by Eloisa James
Series: The Wildes of Lindow Castle #5
Published on May 19, 2020 by Avon
ISBN: 9780062878069
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 400
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance, Romance
Miss Viola Astley is so painfully shy that she’s horrified by the mere idea of dancing with a stranger; her upcoming London debut feels like a nightmare.
So she’s overjoyed to meet handsome, quiet vicar with no interest in polite society — but just when she catches his attention, her reputation is compromised by a duke.
Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, will stop at nothing to marry Viola, including marrying a woman whom he believes to be in love with another man.
A vicar, no less.
Devin knows he’s no saint, but he’s used to conquest, and he’s determined to win Viola’s heart.
Viola has already said Yes to his proposal, but now he wants her unruly heart…and he won’t accept No for an answer.
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Say Yes to the Duke worried me in the beginning. I’ve read all the books in the Wildes of Lindow Castle series so far and some have been better than others, so when this one spent the first 5% with a giant info dump, I was afraid it would end up grouped in with the second book of the series.
Not that I needed to be because this book was fabulous!
Based on the synopsis and how things I started, I expected there to be a bit of a pseudo-love triangle between Viola, Devin, and the vicar Mr. Marlowe. But I was pleasantly surprised when not only did the romance you know wins out (Viola and Devin) kicked off much sooner and more page time was given to them learning about each other and how they worked as a couple. Mr. Marlowe and his own romance became a nice subplot woven throughout the story.
And just as much of the book was given over to Viola finding herself. She’s struggled with her nerves since she came out to society and it takes the unexpected help of a duke for her to realize how amazing she really is. Viola was so terribly relatable that I couldn’t help but want to see her achieve everything she set her mind to.
Say Yes to the Duke was also definitely a… quieter romance, for lack of better words. There was definitely all the heat and sexual tension I’ve come to expect from James’ books but it wasn’t so in-your-face. And I liked that in this case. It fit the characters and what they needed from each other.
But don’t worry, there was banter. Oh so much witty and entertaining banter between Viola and Devin. They just clicked and it came off the page. I couldn’t put this book down!
I would consider Say Yes to the Duke my second favorite of the series, following Wilde in Love and right before the previous book Say No to the Duke. All in all, a lot fun and definitely one to check out!
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
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