This fourth and, sadly, final book in A League of Extraordinary Women series was another cute and intriguing story taking place in the English Victorian Regency era during the early days of the suffragist movement. Compared to the other stories it was a bit on the heavy side when it comes to the history part and a bit slower in general. This series feels a lot like a contemporary one, despite the historical setting. The books all have witty and funny dialogues and banter, more steam than expected and strong, feisty and intelligent women as far from damsels in distress as you can get.
In this forth book, focus is on Catriona, the group’s introvert who is living in a remote castle trying to work on her book and stay away from distractions at Oxford like socializing with friends and the suffragist cause. She’s also given up on love after having been heartbroken twice. But of course, her suffragist friends have a mission for her, and her father’s new protégé Elias sees an opportunity to use her to get what he really came for when pretending to be classifying ancient artefacts. Unfortunately, this mission of seduction soon overshadows the original one… I love morally grey characters, and Elias was the perfect representation for that. As a couple, Catriona and Elias were a cute match, and I appreciated the respect Elias had for her. But they didn’t have the same kind of sizzling chemistry as the couples in the previous books. This book had more of a heist plot, that was fun at first, but then became quite dense and uninteresting with all the backstories and historical information, and ended quite anticlimactic to be honest. This series has always had a nice balance of history and romance, but here the historical politics and explanations overshadowed the romance and made the story slow and without the fun vibes from the other books. I also think that Catriona’s bisexuality and her school sapphic romance could have been given a bigger focus. But it was nevertheless an enjoyable read and the epilogue made up for a lot of what was missing. I loved how all the previous characters were included in the epilogue and what the struggles the characters in this series led to in the end. And what we in the 21th century still owe them thanks for. Rating: 3 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Evie Dunmore
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10/14/2020 1 Comment Bringing Down the Duke by Evie DunmoreThis cute and addictive historical hate-to-love romance is set in the English Victorian Regency era during the early days of the suffrage movement, when commoner Annabelle Archer earns a place among the first group of female students at Oxford. In return she must support the women’s suffrage movement, which brings her face-to-face with the handsome Sebastian Devereux - the Duke of Montgomery – who is one of the most powerful men in England, and currently on the wrong side of history when it comes to women’s rights. “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.”
Sebastian, who has divorced his previous wife, is looking for a wife to heal his shattered reputation. Thus, an outspoken commoner is not what he is looking for, no matter how much the green-eyed Annabelle tempts him. This book pulled me in from the very first page with its perfect opposites-attract/enemies-to-lovers story start, and is definitely one of my favorite historical romances ever! It’s funny, steamy and feels very much like a contemporary read, despite the historical setting. I loved the insights to the suffragette movement, the witty dialogue and the banter between Annabelle and Sebastian, and how the romance did not fall into the cliché as many historical romances do. Even though the book had it fair shares of steamy moments, Annabelle was not the ordinary damsel in distress, but a strong, feisty and intelligent woman with a with a not-so-pure background. The supporting characters were also truly amazing. Annabelle’s friends were all such strong and ambitious women and so supportive of each other. So even though this story might seem like an ordinary historical romance on the surface, it was a lot more than that. Yes, it was a steamy, fast-paced and fun rom com, but it was also a gripping story of friendship and sacrifice as well as a history lesson, outlining the dangerous fight for women’s rights and how much women before us have sacrificed for our right today to vote, have access to education and ownership of property and financial assets. I recommend it with all my heart and cannot wait for the next book in the series! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Bookshop.org Amazon Book Depository Author info: Evie Dunmore |
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September 2023
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