Cover Image: Much Ado About Dukes

Much Ado About Dukes

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Member Reviews

William Easton the Duke of Blackheath has sacrificed everything for his brothers and has vowed never to love Lady Beatrice Haven has vowed never to marry and to fight for women's rights her cousin has fallen in love with the Duke of Blackhealth's brother and she thinks if she can get through to the duck since they are going to be family he could help her cause he takes on injustice cases then lady Beatrice is told all of her money is gone her uncle has lost it and his money she is distract and ends up telling William what happen cause they were starting to become friends when he suggests that she marries him I love how she gets under his skin and gets him to fall in love with her I just reviewed Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon. #MuchAdoAboutDukes #NetGalley
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Beatrice is a woman who knows what she wants - rights for women. And what she doesn't want - marriage. She's been pestering William (the Duke) for years to support her cause, and feels very ignored. But when they finally meet, the antipathy turns to friendship. I liked Beatrice's strength of character, and I loved William and his ability to listen to and understand Beatrice. I also enjoyed William's brothers and their teasing. I'd love to see a book about Benjamin.

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I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I love a good marriage of convenience plotline in historical romance, but I struggled with connecting to the characters. I found them both to be a little uninteresting which made it difficult to be invested in the story.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled for the letting me read this one.

First, marriage of convenience is one of my favorite trope sand this one did not disappoint! Second, the banter was *chef's kiss* amazing! Yes, some of the book can be frustrating, but that's only because of the subject matter. Not because of the author's ability to write or hold the reader's attention. Overall, even with having to deal with a rich white dude's awokening, it was a super fun and enjoyable read. Highly recommend!

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Not since Kenneth Branagh & Emma Thompson have I enjoyed William & Beatrice more. Eva Devon has perfectly captured the essence of the Bard in this Much Ado About Nothing rendition. It possessed humour and wit, women’s suffrage and determination and the passion & despair of love. I found my chest clenching at William’s despair over Beatrice’s declarations, and the tragic longing of separation. The pure bond of love between his siblings and their unwavering acceptance of her warmed my heart. I laughed, I cried, I rejoiced. A classic tale made new. Well done!

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Much Ado About Dukes is a Shakespearean-inspired Regency romance with banter, a marriage of convenience, and a love story for two people who believe they won't fall in love (ha). We have Beatrice, who says "life is for the bold" (scary) and intends to ride her social crusading right into spinsterhood. She's been disappointed by every man she's met (but same), and she won't settle for less than the true love her parents had when alive. William's a duke who suffers from "melancholy" (like same again). He squashes all his feelings to focus on leading the way for his two younger brothers and taking his political position quite seriously. Beatrice writes letters to William requesting his aid for her causes and receives terse responses that enrage her, not knowing William believes himself to be offering respect and support in his responses, short as they are. The two are thrust into one another's orbit when William's brother and Beatrice's cousin get engaged, and William's admiration for Beatrice must do battle with her disdain for him.

In the first phase of the book, I admit to being bored. Beatrice is preaching to the choir when she waxes on about sexism, and her incessant energy felt overdone. Furthermore, as Beatrice and William begin conversing, readers must endure all the explanations he requires re: women's circumstances. It's exhausting to explain to a rich white man what privileges he has, no matter how well he takes it. And it turns out it's only marginally less annoying to read it on the page. To be fair, William is thoughtful in his responses and takes Beatrice's criticisms and revelations to heart. He checks himself and doesn't need constant reminders to process how he should act. There's also some quality banter to go with it.

Once Beatrice has an abrupt change in financial circumstances, the story picks up with a marriage of convenience. I became much more involved once the story expands to include a partnership between them and reckoning with their feelings. The two must navigate how their two fiercely independent lives can fit together in a way they both enjoy, and it's a meaningful journey.

Eva Devon continues to write historical romances that are thoughtful and socially aware. If this one over-explained and beleaguered a few points, at least they came up. Thanks to Entangled for my copy to read and review!

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I hate to say it but I had to DNF this book. The problem might be more with me then the book. I realize I don't like historical romance books when the heroine has a "cause." For me it takes away from the romance.

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I do enjoy a marriage of convenience. It is one of my favourite tropes. I have to say I'm a big fan of William. I loved how he was open to Beatrice's opinions and was a campaign for women's rights in a time when it was not expected or even liked. I did feel at times that Beatrice was too hard line on her opinion of men, and showed a rigidness in her thoughts.

This was an enjoyable enough read, a little too predictable though. I would have liked to see something new.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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This is a first time read for me by this author and it was a really enjoyable story. Beatrice is more interested in fighting for women's rights than finding a husband and settling down. She is very vocal in her efforts, standing outside parliament and often shouting at the MPs. One of those MPs is William, the Duke of Blackheath. William knows his duty and knows he has to marry to produce an heir, but who says that marriage has to be a love match. William is not interested in love, but he never stood a chance at resisting the beautiful firecracker of a woman that is Beatrice. Beatrice wants nothing to do with marriage or the duke, but when she finds herself without a home or a fortune, she has no choice but to accept William's help.
The once enemies turned to lovers was a captivating tale indeed. Both William and Beatrice were passionate characters and were easily likable. The story was interesting and engaging and I enjoyed it.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

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Loved it. Great follow up to the first book in the series and able to get lost in their world. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

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Beatrice loves to lock horns with William,. He actually enjoys it too but he resists. Oh they're getting together and it's fun to read.

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A delightful romance and a great escape read.
Many thanks to Entangled Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one in the end because at first it felt sort of done before… let’s face it that’s true for a lot of Historical romance and it usually works.

I ended up really enjoying this one in the end. It was apparent from the beginning that the Duke suffers from depression. How he handles it and his determination never to fall in love was annoying, however I could see it being a real emotional response to depressive episode once I really thought about it.

Beatrice is a feminist activist and she has no room for anything else or any man. However the Duke proves to be on her side and the side of women, he just has a subtlety about him because he knows how his world works. They compliment each other well.

The audio is excellent and I loved Sasha Higgins!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my arc copies!!

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I really liked this one! I always know that I'll like historical romances when I pick them up, but this one was especially likeable.

I absolutely loved the cast. Will's brothers, Kit and Ben, were so much fun, and I almost wish we had more of them. Already, I'm ready for them to have their own books. They were so fun to read about! And I loved that they didn't hesitate to set Will straight. They told him how it was, and it helped advance the story.

I also really loved the romance between Will and Beatrice. I can't even explain why. They were just an addictive couple. They were adorable and so sweet. I want more books that share the same dynamic!

I didn't plan to binge read this one, but I ended up staying awake for way too long so I could read it. I'll definitely be reading the rest in the series!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

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The thing I loved most of this book is the hero, who’s undoubtedly the man every woman would like to have as life partner. He’s supportive of Beatrice from the start, he helps her when she’s in need, he loves her tenderly (even if he doesn’t admit it until the end, not even to himself), he’s sweet, but passionate. I simply ADORED him. I liked Beatrice, even if at the beginning she was quite annoying, uncompromising like all the real believers in a cause. I appreciated the plot, although it’s really simple and not particularly new, but I would have cut the “political” side and the excessive banter a little bit. I loved the side characters and especially the relationship among the brothers. The book is undoubtedly well written, the characters very vivid and rounded and the reading is thoroughly enjoyable.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Marriage of convenience books with a duke and a bluestocking? Literally one of my favorite tropes, sign me right up.

Eva Devon delivered on this book. Not that I had any doubts, but this book gave exactly what I was expecting and needed. Sure it felt predictable, but after reading hundreds of romance books, that's what I'm going for. It fit perfectly into the series; the characters had their own flairs that shown through to make to this unique of a book.

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I liked the previous one better. The beginning and ending were great but things got stuck in the middle.

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Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I found it to be not bad but also not great. The writing was well-enough, but it didn't compel me to like the FMC, Beatrice. I found that her personality was a bit grating. She was just a bit too flat.Beyond the women's rights activism, I didn't get much more from her. Her relationship with the duke was too insta-lovey for me. I did however really really enjoy the relationship between Will & his brothers! That's was really lovely!

It was a pretty easy read and potentially an okay intro into regency romance.

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Much Ado About Dukes is the story of Beatrice and William. The pair of them come across each other when Beatrice's cousin and William's brother fall in love. Being a duke, William is used to his status enabling him to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants and Beatrice is keen to make him aware how different life can be for women purely for the fact that they are women. This was an enjoyable read with engaging characters. There was good chemistry between them and I liked the relationships they individually shared with their immediate relatives.

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Much Ado About Nothing holds a special place in my heart so to see this be so bland was sad for me.
I need to stop reading what I don't like and historical romance is at the top of that list. The characters were just so boring and it had none of the humor or wit from the original work. If you are going to rewrite Shakespeare do it with any type of skill, okay?

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