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maineicequeen's review
3.0
I am thoroughly enjoying this fresh take on historical romance - it's believable and detailed in its world-building, and yet the language doesn't put me to sleep. My main issue with this book is that it took too long to get where it was going.
I really enjoyed "Bringing Down the Duke," so I was excited to finally get my hands on the sequel. Where I found the first book occasionally weighed down by repetitive plot points, the sequel suffers from way too many of them. There was a lot packed into this book, and it seemed to hem and haw between a romance novel and a suffragette strategist story - both of which I would love to read! Just not in one book where the two plots take turns dominating and don't co-exist well. It took me almost three weeks to work through this book, and that's incredibly disappointing given I devoured the majority of the first one in one sitting.
In spite of all this, I did enjoy the book and I'm eagerly awaiting Hattie's turn.
I really enjoyed "Bringing Down the Duke," so I was excited to finally get my hands on the sequel. Where I found the first book occasionally weighed down by repetitive plot points, the sequel suffers from way too many of them. There was a lot packed into this book, and it seemed to hem and haw between a romance novel and a suffragette strategist story - both of which I would love to read! Just not in one book where the two plots take turns dominating and don't co-exist well. It took me almost three weeks to work through this book, and that's incredibly disappointing given I devoured the majority of the first one in one sitting.
In spite of all this, I did enjoy the book and I'm eagerly awaiting Hattie's turn.
selward's review against another edition
4.0
This book was wonderful! i’ve now read 3/4 of this series and i’m looking forward to the 4th. As always, Dunmore has completed thorough research to enhance and build her story. it adds so much to her writing. For this book in particular, i was a big fan of Lucie’s spirit and the way Tristian knew what to say. i took off half a star because her falling for him the way she did felt a bit out of character but then again, maybe not and it is a romance book. i definitely do appreciate the way that he knows her when he makes his proposal and i love the sister support we see again amongst her friend group.
reillyviv's review
5.0
WONDERFUL. I accidentally read the third book of this series first and fell in love with it so I decided to go back and read the first two. so was dreading this one because I read a bad review and am apparently easily influenced. I LOVED it. There is a theme of convincing them to get married in this series but what else could you expect from the womens suffrage movement? Besides, I fell deeply in love with Lord Ballentine and how absolutely whipped he has been and always will be for Lucie. I felt so protective of everyone in this book because of the sheer amount of people that have wronged them. My gasps of outrage did not come easily and I loved the experience of being surprised. I cannot wait to go on and reread the third book just because it’s next in the series!!!
biancamtz8's review against another edition
3.0
I had a hard time connecting and even liking the main characters. I think that Lucie is a strong woman and I love the idea of Tristan but I was left wanting more out of their relationship.
makennakjacobs's review
3.75
It's fun to get to see the friend's perspective on the couple from the first book and see a little bit of how their marriage works; I think that was my favorite part. This felt like the romance was a cover story for the struggle of the suffrage movement, which sometimes meant that the historical underpinnings felt more relevant than both the plot and the characters. Also I felt like the love interest, Tristan, was stuffed into the boxes of too many tropes - how can he be the best friend/boy next door who has loved her forever AND the bad boy who is good just for her AND a savvy business partner? Sometimes it was an interesting combination; sometimes it wasn't totally believable. I felt like Cecily's character didn't have clear motivations for her actions and her ending was too neat. I also didn't like how Lucie and Tristan had support from everyone to do whatever they wanted sexually with no consequences - they lived in an extremely rigid society, supposedly, but we don't see any resistance to their non-traditional path.
pagetraveler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.75