I love the blending of one of my favorite romcoms and the regency era. This book was a fun step into a sweet family. I hope more come from this world. Will recommend.

Found this a very easy and enjoyable first read of the year.. “While you were sleeping” meets “Bridgerton” and I loved every second.

This was so good! I really love historical romance and do not read enough of them like I should. I thought the characters were great, the writing was great and I loved the plot of the story.

I’ve really enjoyed each of the other Samara Parish books I’ve read so far. I was especially interested to try this one given that it was supposed to be a Historical Romance reimagining of While You Were Sleeping.

While it was a great idea and I adored the premise, it wasn’t a great fit for me. Unfortunately in trying to stay true to the plot of the original movie (which was contemporary) it did feel authentic or plausible in a historical setting. I found myself continually distracted by thoughts of the unlikelihood or ill fit scenarios 🤷🏼‍♀️

Others may not find that distracting or be less bothered with era appropriate circumstances. The writing and characters were still intriguing and I know I’ll still be eager to try more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely offered.

This was an excellent book!! I enjoyed the character development as well as how the plot was developed throughout the story. The author was able to to do a good job with all aspects of the story. I would recommend to others.

S A M A R A P A R I S H. No one is doing it like Samara Parish! I am obsessed with these books, and they are a one-click author for me. While the Duke was Sleeping was no exception! Run, don't walk to pick this up!!

This is my first book by this author, and apparently there is a movie, While He Was Sleeping that I haven't seen. There were some laugh out loud scenes that I really enjoyed.
The book starts with a run away bride, an obnoxious Duke's daughter, Cordelia and her look a like ladies maid Adelaide. For a reason I couldn't really fathom they switch dresses and we next find Adelaide in a huge wedding dress at the docks trying to book passage on a ship to France. She literally collides with a man and they fall into the Thames.
He is Everett (Rhett) Montgomery the infamous brother of a Duke. He is smitten by this beautiful, foul mouthed woman, who has simple underwear under this huge gown.
When next we meet the woman again they are in Berwick in a cottage hiding from Cordelia's father. The mayhem begins here, when another Duke (yes they seem to be just strewn about, this makes 3) has recognized Cordelia, summarily announces they shall marry, and she pushes him, he falls over a cat, hits his head, and is in a coma.
Cordelia bribes Adelaide to pretend to be her, and off she goes to be by his side.
The Duke has a large, noisy family of 4 sisters (who I presume will feature in future books) and a brother, who you guessed it, is Rhett.
Will the Duke wake up?? Will Rhett figure out who Adelaide really is. Will Cordelia fess up??
Read the book to find out. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the EARC.
The opinions are mine alone.

I have to start by saying that 'While You Were Sleeping' is one of my favorite movies of all time so I had high expectations for this book. I thought the author did a good job of keeping the basic elements of the movie and transplanting the plot back in time. And she won huge bonus points from me for including the "leaning" joke from the movie! The twist of adding an extra mistaken identity to the story also added an extra opportunity for misunderstandings. I enjoyed following Della's story as she went from seeking a life of solitude to being accepted into a family. It was really sweet how well she fit in as part of a unit. Another big difference here is that Rhett is a little bit of a lost soul. He has spent much of his life living down to people's opinion of him rather than trying to be more than is expected. This then helps to explain why he would be so quick to leave when he thinks he has lost his chance with Della. I am glad he found a more productive direction for his life by the end. I don't completely understand why Peter was willing to marry Della once the truth came out - if she hadn't been pretending to be a titled lady it would have made more sense. The parts with Della and Rhett trying to wake up Peter were pretty humorous and I wish we, as readers, could be there when they tell him all about it. I'm glad that this book wasn't just a retelling of the movie and took some creative license to take it in different directions.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc.

The start of a new series we meet Adelaide and Rhett, a lady's maid and the younger brother to a duke. Della helps her mistress rum away from the alter and hide away. She meets Rhett on the docks trying to get them to the continent. Sparks fly despite the circumstances. Then a tragic accident brings them together again but under a set of lies.

This was well paced and enjoyable. I liked the chemistry between Della and Rhett. I look forward to continuing this series and seeing who we get to follow next.

4 🌟
1 🌶

If you’re a fan of regency romance with a touch of modern sensibility and a reverence for 90s rom-coms, *While the Duke Was Sleeping* by Samara Parish is a delightful escape. This book reimagines the beloved Sandra Bullock movie *While You Were Sleeping* in a historical setting, mixing together mistaken identity, comedic misunderstandings, and undeniable chemistry between its leads.

Plot: Adelaide Rosebourne, a clever and resourceful lady’s maid, finds herself asked to impersonate her runaway-bride mistress, Cordelia, for a few days. Her task seems straightforward: pose as the fiancée of an unconscious duke until the two women can sort out their plans and futures. But things take a turn when Adelaide grows closer to duke’s rakish younger brother, Rhett Montgomery, and his suspicions about her grow. The chaotic siblings and tenants of the duke's estate complicate matters and add comedy as well as heart to the story.

While it may not be the most historically accurate novel, this book is perfect for curling up with on a rainy afternoon.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

A historical fiction While You Were Sleeping retelling?? Where? Where is it? Sign me right up.

WYWS is one of my favorite movies, and it’s a movie we watch every year on Christmas. Seeing the title of this book and reading the synopsis, I was super excited to read this and I wanted to love it.

However, insta-insta-INSTA - it’s all insta *-and-* I prefer historical accuracy, if a book doesn’t have it, I can usually deal, but this one was so over the top in its inaccuracy (car keys in 1893!!!!, the MFC’s inner voice and manner of speaking) that I had to rip my suspension of disbelief hat off because I just couldn’t.

Unfortunately I wasn’t the reader for this.



Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the DRC

Adelaide is so fabulous, truly a wonderful character, although I got a bit frustrated at times with how often she just went along with Cordelia's terrible ideas. I liked Rhett but getting him to grow up was a bit of a chore. Still, it was a lot of fun to watch these two clash, as well as the lengths Adeliade went through to wake up the sleeping duke lol.

It was a good book and really enjoyed it all and rooted for this couple to make it. Love it all. read it today you will not be disappointed.

When Lady Cordelia runs from her wedding, she relies on Adelaide, her maid, to help her. Pretending to be Cordelia, Adelaide meets Rhett a rake who has come home for the holidays to the family seat. Accepted into the family as a fiance of the duke, Adelaide finds his younger brother Rhett much more appealing. What will happen when everyone realizes she is not a lady but only a lady's maid? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Forever for my honest review.

DNF after two attempts. This is a messy insta-everything story where the heroine's inner monologue reads more like a 21st century woman than that in an HR, both MCs have insta-lust, and there was no time for the character, relationship or plot development.

I'm really sad this didn't work for me as I've read from Parish before and really enjoyed the story, but this was not it at all..

Rhett and Della are from two different worlds. But after their run in they can’t seem to stay away from each other. I loved the story line and all the characters. The love between the family was wonderful.

90s Rom Com meets Bridgerton was a perfect description of this book. I loved that I recognized parts of the plot from the 90s movie but there were some other themes and twists written in. I was hooked until the end not knowing if there was going to be a happy ending. (Spoiler: there is)

Adelaide is asked to impersonate her mistress for a few days while her mistress's fiance is in a coma. She is supposed to convince him to retract the proposal and get a reward. But the duke's brother arrives and complicates matter....

Love the swoony romance. Rhett is terrific while Adelaide is sassy. Enjoy the banter very much. Great chemistry.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Rhett can't believe he has to head home with his tail between his legs to beg forgiveness from his brother. The Duke is calling him to the carpet for Rhett's behavior on the continent. Adelaide can't wait for her mistress to get married so she can save up enough money to head out and find a place she can call her own. But when fate can't wait, it leads these two to the docks and to each other. Then to the countryside and a mixed-up mess that includes mistaken identity, a peer in a coma, and perhaps found family?

This was a fun read with a lovely homage to While You Were Sleeping! There were plenty of similarities to the movie that were wonderful - the Duke's family absolutely gave the same vibe as the family in WYWS, talking over each other in the most loving way. I absolutely loved those interactions! The "sleeping Duke" and the antics that occurred in the attempts to wake him were also quite funny. Regarding the story as a whole, I really enjoyed Rhett's character arc, more so than Della's. I did find the language and some of the anachronisms pulled me out of the story on occasion.

Spice level (scale of 1-5): 3.5-4 (sex scene, erotic scenes)

Stars: 3

My thanks to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

One spoilt dukes daughter, one duke in romance, one ladys maid and a brother make the main cast of this book.

Della and Rhett meet at the dock and there interest, plenty of it on both sides. Except fate throws some hurdles in their path and now Della is pretending to be dukes daughter Cordelia who is engaged to Rhett brother Peter (a duke). Peter is in coma and all Della wants a stable life, a home, a family. So she pretends to ve engaged. Except her heart is solely yearning for Rhett (who is wandering through life with no goals). There definitely is a dramatic hea in the end.

Fairly well written, but not as entertaining as I thought it would be.