A review by reka111
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Perhaps this is not a question of staying out of trouble, Your Grace. Perhaps this is about deciding on which side of history you want to be.

The review contains spoilers!!!

SHORT REVIEW:

what I liked:

It was the politics of women in the age, as the writer introduced us the retreat and despair they had to endure.
Persistent and mostly reasonably acting protagonist (she also had mistakes and strange things, but nevermind)
Age appropriate plot and setting

what I didn't like:

Another alpha male (but still the better kind)
The relationship; neither with you nor without you

LONG REVIEW:

I try not to judge an entire genre because of one book, because so far I've come across really wonderful historical fictions, but somehow I didn't like this one the way i should have. Maybe it was me, because I suffered a lot with it and I don't really remember it all, ~~or at least I don't want to~~. My biggest problem was that I just couldn't identify with the book the way I wanted to. I could sense from the beginning that this was going to be an uphill battle, when five chapters later I was just waiting for the book to pull me away. This was definitely not my book, i might have liked it in another life, but not now.

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ANNABELLE ARCHER

Annabelle was a very smart, persistent and stubborn main character, but she grew on me in this short time, maybe the only one in this book who deserved real attention. I really liked that she was such a free spirit and that she fought tooth and nail for what was right. In fact, I can't blame her for anything, because she always spoke the language of facts and I deeply understand why she would have been able to throw away everything to keep her future safe. Speaking of the future, her past is also interesting, one might say. At least I didn't really expect that, I knew there was something in the background, but it wasn't that she had an stillborn child, so that surprised me.

SEBASTIAN DEVEREUX

I know I should slide in front of him on my knees, which was still the case in the first half of the book, but as I got to know him more and more, I stood up and walked in the other direction with my back facing him. I don't like alpha males who are so protective of the other that they don't even let them breathe, okay? But hate aside, I respect him for taking care of her and treating her fairly. Not many other men would have been able to do that. Honestly, I couldn't really adjust to him, sometimes he was so happy that it's a wonder he didn't fly away, and the next moment he would have been able to kill anything in cold blood. This man taught me a huge lesson about setting my expectations higher and in the process made me hate him for a whole lifetime. Strange, isn't it? I think I will stay with him in this passive-aggressive situation. Basically, I'm sorry for his past, but I don't fully understand why he threw away his entire future for just one woman (I don't understand love, I know, but any logical person would say that).
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I suffered with the love story, because it should have been an enemies to lovers (at least many people promised it), but instead we got a trope that I don't really know what to call it, which somehow got stuck between stranger-hate-to-lovers. Even now I feel that those two don't really fit together, not because their social rank or anything else would not allow it, but because they are simply like fire and water and not in a good way. But somehow they still work (or try to), so I guess it's just me.

My other bigger problem was that practically the side characters had no meaning, no depth, they were mostly just there, sometimes they appeared, but they didn't really add anything to the plot. Sebastian's little brother running away didn't make any sense, especially since he was not even punished for it, and then there was Annabelle's cousin, who appeared at the beginning, then reappeared towards the end of the book, but he didn't really make any sense.

I don't want to dwell on this (I'm not used to it), but now I have to talk about the cover of the book, so the fact that it has nothing to do with the story (apart from the fact that he took her home when she was walking) is just a marketing ploy.

The plot was boring, very boring and it was full of clichés (really an industrial amount). Regardless, I enjoyed it in some places and tried to love it, even though it was a failed attempt.

I don't really recommend it for people who want to read something big, but it's perfect for an afternoon snack.