Hello, Happy New Year, and happy book birthday to this sparkly and witty historical romance! I am so excited to be participating the Wild Readers book tour for My Darling Duke. This was the perfect winter read–heartwarming and entertaining, with a lot of great spirit. Check out below for the synopsis and my take on the book, and some info on the author.

Title: My Darling Duke (Amazon, Goodreads)
Author: Stacy Reid
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Synopsis

“Lush, beautifully written, and deeply romantic, My Darling Duke will sweep you off your feet. My heart was lost to this couple from the very start.” —Amalie Howard, author of The Beast of Beswick

Miss Katherine Danvers has always been a wallflower. But now, with her family on the brink of financial ruin, she finds herself a desperate wallflower. To save her family, she’ll do anything. Luckily, she has the perfect plan…

She’ll impress the ton by simply announcing she is engaged to the reclusive and mysterious Duke of Thornton, Alexander Masters, and secure strong matches for her sisters. No one has heard from the duke in years. Surely he’ll never find out before her sisters’ weddings, and she can go back to her own quiet life.

Soon, though, everything is out of control. At first, it’s just a few new ball gowns on the duke’s accounts. Then, it’s interviews with reporters eager for gossip. Before she knows it, Katherine has transformed herself into Kitty Danvers, charming and clever belle of the ton—with everyone eager to meet her thankfully absent fiancé.

But when the enigmatic Alexander Masters suddenly arrives in the city, dashing and oh so angry, he demands retribution. Except not in the way Katherine expected…

My Review

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher/NetGalley in exchange for sharing this blog post and including a fair and honest review.**

Stacy Reid is a new author for me, and let me tell you, she absolutely delivered with this one. I adore historical romance when it is done well, and this one really was. My heart really felt for both Kitty and Alex, and I loved that it’s a beauty and the beast storyline. I’ve read several with that type of story, and some work, some don’t. This one worked! Kitty is both brazen and innocent, all at the same time, and her mischievous tactics had me simultaneously cracking up and cheering her on. I honestly could not get enough of it. And Alex is the absolute perfect dark and broody, layered like an onion hero. My type to a T, so of course I was smitten.

The writing in this book is great, and I loved getting into the inner monologue of both our characters. Of course, there are some frustrating communication breakdowns between them when they aren’t quite telling each other the whole truth, but that is part of the story and what makes the plot compelling. There is a twist that had me so very emotional (I won’t say more to avoid spoilers) and there were tears running down my face at various points in the story. Reid’s writing just really spoke to me. 

This book was just what I needed to warm my heart this New Year’s, and I look forward to reading more in this series as they come out. If you like historical romance, read this one. You won’t regret it!

About the Author

Stacy Reid writes sensual Historical and Paranormal Romances and is the published author of over sixteen books. Her debut novella The Duke’s Shotgun Wedding was a 2015 HOLT Award of Merit recipient in the Romance Novella category, and her bestselling Wedded by Scandal series is recommended as Top picks at Night Owl Reviews, Fresh Fiction Reviews, and The Romance Reviews.

Stacy lives a lot in the worlds she creates and actively speaks to her characters (aloud). She has a warrior way “Never give up on dreams!” When she’s not writing, Stacy spends a copious amount of time binge-watching series like The Walking Dead, Homeland, Altered Carbon, watching Japanese Anime and playing video games with her love. She also has a weakness for ice cream and will have it as her main course.

Website: http://www.stacyreid.com