I enjoyed this book in the Isle of Synne series. Overall, the writing is good, and the plot is a departure from the usual. What I found distracting is the re-introduction of characters from previous stories, which is confusing if you haven't read those or are reading them out of order. Also, the end of this story hints at a lesbian love affair for a future tale, which is not my cup of tea. For that reason, I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5.

The Duke’s All That has
*Second chance romance
*Close proximity
*Road trip
*One bed
All the hallmarks of a great Regency read.

I could not put this book down. I was so invested in this couple and needed to know what occurred to separate them, what happened to them individually while separated, and how they are going to get back together.
From the other books in this series I always knew there had to be an interesting reason why Seraphina walked around with a parrot on her shoulder, but who knew it would be so heartbreaking. With The Duke’s All That, Christina Britton has a great Regency romance with wonderfully nightmarish gothic elements like an extraordinary evil villain.
Really enjoyed this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was extremely fortunate to receive an ARC of The Duke's All That written by the amazing Christina Britton via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This author touches me to the soull wighher stories...this one especially was very emotionally moving. Lady Seraphina Trew, now Miss Seraphina Athwart has been hiding herself and her sisters from her evil cruel father and his henchmen. After thirteen years of being incognito, she runs into Iain MacInnes, now the Duke of Balgair. Iian and Seraphina had been married and he now wants a divorce from his selfish wife so that he can move on in his life. But nothing is as what it seems and their journey to divorce becomes more difficult with each passing moment. This beautiful tragic romantic story had me hooked from the beginning...wanting to know what had happened in the past and what would happen in the future.  Ms. Britton's best story yet.

Iain MacInnes, the new Duke of Balgair, receives startling news about his late wife: that she is not dead but currently living on the Isle of Synne. He wants a divorce; however, he first needs to bring Seraphia before the Court of Sessions to gain one. Iain tries to keep his heart closed to her, but the trip to Scotland brings eye-opening revelations. Can Iain convince Seraphina to stay married to him? Or will he lose her all over again?
Miss Seraphina Athwart co-owns a circulating library on the Isle of Synne. She will do anything to keep her tragic past secret from her sisters and friends, even accompany her estranged husband to Scotland. However, they both discover the vicious lies that tore them apart thirteen years ago. Will Seraphina accept their second chance? Or will she allow her inner demons to keep them apart for good?
Iain is a man ruled by anger. He channeled that emotion to help him better improve his station in life. I like despite his need for revenge, Iain never once mistreated Seraphina during their trip. He did keep an emotional barrier between them to protect himself, which is relatable. I also like how, once the truth was revealed, Ian did not keep his anger towards Seraphina. He did war between whether to continue with the divorce or attempt to win her back.
Seraphina had endured so much horror and suffering. She, like Iain, is a victim of a lie. I admire the many sacrifices Seraphina made to protect and to ensure her sisters’ futures. They even managed to make a new life for themselves on Synne without any man’s assistance. There were times when I wanted to throttle Seraphina. I understand her altruistic reason for continuing with the divorce. Respect it even. I just wished the truth about her past would come out sooner so they could work it out.
THE DUKE’S ALL THAT is the third book in Christina Britton’s historical romance series, SYNNEFUL SPINSTERS. The story can easily stand by itself. There is no on-going plot spilling over from the previous ones. Bronwyn and Ash and Katrina and Sebastian, the couples from the other books, make appearances. I wonder if this is the last of the series, especially after the revealing development with the two remaining oddments.
I wanted to love this book like I did the previous two. I just had trouble getting invested in the characters and the storyline. It just fell flat with me. I honestly expected Seraphina’s father to play a more villainous role in the story. I think that would have helped me engage with the characters’ plight a bit more. I thoroughly enjoyed Phineas, the parrot, and his penchant for inappropriate phrases. He livened up the story.

This was a fabulous book!! I loved every second of reading it. I would highly recommend this book to a fellow romance book reader.

A beautiful second chance romance that I literally could not put down. Seraphina is a badass heroine who has survived horrors that no one should have to, and after working through the requisite Big Misunderstanding and her past traumas she and Iain find their way back to each other and find happiness. Iain is the sweetest and is so patient and kind and so in love with her. No one has ever been as deserving as a happy ending, and it was such an emotional and heartwarming story.

The heroine’s past is very dark, so content/trigger warnings: PTSD, abusive parent, physical and mental abuse (off page), asylum (off page), forced by circumstance into prostitution (off page)

A big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Seraphina is the daughter of an Earl .While on holiday at their summer estate in Scotland, she falls in love with a stable hand. Iain is the son of a wastrel third son of a Scottish Duke. They get married but Seraphina decides to visit her sisters one more time. Her father locks her away in an insane asylum and tells her he bought Iain off. When Iain comes looking for her, the father tells him she went for a tour of Europe. Thirteen years later, Iain finds himself the Duke by default (all the other relatives died). Assuming the mantle, he knows he needs to get married to continue the line. The only problem is his marriage to Seraphina. Their story is full of trials and tribulations but they do finally get their HEA. A good read.

Second chance for star crossed lovers
Ms. Britton's romantic historical gives us a Lady and a Scotsman, he labors for her father. Events conspire against them as evil lurks in her life. Their stations switch but neither is aware of what really happened to the other. Well written with intrigue and second chances. Great characters. I recommend it especially if you like a little steam.
I requested and received a NetGalley arc gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

I enjoyed this one a lot, but I wanted more from the ending. I wanted to shake Seraphina several times - the fact that she kept everything from the hero until the very end wasn’t my favorite. Regardless this was a delightful read!

I love a second-chance romance, especially when both parties have been led to believe the other had left them. It's very An Affair to Remember, one of my favorite old movies.

Thirteen years prior to the start of this story, Seraphina fell in love with Iain, a stable hand at her cruel father's summer home. Seraphina and Iain eloped, but were intercepted afterwards by her father, an Earl obsessed with status, exploited their insecurities to tell each that the other had left them behind. He sent Seraphina to an asylum for a year and she fled with her younger sisters soon after she returned home. She used prostitution to make money to keep them safe early on and the sisters eventually took over a book shop on the Isle of Synne, the setting for this series. Of course, Iain, newly raised to the rank of Duke, tracks Seraphina down and the class mismatch flips.

Much of this story is told as Seraphina and Iain are traveling to Scotland to legally divorce. It says something about the character development that days are spent in a carriage or in rented rooms. It's a wonderful trip and you can't help but feel for Seraphina who believes she has fallen too low for Iain in light of what she did when she left her father's home.

I was going to give this four stars because there are a couple wobbles in the historical setting, but the delightful parrot gets his own star, taking this up to five.

The Duke’s All That by Christina Britton is an entertaining historical romance that is the third book in the Synneful Spinsters series.

I have enjoyed Ms. Britton’s previous series (Isle of Synne) amd have read the first book in this series, so of course I needed to catch up (and will be reading the second book out of order now but better late than never).

I liked this second chance, working out the past confusions, historical romance. It was spicy, romantic, sassy, and heartwarming. The author balanced the spicy and sweet themes along with the witty and heavier moments quite nicely. Iain and Seraphina are great main characters and kept me turning page after page to see how it all would end.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/6/24.

This second chance historical romance has all the features we’ve come to love. A scorned Duke of a husband, a betrayed and fearful wife hiding out on a secluded isle. And of course an Inn with only one room. Guess what happens there! We have some nice stormy and steamy reunion going on, that’s what.

Both Seraphina and Iain act like authentic people- speaking plainly about the conflict to ‘get it over quickly’ and honestly. Not to say they don’t harbor the secret of their desire for one another as they work out the fact that they’ve both been duped- for thirteen years - by Seraphina’s father. The suspense and main conflict is not that they can’t work out that they’ve been duped. That comes out pretty quickly and makes them more genuine, convincing, and engaging. Instead their desire for one another as they get reacquainted and their resistance to that desire carries the plot forward. And oh boy is that desire luscious.

This is part of a wonderfully engaging series about strong independent women on the Isle of Synne (!). However, this book can easily be read as a standalone. Though you may decide to go back to the beginning books since this is so good.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5 stars!

I really enjoyed this historical romance! I liked seeing the characters from the other two books again (especially Lady Tesh). Seraphina was one of my favourites in the two previous books, so I was very excited to get into her story! This book did have some heavier themes that were touched on, but the author wrote them well. I really enjoyed the banter and the chemistry between Seraphina and Iain. The book did feel a bit slow around the 50-60% mark, but it picked up again pretty quickly. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book (the whole trilogy, really) to historical romance lovers! :)

I love Christina Britton’s writing style - it feels fresh, when a lot of regency romance begins to feel tired . The Dukes All That is a standalone continuation of Britton’s previous Isle of Synne books, and while it’s not necessary to have read them prior to this book, I do think it adds to the enjoyment! This book is a quick, cozy read best enjoy comfy on the couch and with a warm drink.

Seraphina and Iain were together when they were young, before being driven apart. This story includes them finding each other and themselves again. If you’re like me and avoid reconnection stories because the flashbacks and timeline changes are tiring, this book contains none.

I wanted to love this book. The description screamed angst. I wanted it. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this book just didn’t hit right for me.

Two lovers both thinking the worst of each other are separated for years. They have to be reacquainted to get a divorce….you can imagine where this goes.

I just wasn’t invested in this couple. I think more of a backstory and reading them falling in love would’ve helped me care more.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

"The duke’s all that" by Christina Britton it's a heart-wrenching yet beautifully written historical romance that kept me captivated from start to finish.
I’m always on the lookout for a second chance romance trope and this story delivered it with all the emotional depth I craved.
I was immediately drawn into this world where Iain and Seraphina have suffered due to a heartbreaking betrayal. Their love, once lost, now simmers with a passion that's impossible to ignore. I admired the strength of these characters, and Seraphina's determination to protect her sisters was truly commendable.
What struck me most about this novel was the respect and selflessness displayed by Iain's willingness to support Seraphina's decision to divorce despite his enduring love for her. It was both touching and refreshing. The resolution of her relationship with her father added an extra layer of closure and satisfaction to the story.
In "The duke’s all that” love is rekindled amidst pain and betrayal over the years and the journey back to each other is beautifully crafted. I highly recommend this book to any historical romance enthusiast. It's a must-read that will leave you rooting for love's second chance.

I am so happy I was invited to read this book early. I had been waiting for it since the beautiful cover was revealed and then even more so when the blurb came out. I've loved this series by Christina Britton and I was very excited to read Seraphina's story. Seraphina and Iain were young lovers who were separated by the classic lying parent and both thought the other betrayed them. Years later, Iain has inherited a dukedom and has come looking for Seraphina to demand a divorce from her. I think we all know how it will go from here.
I really loved Iain. He was so earnest and sweet and he fell hard for Seraphina; you definitely got the sense that he never stopped pining for her, even when he believed that she had betrayed him.
As for Seraphina...I don't really know how to feel about her. She definitely has a tragic backstory. She suffered a lot after she was separated from Iain but I just don't really think any of her trauma was accurately dealt with. If we were going to spend so little time on her overcoming her trauma, I wish she had had less of it. But Seraphina has a lot of terrible things happen to her (and is forced to do some traumatic things) and it's all just kind of brushed away when she starts telling her sisters and eventually Iain and they're all like "aw that's ok. We love you anyway". Which is great and all, but it's not really the healing I would like to see a heroine that's been through so much go through.
I don't really like heavy topics in my Historical Romances and this is a prime example of why. We simply don't have enough time to do it justice and unpack it all in a 384 page book that should also be focusing on these characters falling in love. I walked away feeling like Seraphina didn't really heal, which left me feeling very sad.
I still love Christina Britton's writing though. I love the sense of sisterhood we get from the oddments and I am still excited to read more from this series and this author; always.

What a roller coaster of emotions this story will envelope you with! Being back to the Isle of Synne with the Odd ladies is wonderful and this story does not disappoint. We finally get the story behind Seraphina’s life. Such a hard thing to read, but her resilience is so heartwarming. Seeing Iain go through so much as well and come out strong was gratifying. Seeing their story evolve was frustrating as they danced around each other for so long and seeing Seraphina stand up to the villain was well worth the wait. ( Would have loved to have seen Iain get to him as well) I loved how all the ladies came together to help Seraphina see the error of her ways. The ending was beautiful and I am not ashamed to admit tears may have been involved. A great addition to the series!

I received this ARC copy for free and these are my own opinions

Quick read, with realistic thought processes and motivations for the MCs. Plus a charming animal sidekick.
Lovely HEA.

Recommended.

I’m a marketing and publicity associate Forever, so I am reading this for work! Aaaaaaand there's a character limit on reviews here are some more words