A review by tvislife
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
fast-paced
5.0
One of the better historical romance books I’ve read! It follows Annabelle, who is a new student at Oxford (which just started allowing female students) and her interactions with the Duke as she fights for the Married Woman’s Property Act to be changed (and as she fights her desire for the Duke).
As far as plots go for historical romance, this was one of the most engaging ones! I was iffy when I saw it was about suffrage, and thought our main character might be a bit too lecture-y or “rah rah girl power!” as some authors like to do when tackling women’s rights topics. But she wasn’t! She was a rational and clever woman, and her arguments were well thought out and received by others in a believable way (meaning, no one was like “Wow, I guess women CAN think!”, which I was worried about). She encountered opposition, as expected, and had reasoned arguments to back her stances. I really enjoyed that!
And the romance was just as believable too—like her reasons for wanting him, and their reasons for why they couldn’t really be together, all made sense! And the book was resolved in an exciting and believable (for a fiction book at least) sort of way. Highly recommend to fans of this genre!
As far as plots go for historical romance, this was one of the most engaging ones! I was iffy when I saw it was about suffrage, and thought our main character might be a bit too lecture-y or “rah rah girl power!” as some authors like to do when tackling women’s rights topics. But she wasn’t! She was a rational and clever woman, and her arguments were well thought out and received by others in a believable way (meaning, no one was like “Wow, I guess women CAN think!”, which I was worried about). She encountered opposition, as expected, and had reasoned arguments to back her stances. I really enjoyed that!
And the romance was just as believable too—like her reasons for wanting him, and their reasons for why they couldn’t really be together, all made sense! And the book was resolved in an exciting and believable (for a fiction book at least) sort of way. Highly recommend to fans of this genre!