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Forever My Duke (Unlikely Duchesses Book 2) by [Olivia Drake]

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Olivia Drake

Forever My Duke (Unlikely Duchesses Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Olivia Drake (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Olivia Drake returns to her delightful new Regency romance series featuring rakish dukes and the governesses who steal their hearts

“I find Miss Fanshawe to be quite charming―for an American.”―The Prince Regent

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He’s even picked out the perfect one. That is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She’s the exact opposite of what a man in his position needs—or should want—in a wife: an utterly delightful, outspoken American who has never even set foot in a London ballroom.

But Natalie doesn’t have time to be swept off her feet by a handsome duke she’s convinced is a scoundrel like every other British lord. As for his title, it’s not as if he actually worked to attain his wealth and status. He surely can’t understand what it’s like to be a busy woman, planning to open a school while trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan with his English relatives.

But Hadrian is about to surprise Natalie, and himself, as he sets out to prove that this duke is worthy of a governess!

Print length

385 pages
Language

English
Publication date

21 January 2020
File size

2634 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Olivia Drake is an experienced author who has written numerous romance novels. The recipient of the Golden Heart Award, the Best Historical Romantic Suspense, the Best Regency Historical, and the prestigious Rita Award from Romance Writers of America, she also writes under the pen name Barbara Dawson Smith. She currently resides with her husband and their pair of feisty cats in Houston, Texas.

Helen Lloyd is a classically trained actor who has a keen ear for accents and loves to bring characters to life. The narrator of books in numerous genres, she delights in new challenges. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Review

Sure to keep returning readers invested in the series. - Publishers Weekly

Will appeal to fans of Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. - Booklist starred review

American and English cultures clash in the parlor and the bedroom in Drake's latest outing (after The Duke I Once Knew). Readers looking to cheer on two unlikely lovers will gravitate to this title. - Library Journal

A deftly crafted and classic historical romance, Forever My Duke showcases author Olivia Drake's impressive and imaginative narrative storytelling skills ... Absolutely and unreservedly recommended. - Midwest Book Review

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B081D9FT94
Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYLA (21 January 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2634 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 385 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1250174392

Best Sellers Rank: 360,819 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 10,784 in Regency Romance (Books)
- 16,693 in Historical Romance (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
72 ratings

About the author

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Olivia Drake

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Olivia Drake is the author of 36 romance novels. Her most recent series is called 'Unlikely Duchesses' and began with THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW and FOREVER MY DUKE. Next up is WHEN A DUKE LOVES A GOVERNESS, which Publisher's Weekly called "impossible to put down." Romance Junkies awarded it 5 stars, saying it's "a dazzling gem of a story!”

Her other series include 'Heiress in London' (SEDUCING THE HEIRESS, NEVER TRUST A ROGUE, SCANDAL OF THE YEAR) and 'The Cinderella Sisterhood' series (IF THE SLIPPER FITS, STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, ABDUCTED BY A PRINCE, BELLA AND THE BEAST, HIS WICKED WISH, THE SCANDALOUS FLIRT).

Olivia Drake's books have won the Golden Heart Award, Best Historical Romantic Suspense, Best Regency Historical, and the prestigious RITA Award from Romance Writers of America. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and a pair of feisty cats. Her two daughters have flown the nest, but they still come back whenever they want a home-cooked meal.

Olivia has also written under the name Barbara Dawson Smith.

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Forever an unlikable Duke

Reviewed in Australia on 21 January 2020

Forever My Duke is my first Olivia Drake read, so it is good to say that as this is book 2 in the series, it can be read as a standalone.

This story did start out a little slow, however it did pick up the pace after a while.

I am a big fan of Natalie - she feels very progressive compared to the other ladies in the story. She won't be bullied, she won't take being insulted, and she couldn't give a stuff about what everyone expects her to do - she does it and she owns it.

Now, Clayton. I wanted to love him, I really did. However he came across as a bit of a bully, an arrogant ar$e and a bit of a flibbertigibbet. I mean, one minute he was off to propose to one lady, then next he was all about someone else. I did like things that he did for Natalie and her charge for the most part, but still, not so much at times.

This book just didn't seem, to me, to fit in with the time period. Something just felt a bit off about it - however this could just be me.

So, whilst I did like Forever My Duke, I wasn't exactly blown away by it. I am sure it will be a favourite for many readers, just not for me.

Helpful

A sanctimonious heroine I struggled to like

Reviewed in Australia on 2 January 2020

A promise to her dying best friend has led Natalie Fanshawe to England, in a desperate attempt to reunite an orphaned boy with the only family he has left. An American with no reason at all to respect the English class system, her back is quickly put up by Hadrian, Duke of Clayton, even if he has done her a great service by helping her find Leo when her charge runs away. Finding out that the duke is heading to the same destination, Natalie has little choice but to accept his assistance. Soon, it turns out he might be the only ally she has in the Earl of Godwin’s household… even if he is meant to be marrying the earl’s teenage daughter.

I just want to address that issue briefly; Hadrian is 29 and the Lady Ellen is 18, and that was absolutely a thing that happened in the Regency era regularly, and with much bigger age gaps too, and nobody looked sideways at it at all. Hadrian really didn’t know Ellen at all, hadn’t seen her since she was a child, but his father had wanted a family alliance so he went to meet her to give her consideration. On meeting her, however, especially in comparison with Natalie who’s 25, he realizes she’s far too young for him and quickly backs out, which made me like him a whole lot more than I did at the beginning.

The author does seem a little undecided about what sort of story she wants this to be; Natalie’s quite judgemental, pious and disapproving of the aristocracy’s licentious ways, and then is very much the instigator of an affair with Hadrian. The sex didn’t seem to fit the tone of the characters, and honestly it could have been dispensed with altogether and had no effect on the overall story. I’m not keen on what seems to be the latest trend of compulsory sex scenes in historical novels; this would have been equally as good a read without it.

I wasn’t all that keen on Natalie’s gung-ho Americanism, either; particularly in the immediate aftermath of a war, she seemed intent on burning bridges rather than mending fences. Hadrian practically bent over backwards to accommodate her and she barely seemed able to say thank you., let alone able to make allowances for the differences in his upbringing and position and consider how those affected his actions. I think we were supposed to respect and admire her for her determination and refusal to accept anyone as her ‘betters’, but her sanctimonious and superior attitude made it hard to even like her a lot of the time. Because of this, I’m afraid that despite overall very good writing, I can’t say I really liked this, and therefore I’m giving it three stars.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

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Top reviews from other countries

Tan

amazing book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2020

Verified Purchase

Not great that these feedback.
My granny told me that great storyline and how she couldn't put the book down

Joan Leal

Good story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 April 2022

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed this story

Élodie Nicoli

When opposites attract

Reviewed in the United States on 31 December 2019

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Can an American commoner and a english peer find a mutual ground when everything seems to set them apart...

This is my first read by Mrs Olivia Drake and once I began my reading, it was quite impossible to put this book down.
Sure I have a few reservations but I was quickly engrossed in this story, and needed to see what would come after.

The first chapter introduced Hadrian as a haughty person, but how wrong I was.
What an arse he appears at the beginning when in fact he is just the result from his upbringing and he could have been much more worse. His requirements for the perfect bride is what was imprinted in him since his childhood, he had known nothing else, and is expected to follow the society’s rules.
He might be lofty but never conceited, plus he is kind too. From the very beginning, he shows respect to Natalie, always trying to help her when he could have turned his back to her troubles. At every turn, he is there to support Natalie, his overbearing presence is only due to his breeding. And rather quickly, he sets his cap on winning her over, she a woman who has very few to recommend her. He even fears he might fail.
Natalie in fact is the one bearing a grudge against him, she faults him for his birth. While he can’t change it, he tries to show her she can relate on him.
She is a strong willed woman, what she went through made her tougher, but she is still a caring woman with dreams to help the weaker and poorer. Her main flaw is she needs time to see beyond the facade. Not every commoner is good nor every peer bad.
So when Hadrian realized he has no interest in a perfect bride and is much more enthralled by the very woman who might reject him for his rank, she learns the world is not white nor black.
I liked that for a change, the arrogant duke was in fact from the beginning a fair man with a noble heart. He just needed the right woman to open himself and let his true self free.

I do love Leo, he is a fun little boy and for once not presented as a precocious child, he acted like a little boy of 6 and was quite a naughty sweetheart.

My reservation is during the first part of the story it looked out of character for them to lust so much after one another. I do prefer when there is an attraction which evolves to a slower pace than insta-lust rendering the women knees-weak and the men driven by the brain in between their legs. So I was glad when at a time, when together they were finally able to think straight.

Mrs Blake has drawn up a spirited tale of fighting one own biases to comprehend the true power of love.
4.5 stars

I was granted through Netgalley by the publisher an advance copy, but also purchased my own.
Here is my true and unbiased opinion.

5 people found this helpful

Ruth A.

Too long and drawn out.

Reviewed in the United States on 4 February 2022

Verified Purchase

I am half way through this book and find myself looking to see how much longer the current chapter is. The characters are okay and the story is plodding and boring in parts. I bought this book because I enjoyed the first of this series and may skip the last one.

Terri B.

Great

Reviewed in the United States on 18 January 2020

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Loved the characters and the opposites attract concept. Highly recommend.

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Forever My Duke (Unlikely Duchesses Book 2) Kindle Edition

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