i am a changed person. i genuinely think this might be the best historical romance i’ve ever read, and it’s certainly secured its place on my favorites shelf. if you never listen to me again, listen now: pick this book up as soon as it hits shelves in april of next year!

the way this book consumed me was on another level. i started it in the midst of a two-week european vacation, and for context, the book i was reading before this one took me 11 days to finish (due to the aforementioned vacation). i devoured this one in less than 48 hours. as soon as i picked it up, celine and kate crackled with tension on every page, brought to life so vividly that i felt like i knew them myself. i adored the world it was set in, too — female lords with a longstanding history of inheritance down a line of noblewomen? yes, PLEASE! they were fascinating to read about, and i especially loved lord seaton. i’m blowing her a kiss as we speak.

overall, there was a perfect balance between plot, romance, and character development — i was never bored, never unsatisfied, and in fact was moved to tears on multiple occasions by their stories. the writing was absolutely exquisite as well, and i already look forward to rereading this book. i desperately hope there will be another story centering on royce, too!

This was a fascinating concept for an alternate history book, it uses the English element and what I enjoyed about this type of book. It worked as a erotic novel and was engaged from start to finish and enjoyed getting to know the characters in this world. Anna Cowan has a strong writing style and thought it worked in this genre. I enjoyed getting to know both Kate and Celine and hope to read more from Anna Cowan.

I think this is my new favorite sapphic romance. I knew pretty early on that this was going to be a win for me. It just was fantastic. It very much felt like a classic historical romance with the cold, morally questionable duke who insists they will never marry, except make it sapphic, and it was so hot! I definitely will revisit this in the future, and also I really hope that we get a book about The Rake.

"The Duke" is absolutely delightful! An interesting take on if women could inherit and have titles in regency England. The feminism is perfect and I loved seeing them outsmart the men. I adored Celine, and I love how everyone who was determined to dislike her instantly fell for her. The writing is beautiful and the sapphic yearning is perfection.

Readers looking for more queer representation in their historical fiction will fall for Anna Cowan's The Duke-a sapphic regency romance perfect for fans of Bridgerton looking for a bit more grit in their love stories.

There’s something utterly magnetic about a story that flips the power dynamics we expect—and then makes us feel every beat of it. The Duke is a sapphic regency romance full of fire and feeling, with a deliciously sharp edge.

Kate, Duke of Howard, is a force of nature—icy, guarded, and entirely captivating. But what makes her so compelling isn’t just her power; it’s the vulnerability simmering underneath. Enter Celine Genet, the courtesan with nothing left to lose and everything to gain, whose presence shakes Kate’s world to its foundation.

Their chemistry? Off the charts. But what really got me was the tension between who they’ve become and who they used to be. This isn’t a romance of easy forgiveness. It’s about trust, power, betrayal, and what it means to let someone truly see you.

Cowan’s alternate-history regency feels lush and dangerous, a perfect backdrop for these two women to circle each other in love and war. The plot moves quickly, the emotions run deep, and the ending left me full of hope (and a little ruined, in the best way).

If you want something bold, swoony, and a little ruthless—The Duke absolutely delivers.

Rating: ★★★☆☆