To escape her abusive brother, Ellen takes a position as a lady's companion. But when she reaches the London townhome of her employer, there's no lady to be found—only a drunk, recalcitrant duke who resents the interruption of his solitude. Can Ellen coax Calum out of the seclusion brought on by his war injuries and the death of his brother? And can Calum protect her from her controlling brother?

I love grumpy heroes and fierce heroines. These two are particularly fun. This book also has a great supporting cast and a tense plot that keeps the pages turning. Loved it!

I received and read an advance copy of this book. This is my honest and unsolicited review. All opinions are my own.

The Unworthy Duke is an interesting and unusual regency period romance that I thoroughly enjoyed. The underlying issue is the abusive brother from whom the heroine, Ellen, runs. Close family friends hide her little sister, Gwen, from him. So, keep this domestic abuse in mind should that be an issue for you. Otherwise, I pretty much laughed the first 40% of the book due to exchanges between Ellen and Cal, the duke. He is determined to have his privacy in his state of depression and mental self-flagellation over the death of his half-brother. Ellen is just as determined to stay in his home and be his grandmother’s companion to be able to save funds for her sister.

Cal’s mischievous grandmother and cousin only add to the issues between Ellen and Cal. All quite laughably charming. Then, you eventually return to the real issue of Ellen’s awful brother and his need to control her. The ending is adorable, but there are some difficult issues along the way to their HEA.

I enjoyed this book overall. After glancing at the other reviews on Net Galley, enough has been written about the grammar and presentation of the book that I see no need to address it further. Nor do I score a book due to those issues.

The Unworthy Duke catches all the right feels that you could possibly expect in a historical romance, the novel offers a troubled woman who tries to solve a problem without the help of a man and realizes that even if she doesn't per say need that help it would still be well received.

The novel hits you with all the feels as it explores that sometimes there is more to a person than what they may portray.

This one is good - rather wordy at times and I found myself skimming BUT it’s a good overall story. It has some “hot” scenes which I wasn’t ready for - haha - but I figured someone out there might want to know that before you read. I love the ending and how the characters are developed. The DETAILS that Charlotte Anne add are definitely fantastic and you really feel like you are there seeing it live. Overall a great read!

This is the first book by Charlotte Anne that I've read. I enjoyed the story - ladies companion finding true love - but there were some grammatical errors in the book - incorrect tenses of words or missing words in a sentence. I could always figure out what was meant but it did require rereading a sentence in order to figure out what was going on.

If you like a rags-to-riches story, a HEA ending to your regency romance, then you will enjoy this book.

I hope you edit this book very well, it has a lot of errors. I did enjoy this story though. It was funny, sad, and kind of scary. Her dad had been dead for two years and for all that time her brother had abused her. But when he hit her six-year-old sister, that was enough. So her friend hid with Gwen and she went to London to find a job so she could take care of them. Miss Ellen Burney(Smith), had presented herself as a companion to Lady Faye. When she first arrived at the address she was given, the house was dark and no one answered the bell. She rang several times but no answer. So she climbed into a window, it was rainy and so very cold. Calum McKenna Callgham, eldest son of Hammond, the late Duke of Woodhall, ducal heir, Marquess of Holliway, Earl of Eyles, Baron Summerhayes, and Gleason. Boy, was that a mouth full. His brother died four years ago. His dad died two years ago. He blamed himself for his brother's death. He was living in a house that was falling down around his ears, he had scars on the left side of his body including his face. He felt he did not deserve better.
The characters were so realistic and the anger and pain, they felt were well portrayed. They loved each other but her brother was a definite deterrent. He hated his sister and I do mean hate. She did have the support of his family and her friends.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Such a fun romance! A little too steamy for my taste, but I’m sure it will be popular among readers!

This book downloaded with an appalling disadvantage: The text wasn't formatted at all. It looks like a story typed and printed in Word format and then converted to ebook format with some kind of computer conversion program but without any editing at all. (Ever tried to edit a Word document in which the original typist hit "return" at the end of every line instead of using Word Wrap??) No paragraphs, lines end randomly and sentences go from one line to the next with no rhyme or reason. I couldn't correct the issue as Kindle line/paragraph format change option was grayed out. It was a struggle to read it in that fashion, but I rather got used to it, albeit very reluctantly. And apparently chapter endings were indicated by ***. However, I didn't finish the book because it wasn't worth mentally fighting the formatting because the story, at the half-way point, was so unoriginal -- attempting-to-be-plain, poor heroine with family problems in her background from which she must escape and scarred-by-war, grumpy and crippled by guilt hero come together when heroine goes to work for his eccentric grandmother -- then instant lust and constant "I want to ravish him/her" thoughts. Please! There were a few grammar mistakes which could be ignored if the story was worth the time to read it. I would assume this formatting issue will be changed prior to publication and release. But even if it is, I don't find the story worth reading because it adds nothing new to a trope that has already been written hundreds of times. #TheUnworthyDuke #NetGalley

Ellen runs away to become a lady’s companion to avoid her abusive brother, and protecting six year old Grace. Calum is badly scarred and blames himself for the death of his brother. They meet and romance develops. This story didn’t really work for me, it’s slow to start, and although the main characters have happy ever after it ends with questions as to why some characters are in the story at all.

2.75/5 stars!

The heroine wants to escape her brother, so she got a job as a companion to the hero's honorary grandmother. The two met during a downpour of rain as the heroine needs to shelter under the hero's home. There is instant attraction but secrets, personal issues, and outside forces brings obstacles to their happily-ever-after.

I like the premise but I needed more details to connect the story to my personal preference. I also liked a few characters most of the time, but I didn't connect to the main couple for various reasons. Overall, it's a nice story of a strong heroine and a broken hero.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.**

I loved all the characters in this book. Callum and Ellen were both such tortured souls, who deserved the happiness they found within each other. I love the sie characters as well, his grandmother and her ward, whom Callum thinks of as a cousin. Ellen has been abused by her older brother, and needs to get away and Callums grandmother hires her to be her companion in London, while she stays with her reclusive grandson. Callum has war injuries, both mental and physical that keep him from living a normal life. When he comes across Ellen he knows she is hiding something but is not sure what. When her brother finds her and puts her in danger he risks his life to save her.

I really enjoyed this book. Loved Calum...a man scared inside and out. Ellen is protective and determined. The plot is well written and the characters are superb! No spoiler here, so go read and enjoy.

Thank you, Netgalley and Escape Publishing, for the opportunity to get and read the e-arc of "The Unworthy Duke." This review has my own opinions. The premise was interesting, and that was the reason I decided to ask for an e-arc.
Calum reminds me a little bit of Ash from The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare. The plot and twist are happening all the time. I had trouble with how the story was written. The chapters were cut in the middle, and I had to read a couple of passages two and three times.
Calum has a great heart, and even though he is Mr. Grumpy, he has a heart of gold. He will do everything so Ellen and Gwen will be happy.
I absolutely loved Lady F, Calum's step-grandmother, a charming woman who whatever she decides will happen; she is a powerful woman for her time.
#TheUnworthyDuke #NetGalley

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The main characters are well drawn out and interesting. Some parts of the mystery are predictable, but still work well with the storyline. I would definitely read more books by this author.

3 stars

This book didn't work for me. I found it very difficult to get into at first but it picked up after I got to the first quarter. From this point onwards the dialogue seemed too modern. The heroine is keen to be a financially independant woman and thinks working as a companion is going to cut it. The hero is guilt ridden over the death of his step brother and the subsequent hatred from his step mother. The first half is just kisses and descriptions of the hero's body and the heroine's curves and then to disappoint all those who enjoy a clean read, we have oral sex and other sexual activity. The author seems to have thrown in lots of ideas. Is that a same sex relationship with the heroine's aunt and friend? Why is her brother painted as a two dimensional villain, who is the woman stalking the front of the house?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.