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allingoodtime's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I must admit, I wasn’t sure where this story was going to go. With the horrible things that happened in the past, there were a lot of pieces to patch together to make this story work. Of course, this is Elizabeth Hoyt so she did it beautifully. Not only does the love story work but so does the blossoming friendship.
The idea of the Wise Women is fantastic. I hope the following books in the series delve into that again. Of course, the strong, independent, intelligent women are called out as witches. Isn’t that always the case? But as much as I loved that idea, it seemed to almost drop as the story progressed. They are still thought about and mentioned, but it was telling and not showing when it came to the Wise Women.
I did enjoy the banter and burgeoning relationship of Freya and Christopher aka Harlowe. He carries a ton of guilt and she is allowing a need for vengeance to cloud her judgment. The cards are finally laid out on the table and the two find a way to see the point of view of the other. Christopher starts out as the typical man who wants to take charge, but he learns that isn’t what Freya needs or wants. I love the freedom he gives her even when it is breaking his heart. My problems with this story weren’t with the connection of the couple.
There was almost too much going on at one point in this story. This caused some of the key conclusions to almost seem rushed. Now, this is a series and there is an underlying story that has to do with that incident in the past that isn’t resolved so I’m trusting this author to see it all through to the end with the other books. I’m intrigued by what really happened 15 years ago and I’m looking forward to that unfolding.
As for the HEA and the central part of this story, Freya and Christopher, that worked well for me. I hope we’ll be seeing them in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Violence
vindikatedreads's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
alysonc's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Best friend’s sister meets unspeakable (and yet to be solved) murder mystery meets avenging “witches” meets f*ck the patriarchy.
A very fun, super hot, start to what I imagine will be another great series.
Lots of setting the scene for the series in the first half and the romance takes some time to get started.
A very fun, super hot, start to what I imagine will be another great series.
Lots of setting the scene for the series in the first half and the romance takes some time to get started.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and War
megatza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Not the Duke's Darling definitely falls into a series setup pitfall. The first third is so full of new characters and familial ties and backstory that I was often confused at POV switches. That said, once I got past the initial confusion, I really loved the romance and, obviously, Hoyt's signature heat.
Hoyt tends to feel like a bridge for me between old school and newer historical romances, and one thing I loved (having read most of her backlist) is that she's inventing new ways in this series for her characters to be relatable to readers now without losing historical integrity. Having the Wise Women and witches in Scotland as a means for giving Freya the language to express her need for independence works really well. And, as is often the case, we do have an excellent kidnapping.
While the book is quite hot, there's a little bit of forced chemistry for me between Christopher and Freya, making our Duke a little less ducal than some of Hoyt's heroes. He's probably the most insightful Hoyt hero I've read though, and I appreciate that too.
Hoyt tends to feel like a bridge for me between old school and newer historical romances, and one thing I loved (having read most of her backlist) is that she's inventing new ways in this series for her characters to be relatable to readers now without losing historical integrity. Having the Wise Women and witches in Scotland as a means for giving Freya the language to express her need for independence works really well. And, as is often the case, we do have an excellent kidnapping.
While the book is quite hot, there's a little bit of forced chemistry for me between Christopher and Freya, making our Duke a little less ducal than some of Hoyt's heroes. He's probably the most insightful Hoyt hero I've read though, and I appreciate that too.
labellafigura's review
3.0
I thought this was an early Elizabeth Holt book based on some of the descriptions and language. It reads quite dated for a 2018 publication.
pantsreadsbooks's review
4.0
I really thoroughly enjoyed this book. My first Elizabeth Hoyt in many years (and possibly second ever) and I thought she absolutely brought it. Georgian-set romances aren’t as common as Regency era, so it’s a delight to come across, and the dark backstory of these collective characters was compelling and intriguing. It was interesting that Messalina got some POV time in this book, in addition to our main characters, so I’m even more looking forward to reading her story next.
The one thing I have to note is how tonally off this cover seems for this story. The bright sunshine, full faces, red dress— none of it fit with the story for me, and I was surprised when I realized how dark parts of the story are. The cover reads fluffy fun romance, and this is much more serious than that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the copy of this book to review!
The one thing I have to note is how tonally off this cover seems for this story. The bright sunshine, full faces, red dress— none of it fit with the story for me, and I was surprised when I realized how dark parts of the story are. The cover reads fluffy fun romance, and this is much more serious than that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the copy of this book to review!
haithar's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I see why people say this is a very average book because it is. Maybe it's the first book of a series syndrome where there were many unfulfilled plot lines so it felt unfinished. I did enjoy the hero and heroine dynamics even if it did get tiring. There was just too much of everything, too many characters and drama that I didn't care for, but I loved the heroine forward focus of her undressing him and her taking the lead in many encounters.