Print Length: 368 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (March 28, 2023)
From Goodreads.com: Fredericka Hale needs a husband, and fast. She’s been caring for her deceased sister’s three young children, and now a childless cousin has petitioned the court for custody. Fredericka is powerless to stop her, but having a husband might sway the ruling. The last thing Fredericka wants is a hurried-up marriage to a man she doesn’t know—much less love, but she’ll do it for the children. So when the handsome Duke of Wyatthaven shows up with a proposal, she accepts. He'll help her, and in return, they’ll lead separate lives. But distance cannot keep them from their powerful attraction.
At the top of his game in London, the Duke of Wyatthaven has no interest in marriage. However, if Wyatt doesn’t marry by week’s end, he’ll lose a sizable inheritance from his grandmother. When Wyatt’s solicitor finds Miss Fredericka Hale, Wyatt considers this little hiccup solved. Miss Hale is lovely, and intelligent. Most importantly, she prefers country life to London, so he’s free to continue his life as usual. But when circumstances force Fredericka and the children to show up at the duke’s door, Wyatt can’t deny he’s always been under her spell. Will the duke give up his bachelor lifestyle and give into the fiery passion growing between them?
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My Rating: 1 star out of 5
This isn't the first time I have read this author, but sadly, this also isn't the first time where I have felt that the premise didn't live up to the book.
These characters on their own were strong and fun, but together? Good gracious, is it so unreasonable to think they might actually speak to one another on something that might be important? Instead of reading about two characters growing together, I got a story about two characters constantly being at odds with one another.
Wyatt gives a birthday / coming-out ball for a friend's sister. Frederika shows up unexpectedly and gets mad instead of letting him explain (even though he was well within the boundaries they had set for their marriage). She doesn't even seem to care that he was, above all else, worried about the dangers of her traveling alone at night with her three small wards. It's all about her and her hurt feelings.
The children were adorably written. However, they were another point of contention between the pair. Wyatt felt Frederick was too strict with them (which I understand, considering at one point he compared them to wooden soldiers, and she wouldn't even allow them to play outside when Wyatt was asleep for fear of disturbing him); however, he was entirely too lenient with them at times I felt undermining Frederick's authority over them which of course led to disastrous results. It also made no sense why he so desperately wanted Fredericka to forgive the villain of the story when she was an absolutely horrid woman who did nothing to earn forgiveness.
Another thing that didn't make sense was why Fredericka would have encouraged her sister to travel to London with her husband in the first place, knowing full well that theirs was not a happy marriage and he was sometimes "harsh" with her. The fact that, at one point, the children were in fear that Wyatt was going to strike Fredericka tells me all I need to know about how "harsh" her brother-in-law had been, so again, why did she push so hard for her sister to travel alone with him?
Now I have come to learn two things after reading Yours Truly, The Duke. One this book will be enjoyed by a lot of people who are not me. Two, this author just isn't for me.
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
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Yours Truly, The Duke is available on Amazon.com
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