This is the epitome of friends-to-lovers romance. Which, I really can't seem to get enough of. 

When Alex, the estate manager, where Jocelyn works with her father, becomes the heir of the duke of said estate, their friendship is put to the test. Because now that Alex is the duke's heir, there's more pressure on him and things aren't so simple. 

However, their friendship naturally blossoms into something more--no matter how anyone else may feel about it. 

This book was a sweet, quick romance with some great characters and the romance was well-earned and fought for. 

The author did a wonderful job bringing me into the story and caring about the characters. 

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. My review will be live, at the link given, on 9/19/22.

This isn’t my first foray into reading Justiss, but it will be my last. What a slog of a read The Bluestocking Duchess was. But the promise of a premise can deceive, true of Justiss’s late-Georgian? early Victorian? 1834-set romance. The blurb will show how potentially attractive The Bluestocking Duchess appeared:

Her good friend…
Is suddenly a duke’s heir!
Miss Jocelyn Sudderfeld is working at Edge Hall, indulging her love of translating ancient texts with her librarian father—and evading the need to marry! She’s always enjoyed a teasing friendship with estate manager Mr. Alex Cheverton. Until he unexpectedly becomes the duke’s heir. Now his first duty is to marry a suitable debutante, not consort with an earnest bluestocking like her… So where does that leave their friendship?

I do enjoy a friends-to-lovers romance and a translating heroine sounded fresh and compelling. With the exception of a few scenes in the British Museum, this romance never came alive, the hero and heroine like wooden figures moving like chess pieces across the narrative board.

My antipathy for The Bluestocking Duchess makes me sound churlish, so I’ll try to articulate how pretty much everything about this romance left me cold. It was cold, maybe that’s why? To start, the prose was strangely flat and yet ornate, in the not-good sense of unnecessarily wordy. I give you this clunky example: “Only when the shrieking of a brain warning of danger finally penetrated through the delirium of desire and delight, was he finally able to break away from her.” Gosh, the hero’s “shrieking brain” as he pulls away from the heroine. Alex is ever mustn’t, shouldn’t, oughn’t as regards any affection, like, or desire for Jocelyn (a truly awful heroine name, btw). She returns the dislike. To add *eye rolls* to boredom, they’re awful to each other. What might have been Justiss’s banter turns into mean-spirited convos. When Jocelyn plays the piano, Alex declares it ” ‘was quite pleasant to listen to. I didn’t have to grit my teeth over wrong or discordant notes once’ “. Not to worry, though, Jocelyn gives as good as she gets. When Alex’s new-found ducal inheritance is realized, these two should have been happy to part company.

The novel shifts from Sussex to London where Alex enters ducal training and Jocelyn arrives soon after to join an aunt who seeks to find her a suitable husband. I think Justiss had a feminist point to make when Jocelyn insists on staying single, rather the companion of a querulous old lady than shackled by marriage and unable to continue translating her beloved Euripides. It appears, however, that Justiss doesn’t adhere to the wise Woolfian notion of a woman needing money and a room of her own to write. Marry and farewell to Euripides, or live in genteel poverty at the beck and call of an employer and bid adieu to Euripides. Seems to me Jocelyn’s problem isn’t marriage or spinsterhood, it’s a lack of income and a room of her own.

On the most important level, The Bluestocking Duchess fails to be much of romance. Alex and Jocelyn trade barbs and occasional kisses. They may share some physical attraction, but they don’t seem to have any affection for each other. When they realize they’re in love, they do so in their heads, on their own, vowing and swearing up and down they’re in love. Their revelations don’t have a foundation in anything occurring between them, however. Their “grand passion” is devoid of tenderness, liking, affection, or compatibility. I wish I could have liked Justiss’s romance, but it left me cold and indifferent, like her protagonists. Sadly, Miss Austen agrees, The Bluestocking Duchess was “downright labour,” Emma.

Julia Justiss’s The Bluestocking Duchess is published by Harlequin Books. It was released on February 23rd and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-galley, from Harlequin Books, via Netgalley, for the purpose of writing this review.

This is Alex and Jocelyn’s story. He is the estate.manager for the Duke of Farisdeen. Then he becomes the Duke’s heir. Jocelyn is the Duke’s librarian. She is a scholar. The Duke is trying to find Alex an appropriate wife. Alex is falling in love with Jocelyn. The Duke doesn’t approve. They have to decide what to do. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Sorry, I did not get to read this book due to the date clashing with my final weeks of thesis work. Looks interesting so I will keep an eye out for the book.

This was a disappointing Justiss novel. Usually, I really like her work, but not this one. There was far too much navel-gazing the retreading of the same concerns throughout the novel without much forward movement. Another issue I had with the book was lack of sexual tension even though there was constant noticing of the facial charms of the other. The anticipation of a kiss or no kiss was used as sexual tension, but again a lack of forward motion there made the anticipation deflate for the reader. Here are the main issues concerning the protagonists.

She is an ancient Greek scholar but believes that no one knows of her expertise. She think she manages to even fool her father and sister despite actually doing a fair bit of the translation work. She is convinced that marriage would mean the end of her scholarship. So she is determined to be a spinster lady's companion. I was not sure how this would enable her to continue the work that "defines her." She really wants to kiss him, but she really does not want to marry.

He has been newly elevated to a duke's heir. He really wants to kiss her but that would be dishonorable. Marrying her had never occurred to him because despite being attracted to her, his one brush with romance in the past has turned him off romance, even though it seemed like a rather innocuous experience to me. As a duke's heir, he is expected to marry well, and the daughter of the duke's librarian ain't cutting it. He wants to do his duty to the title and let the duke choose his bride but he really wants to kiss her.

Every time they think of wanting to kiss the other person, they retread the above. And frustratingly, I didn't get much of a look into their thoughts -- how are they changing how they look at their lives and what they can to get what they want. Yes, of course, there's a HEA at the end of the book so there is forward progress in their relationship towards the end but they stay mired in these ruminations for far too long. i look forward to Justiss' next book because I like her writing.

I wanted to like this book. On the whole it was a solid concept, but I didn't feel a connection to the characters or the story. In fact, I found myself skipping solid chunks of it and finding that the parts that I skipped didn't take away anything. I didn't feel like I had missed anything important.

I expected the book to pick up once Alex returned to London to be trained in the art of being a Duke, but even then it was more of the same old stilted dialog and back and forth that I found so boring in the first half. Alex and Jocelyn are attracted to each other, they want to be together, but of course they cannot be because Alex needs to marry someone of a higher class. Blah, blah, blah, flirtation, blah blah blah, predictable solution that gives our main characters their happily ever after.

Don't get me wrong, I will absolutely give this author another chance because they DO have a strong writing style and I know without a shadow of doubt that this book will appeal to countless historical romance fans. It just wasn't for me.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

For me, this one doesn't have a lot of sticking power. It's been about a week since I read it. I don't remember any of the characters names, and only vaguely what happened.
It's not bad. I remember having a good time as I read it. It just didn't stick with me.

Angst Level: 😩

The Era: Late Regency

Tropes: Friends-to-Lovers, The Marriage Mart, Class Difference, Sudden Nobility

The Plot: The hero, who manages a ducal estate where the heroine works, is suddenly informed that, due to the death of the heir, he will soon become the Duke. The heroine, a Bluestocking who has been secretly doing her brother’s translation work, stands no chance of being approved by the current Duke for marriage to the hero.

The Hero: Mr. Alex Cheverton, future Duke of Farisdeen. Has worked as manager of Farisdeen’s Edge Hall estate. He is responsible, kind and in love with Jocelyn Sudderfield. He also has no desire to be a Duke.

The Heroine: Miss Jocelyn Sudderfield. Bluestocking, mostly opposed to marriage as she sees it as an avenue that will expose her secret as a translator. Secretly in love with Alex Cheverton.

The Sex: Closed door. 😢

Stand Out Moment: The hero’s dance with the heroine that exposes his feelings for her, most notably to the current Duke. The Duke’s “Lady Catherine moment” where he forbids Jocelyn from seeing Alex.

Who Would Like This: Anyone who enjoys the politics of regency marriage matches or friends-to-lovers stories where a sudden inheritance chances their dynamic.

Potential Triggers: None that I recall.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Historical for the ARC.

#thebluestockingduchess #netgalley

West Surrey - 1834

Alex Cheverton, cousin and estate manager for Edge Hall, home of the Duke of Farisdeen, enjoys spending time with Jocelyn Sudderfield, sister of the duke’s librarian. Alex recognizes what a lovely young woman she has become over the years she has been living near the Hall with her minister father.

Jocelyn is a well educated young woman who assists her brother by writing down his Greek translations. In actuality, most of the translations are hers. Jocelyn was promised to a curate when he finishes his studies, but he recently broke off their betrothal. She is not disappointed. Secretly, Alex and Jocelyn admire one another.

Alex is summoned to London where the duke resides only to find that the man’s remaining son is dying. When he passes away, the duke tells Alex that he is the new heir. Now, someone else will take over as estate manager while Alex resides in London and is groomed to be a duke. Jocelyn’s aunt has invited her to London to help her seek a husband. Her father and brother will go with her.

Jocelyn and Alex know they will not be in the same social circles but plan to meet at museums and such and continue their friendship. Even though they love one another, they do not see a future for them.

I enjoyed this story and found both Alex and Jocelyn to be strong and likable characters. My only complaint is that the Greek history “lessons” in the book could have been cut significantly as not all readers are interested in that.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My Thoughts:
I have to admit in advance that I am not the hugest fan for romance novels, unless they are really well done. Thanks to the popularity of Bridgerton on Netflix, and the books by Julia Quinn (which I have already devoured The Duke and I) I have started to delve into some more historical (especially regency) romance novels. But, if you are looking for another Bridgerton type novel, this is not really for you.

While Bridgerton focuses more on the social season, the ton, extravagant social gatherings and gorgeous dresses, this novel focuses on Miss Jocelyn Sudderfeld and her relationship with her father, brother, and her dear friend who is the estate manager for Edge Hall, where she lives and works. Although there are a couple references to the ton and social events, etc. it is not the basis of this novel. So if that is what you are looking for, then this is not the book for you, and it really wasn't quite the book for me either, even though I did enjoy it somewhat.

The language often felt awkward, but I understand that is because the author is trying to seat us firmly in the place and time of the novel. But I found this took me out of the novel multiple times to look up words like bluestocking (an intellectual, well-read woman), hoyden (a rude, ill-bred, boisterous and noisy girl), and several others as well as forcing me to re-read several passages multiple times for understanding. At least I know some new words now! Not sure where I would use them however.

The story is very predictable, as I personally find most romance novels tend to be. I know a lot of people love that part of romance novels, but that is one of the main things that stops me from reading them a majority of the time. If I already know how it's going to go then where is the entertainment? In this case it's even more predictable because the very short summary, and the title, both give away the main exciting part, that Alex ends up becoming the Duke's heir!

The one thing I really liked was the character of Jocelyn. She has a secret she has been hiding for a very long time, and the discovery of this secret would ruin her whole family's life. She is a true intellectual. Even though everyone knows she helps her brother and father with translations by transcribing what they dictate, what they don't know is that she often comes up with translations and interpretations herself. If the secret was ever to be discovered that a woman helped on these projects they would be fired, evicted, and previous work would be rejected and ridiculed. This is the main reason why Jocelyn feels she cannot form an attachment with any man, as he would never understand her need to be part of this work, and even continue on her own later down the road once her father retired and her brother married.

I welcomed the addition of Lord Dansbury about halfway through the book as it was a nice break from the boring back and forth of Jocelyn having feelings for Alex, but knowing they couldn't be together because of her work and his rank, and Alex feeling a pull to Jocelyn, but being stopped by his rank. He knew he would be expected to marry a high ranking female with a large dowry, which of course Jocelyn did not have. Things had been so slow and boring during the second quarter of the book! Lord Dansbury was quite dashing for a somewhat older gentleman, and he seemed willing to wait for Jocelyn to finish her project to marry her, and they had so many things in common. I actually almost found myself rooting for him, even though I knew how things had to end (typical romance novel).

Overall the story was pretty good. The second half more than made up for the first half. I really liked the way most of the story was wrapped up, but the very ending was a little too conveniently happily ever after, especially for the character involved. It didn't fit the way their character had been described throughout the novel, so it left a bad taste in my mouth, like the character was changed just for that happily ever after. Even a typical romance reader would find this disconcerting I think. Let me know what you thought if you read it.

I would have rated it a 3.5/5 if my blog or Goodreads allowed for it, but I didn't like it enough to bump it up to a 4.

The Pros:
The character of Miss Jocelyn Sudderfeld was very well done.
The addition of Lord Dansbury added to the story. I actually wish there was more of him.

The Cons:
The back and forth between Jocelyn and Alex was often annoying and repetitive.
The too happily ever after ending irked me.

I enjoyed the characters in this book very much. There was plenty of fun banter between Alex and Jocelyn, and the romantic plot came to a satisfying conclusion.

The pacing of the book was slow. In fact, I think the book would have been better if most of the first 25% had been cut. There was a lot of unnecessary setup and a lot of focus on mundane details. At the same time, the most dramatic events weren't dramatized. They happened off-page.

This book may appeal to readers of quiet, clean romance without much sexual tension.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Sweet friends-to-lovers romance

Alex is the estate manager while Jocelyn is the daughter of the estate's librarian. They've known each other for quite a few years, but his position forbids him to marry and she's enough younger that she doesn't think he'd even consider her anyway. They both go through several challenging changes in their respective future plans, supporting each other as friends but each believing that anything more is impossible.

While it lacks consistency with the use of titles and forms of address, the overall story worked well within its parameters, effectively showcasing the challenges Alex and Jocelyn each faced as they balanced their own personal desires with the expectations of society. Each character was well developed and likable, and I really respected Alex's determination to stand up for himself towards the end.

This was a delightful story to read, with a solid HEA and an engaging cast of characters. I hope to read more as this series progresses. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Jocelyn is highly intelligent and works as a translator and has a secret that could cause great problems if exposed. Most women her age are all about balls and gowns, Jocelyn is committed to her work. The estate manager is Alex, who has a contract with his employer, The Duke, that he won’t marry for 10years. Naturally, they’re drawn to each other and have to fight their feelings, despite the fact that they’re at two different stations in life when Alex is granted to be a heir of the Duke. The Duke is uptight and not friendly and wants nothing more than to keep Alex to himself, but when Jocelyn is courted by another man, Alex realizes his love for her and fights for them to be together.
Cute and sassy! Nothing steamy.
Thanks to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my review.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

This wasn't my favorite that I've read in the HQN Historicals. I will say I enjoyed the writing and the characters were okay. I'll be the first to say this was totally personal preference, this just wasn't in my personal taste. That being said it was still enjoyable and I would still recommend giving it a read if you're interested.

The wonderful thing about Harlequin Historical Romances is that they are (mostly) very well written. Historically accurate romance from this time period is usually a rare thing. But not here. Julia Justiss writes a lovey tale of a marriage of convenience that highlights the lack of choices ladies of this time period really had. The romance between our MC's was believable and poignant. I can't wait to read the next in her series!



I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.