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When Viola learns of Gracewood's distress, she and her sister-in-law, the Lady Marleigh, decide to intervene. Viola knows she's playing with fire—how long can she hide her very-much-alive presence from her oldest friend?—but the choice is a done deal. She is going to help Gracewood no matter the cost. I usually dislike epilogues. They're so over the top and annoyingly perfect, but this one... This epilogue was everything. It made me so happy. I cried. A lot. Following the Battle of Waterloo, Viola Carroll abandoned her previous identity, as well as her aristocratic title, to finally embrace life as a trans woman. Allowing the world to believe she had been killed in action, Viola took on the role of companion to her sister-in-law, Lady Louise Marleigh. I can tell that there was a lot of care put into this story. The story involves a transgender woman but the story itself is NOT about being a trans woman, which I really appreciate it. It takes something that you don’t commonly see in books and normalizes it. It’s fantastic. I cannot (hopefully) wait to see more of this. What do you want to hear? That I’ve imagined it? Countless times? You beneath me, with your legs around me, wearing nothing but your pretty shoes?”
Hall adds some levity with flirtatious banter between his main couple, moments when readers can see the dark cloud hovering over Gracewood become a little lighter. There’s also a robust and interesting cast of side characters, which could mean (fingers crossed) A Lady for a Duke is but the first book in a series. There are many more examples of individuals in a similar time period who did not identify with their assigned gender, and many whom lived as the gender they identified as—including James Allen, who wrote to his wife that he was her “Most loving and affectionate husband until death”, and all other ‘female husbands’, the Public Universal Friend, Dora Richter, Lili Elbe, Toni Ebel and her partner Charlotte Charlaque, and many more lost to the ravages of time and poor record keeping. This book was a lovely—if somewhat progressive—portrayal of a trans woman living and loving as herself, and being affirmed by those she loves. There are only a few books in my life that I have reached the end of, closed, and immediately wanted to read again. A Lady For a Duke joins that list, and the second read is just as rich and gorgeous as the first. A swoon-worthy and touching queer romance, this novel is one to be savored.Absurdly funny and swoonily romantic, with a sharp edge of wit and observation that keeps the story bounding along’– KJ Charles, author of A Charm of Magpies series Let's start this reaction off with some honesty: I am very conflicted about my star rating of this review. And yes, I did feel that the story regarding Gracewood's sister and her coming out into society took more of a precedent to the actual romance of the story. But, after reading the author's note, I can understand why Alexis Hall chose to write it as such; there was definitely potential for further stories for each of the characters, and I'm curious to see which one he will settle on. Amberglass - he was definitely...something. 😠 When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. A best friends to lovers queer romance featuring a trans heroine and a grieving self destructive hero. This book is about self discovery and finding love when you aren't even expecting to!
From the bestselling author of Husband Material comes a lush, sweeping queer historical romance where sparks fly between childhood friends after a life-changing separation—perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Lisa Kleypas! When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. I also really appreciate how this historical romance doesn’t shy away from the fact that Viola’s womanhood inherently changes the dynamic of her friendship with Gracewood, specifically in how they carry themselves in society and have to take different rules of propriety into account. As a woman, Viola cannot occupy those same spaces that she and Gracewood used to frequent in their youth. She can’t go into gentleman’s clubs, or bars, they can’t go riding or hunting together, and it could even be taboo for them to associate in public without a chaperone. There’s all these societal rules for how they conduct themselves as people of two different genders, which is not inherently a “bad thing,” but it is new and different. Eagerly looking forward to more fresh stories in the historical romance canon to join this one on the shelves.
You know, I’m growing a bit tired of stories that are steeped in irony and a “wink-and-nod” type humor, where every moment of sincerity is undercut by a joke. It was such a relief to come by a book that isn’t afraid to be unapologetically itself. Also, I’ve never read an epilogue that actually improved the book until this one, just absolute perfection. I listened to an audiobook which was Narrated by Kay Eluvian. What a wonderful performance. From depression to joy and every emotion in-between, plus young children to adults, the vocalizing is clear, gripping and engulfing. I did speed this up to 1.5 for conversational comfort.
And the secondary characters. Alexis Hall just writes secondary characters who sparkle. How adorably in love Louise and Badger were, and the soft aunt moments with Little Bartholomew. And Mira (I am rooting she gets her own book so badly). How accepting and loving everyone was, all about building the family of your heart. And the biggest, most dangerous moment in the book? Has NOTHING to do with their romance. And yet their romance AND their childhood friendship play a part in bringing about the expected happy ending. This story is going to stay with me for a long time, and I want many more books like this, with fearless trans protagonists getting the happily ever afters they so deserve. Thanks Forever Books for the review copy! This book is out 5/24 and I can’t wait for everyone else to fall in love with Viola, Gracewood, and their epic romance.CW: PTSD, ableism, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, grief, abusive parent (past), use of a dead name, war injury, violence CWs: descriptions of PTSD and chronic pain; instances of deadnaming/misgendering (in the past tense); some references to dysphoria; brief mentions of suicide ideation; some exploration of drug addiction; references to past abuse; some misogyny; and explicit sexual content This review discusses individuals who may have identified as trans given they had the language to do so, and some quotes may use language that would not be correct, but I have made best efforts to use thoughtful language. A Lady for a Duke could not have come at a more perfect time for me, fresh off the historical romance binge and having just watched the latest season of Bridgerton. Looking for a romance teeming with emotion, this novel gave me everything I needed and then some. In his altogether masterful historical romance, Alexis Hall draws together a complex past between his main leads, with an evocative center of loss, memory, and intimacy driving the story forward. Our main heroine Viola is one of the more well-written queer characters in historical romance that I have read recently, giving voice to dysphoria and the trans experience in a way unforeseen previously by me in the genre. As for the other main lead, Justin De Vere, he provided quite the emotional conversation surrounding grief and the lingering trauma arising from war. Even with all of this tense subject matter, the entire story overflows with longing and an underlying comfort that disperses throughout every aspect of the novel. This is definitely not a tragic story, yes we have a trans heroine and a disabled hero living in this time period, but it doesn't bear the narrative down into tragedy like I’ve seen other period pieces do. Instead, what emerges is a tender second chance romance about two people defined by their circumstances finding love against the odds. I would also be remiss not to mention the wonderful side characters in this novel, who radiate just as much as the two main leads. With a mix of queer and playful characters, Hall really creates a wholesome cast of supporting characters for the novel. The side plots intervening in the central storyline had the most fabulous banter and made me fall even more in love with the story overall. A Lady for a Duke is honestly one of the most beautiful and exemplary historical romances I have read in quite a long time. The epilogue especially, really brought the emotion to the surface, exemplifying love found and a future once deemed unlikely.
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