A review by cozybec
The Monstrous Duke and I, by Dee St. Holm
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
"There was something about being surrounded by so many stories that made her feel alive and free."
Penelope Essex has had a failure of a season, with no desire to wed and no prospects among the human members of the Ton, she's sent to the Monsters Ball as a last attempt. It's there she reunites with her childhood friend, and now duke, William Warwick, a devilishly demonic blue monster coated in flame and determined not to wed for his own reasons. When the two strike up a bargain for a marriage of convenience, it's to no one's surprise that old flames begin to reignite.
There was something so fun about this book! This is a pretty intense departure from How to Marry a Marble Marquis (the first in the Monsters Ball set of monster regency romances) in that it definitely reads more as a traditional historical romance with a sprinkling of monstrous characters and backstory. I really enjoyed how St. Holm explained why there were suddenly monsters in London and around the world, the plague approach to explain that some humans were stricken with disease and transformed was really fascinating to me and I enjoyed it from a fantasy aspect to have a reason for the monsters suddenly being involved in the world.
Penny and William were so cute together, with so many moments of the two of them dancing around their own feelings, this felt like a typical marriage of convenience/"oh no we have feelings" plot that still kept me on my toes. My only real gripe was the ending, it felt like there was a little bit of floundering after Penny and Will agreed to go forward with their fake engagement after leaving the Monsters Ball and there were a few time skips that irritated me. I would have loved to get more scenes of their relationship truly developing into love. This probably makes this one a 4.5 star for me, but I rounded up because I enjoyed the writing style and the way this novel developed some of the side characters and established information about the world!
All in all, I had a good time with this one. A fun, lighthearted romance to pick up, with a slow burn and low spice. It felt like a great palette cleanser and I'd recommend it to monster romance newcomers (because it's pretty tame compared to others I've read!)
Content warnings: mentions of grief, death of a family member/parent (off page), spousal abuse (off page, not between the main characters), sexual content (a brief carriage scene, they sleep together after their marriage), sexism from the world/parent
Penelope Essex has had a failure of a season, with no desire to wed and no prospects among the human members of the Ton, she's sent to the Monsters Ball as a last attempt. It's there she reunites with her childhood friend, and now duke, William Warwick, a devilishly demonic blue monster coated in flame and determined not to wed for his own reasons. When the two strike up a bargain for a marriage of convenience, it's to no one's surprise that old flames begin to reignite.
There was something so fun about this book! This is a pretty intense departure from How to Marry a Marble Marquis (the first in the Monsters Ball set of monster regency romances) in that it definitely reads more as a traditional historical romance with a sprinkling of monstrous characters and backstory. I really enjoyed how St. Holm explained why there were suddenly monsters in London and around the world, the plague approach to explain that some humans were stricken with disease and transformed was really fascinating to me and I enjoyed it from a fantasy aspect to have a reason for the monsters suddenly being involved in the world.
Penny and William were so cute together, with so many moments of the two of them dancing around their own feelings, this felt like a typical marriage of convenience/"oh no we have feelings" plot that still kept me on my toes. My only real gripe was the ending, it felt like there was a little bit of floundering after Penny and Will agreed to go forward with their fake engagement after leaving the Monsters Ball and there were a few time skips that irritated me. I would have loved to get more scenes of their relationship truly developing into love. This probably makes this one a 4.5 star for me, but I rounded up because I enjoyed the writing style and the way this novel developed some of the side characters and established information about the world!
All in all, I had a good time with this one. A fun, lighthearted romance to pick up, with a slow burn and low spice. It felt like a great palette cleanser and I'd recommend it to monster romance newcomers (because it's pretty tame compared to others I've read!)
Content warnings: mentions of grief, death of a family member/parent (off page), spousal abuse (off page, not between the main characters), sexual content (a brief carriage scene, they sleep together after their marriage), sexism from the world/parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse