Dnf at 25%. While this wasn't bad, unfortunately this was a case of wrong time and place. I have every intention of picking up this book at a later date! But for now, this isn't it.

I really enjoyed this book! I've read a lot of historical romance but this setup is new to me of the American heiress and rough boxer turned bodyguard. Also, a tragic backstory? Yes please! That's my jam.

2.5 ⭐️ I didn’t hate this but I also didn’t love it. At times I was really engrossed in the story. It felt fun and gave Bridgerton vibes. But something also felt off, almost like the story was rushed but at the same time we get so many details are very minuscule things. I did really like the FMC and her push against society and wanting something different and I enjoyed the MMC as well and it was a cute read, just something about the story was missing.

Thank you Berkley for my copy. I love Harper St. George's books so much! Her historical romances are always so sharp, witty, and filled with swoonworthy moments. Eliza and Simon had such good chemistry and I loved reading their love story.

I absolutely adore Harper St. George and her writing! When I saw Eliza and the Duke as an option on NetGalley, I immediately requested it! I've been waiting since I learned it was coming out. The page turning, slow burn romance keeps me turning the pages and melting with just enough spice. *sigh* Can't wait for Harper St. George's next one!

4 ⭐
Harper St. George delivers another captivating Gilded Age romance with Eliza and the Duke, the second book in The Doves of New York series. Eliza Dove, the responsible sister, is determined to secure her family’s fortune by marrying an English lord—love be damned. But a chance meeting with Simon Cavell, a Whitechapel bare-knuckle boxer known as “The Duke,” turns her careful plans upside down.

What follows is a beautifully written, high-stakes romance that blends high society glamour with the grit of Victorian London’s lower class. I loved how St. George contrasted Eliza’s poised determination with Simon’s gruff vulnerability. Their forbidden connection is full of yearning, and when passion finally sparks, it feels entirely earned. The historical details—both of elite drawing rooms and rougher boxing halls—were fascinating, and the nods to characters from earlier books were a treat for longtime readers (though newcomers can still jump right in).

Eliza is a heroine with both curiosity and common sense, balancing scandalous risks with a deep sense of loyalty to her loved ones. Simon, meanwhile, is a brooding hero who never loses his Whitechapel roots, even as he learns to navigate her world. Their dynamic is magnetic, and Harper raises the stakes in a way that makes this story hard to put down.

My only hang-ups: the written-out accents (a style choice I personally dislike) and a conflict resolution that felt a touch too easy. Still, Eliza and the Duke is a swoony, decadent, and slightly dangerous romance—perfect for fans of historical love stories that stray from the safety of the ballroom.

The second installment in Harper’s The Doves of New York series flies high with yearning.

We’ve met Eliza in the first installment of The Doves of New York. While you could read Eliza and the Duke as a stand alone, I think you get to see Eliza’s struggles better by seeing where she comes from and what drives her even more if you read the first book.

Eliza is the responsible daughter who wants to ensure her family is taken care of by agreeing to a loveless marriage that her biological father agrees to so she can get her inheritance. Eliza and her sisters were her father’s “other” family. She’ll do the right thing, because she has to, but she chafes at the restrictions placed on her and longs for a loving relationship like she sees from others.

Enter “The Duke.” During one of Eliza’s scandalous nights where she creeps out to her brother in law’s gentlemen’s club to try and experience life before she is trapped in expectations and etiquette. There, she stumbles into an injured man and she is smitten. Simon Cavell is no gentleman. Known as “The Duke” in the boxing ring, he is desperate to save money to rescue himself and his beloved niece from the slums and offer them a better life. He is instantly smitten with Eliza, but knows he can only look and never touch - she isn’t the type of woman he can ever be with.

Eliza, of course, is also falling for him, and when he is hired to guard her and her family, she uses everything she has to convince him to give her one night with him. She wants to discover true passion before marrying the man she’s betrothed to, who is currently sleeping his way across Europe as a fun summer adventure. She knows she will do the right thing for her family and beloved sisters, but just for once, she wants to be first for herself.

Simon and Eliza are so beautiful together on the page. Simon is gruff and tough. He’s a large, bare-knuckled boxer who shows no mercy in his daily life. Underneath his hostile exterior though, lies a sweet man yearning for love and kindness that he’s never known. And he yearns for that from Eliza. Eliza is a little reckless and brash, and kind of scares Simon with her forthright American ways. She isn’t a soft and sheltered lady, instead she is drawn to his strength and virility like a moth to the flame.

The two of them yearn so much in this forbidden love match and their struggles both internal and social make their time together, when it finally happens, so rewarding. Eliza and Simon have to overcome a lot in both of their lives, and Harper continually raises the stakes which makes it hard to put their story down.

If you love swoony and decadent romances, then you must curl up with Eliza and the Duke.

My review of this title appears in the August 2025 issue of the Historical Novels Review. Thank you for sharing this title with our editorial staff!

Why oh why aren't publishers just flocking to historical romance? They should be! (Hello The Gilded Age is a popular TV show!). Anyway Harper St George writes great books and this is another one. An American heiress and a boxer? He's trying to get out from under the thumb of a nasty employer. She's trying to escape an arranged marriage. Carriage shenanigans! 3.5

I didn’t super love this one. It felt like an overused trope with the young girl who just wants to live a little on the town and the man she forces to do it. I just didn’t love the characters and the premise was pretty blah for me.

STAAAHHHHPPP, I’m obsessed! There’s just something about a down-on-his-luck man, illegally ring fighting, that gets me every single time.

I’ve been a longtime fan of St. George’s historical romances, and this one absolutely lives up to the hype. From page one, I was hooked on Eliza. She’s such a relatable character, caught between making the “right” choice and chasing what she wants. I was rooting for her the entire way.

And "the Duke?" Mysterious, a little brooding, and completely compelling. Simon and his niece Daisy brought so much heart to the story, and I loved that Simon didn’t fit the traditional romantic mold of St. George’s past love interests.

Even though I went in knowing this was a romance and we'd get our happily ever after, the third-act conflict had me genuinely anxious. I truly couldn’t see how they were going to come out of it. It was messy in the best way, and when the resolution finally came... I'm counting down the days until the next one drops!

I always enjoy a Harper St. George historical romance! While it wasn’t my favorite of hers it was still a very sweet and swoony read and I can’t wait to read the next Dove story now.

Should she marry for money or love? That's the dilemma Eliza Dove finds herself in. An American heiress (if her father approves of the match), she's in England engaged to an English nobleman approved by her father. Her fiancee takes off for a few months leaving her with time on her hands. She unexpectedly meets Simon "The Duke" Cavell. Whitechapel prizefighter and manager of a gambling club. He's the former enforcer for a crime boss who won't let him escape his past. He's done terrible things including murder. He wants to leave the streets but the crime boss is holding what's most precious to him hostage. To keep her quiet, Simon takes Eliza out for a night of adventure before she settles to a life as a bored wife to a man she barely knows. Of course one night isn't enough. She takes a lot of risks meeting him again. Now, with Simon on the run for his life, Eliza needs to choose her future. After all a quarter of a million dollars is a lot of money! A class difference romance with a lot of spice and excitement. This is the second book in the Doves of New York series wherein three American sisters are required to wed English noblemen to receive their inheritance. It ends with an interesting set-up for sister Jenny's story.

I really enjoyed the last installment, but something about Eliza and the Duke just didn’t speak to me. The conflict stressed me out. Eliza’s behavior was risky at times and I didn’t feel the romance. I was happy with how it all worked out, though.

Love that gorgeous cover!

It seems that our leading female character has found herself in quiet a conundrum as they say. Her intentions may have been for good, but the ending comes out dreadful scandalous. For whom you say? Well not whom you are thinking of. Of yes my fellow readers. Simon and Eliza will have you laughing, then latter have your tongues wagging for more. More of Simons devastatingly handsome appeal. And his wet tongue appetite for the finer women. Eliza is no mouse that you would find hidden away in the closet. Her character is fantastic. She flips the story so well. I laughed and I had a fun time reading it. I give it two snaps and a twist. Until next time my fellow readers. Ready!

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical romance. I loved both the hero and the heroine and found their romance to be deeply satisfying. A bareknuckle boxer is one of my favorite types of heroes, and I really adored how complex his and Eliza's characters were.

Eliza and the Duke by Harper St. George was a fine read overall, though it didn't quite reach the emotional depth or tension I've come to expect from her previous works. Some plot points felt glossed over, either resolved too quickly or left hanging without clear answers. That said, I appreciate St. George's voice within the historical romance genre and the setup for the next book featuring Jenny and David was absolutely exquisite and has me eager to see where their story goes.

St. George brings us back to the world of the Doves, this time focusing on Eliza. Unfortunately, Eliza is set up in a marriage of convenience - but she longs for more before she is trapped in a loveless marriage. So when she meets the Duke, she is immediately drawn to the stranger. Simon Cavell is attracted to Eliza, but he knows there is no future there - he is focused on paying off his debts and getting his sister out of Whitechapel. However, the chemistry between the two of them is undeniable and Eliza is hard to resist.

Again, St. George has created a lovely romance laced with intrigue around the charming Dove family. A quick, enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this title!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy of Eliza and the Duke! I LOVE Harper St. George books, and I'm devastated this will be the last one Berkley publishes traditionally for her. They are letting go of a true gem!

This book is part of the a loose spin-off series from her Gilded Age Heiresses series, and is about a trio of sisters from NYC who go to London to find proper husbands to receive an inheritance. I love the premise, and I really enjoyed the first book in the series! This is the second book, and it was a little bit of a slow burn for me. I ended up really liking it by the end, but there are parts that feel a bit jumbled to me. I don't feel that the story is as clean as some of her other books, and I didn't really buy into the sort of love-at-first-sight story for the characters.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying the story and found myself hooked about halfway through. I enjoyed the story very much and getting all the cameos from the characters I've grown to love over these books! I feel like this book may suffer from the "middle book slump" for the series but I still think it was a good, fun read!

Rating: 4⭐️

I love historical romances, and this book is one of the main reasons why. The story has substance, but yet being historical romance is set in a different world in a way which also makes it entertaining. I love that. Eliza was so strong and pushed herself and did not let herself be changed For him. He was intriguing and you could see that he couldn’t help falling for Eliza, even though he knew it would disrupt his life. I really enjoyed this book from start to finish.