I am used to Alexis Hall as a contemporary romance author, so I was very pleasantly surprised at how naturally they wrote in a historical genre! This is a beautiful story of self-acceptance and love, with much longing and seduction and an action-packed last arc. I loved Viola and Gracewood and the cast of characters who surrounded them!

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

An absolute delight of a historical romance novel. Alexis Hall always knows just the right notes to hit in these kinds of stories. With hidden identities, yearning, humour, and wonderfully dramatic love confessions, this is one of the most refreshing romances I've read in a long time. I loved Viola as a character and really enjoyed seeing how her and Gracewood's relationship progressed throughout the novel. The pacing slowed a lot in the middle, which stalled the overall progression of the story, but one the whole I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it.

This is the best romance I have ever read. It made me cry and ache and swoon. The explorations of transness and disability and trauma were some of the best I have ever read. Alexis really shines in regency and especially when he writes romance with more explicit scenes. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Historical romance! Trans MC in which the main plot point is not being outed against her will! We love everything about it! Run run run to get your hands on this one.

This romance was so SWEET, and I really enjoyed it. Viola, our main character, is a trans woman. She had been childhood friends with Gracewood, and he believes she died in the war. She gets to know him again as herself and then he figures out who she is. I really loved the way the trans rep was handled in this book. Gracewood accepts Viola almost immediately, he is only mad that she let him believe she was dead, since he was grieving her, and was in a deep depression. They help each other find happiness in their new lives post war. I loved the plot involving Gracewood’s sister, and again the romance was just the sweetest. I’m really glad I read this one!

First of all, I ADORE the characters. They are phenomenally written, incredibly powerful protagonists who are rich with depth and character development. I want every single romance book to have real, raw characters like this. A trans women and a disabled lead???? In a romance? Amazing. I’m beyond happy to have read this book. It has changed the way I look at romance, as now I want all my romances to include realistic characters like this one.

My only gripe with this is that it is a tad too long, almost hitting 500 pages. It dragged in a few places and I think it could’ve been cut down quite a bit. The writing style was great, but just some sections needed to be edited out (or condensed).

This book is beautifully written and just so so moving. The witty playfulness of the characters is delightful and provides a good balance to the soul of the story. All of the characters are fully human and wonderfully complex. I cried during many parts of this book. Never from sadness but because the story was so beautiful. Such a lovely, lovely work of art.

Current (Dec 2022) Status of Alexis Hall Reads:
5 Stars/All-Time Favorite: Boyfriend Material
2 Stars: Husband Material

I DNFed this novel after reading more than 50% of this novel then skimmed through the rest. It has its moments that are really heartfelt. However, I felt the pacing could've been better if it wasn't so long. I'm so disappointed that I couldn't enjoy this more with all the great representation it holds. I wished the pacing and plot of this novel could've been ever so slightly different. Some moments that could've been expanded on, Hall rushed through and then there were moments that went on too long unnecessarily.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Hoping to read more by Alexis Hall and find other novels that I've enjoyed as much as Boyfriend Material.

A few years after being presumed dead at Waterloo, Viola Carroll has remade her life the way she has always truly wanted to live. Her only regret is that her best friend, the Duke of Gracewood still believes she is dead. Now circumstances force her to reenter his life and figure out their path forward.

I loved this queer, friends to lovers romance. The slow romance between Viola and Justin really worked, and I loved all the side characters, particularly Lady Marleigh.

I listened to the audiobook, and was granted access to both that and the ebook ARC, so I wanted to review both.. I've read Alexis Hall's other books, and am very glad I picked this one up as well. It was the first historical romance I've read with a trans protagonist, and I felt this book did a really great job addressing the main character's past while still being true to her present self. I will read all books by this author, and this book got me excited for more historical romance.

I enjoyed the story overall. I especially liked the trans representation. The romance was lovely.

Overall, I was not a fan of the Pride and Prejudice twists put into the story. In the end, it all did make sense as to why the author did it. However, I really felt like there was enough going on that excluding them would only have done the book a favor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

Delightful in every sense of the word.

I had not read any of Alexis Hall's historical romances, but you can be I'll be on the look out for them. The flirtations and romance was lovely and beautiful as well. I love the LGBTQ rep and the friends into lovers.

This was adorable. I loved the tropes (childhood friends to lovers?? Hidden identities??? Yes please?????) And the characters were whimsical without being too campy. It was everything I hoped for and more. (Plus Hall managed to make the steamy scenes just fantastic and very trans-friendly) 10/10

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

This book was a delightful, introspective look at what groups you identify with (gender/class/etc), and what you do to belong to them. I loved the historical representation of a transgender person. The war gave Viola the chance she needed to start her life as her authentic self. I appreciated that she was accepted easily by her family and Gracewood (after some initial surprise). This story wasn’t so match about the acceptance of others, but about self acceptance for both Viola and Gracewood.

Alexis Hall’s A Lady for a Duke is a heartwarming, slow burn historical romance about two childhood friends who go through hell and still find their way back to each other.

I had a lot of fun with this book! I’m a huge fan of the historical romance genre and knew I needed to read this one once I heard it was coming out. I did struggle to get into it at first and am not sure if a part of that was because I ended up listening to the audiobook or if I was just confused on placing everything in my head. But once I got into, I really loved getting to know our main characters as well as the side characters! This book was full of hurt, happiness, and overall joy and acceptance; it’s one that everyone should read at some point! This was also my first LGBTQ+ historical romance, and I definitely want to read more.

CW for violence, loss of loved ones, permanent injury, PTSD, abduction, dead naming, abuse (not on-page).

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC of A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall!

I really wanted to love this book but it just wasn't for me. It had a great premise but the slowest moving plot. Made me not want to pick it up. I tried the audio as well and that didn't help.

Loved this romance! I read this awhile ago and am catching up on my reviews but even a few months out, I still think about this lovely book frequently. A beautiful romance and a very unique set up to a romance book- I adore Alexis Hall and I definitely will be picking up his other romance books.

I didn't finish this one until after it was released - I'm a sucker for hard copies! - but I'm so glad this book exists. I've been recommending it to fans of queer romance at my local bookstore. The first part seemed to drag a little, but I think once the book hit its stride it was really phenomenal.

I definitely didn’t like this book as much as everyone else seems to.

Look, I want to make it very clear that Alexis Hall succeeded in his goal to write a historical romance with a trans main character in which her trans identity is not the main source of conflict. Yay!

Viola and Grace wood’s relationship was very sweet.

Hall handled gender and disability quite well. I have no complaints there.

Mira was by far my favorite character (loved her Frankenstein fixation!), and I would love to read a book about her finding love (especially if her love interest is not a man cause regardless of who she finds attractive, I don’t think that character would be happy married to a man within her particular social circumstances).

My main problem with this book was that it was far too long. It’s about 150 pages longer than industry standard for an adult romance novel (historical or contemporary), and it drags horribly at times. The characters also have the same conversation over and over.

The random villain in the final 1/4 of the story didn’t bother me conceptually. I thought the plot was fine. I just wish he’d been set up better and earlier. I also think there was some wasted potential for tension between Viola and Gracewood during all of that. Maybe the villain plot could have happened earlier and the official getting together could have been later (but with more tension and less repetition).

I enjoy Alexis Hall’s characters and his humor quite a bit. I just want him to write shorter books and pace them better.