Yours Truly, The Duke is a solid historical romance about a marriage of convenience that is minimal in steamy scenes. There aren’t really any plot holes, so the things that I struggled with was Fredericka (in general) and the way she and Wyatt solve the custody issue of her nieces and nephew with her cousin Jane. I like the fact that Fredericka cares about the children, and isn’t afraid to stand up for them or herself, but that is pretty much where my appeal for the female protagonist of this book ends. She regularly presumes the worst of Wyatt, despite agreeing to marry him. After agreeing to live apart, she shows up in London so they can have more of an appearance of a “real” marriage and then gets mad at Wyatt when he isn’t at her beck and call. She makes him feel like everything bad that happens is his fault, and unlike her a majority of the time he is able to see how he could have handled things better, despite the fact that he’s the “rake” in the story. She’s overly strict with the children and pitches a fit any time Wyatt does something with them that doesn’t meet with her approval (which usually means letting them act like the children they actually are), and at many points in the book, her reasons for wanting the children seem to be just as much about proving to her dead sister that she has value as it is about actually loving the children. That is not a good reason to want children around. Despite there not really being plot holes, the secondary story about Wyatt hating poetry and Fredericka loving it felt forced and not a natural fit. The backstory about why Wyatt is more lenient with the children could have been better done instead of using that. The same for his involvement in gambling and sporting events. There isn’t really anything in this story that makes it really bad, but it isn’t great either. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There's a great premise here and the main characters are so incredibly appealing. Fredericka is trying to raise her dead sister's three children and needs a husband to fend off a custody petition from her cousin Jane. The Duke of Wyatthaven (called Wyatt, we never learn his real name), needs a wife to satisfy a codicil in his grandmother's will, which will allow him to retain his inheritance. They come together in a marriage of convenience and the expected relationship grows as they attempt to raise the children and fend off the cousin.

There are some issues here.
1. Politics are a major part of the plot, but the author shies away from assigning parties to the characters. Wyatt and his friends are obviously Whigs and the cousin is obviously a Tory. The dancing around this is distracting when anyone who reads historical fiction set in England knows the major parties and how they operated. The hesitance feels like a modern attempt not to offend, but it's distracting.

2. The removal of the children was a thoroughly modern scene that was out of left field. It would have made more sense for Jane to steal the children than for a troupe of constables to show up at a Duke's home. The year isn't specified, but we are at some point after the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). A formal police force like the one described didn't exist until the 1830s and wouldn't have taken children from a Duke's home. I honestly thought we'd be getting a scene with the hearing where Wyatt would disclose his secret funding of the hospital to thwart the proceedings.

3. Jane's redemption arc...or non-redemption arc. Jane is a thoroughly rotten character and Wyatt bringing her into his home for reconciliation baffles after the horror she put Fredericka through. It's out of character for Wyatt. Even during her final scene, Jane is terrible to Fredericka. The agreement made between the three boggles the mind in light of what this woman did. This does not contribute to a happily ever after.

4.The poetry. There was such an opportunity for Fredericka's love of poetry and Wyatt's aversion to it to be a more elegant vehicle throughout the story. The use of poetry was clunky. A little more editing and it could have been a lovely aspect of this story.

5. The romance. I'm fine with closed door, fade to black, even no details at all. I'm also fine with full details in a bedroom scene. What is a little odd is when you have omniscient narration for the entire book, but the bedroom scene has allusions and gaps. Fade to black would have been less jarring than what we got here.

I loved the premise. I loved Fredericka and Wyatt (especially Wyatt) interacting with the children. I loved the marriage of convenience evolving into something more.

I have been provided with a copy of Yours Truly, The Duke from the publisher via NetGalley for an impartial review. This is the first book in the brand-new Say I Do Trilogy series and this was just a great way to start off a new series. This was such a cute story. I was drawn into these new characters' lives and I felt so much for these characters and everything that they had been through. It was just so easy to get lost in this interesting story. The only drawback I had was at the beginning of each chapter there was some poetry that I thought was unnecessary and didn’t help the story move forward at all. Other than that I really enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

Yours Truly, The Duke is book 1 in the Say I Do trilogy by Amelia Grey.
This is an excellent story, extremely well written and very entertaining.
Yours Truly, The Duke is one historical romance set I'm looking forward to continuing.
It is definitely a story worth reading and one I would highly recommend.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Publishing Company. This book has romance, mystery and drama. This book is a great read for anyone who likes history and romance. You will meet some fun characters. Wyatt is a Duke that has done things his way for many years but plans have to change. Can he rolls with those changes. Frederica has had things happen in life that don't make it easy for her to trust. But can she open herself to what she needs to her and what she needs in life. Life can sometimes throw us a curveball but what defines success is what we do about it. This book is for mature reader and can be ready anywhere.

Ms. Grey pens an excellent tale of a pair of injured souls, that overcome their insecurities and find salvation with each other. Both carry regrets for things beyond their control and both need to forgive themselves for those things. Add three adorable children and what appears at first to be a villain for an intriguing tale. I found it enjoyable and recommend to Historical Romance lovers.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC and offer my opinion gratis.

Thank you to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

For most of this book it was a solid romance and I was really enjoying it. You can't go wrong with marriage of convenience and adorable kids. I loved how the relationship between the Duke and Fredericka was developing. The pacing of the story was great and the way the relationship between the duke and the nephew and neices was growing was a delight to read. However, the third act resolution really ruined it. It just soured the whole book and left you wondering was there no better way to solve the problem?

I enjoyed reading this story mostly because of how the Duke is portrayed, he's very patient, compassionate, determined and bold enough to withstand the indignation of Fredericka. Though she's frustrating at times, she's also very considerate and totally dedicated to the care of her sister's children with the threat of losing them constantly forefront. Both being strong-willed, independent and quite frank, the sparks fly providing an even more entertaining and emotionally engaging thrill to the imminent custody battle.