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jess_always_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
The intimacy was well written and realistic and it feels realistic enough to the time without being depressing - perfect escapism!
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Sexual harassment and War
himpersonal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The story unraveled at a good pace and the romance developed organically. It was perfect. So often, romances are rushed to get to the sex scenes, or they are sappy and unappealing. This one was well done. Also really liked the relationship between Justin and his sister.
Book was effective at gathering all the trauma that took place before the characters were even introduced and helping them work through their personal tragedies, bringing them to closure, and helping them move beyond the healing.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
suerte_encantada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: War
ezwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Transphobia, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Sexual harassment
akswhy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia
wordwych's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Kidnapping and Sexual harassment
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
When Gracewood finally learns that Viola and his best friend are the same being, a new set of complications arise, as the social pressures on the lives of a duke and a lady's companion are deeply felt, and seem inescapable. As a trans person, it's tough to read what seems like transphobia coming from the love interest, even briefly, but the way it's handled and how both characters react to that moment serves to make the story stronger overall.
I like the care paid to developing Gracewood's relationship with his sister, dealing with the trouble has in relating to a teenage girl when he is a man who was raised to give orders rather than to listen. Viola and Gracewood were both changed by the war, but Gracewood's experiences left him visibly scarred and mentally shaken in ways that affect him on a daily basis. This is handled variously throughout, as Gracewood gradually becomes confident to not accept casual ableism from others, but it takes a while.
I love how Gracewood slowly notices more and more of Viola's wardrobe, appreciate that she designs and sews/embroiders it herself. It's made clear that Viola hasn't had previous sexual experiences because she would have either had to have them as a man (which she was uncomfortable doing, even before figuring out her gender), or would need a partner who was not scared off by her body after meeting her as a woman. The eventual sex scenes with Gracewood are careful and intimate, treading the line between being specific about the logistics involved involved and giving Viola space to be feminine and sexual without triggering dysphoria. More than that, with Gracewood's support as a partner she gets to feel good about her body in a sexual context, that it is a woman's body because it is hers, and not based on whether it aligns with some standard of gender presentation.
Things I love, in no particular order: Viola's sister-in-law, and her interactions with her nephew; the audiobook narrator's excellent performance; the way the b-plot gradually becomes more important as the initial tension from the social difficulties of Viola and Gracewood's relationship fade in the face of their care for each other.
A LADY FOR A DUKE is self-contained and ends very satisfactorily, but it does appear that a sequel is planned (which I will eagerly await). Everything I could want handled is covered either in detail, or implicitly by the epilogue, which is set several years after the events of the main story. It seems that future books would be unlikely to feature Viola and Gracewood as main characters, but, based on the title of the sequel I think it will involve one of their relatives (which would be great, I'd love to have them play a role again after they were so wonderful here).
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
littleflowerfairy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Deadnaming, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
The sexual harassment warning is very minor, nothing really happens,lignjahal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It’s a cute little queer historical romance that will keep you engaged with solid writing and good characters.
My only cons are the length being just a bit too long and the writing sometimes being a bit too modern for the period, but these are only minor complaints.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Sexism, Transphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
kato_goldacker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Friends to lovers slow-burn with good Trans Representation.
(go to end for conclusion)
Loved it. When I found this one I knew I had to read it simply because it is exactly what I wanted.
Alexis Hall has some really beautiful writing and ways of describing things, as well as the ability to spark inspiration or thought with the way he puts things. This had a lot of inspiring, beautiful lines and romantic, soft, yearning moments that I really enjoyed, I marked a lot of parts in this book. Hall did a great job with writing a relatable trans character, too.
I did feel that, overall in its execution it’s not a masterpiece of a book, as I still felt like some things were perhaps missing or too simple. I also wasn’t always entirely sure about the pace of the book, I would call it a slow-burn romance, which I liked, but it did change pace a bit later. I don’t think it’s extraordinary story-writing or anything -generally I felt like there were things missing for me to make it a GREAT book, but I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was. Depth, the feeling of a more detailedly thought-through plot / story, most likely.
Still, I loved it, and I’m so happy there’s a book with this story.
The characters were lovely and the playful, intimate and teasing interactions and the yearning and pining between Gracewood and Viola were really fun to read.
I’m also really happy we got a bit of spicy/intimate scenes, which I think is great seeing trans characters nicely represented in.
I don’t think you always need an absolutely great story with a unique plot that wasn’t ever written before. Popular tropes can still be enjoyable, and I don’t think it’s necessary to have an entirely period-accurate representation in every LGBTQIA+ novel, especially since -some people argue- it can be nice for us to have something simple, cheesy and stereotypical for once too, just like there’s tons of (non-LGBTQIA+) straight fiction like that.
Conclusion
So I’d say, if you’re not looking for a terribly original storyline but for a happy, hopelessly romantic, historical friends to lovers slow-burn, featuring good and positive trans representation, you will really like this.
About Triggers
I put all from this list I think are (briefly) in the book,
Of course it is for yourself to know but I just need to say I didn’t find this much triggering, even though I am quite sensitive to a lot of those. If drug use is really triggering for you it might be a different thing, for me it is mainly violence related as well as any sexual abuse or transphobia related ones, but I was mostly fine reading this and, despite containing all of those listed triggers, I found this was book that still felt light.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Outing, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail