Here's what I thought of Snowfall and the Duke by Meara Platt:

I gave it 5/5 stars.

Snowfall and the Duke

I love Meara Platt's stories, which never fail to deliver a swoonful HEA! The hero is knowledgeable, gorgeous, strong, firm, and fair, and the heroine is sweet, pretty, and wholesome. Both are loveable and loyal. There was a twist which I was oblivious to. I look forward to Platt' stories and they always get me out of a reading slump, and I always have a new book boyfriend until her next book. The next one in the series is unusual, with the heroine Fiona being older and the hero Durham being younger, although there may be a twist, either way, as soon as it is available, I will buy it. I have already ordered the next book in the Farthingale series concerning Tulip, but it's not coming out until next year 😢, so hopefully, Fiona 's story comes out before then. I fully recommend this feel-good tale. This book was free via NetGalley, and my thoughts are wholly my own.

https://www.kobo.com/GB/en/ebook/snowfall-and-the-duke

The Betting Book and The Bargain Made This a Delightful Story.
Wow! I loved this lighthearted fun romance story. I thought it was terrific from the start and kept me glued to the pages that took me through lots of flirtatious silly banter that had me laughing out loud, lots of angst with an intruding loving family, plus the awful diamonds of the Ton, along with an unexpected Christmas gathering. What can go wrong?
The characters Jonas the duke and Ailis the sweet niece of the vicar was absolutely delightful.
The plot of the story was extremely well orchestrated around a bargain of kisses where each kiss grab at my heartstrings and made this story get better after each one.
The shocking ending came to fast and was so exciting with a huge twist at the end that of course did lead to a happy ending.

Jonas is a Duke, scarred from the war and reclusive in the countryside.
He has been hiding for the past six years from family and friends.
Ailis has been living with her uncle the Vicar since her parents died.
She visits Jonas to solicit donations for the poor and war veterans.
She ends up with a large donation, trading kisses for each installment.
Her fall from a horse in a snowstorm, her injuries, and his mother descending upon the Duke with a gaggle of women all lend to secrets, excitement, and hidden romance.
Really enjoyed the older ages of Ailis and Jonas.
Romance abounds with the emotional struggles of accepting yourself as you are even if a scarred silver Duke with the pressures of life.

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC!

This was totally middle-of-the-road "fine" - I'd probably give this a 3.25-3.5 (I'm still torn!). This was a sweet, low-angst "snowed in" story. While I did enjoy it overall, I think there's room for improvement.

I think this book could've leaned way more heavily into the Beauty & The Beast trope; as it is now, I'm not really buying it. Jonas has scars from the war (which make him beastly? I guess??) and lives isolated from town. That's where similarities end, because other than that he's very charming, women want him (well, they mainly want his money), and is apparently super hot.

I would have LOVED to read more about Ailis & Jonas's friendship prior to the events in the book. We're told that they've known each other for years, but we never get to see the friendship build between them, which I think makes the romance between them feel a bit flat. We're immediately thrown into the "ten kisses" scene on page 1, which I think would've been so much more satisfying if we saw some other interactions between the MCs first!

I'm also not totally convinced Jonas is in love by the end, but maybe I'm just being a negative Nancy. Not my favorite Meara Platt, but still okay overall!

If you love Beauty and the Beast you need to read this. I fell hard for Snowfall and the Duke. It felt like reading a fairytale.

Jonas, the Duke, is our beast. He's horribly scarred from the Napoleonic War and has become a grumpy recluse. Ailis is our beauty. These two are forced together when Ailis falls off her horse in front on his home and dislocates her shoulder. Jonas reluctantly helps her but not without getting something in return. Thus a kissing bargain is struck.

I thought the plot was great! I liked the bargain and the stakes it had. Plus she's injured and they're snowed in so they have to interact. I thought their relationship was well developed and perfectly paced. It was so beautiful to see Jonas realize he's worthy of love. There's a lot of emotional healing here that I think was well written and believable. The story does a great job of capturing the reader and keeping them wanting more.

The romance is swoon worthy and very much Beauty & the Beast. The chemistry simmers and the kisses are lovely. I really liked Ailis and Jonas a lot.

If you like historical romances inspired by fairytales, snowed-in and a scarred, grumpy duke, this is the book for you! Cannot recommend this one enough. Can be read as a standalone.

Hiding out on his country estate, Jonas thinks never to marry after the scars he received from the war. He enjoys verbally sparring with the vicar's spinster niece Ailis who is always hitting him up for money for the less fortunate. When his mother shows up with several ton "diamonds" to choose from to marry Jonas realizes that the true diamond is Ailis. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.