Some Dukes Have All the Luck by Christina Britton
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 1 chili
Pub date: 11/8

I don’t usually go for historical romance, but something about this gorgeous cover drew me in. I’m so glad I made the choice to pick this one up because I really enjoyed it!

I just love books about women who shirk the rules of society and forge their own path. Bronwyn is one of those women…or at least she’s trying to be. She had her heart broken years ago and hasn’t been able to secure a husband since. She’s fine with that, but her parents are not. In fact, they’re threatening to send her away to live with her strict brother and sister in law unless she forgets about becoming a naturalist and gets serious about finding a husband. Enter Duke Ash Hawkins who needs a wife to care for his wards while he works at his gaming hall in London. He’s not interested in getting married but a marriage of convenience will solve both his and Bronwyn’s problems.

Brownwyn is a fantastic FMC, pushing the boundaries of what is proper for the time period and always being unequivocally herself. Although she’s misunderstood by her family and most of society, her supportive group of friends inspires her to find her own way, which she does with Ash’s help.

My favorite part about this book is how Ash supports Bronwyn’s dreams of becoming a naturalist and doesn’t try to stifle her, even before he falls in love with her. He’s protective of her from the start and I love how she brings out the best in him and helps him become a better caregiver for his girls.

It doesn’t take long for things to heat up between the MC’s and there is some great spice in this book! The girls (Ash’s wards) give this story a ‘single-dad’ feel (which I love) and they’re written well.

The story feels heavy at times which made me a little emotional. It deals with domestic abuse towards Ash’s mother, and some of the other women in the house, by Ash’s father. This all happens in the past, but Ash carries the burden of his father’s actions and dwells on it a lot in the present.

This book surprised me in the best way! It was heartwarming, emotional, and steamy and I wil definitely be looking out for more books by this author. Read if you like historical romance with headstrong heroines, swoony Dukes, rambunctious children and a little alpha possessiveness. Thank you so much to Forever and Netgalley for the early copy to read and review. Some Dukes Have All The Luck is available on 11/8.

This was a sweet book. The main issue I had was there was little to no plot. It started a bit slow for me, picked up some time in but dragged in the middle again. I also did not truly find the reason for the Marriage of Convenience realistic between this 2 specific characters. Anyway, ultimately it was fine. I grew to like the characters, and this will make a good beach read.

A huge thank you to Forever Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Christina Britton keeps upping her game with each book she publishes. I've enjoyed all of them but this one is my favorite so far. In fact, it's one of my favorite books this year.

I'm a pushover for an emotionally tortured hero who believes himself unworthy of love while at the same time aching to open his heart. In this book, it's not only romantic love that Ash holds at bay but his feelings for his three young wards as well. Wards who have a connection with him of which they are unaware and who believe he only wants to be rid of them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Then there's Bronwyn, who has to be in the running for my favorite heroine this year. A socially awkward young woman with a brilliant scientific mind, she's saddled with parents who only value her for her ability to gain them entrance into society through marriage. What they do to her in pursuit of their goals is atrocious. It's no wonder she agrees to a marriage of convenience with Ash (who she does not realize is a duke) the day after they're introduced. I wanted to ship her parents off to a deserted island somewhere in the middle of the Pacific.

What follows is an emotionally layered journey between Ash and Bronwyn that made me laugh, made me cry, and filled me with so many feelings. I adore Bronwyn with her pragmatic, scientific approach to life. Her discussion with Ash about physical relations is one of my favorite scenes in the book (snort laughing ensued). I adore Ash even more for the way he responds to that, how he values her for who she is and desires her because of that (sizzling chemistry between these two!). I love how he supports and encourages her dreams, how he slowly loses his heart to her while also believing his heart isn't worthy of her love. And how satisfying it is to watch Bronwyn blossom under the attention of someone who has no wish to change her or denigrate her intelligence. And this isn't a one-way street. Bronwyn's impact on Ash's life is profound. These two (actually five, counting the girls) are meant to be a family and watching that come to fruition filled me with so much joy.

The Oddments, Bronwyn's group of friends (all spinsters) feature prominently in her journey and have me even more eager for more stories in this series. If you've read Britton's Isle of Synne series, you'll recognize them along with a few other secondary characters but if you're new to her writing, you should be able to jump in with Some Dukes Have All the Luck without missing a beat. I do, however, enthusiastically recommend all of the Isle of Synne books as well.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

Some Dukes Have All the Luck has so much going for it- an entomological scientist who is forced to prioritize marrying over publishing her work, an emotionally distant duke with a dark past, and three wayward girls who just want to be a family. It's an excellent mix of marriage of convenience and found family, with so many tender yet emotionally charged moments. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read future books in this series!

Bronwyn is a different kind of gal- she would rather be out in nature collecting insects for research than collecting names for her dance card. Her parents are social climbers, and though she can be awkward at times, they don't seem to see nor care that they put her in predicaments time and time again. I adored her- her sweetness, her gentleness with the girls, and the way she persists in her research even though at the time, it was not 'allowed' for women to be scientists.

Ash, the Duke of Buckley, is distant in the extreme. He would rather avoid his wards at all costs instead of cultivating a relationship with them- though they are so desperate for his attention that two of them run away! It becomes clear right away that there is something in his past that keeps him from connecting with others, that his actions are driven by a need to protect.

When the two meet, there aren't sparks right away which I liked. The way their relationship bloomed was so fun to read, and it got unexpectedly steamy pretty early in the book! I did think the third act felt a bit drawn out and needed more from Ash to help resolve the issues at hand. It felt like Bronwyn did all the heavy lifting. But, I think the way the author handled such tough subjects was well done and completely realistic. If we could have had more involvement from the Oddments, that would have added a bit of levity to some of the serious tones of the book. They seem like such a great group!

I'm definitely eyeing some backlist books from Christina Britton because I really loved her writing style and character development! I definitely recommend this book if you like found family and marriage of convenience with healthy doses of steam!

First of all, let me say that I wish I could visit the Isle of Synne, if only for the abundance of gorgeous, handsome, sweet and tormented dukes! Jokes apart, this new installment of the series (that makes for a perfect standalone, by the way) had everything I could have wished for. There was angst, passion, love, steam, lovable and less lovable characters and everything was perfectly dosed to create an astounding book. Ash is the perfect hero, supportive of his woman in every moment, even when he tries to protect her by pushing her away, while Brownyn is so lovable, so generous! The girls are a delightful addiction to the book, lively without being annoying. And our beloved regular characters of the series are always present and play an important role in the book. Christina Britton can really write, whether it be a gorgeous description of a landscape or a witty dialogue between two characters. I really loved this book and can’t wait for the next in the series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The classic tail of a marriage of convenience with rules attached, including not falling in love goes awry!

I couldn’t of been happier to be back at the Isle of Synne and our journey here was pretty unique this time. The Duke of Buckley has lost his two young wards and doesn’t know where to find them, until we’re number three discovers his mothers’ journal preaching the good word the Isle of Synne.

Upon arriving at the Isle he decides that he needs help minding his wards and a wife will suit the job nicely… he comes across a scientifically minded spinster and offers her the ticket to freedom as his wife. She escapes her marriage minded, social climbing parents and gains the freedom to pursue her scientific endeavours offer the low price of marrying him in name, becoming his Dodgers and minding his three wards.

But she has a counter offer! Her scientific mind wants to understand the physical relationship between men and women, so she proposes that they live as a man and wife for two weeks before they go their separate ways. But of course rule number one is no falling in love!

Other than the many times both characters profess that they can’t fall in love, that they won’t fall in love, it is impossible to fall in love with the other… they fall in love and I thoroughly enjoyed watching these to discover their self worth and value from their relationship. I really liked the contrast of their own social fears and feelings of undeserving love and how they both come to terms with it and discover that they are deserving and they do love each other.

I am eager to continue this series with more adventures and love on the beautiful aisle of sin with the rest of the wallflower crew that we met in this book!

Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

✔️ a marriage of convenience between Duke who doesn’t think he deserves love because of his father and a lady spend doesn’t think she deserves love because she doesn’t fit the mold
✔️ I loved the story of the Duke and his three wards - it was such a sweet story

Looking forward to the next book in the series

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

This book fell flat for me. The prose was overwritten to the point that the characters felt cartoonish. I cringed most of the way through any dialogue. And the plot…what plot?

Don’t get me wrong, I like historical romance, but usually there’s a hint of a plot. But this was so thin.

So, overwritten prose and underwritten plot. Overall, not my cup of tea.

I loved Some Dukes Have All the Luck! I love, love, loved the plucky heroine Bronwyn (the hero Ash took me a while). I also adored all of Ash's nieces and their relationship with Bronwyn. This is the first book I've read about an entomologist and a heroine digging around for bugs wasn't exactly my favorite, I am glad we had a scientist who just wanted to be independent as our main character!
The story, dialogue, all the characters made Some Dukes Have All the Luck a great read. I really enjoyed this book! It was fun to see call-backs to some of Christina Britton's other books. This book had the right amount of angst, almost a little too much for me but it was all rewarding in the end. This was a really fun read that I would recommend to HR fans!

I am so glad that we have a new spin-off series from Christina Britton set back on the Isle of Synne. And this series has the best title: The Synneful Spinsters! It's focused on the Oddments, a group of women we first met in the earlier series. They are unmarried and don't follow traditional gender roles. They gather to support each other. This first book focuses on Bronwyn, who we got to know a bit in A Duke Worth Fighting For. She's a naturalist and entomologist focusing on the study of local beetles.

She and Ash, the Duke of Buckley, enter into a hasty marriage of convenience. They both have a troubled family history. But with his three wards, there's a potential for a fabulous found family.

The one thing I have found tough to believe in the Isle of Synne series is the number of single dukes. Apparently, every single, eligible man who goes to the Isle of Synne is a duke. So I absolutely adored that this novel poked a bit of fun at that history. The wink to every heroine getting a Duke made me smile.

There are such fun and clever scenes like that throughout the book. I really loved the story and all the main characters. As the start of a new series, this absolutely stands alone. So you can jump in and meet all the folks on Synne with this book.

Thank you to Forever for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up

This is one of those stories that slowly grows on you as you get to know the characters, their personalities, and their situation. It starts out truly bleak with both Ash and Bronwyn in awful circumstances and with super sad pasts. Ash, in particular, has the romance prerequisite dark trauma that makes you want him to find happiness.
It's the basic premise that I always think would be solved if the people in the relationship got out of their heads for a minute to talk it out or at least pay attention to anything beyond their worries, but then we wouldn't have this wonderful story of two people finding themselves in each other.
The side characters continue to be a big part of why the Isle of Synne stories are so good. The girls who are Ash's wards are spoiled hellions just looking for someone to show them love. Poor Bronwyn's parents are awful and not even her constant reassurance that they do love her deep down can excuse how awful they are. And the wonderful group of friends Bronwyn is surrounded by, the series' titular spinsters, give me hope that we're going to have some truly wonderful romances in the future.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the emotional read!

I don't read much historical anymore but I love a good marriage of convenience so this one caught my eye. I also love any single parent trope even though in this one the dislike has wards not children.

I absolutely loved the meet cute in this story and how quickly the interest took shape for both Bronwyn and Ash and their chemistry. I love how he championed her hopes and dreams. I love how she helped him find a way to connect with his wards. It was a truly beautiful story.

I always love how a good marriage of convenience turns I to true love. This one is no exception. I loved how their story started and evolved. I loved how well connected they were to each other even before they admitted love.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This is my first time reading a Christina Britton book and Some Dukes Have All the Luck didn't disappoint! In this historical romance, Ash Hawkins, the Duke of Buckley, is struggling with raising his three wards and looks for a wife to help him. In steps Bronwyn, a woman that is focused on her entomology research and searching for a way to appease her parents.

I really enjoyed this marriage of convenience, and watching Bronwyn and Ash slowly fall for each other despite everything. Bronwyn is a delightful lead and her love and passion for bugs is admirable. They eventually blended into a sweet family.

Britton has a nice and fluid writing style, and I'm looking forward to the other books in this series! Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I heard about this book from Dana at Forever. Like many other bloggers, she's convinced me to read historical romance novels. This did not disappoint; I knew I had to get it after her brief synopsis in the fall book event. This was my first book from Christina Britton, and I am definitely a new fan. I loved the themes of female empowerment (especially in STEM). This book was full of heart with laugh-out-loud moments, and I highly recommend it.

If you like insta-lust turning into almost insta-love between two unlikely characters, you will enjoy this book. We’re supposed to believe that a duke, tormented by his family’s legacy of violence and who runs a gambling hell, is going to fall instantly for the socially awkward lady entomologist with obnoxiously encroaching social climbing parents. They get married so she can take care of his three wards and to free her from her parents. They decide to stay together for two weeks before he abandons his wards and wife to return to London.

If you’ve ever read a romance novel, you know what will happen next. If you don’t mind suspending your disbelief, you might enjoy these two unlikely people finding love and happiness.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Yay! A new series by Christina Britton starts with this wonderful story!
SOME DUKES HAVE ALL THE LUCK is book 1 of her new Synneful Spinsters Series and was highly enjoyable!

Bronwyn is more interested in insects than finding herself a suitable husband, like her parents want her to.
Well and there's the Duke of Buckley, who doesn't see himself as a good match. He has 3 wards to take care of...  and maybe he's a Duke who'll find all the luck? Could their lives interwine somehow?
Hmmm... don't worry! I won't spoil you! 😌
Read the book and fall in love like I did!! ❤️

I loved the Isle of Synne Series by Christina Britton and was so excited about this new series - also set on the Isle of Synne!
The story of Bronwyn and Ash was soooo good!
What's not love about it?
There were emotions galore and drama! and sexy times and funny moments and so much more! ❤️
I really really really loved it!
Awwww! How Bronwyn and Ash treated each other! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 Goosebumps alert!!
Okay, of course not everyone's perfect... but they don't have to be. They've each other and a lot of stuff to deal with!

Some Dukes Have All The Luck was such a great story where it was so easy to fall in love with all the charming and charismatic characters! I loved it a lot!

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Christina Britton for this ARC via NetGalley.
This is my honest review in my own words. ❤️

I don't read a lot of historical romance, and I haven't read anything from Christina Britton before, but I'm starting to read more of them - and will definitely be picking up more of her books! This was excellent! Absolutely 5-star worthy!!

I really enjoyed her character development, and that she took such care with the research she did into the insects that Bronwyn was studying. Bronwyn was interested in entomology and found specific beetles and other creepy crawly bugs in specific areas of the fields on the island of Synne. She was working on publishing a paper, after all, even though her parents had destroyed most of the research, drawings and equipment in a fit of anger over her not paying attention to seeking out a husband instead of seeking out her beetles.

Ash, Duke of Buckley, ran a gambling hell in London, but also cared for 3 young wards. When they ran away to the isle of Synne (after reading his mother's old journal about where she grew up), he has to follow them to bring them home. What he doesn't expect upon arrival is to cross paths with the fascinating Bronwyn covered in a spilled jar of beetles after a run-in with a local boy. He's immediately taken with the lovely lady and starts forming an idea - something that has never crossed his mind before, which is to take a wife, someone to stay on Synne, where the girls (the wards) have decided they want to live, and she can stay there with them and research her bugs. What he doesn't ever fathom is that he might actually like the lady.

Beautifully written, perfectly crafted story, and I absolutely recommend it for all! The early days of women in STEM right here! Great steam level, and so much chemistry (along with all of the biology), great characters, and just all around a darn good read.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and this is my honest feedback.

Gambling den owner, yes. Duke adverse to love, yes. A super smart bluestocking who knows what she wants, yes. What is not to like? I am not usually one for kids in stories but the children in this story tore at my heart. Longing and stubbornness pepper this relationship. I laughed and I smiled a lot. Ash and Bronwyn are such a fantastic couple. Christina, this story really got to me and I had a really good cry. Not a bad cry, but one of happiness and hope. I could go on and on but let’s just say this is one fantastic story. Run, don’t walk, to get this story and read for yourself a loving and caring relationship.

Will he let his fears and ill advised honor deprive him of love…

I did not know what to really expect after reading the blurb, yet it was much more entertaining than I wondered.
Bronwyn is the odd duck, never really fitting in her home, quieter than her outrageous parents but longing for more than a husband and her own house, she wants to put her mark in the world, but years of being belittled, dismissed and overlooked have taken its toll.
As her circumstances turn dire in regard of her parents demands, a stranger’s offer lands at her feet giving her an escape she did not think wise to accept at first but a turn of events leads her to agree to marry just to escape a life of misery at the hand of her selfish relative.
Ash has kept everyone at arms length since his mother’s death, believing too much of his monstrous father circules in his blood. So when at his wits end about his hellions of a ward, an impulse pushes him to propose to the first woman they have not rejected.
She is everything he never thought he would need nor want, yet as time passes, Bronwyn makes him long for what he has always denied himself, a family life and love.

I liked Bronwyn even if I would have preferred her to be a bit more vindicative after everything her parents made her going through.
Plus there is still an unknown quantity, her first “suitor”, what of his threats and sort of blackmailing…
Ash is so lovable, very lost of how to return the sentiment, but a good man who struggles with his inner turmoils, his misplaced fears and honorable self. Yet he would have need a good shaking for blinding himself about what was right or not.

This fast paced story is entertaining, sweet, sensual and a good read to settle yourself on the couch with their journey toward love in your lap.
4.5 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 onscreen detailed lovemaking scenes

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

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I did really like this book.
Ash decides on a whim that he must marry so that his 3 wards have someone to care for them. Bronwyn was humiliated duing her one and only season in London and the only thing she desires now is to be allowed to study her insects and get published by the royal society.
I liked the relationship between ash and bronwyn even if it was insta lust and insta love.
Ash was really sweet even while trying and failing to maintain his distance.
However and this is a complaint I've had before in books like this, the only real conflict is Ash not feeling he is worthy. I don't necessarily think their needs to be another secondary conflict but that this could have been a shorter more condensed book.