I received this book for free from St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Forever My Duke by Olivia DrakeAlso in this series: The Duke I Once Knew
Series: Unlikely Duchesses #3
Published by St. Martin's Press on December 31, 2019
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
ISBN: 1250174392
“I find Miss Fanshawe to be quite charming—for an American.”—The Prince Regent
Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He even has the perfect one picked out. That is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She’s the opposite of what a man of his high rank should desire in a wife—an 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 who must be a spoiled scoundrel like every other British lord. And she couldn’t care less about Hadrian’s title. After all, 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. Nevertheless, Hadrian launches his campaign to win her heart. Can the utterly delightful American beauty ever find a way to love him…despite his being a duke?
Forever My Duke is the second book in Drake’s most current series and boy I am such a fan of this author. She just writes the type of Regency romance that just really works for me. I know her writing style isn’t for everyone, but she definitely is for me and I just love finding a regency author that I adore as much as I love Olivia Drake. This story had so much charm, poise, and swoony moments that I look for in my regency romances and Drake really stepped it up with this book which I am very grateful for.
In our delightful story we have our heroine who hails from America and with her is a little boy whom she is the guardian over when his parents were killed in a brutal attack. Her best friend’s dying wish was that Leo be with his family in England where he will be protected and safe. So she does her duty and puts her plans on building a school on hold to see that Leo is delivered safely. Natalie has such a love for Leo but she wants what is best for him. But while on their way they meet up with the Hadrian, the Duke of Clayton, who at first seems a bit standoffish but when he helps her and Leo go to the country estate where they are headed as he is headed the same place, their interests are co-aligned. But from the very first moment, Hadrian and Natalie meet there is a connection between them. A connection not to be ignored lightly. Even though Hadrian has other duties and is looking for a wife, he also never expected to feel as he does for Natalie or be so charmed by his little cousin. But will Natalie choose Hadrian or go back to the America’s?
Forever My Duke was such a wonderful and heartwarming story and this was exactly what I needed to relax with on an afternoon with. I simply had such a fun time with Natalie, Leo, and Hadrian. There was such chemistry that we see between Hadrian and Natalie and I was hooked on their story. Hadrian is so determined to do the right thing and follow through with the contracts his father set with his friend. But you see how his priorities shift into doing what is right for him, Hadrian and not the Duke of Clayton. How well he and Natalie fit together is just perfection and he knows what he has with her is so special and defining and one he is willing to fight for.
Natalie, even though she has some familial connections in England, her home has always been America. Even though she doesn’t have a family anymore, and even though she loves like as if he is her own flesh and blood, she does have her own dreams. But we see how dreams can change and how one’s priorities in life can change when you have people come into your life. And we see this growth come into Natalie and realize what she is capable of. It takes her a while to find her path and she does hurt Hadrian along the way a bit in finding what she wants but she does find it including her will to fight for the man she loves and the little boy she adores. The romance that builds between these two is simply delectable, there is some chemistry at the beginning, but there is a friendship that builds in the beginning which only cements what they have together. And I simply adored the relationship between Leo and Hadrian, it was so adorable since a grown man and boy become so attached to the hip as they do and seeing this family find their own path….together
Overall I found Forever My Duke to be a sensational romance that will delight the reader within its addicting pages of pose, elegance, and a beautiful love!!
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