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Alexis Hall is the master of fabulous secondary characters. Lady Marleigh and Viola's brother, for instance, are not only comic relief, but key players in Viola's life. Her nephew, Bartholomew is such a precocious, funny little boy. His interactions with his aunt add so much depth to her character, it was beautiful to witness those intimate moments. Lady Miranda! Ah, my favourite, I do hope she gets her own book. She's the catalyst for much of the plot and I adored every single minute of it. Amberglass, you bastard, I can't wait to read your story. Creating an engaging romance is an art form, requiring an almost supernatural ability to tease and captivate a reader. This is especially true for period romances, which have the additional hurdle of transporting a modern reader into an unrecognizable world. What grounds a historical romance is its characters, who must draw the reader in and give them a foothold into a time gone by. With A Lady For a Duke, Alexis Hall has created a masterpiece that isn’t just good by romance standards. It is easily my favorite book of the year so far across all genres, and the central love story will linger with its audience long after it is over. Viola was such a wonderful and inspiring heroine. The fact that she was transgender in such a time (I believe the early 1800s) was astounding and damn courageous, and I adored her family and the support and unwavering acceptance given by every character that knew and loved her. If he allowed himself to think beyond the moment, beyond her closeness, and their entwined fingers, he would have known she was right. But he had no wish to think.
Following the Battle of Waterloo, Viola Carroll abandoned her previous identity, as well as her aristocratic title, to finally embrace life as a trans woman. Allowing the world to believe she had been killed in action, Viola took on the role of companion to her sister-in-law, Lady Louise Marleigh. Since it’s left up to us, I entertained various versions of Viola’s experience as she dragged herself from the battlefield, and all the steps she must have taken to become who she is at the start of A Lady for a Duke; putting her past behind her, and crafting an existence for herself in nineteenth century England. I love when authors leave us this bit of freedom!that this is no mere fancy. What we began at Morgencald only grows in truth and strength the longer I am with you.” Alexis Hall is giving us a historical romance with a trans heroine??? If god hates the gays WHY DO WE KEEP WINNING
I've never read a historical romance quite like this but we know trans people existed throughout history. While there could have been major pitfalls writing this kind of story, Alexis Hall seems to have navigated it with grace. Viola and Gracewood's relationship has this sweetness and depth to it and I was fully rooting for them by the end of the book. The fact that they have so much history together, and yet are in some ways getting to know each other for the first time really worked. Close to the end there are a couple of sex scenes that manage to be both steamy and emotionally resonant without feeling lurid or voyeuristic. I have been looking forward to A Lady for a Duke since I first read the synopsis. Alexis Hall has such a profound way of writing characters who are so authentic, so beautifully queer that it makes me wish I could dive into each and every world. Alexis Hall produces the most unique and thought provoking relationships in his novels, and he’s just completely elevated the bar with A Lady for a Duke. Way more than simply a beautiful friends-to-lovers romance, Mr. Hall delivers a profound look at gender roles, and explores how physical perception affects the relationship between these two characters. When family insist that Viola journey to Morgancald, the homestead of the Gracewoods, to help the Duke regain his footing in life and to assist his younger sister with engaging in the next London season for debuting debutantes, Viola must muster the courage to face her oldest friend for the first time as her true self, ready for any and all consequences should he recognise who she once was.Hall adds some levity with flirtatious banter between his main couple, moments when readers can see the dark cloud hovering over Gracewood become a little lighter. There’s also a robust and interesting cast of side characters, which could mean (fingers crossed) A Lady for a Duke is but the first book in a series. Justin de Vere, Duke of Gracewood, was overwrought with guilt over losing his best friend, 'the joy of his life'. Returning from war a cripple who suffers from bouts of PTSD and the overwhelming dependency of laudanum and completely ignoring his state of affairs and his sister, his life is unexpectedly turned by the graceful presence of Viola. 😢 He was charmed by her, swayed by her gentle tendencies, he fell in love with her - so utterly smitten with her and how she is able to bring out the side in him he had lost and long forgotten. And then to have the sudden realization that the one who he had held so dear was the same as the one who he wanted to have were one and the same - it made his love for her even stronger, his conviction to make her see that he loved her as she was. 🥰🥰
The only spot of freshness in this story did not come from the main characters at all—it came from the side characters, Lady Marleigh (sister-in-law to Viola) and Lady Gracewood (Justin's younger sister). They were doing fresh things in this story, thank goodness, and Justin and Viola got to semi-react to those events throughout the novel. But that did make for awkward reading in a romance subniche that tends to rely on its main characters to provide the agency in a story. On the one hand, I want to support this title and showcase how happy I am to see it exist, see it hold such a positive and happy storyline, and see it receive a wide readership. Squeals all around, this was adorable and wonderful and I felt all of the feelings. The characters in A Lady For a Duke are all beautifully drawn. Viola is an instantly sympathetic protagonist who makes for a wonderful heroine. Her reaction at finding Gracewood still devastated by her “death” years later is heartbreaking, particularly when she struggles with whether to tell him that she is the friend he lost. You root for her instantly, wanting her to find happiness and joy in a world that deprives her of it. Gracewood is, without a doubt, one of the best leading men in recent memory. He is best described as a combination of Rochester from Jane Eyre and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, but he is so unique that it almost does him a disservice to make the comparison at all. The scenes from his perspective that delve more deeply into his PTSD and the lingering effects of his war wounds were some of the strongest scenes in the whole novel.Rep: Viola is a trans woman who passes in society; and Gracewood is a former soldier disabled by the war who uses a mobility aid, experiences chronic pain, and is contending with both PTSD and related drug dependency I usually dislike epilogues. They're so over the top and annoyingly perfect, but this one... This epilogue was everything. It made me so happy. I cried. A lot. The term “slow burn” doesn’t begin to capture the agonized pining of this romance, which is absolutely suffused with yearning. Hall poignantly depicts Viola’s tangled mix of relief and sadness upon being reunited with Gracewood. Viola has nurtured a quiet hope that their connection to each other would be undeniable—that Gracewood would know and accept her without a second’s thought. But if he doesn’t, she agonizes over telling him that she’s the friend he’s long thought dead, knowing that revealing her identity could ruin the new life she’s built for herself. Some of the most emotionally fraught scenes in the novel are when Hall focuses on Gracewood’s inner turmoil, empathetically portraying a once powerful, nearly untouchable man who is overwhelmed by trauma. Like I said before I loved the characters, main and side, but this book struggled to hold my interest for long periods of time. And I think it could have been a lot shorter than it was. And yes, I did feel that the story regarding Gracewood's sister and her coming out into society took more of a precedent to the actual romance of the story. But, after reading the author's note, I can understand why Alexis Hall chose to write it as such; there was definitely potential for further stories for each of the characters, and I'm curious to see which one he will settle on. Amberglass - he was definitely...something. 😠
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