Rating: 4 ♥’s
Published: January 26, 2021
Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction
Pages: 326
American heiress August Crenshaw has aspirations. But unlike her peers, it isn’t some stuffy British Lord she wants wrapped around her finger–it’s Crenshaw Iron Works, the family business. When it’s clear that August’s outrageously progressive ways render her unsuitable for a respectable match, her parents offer up her younger sister to the highest entitled bidder instead. This simply will not do. August refuses to leave her sister to the mercy of a loveless marriage.
Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild, has no intention of walking away from the marriage. He’s recently inherited the title only to find his coffers empty, and with countless lives depending on him, he can’t walk away from the fortune a Crenshaw heiress would bring him. But after meeting her fiery sister, he realizes Violet isn’t the heiress he wants. He wants August, and he always gets what he wants.
But August won’t go peacefully to her fate. She decides to show Rothschild that she’s no typical London wallflower. Little does she realize that every stunt she pulls to make him call off the wedding only makes him like her even more.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was instantly hooked from the beginning of this book. I love that August sneaks into a boxing match and that she kisses the main contender (aka The Duke!). I thought it was great that this book focuses not only on her finding her match, but also her trying to make it in a world where women don’t work in the family business. The match she needs is someone who will support her and let her be herself, and she finds that in Evan; of course, she doesn’t find it right away. I admired her for stepping in so that her sister could marry who she loved.
I thought the plot was well written, yes it is a typical historical Duke romance, however, it has some differences and those make it unique and fun. The writing was well done and it flowed nicely. However, if there is one critique on this book it is that I don’t think that the conflict at the end really needed to be there. It also I felt didn’t really get resolved as well as it should have, meaning I felt Evan needed to do a little more. Overall though it was a fun plot and there were some great descriptions that made me imagine the scenery.
The main characters August and Evan were fun to read about, although it was kind of tiring to hear the same inner monologue about how he needs money and she doesn’t want to marry. They did have chemistry though and I really liked the banter they had, plus again the way they met was so fun. The supporting characters were fairly good, although you really didn’t get to see much of them.
All in all, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to continuing the series and see what happens next.
Book Challenges:
- Wizarding World Tour #15 – That involved a secret
- Around the Year in 52 Books #51 – Whose title refers to the person(s) without giving their name
- 51 Books in 51 Weeks #51 – Published in 2021
- Magic in the Books #49 – Read a book with a happy ending
- Linz Bookworm #31 – That takes place in Europe
- NJM Challenge #25 – Set in another country
- A to Z Title – H
- A to Z Author – H
- The Nerd Daily #48 – Five word title
- Two Books A Month #6 – A love story
- Mount TBR, Virtual Mount TBR, Netgalley/Edelweiss, Historical Fiction
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