed it overall, but some parts weren’t as compelling.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

YESSSSSS YES YES this book was - it was everything I could have wanted and more! The romance was - it all was "oh my" the whole way through. Read this if you love a good fantasy romance!

This novel provides a neat paranormal twist on your typical historical romance. The hero is a shifter (werewolf seems to have negative connotations within the novel) and he find his mate in a neglected wallflower. The heroine struggles with her self worth and body image, and I enjoyed watching her start to accept and enjoy herself throughout the story.

The hero is definitely an alpha (pun intended), but we get to see how much he cares for his pack and how much he values the heroine. If controlling heroes is a turn off for you as a reader, I would skip this one. But it seems to be a common trope in paranormal romances across the board.

While some of the world building is kind of ridiculous (there are mouse shifters!), I did enjoy the secondary characters and would definite read another book about this pack. It felt like Allen was laying that groundwork throughout the novel.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley in return for a fair review.

This was such a fun historical paranormal romance! New to me subgenre, and author, and I'm so glad I found it!

Alfred Blakesley, Duke of Lowell has a secret. He's not just your typical duke looking for a potential bride. He's also a wolf shifter, or Versipellis, who is looking for his true mate. He is the Alpha of his pack, and they're all looking to him to make things right, after a curse has left them all hurting. Imagine his surprise, when after searching the world for 5 years, he finds his fate at a ball in England, and learns she grew up not far from his home in the country. Now, he just has to kidnap her and convince her to marry him, before spilling all his secrets.

Miss Felicity Templeton is an orphan, who is determined to remain unmarried until her 25th birthday, in order to inherit, according to the terms of her father's will. So imagine how inconvenient it is that her horrible uncle and cousins have been trying marry her off for the last 5 years. She's managed to become a wallflower, and avoid any attachments. Then, with the end nearly in sight, she's stolen away from a ball by an admittedly dreamy duke, leaving her angry as all get out, and her reputation in tatters.

Felicity and Alfred had wonderful chemistry from the beginning, but Felicity had very legitimate reasons for not wanting to marry, and Alfred couldn't help but try to convince her otherwise, knowing that she was fated to be his. They were constantly at odds, and their banter was amazing and fun. They really came to care for each other so much, and watching them get there was a delight.

Alfred's pack was fantastic, and I enjoyed getting to know them all. They were all unique, and funny, and smart, and strong, and they all chose to follow him, and put their trust in him to break the curse. I especially loved Alfred's right and left hands, Bates and O'Mara, and Mary Mossett, Felicity's newly acquired maid. Every shifter was unique, and I loved the way they all had a hard time keeping the secret in Felicity's presence.

My only real issue with this book was that the pacing was a lot slower than I prefer, and so I found myself bogged down sometimes, wanting things to move along, and just waiting for it to happen. Everything that DID happen was lovely, and I really cared about these characters, and their secret world. I'm also very intrigued by book 2, in which the hero will be a bear!

Bottom line, this was a very enjoyable story, with a bit of a sedate pace, but I look forward to more in this world, and I will be awaiting book 2!

Ok, this one was a lot of fun. A historical romance with a paranormal hero. I found their dynamic interesting from the start, and I do think we spent a little less time with the couple due to setting up the series. I will be picking up more of the series, because I found it charming, and witty.

There are so many things that made this book catch my eye. One of them was the historical romance and paranormal romance twist. I did enjoy Alfred to some degree. There were a few things that I shook my head at, but overall it was ok with him. Felicity was another story, she just drove me nuts and I never clicked with her. Besides some character issues, the only other problem for me was the pacing. I just ended up skimming a lot. I think this one was just not for me overall.

Unusual love story of a Shapeshifter Duke looking for his vera amoris, his life mate. Felicity Templeton has no desire to marry. All she wants is her inheritance to continue her breeding program with horses. When Alfed, Duke of Lowell kidnaps her at a ball, she's ruined. Alfred won't let her go,, even though he can't force her stay. To continue the versipellians they must not inter breed anymore, but bring new life by mating with humans. Then there is his secret and the secret of his estate. This is an interesting plot, but overly long and repetitive. What happened to Thus Himself? I debated rating it a 3, 3 1/2 or a 4. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

It’s hard for me to articulate exactly what I was expecting with this book, but I think I expected more of a paranormal romance with historical elements. This is definitely more of a regency historical with a paranormal layer over top. And while overall I enjoyed the book, there were parts that were very problematic for me.

“Fate! I believe in choice, although choice is as elusive to women as is the opportunity to address the House of Lords.”


Alfred, Duke of Lowell, has spent the past five years traveling the globe, trying to find his mate. Frustrated by his fruitless search, the last place he wants to be is a ball – at least until he finally scents her. Felicity’s biding her time until her twenty-fifth birthday, when, according to her uncle, she’ll inherit her parents’ fortune, enough to fund her dreams of horse breeding enterprise. All she has to do until then is stay unmarried. But when the handsome duke sweeps her into a dance – and then into his carriage – her dreams may end up in the gutter with her reputation.

“There is an explanation,” he began.
Felicity exploded. “Wonderful! Finally!” She flung her hands about like a lunatic. “How unlike other men I thought you, Your Grace, as you eschewed explanations left, right, and center. How surprised I was, as there is always some godforsaken reason for every outrage when it comes to men, much more so for titled men.”


There’s definitely some good things about the book. I liked Felicity and how absolute horse-mad she was, and I liked her friend Jemima. There’s some interesting world building (leading back to Romulus and Remus) to explain shifters, and the side characters were humorously very much like their animal selves. The language tended a bit to the overwrought and there’s a lot of very regency vocabulary, from the various groups (Corinthians and Antidotes and Cits, oh my!) to Felicity talking about her “honeypot.” It was at times a bit much but for the most part I enjoyed that. What really soured me on the book was the hero, Alfred.

“It is known as the dominatum, the power of the Alpha. It is employed to prevent poor decisions at best, and insurrection at worst. And to get my way when my way is what is needed…or what I desire.” He belatedly pulled his banyan closed and retied the sash. “It is yet another indication you are meant for me. There is no one else in my life who can resist the compulsion of my power, only you.”


I give a lot of leeway to paranormals and alpha hole heroes. There’s usually some sort of plot reason why they act all alphaholey (and there is in this one!) but a lot of the satisfaction I get from these books is seeing the heroine push back using her own strengths. That’s not really the case in this book. Alfred continuously overrode Felicity’s will and there was seemingly nothing Felicity can do about it – or that she particularly cared to. The initial kidnapping raised my eyebrows because after Felicity was happily ensconced in the lap of luxury, she seemed to quickly lose her anger at the situation – even though the quick marriage that Alfred is pushing would ruin all of her hard work towards her dreams. When he muttered about seeking vengeance against her Evil Uncle, she insisted that he not resort to violence, but he put her off, saying it’s his duty. The worst bit, though, was the dominatum power which he used several times throughout the book to stop his underlings from speaking up against his highhanded ways – though somehow they still viewed him as an exceptional alpha, which does make me wonder how horrible the other ones are. The most unforgivable bit for me was that when she puts a stop during a sexual encounter, he tried to use his alpha powers against her to make her continue. When that failed, he did give in and stop, marveling at how strong she was – without once seeming to understand exactly how wrong what he tried to do was.

Overall, I’d probably give this 2.5 stars. There’s some interesting things going on, but the problematic content squashed a lot of my enjoyment.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I am so mad at myself that I took so long to read this book, I should have read as soon as it was available. A paranormal historical romance? Sing me up.
This story was very well written, full of details but at the same time not at all infodumping. The writing got me stuck and I couldn’t stop reading.
Here we have Alfred and Felicity. Both very strong minded and passionate.
Alfred is trying to correct a mistake he didn’t not committed, and Felicity is trying to be independent when women barely had rights. When they find each other, the love can be ignored. It was so cute seeing them falling for each other, and I hope the author writes more in this universe because it was lovely.

A Wolf in Duke's Clothing by Susanna Allen is the First book in the Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde Series. This is the story of Felicity Templeton and Alfred Blakesley, Duke of Lowell.
Felicity is orphan after her parents tragic passing. Now she is ruled by a awful guarding buying her time to get her inheritance. Felicity has no plans to marry and works to keep it that way. Alfred although a Duke is also a shifter who knows pretty quickly that Felicity is it for him. I haven't read to many historical paranormal romance so I was excited to read this one. I did enjoy it but I think I had my hopes to high up. I do plan on reading more from this author and hopefully this series.

Alfred Blakesley, Duke of Lowell, is a wolf shifter and has spent five years looking for his true mate. His parents had a horrible marriage and lied about being true mates, which apparently resulted in a curse on the family (no little ones). He believes that bonding to his true mate will lift the curse. Felicity Templeton is an orphan waiting for her majority so that she can have her inheritance. Her greedy cruel uncle is determined to marry her off and somehow get her fortune. When Alfred finds her at a ball, he walks her out to the garden, grabs her and takes off. Alfred might need some advice on courting. All he has to do now is convince her to marry him, and hope she will accept him and his pack. Will it work?

Alfred is a clumsy hero, but a great person. He is strong, a leader who protects and wants the best for his menagerie of a pack. He wants to love and protect Felicity as well. He means well, but doesn’t do well in the courting department. Felicity doesn’t know exactly what to think about Alfred and his intentions. He and his household treat her wonderfully, well except for the kidnapping part. Felicity misses her home and her horses. She wants nothing more than breed horses. She likes Alfred and his household. She loves Alfie, a giant black doggie she came upon in the woods (guess who). This is a little different historical paranormal. There are a number of species who must learn to live together, some who are outcasts from other packs, acceptance and true “family.” It is an interesting and very busy story. I enjoyed it.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I enjoy historical romance as well as paranormal books containing shifters. This was a perfect balance of two of my favorite types of stories. Alfred is a duke that has a secret which is that he is a wolf. Shifters are a secret that only a portion of England society is aware. Felicity is trying to remain unmarried until 25 in order to become independent. Alfred sees the wallflower, Felicity, and knows instantly that she is her mate. Now the fun begins and he is trying to convince her to marry him while she really wants independence. The addition of Felicity’s horrible family and Alfreds wolf shifter family just adds entertainment along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed their love story and the addition of shifters made it even more engrossing. I can’t wait until the next Susanna Allan book is released.

Alfred Blakesley, Duke of Lowell, has been looking for his mate for a long time but he senses her while at another of the ton's tedious gatherings.

Felicity Templeton has one goal: to remain unmarried until her twenty-fifth birthday. But Alfred is determined to be with his true mate and decides his best bet is to take her.

Overall I did enjoy this book. There were parts that dragged a little and skimming the text was almost completely of the question because you might miss something important.

My Review: A Duke In Wolf's Clothing:

Romance, Sexy Alpha wolf, Acceptance, and Humor.

Alfred Blakesley, the Seventh Duke of Lowell, and wolf shifter has found his mate in the Honorable Felicity Templeton, a twenty five (25) year old Wallflower (human). Their courtship begins with Alfred kidnapping his mate, and ruining her reputation. Felicity is no timid woman, and has her own plans to remain unwed, and start a Stud Farm. Time is short for Alfred, as he must marry for love, and Felicity wins him, and his pack over daily with her acceptance, and kindness shown to them even before Felicity finds out they're shape shifters. Will Felicity admit her love, and accept Alfred as her mate, and break the curse of infertility among Alfred pack?

3.5 out of 5 stars!

The heroine is determined to remain unwed until her twenty-fifth birthday to gain control of her inheritance, but the hero thwarted that goal due to desiring her as his wife. Add in the supernatural twists hidden in the shadows of civilized society adds another dimension to the courtship of the beleaguered heroine and strong, silent hero. Will the relationship of the couple run smoothly or will the paranormal secret keep them from falling in love?

I liked this new historical paranormal series written by Ms. Allen. I liked the strong characters, both supernatural and normal, as well as the background of this paranormal beings. I did find that the pacing was not to my liking but that's not a huge deterrent to the whole story. Overall it's an ice beginning to the series and I look forward to reading more Susanna Allen books in the future.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

A Wolf in Duke's Clothing by Susanna Allen is about Alfred the duke and the Alpha of his pack . He is looking for his mate and finally finds her in lady Felicity. This was my first shape shifter book and I'm glad I started with this one first. It was an intriguing tale. The Language and wording was hard to grasp at first but once I was fully immersed into the story I felt that it made the story cohesive . The wording/language and story are both unique and come together to make a great love story.

What a ingenious, perspicacious, droll, and scintillating read. The author makes great use of the thesaurus and dictionary. Some of the words I had never seen or heard of. I like that the legends were changed. I enjoyed the story but felt like it was over long. I wondered what happened to Himself?

Will he be able to make her see right for the future of his kind...

While I am first a historical romance reader, I do like a good paranormal tale so when I saw both categories set in one book, I jumped on the occasion to read it.
And this was an unexpected read for sure.
It has the slow pace of many historical stories and the danger vibes of some PNR tales but it lacks true actions, it looks like more a day to day recounting of life in this strange estate than a pack’s dynamic with a alpha who subjugated at every turn his subjects.

The opening scene sets the story in regency England with an over the top alpha hero taking the marriage mart by storm and a heroine bordering spinsterhood who has others views than wedding bliss for her future.
While I liked Felicity immediately as she is a woman who after loosing everything tried to find a way to better her life and refuses to give up because she is said to, Lowell is an other affair, so set on his alpha position, he quite uses and sometimes overuses his power as such. Even by trying to subdue the heroine to bend to his desire. Luckily she is rather immune to his will-stealing aura.

So when he fails to get her to follow her voluntary, he kidnaps her and thus ruins her in the eyes of the ton.
It is from there that the story takes its turn on the paranormal side. As Felicity now navigates an unknown place surrounded by people who appear to be more than whom she thinks they are.
She is a force to be reckoned as she does no cry nor shout, she refuses to give up and plots alternative exit ways.
Lowell is at loss, completely lost about what to do with this unexpected twist in his mate’s hunt. He not really anticipated a human, so he does not know how to react around her, how to break the news he is not what he seems to be nor his people. So he most often than never runs away instead to having to answer her questions.
I understand the answers were not easy to present but slowly offering clues could have soften the blow.

The story touches many tropes, like the vile uncle, he was painted a bit to flatly greedy. Then where is the missing horse. Will the side characters have their own story or will it focus on another Duke...
The part around and after the wedding was too long, I felt like the story dragged for length and length as nothing truly happens along these pages.
3.5 stars rounded up because it has many promises of a good series but needs to find its marks to sit it in both genres.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 onscreen lovemaking scenes

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca, here is my true and unbiased opinion.