
Member Reviews

Yours Truly, The Duke is a delightful romance novel that captivated me with its charming storyline. The slow-burning romance between the protagonists is further enhanced by the amusing antics of the children and the eccentric behavior of Wyatt's friends, who are afraid of marriage. This book is a must-read for fans of the marriage-of-convenience trope, as it will leave you feeling satisfied and content.

I normally really enjoy Amelia Grey, so I was excited to dive into an ARC of Yours Truly, The Duke, the start of a new trilogy from Ms. Grey. Unfortunately, this book was not (in my opinion) up to Ms. Grey's normal storytelling talents. The story here is of MMC Wyatt, the Duke of Wyatthaven, who has just learned he needs to marry in order to prevent his grandmother's estate from going to the *gasp* poets. FMC Fredericka Hale is his ideal solution - she needs a husband to help her retain custody of her three nieces and nephews, but she will remain in the country with the children, leaving him to go on as he always has. Or so he thinks. In reality, Fredericka and her children end up in London with Wyatt, where, as the couple gets to know each other, love begins.
I love a good marriage of convenience trope. But Wyatt's fixation of having a wife who he never has to see until he needs an heir, and his willingness to act on this almost to the end of the book, made him extremely unlikeable as a hero. Fredericka is nice enough as a heroine, but her parenting style was intense, and her inability to take feedback on that point - even if Wyatt didn't really do a bang up job of delivering - made her also unlikeable to me. The romance portion of the book is very slow to start and I never really got caught up in them being in love. As I said before, Wyatt's self-absorption lasts almost till the end of the book. making it a little hard to see him as being head over heels.
All of that said, I would give the next entry in the series a read, especially knowing that Ms. Grey is normally better than this particular book. 2 stars for this one, though. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

Wyatt doesn’t want to marry but must post haste to gain an inheritance. Fredericka wants to retain custody of her sister’s children and needs to find a husband.
I love marriage of convenience plots. Wyatt won me over even if he was a cad.
Fredericka was stern with the children but she adores them.
The scene with the kids acting up which causes a major kerfluffle I found hilarious.
The one person I didn’t like was Jane, even at the end.

This was my first full length novel by Ms. Grey with the exception of reading her short story that was included in Kissing Under the Mistletoe.
I’m sad to say this book was a total miss for me, which is sad because I had such high hopes for this story, and for finding another historical romance author to read.
I truly didn’t care for Fredericka or Wyatt at all. Marriage of convenience stories can be very good if they are done in the right way, where the reader is rooting for the fake relationship to turn real, sooner rather than later. But I found myself not caring if they ever took their relationship there, all I cared about was that the kids were stable and safe and in a good household. They really were the best part of the story.
Wyatt didn’t win any points with me from the beginning, and while I was rooting for Fredericka to get to keep the children, I didn’t care at all about her character or if she and Wyatt found love. Jane was just deplorable, and it astounded me that Wyatt was trying to get Fredericka to reconcile with her. No, just no.
I am going to find another book to read by Ms. Grey to see how I like it before I make any decisions on whether to continue or not, and I just don’t want to give up on her books just yet.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

*Thank you to St. Martin’s and NetGalley for the ARC.*
Yours Truly, The Duke is the first novel in a new trilogy by Amelia Grey. The historical romance tells the story of a marriage of convenience between Fredericka Hale and Wyatt, the Duke of Wyatthaven. While I often love a “marriage of convenience” plot, I ended up feeling like this one was just ok for me. Some of the characters seemed flat - Fredericka’s niece and nephew felt like plot devices, and Wyatt’s friends, who presumably will feature in the next books, did nothing to make me excited to read their stories.

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what this author releases in the future.

This story has really awesome characters. Wyatt and his two best friends are all Dukes. He is forever making blunders that are just delightful. Frederica is a fierce mama bear taking care of her two nieces and a nephew. An arranged marriage is not the way to begin a relationship but it leads to lots of fun encounters between the couple. The children are the glue that holds them together and they will offer you lots of opportunities to laugh. It is a delightful book and a fun way to start a trilogy.

Yours Truly, The Duke
1st Book in the Say I Do Series
Rating: 2 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.
Yours Truly, The Duke had one of my favorite tropes. Wyatt and Fredericka enter a marriage of convenience agreement. Their marriage will allow for Wyatt to claim his inheritance and Fredericka gains custody of her nephew and nieces.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
Sadly this story did not work for me. I found the romance very lackluster, because honestly these two argued through most of the story. I think the custody battle overtook the plot of the story. I wanted to see these two fall in love and finally come to some kind of agreement when it came to how he could help her out. It seemed that his antics seemed to bring more conflict and concern for her.
They were complete opposites in how they believed children should be brought up. What didn't help was that they never had a conversation where they listened to each other without jumping to conclusions. It eventually got a little tiresome.
I enjoyed the kids. I felt bad for them because they were stuck in the middle of these people.

2.5 stars, rounded up
Fredericka Hale has had custody of her sister’s three children for a year when out of the blue her cousin Jane decides that she would be a better guardian for them. Jane is married, well-off, and childless, which is sure to sway the courts, so Fredericka needs a husband fast! She has been looking and is practically blindsided by the Duke of Wyatthaven who shows up and practically demands that they marry. Fredericka is taken aback but knows marriage to a duke will go a long way with the courts and agrees to a marriage of convenience. She will stay in the country with the children and he will return to London and the life he has been living. It seems like the perfect arrangement, but Jane isn’t ready to give up and stirs the pot, leading Fredericka to hightail it to London with the children.
“Wyatt”, the Duke of Wyatthaven was perfectly happy living his wild, hedonist bachelor life with no plans to marry anytime soon. So it is a shock to learn that if he doesn’t marry within 7 days he will lose his inheritance from his grandmother and the prime London real estate would instead be given to the London Society of Poetry. He wouldn’t care except the society is led by Percvial Buslingthorpe, a man Wyatt detests because of the treatment he received from him when he was a student at Eton. He failed Wyatt and was cruel to the other boys in the class. So there is no way he will let that man get the property, instead, he will marry. And his solicitor has found the perfect woman, Fredericka Hale, she needs a husband and is happy to stay in the country – it is almost like they are meant to be! But his carefree bachelor days are numbered once his new bride arrives in London with her nephew and nieces in tow. Can this rakish Duke reform and find happiness and love with his inconvenient wife?
This was a well-written, nicely-paced story that sadly didn’t work for me. I found their constant bickering and miscommunications tedious, repetitive, and annoying. And despite the tease of passionate kisses, the one and only “love scene” was disappointing and vague. The love scene aside, I just didn’t feel the romance between them, especially when he tells her that he has a mistress – but hasn’t seen her since he met Fredericka, not “I cut ties with her” I just haven’t seen her – WTH? And as far as the custody battle, it was ludicrous to think that once she married that any court would give the children to her cousin - Wyatt is a DUKE – I can’t believe that his title wouldn’t put an end to Jane’s quest regardless of their living arrangments. This author has always been hit or miss for me and while this was a big miss, I am still looking forward to Rick and Hurst’s stories!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book a lot. The chemistry between the two main characters was fantastic!

They agreed to an arrangement to solve each other’s problem. Turns out, they got more than they bargained for. It is also a story of parenthood and the different ways of raising children, discipline vs fun, simply love. Both hero and heroine are likeable as well as admirable. A definite enjoyable read.
I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

I really struggled to finish this story. The writing came across as very clunky at times, and I didn’t find the build of the love story believable. There were several period inconsistencies that I won’t enumerate and I felt the author missed out on the opportunity to give a more realistic portrayal of a custody battle.

This was a pretty cute marriage of convenience historical romance! One of my favourite tropes is a marriage of convenience, so I knew that I would enjoy this book. I enjoyed the banter between the love interests, but they both did annoy me at times throughout the book. Overall, while I enjoyed this book, I probably wouldn't read it again.

Wyatt, Duke of Wyatthaven, has to marry to save the inheritance from his grandmother before it goes to a charity he despises.
The Duke of Stonerick, called Rick and Hurst the Duke of Hurstbourne, friends and fellow team mates of Brass Deck Club.
Jane Tomkin, her husband Nelson Tomkin. Cousin Jane wants the children of Angela, Charles seven, Bella nine, Elise five.
Fredericka Hale is raising her dead sister Angela's children. Working hard to raise them as her sister would have wanted them.
Marriage of convenience with a flair! Both Wyatt and Fredericka need to marry and quickly for different reasons. However, those reasons get complicated when words are taking with the wrong meaning or surroundings. How you say something or the tone is very much the heart of this story and the reasons they hide it from one another.
As Fredericka deals with her guilt and past treatment by her sister and cousin Jane, she believes that if the children follow good manners and discipline this will prevent them from doing the mistakes she preseves she did.
Wyatt as an only child followed his father's guidance thinking it was very wise. He witnessed injustices from his title in his youth which filled him with guilt. He now does things to help others anonymously.
As Jane works to take custody of the children, Fredericka does what she thinks is best for them. Wyatt and Fredericka butt heads on what the kids need which gives the conflict in the story but very much comic relief.
Come join in to see what antics the kids get into with and without Wyatt. Does Jane get them or does Fredericka? Does past guilt win or is it concurred? Will Wyatt and Fredericka get to know the other? Will they have an HEA? With great world building, characters, and easy writing flair this story comes alive

Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes so I was eager to read this ARC. I felt the beginning started off strong but the constant misunderstandings gradually got tiresome. I liked Wyatt and his innocent bumbling of relationships and child rearing, His interactions with the children were adorable. I thought Fredricka’s strict and overbearing parenting was OTT. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really invested in their relationship as their interactions as a couple were few. The author didn’t provide many one-on-one occasions for an emotional relationship to develop. And most of their conversations ended up in arguments and hurt feelings anyways.

I absolutely loved this book! Wyatt and Fredericka had a marriage of convenience that was working out well for the both of them. Until a crisis caused Fredericka to suddenly appear in London with the children in tow. Living under the same roof caused conflict but it also forced the couple to reevaluate their feelings for one another. Fredericka was extra strict with the children because she feared losing custody to her annoying cousin. Wyatt understood her worries and tried to help. The internal monologues of both characters were helpful and the conversations were well-written. Wyatt had two bachelor friends that really added to the story. I'm sure that they will both be getting married in future books.
I've never read anything by Amelia Grey before and I feel like my review is not doing the book justice. The story is low-steam but tastefully written and very swoon-worthy. The fears and desires of the characters seem very real. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Fredericka needs a husband to help her retain custody of her late sister's children. Wyatt needs a wife so he can inherit the property left to him by his grandmother. A marriage of convenience—leading separate lives—will serve them both. But conniving relatives aren't easily put off. Will their struggles to keep their family together lead to love?
This book is charming, with Fredericka's efforts to create the perfect image of family continually undermined by children behaving like children, and Wyatt enjoying a good time. Wyatt has a good heart, and Fredericka wants the children to be able to enjoy themselves. But the threat posed by her cousin creates a constant strain. The book is full of heart and shows how complicated family relationships can be.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I liked the basic set up for this book; arranged marriage, dukes, kids as secondary characters, and forced proximity. But there were too many pages of explanations, inner thoughts, background and not enough dialogue and action. For example, the butler introduced the dukes friends and about 3 pages later they walked in the room. I found myself skipping pages to get through this book.

Yours Truly, the Duke by Amelia Grey
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A marriage of convenience. Both Fredericka and Wyatt need to marry for their own reasons. Soon. However, they cannot deny there is chemistry from the first day they meet.
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What I liked:
-I don’t read much from the marriage of convenience trope, but after this book I wouldn’t mind reading more. This trope was a lot of fun to read.
-The back stories for our characters were well done and I was rooting for each of them.
-Fredericka’s storyline really had me stressed! I was so worried for her and her nieces and nephew!
-There were some conversations towards the end between our lovers that were excellent and really helped them with their individual arcs and their relationship arc that I especially enjoyed.
-I really liked the ending and that there will be books for the other two dukes. 👏🏼👏🏼
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a lot of fun to read, when I wasn’t worried, and I want to read the next two books when they are done!

Final Score - 5 Stars!
I adore marriage of convenience stories and this one now holds a special place in my heart. The slow burn build up to Wyatt and Fredricka's love story was SO worth the wait. These two needed to not only get to know each other but they needed to get of each others way and let things progress naturally. The children were the cherry on the top of this delicious confection, especially Bella. I laughed each time she referred to Wyatt as "Uncle Your Grace". OMGness, how adorable!
I am SO looking forward to see Wyatt's friends, Hurst & Rick, find their own happily ever afters.