Oh boy, it looks like I have a new author to follow! In her first novel, Evie Dunmore dives into the academic world of Oxford, royalty, and Parliament in the heart of the Victorian era. What follows is an absolutely charming romp into the stifled world of upper-crust society featuring class-crossed lovers.
Our heroine is Annabelle, a young woman who is unmarried and headstrong who finds herself stuck. She gets into the newly formed woman’s college at Oxford thanks to a scholarship sponsored by the local Suffragist chapter. During her campaigning for a woman’s right to vote, Annabelle bumps into the Duke of Montgomery. The Duke is an ice-cold bear of a man and doesn’t have a humorous bone in his body. Of course, their meet cute turns into more meet cutes, but this novel is not necessarily predictable.
I found the dialogue very well written, with great characters and descriptions to help the reader feel as in they were in a great house in England. The sexy scenes were well done: no cringey dialogue or almost pornographic descriptions here. Everything was very tasteful, as it should be in late 19th century Great Britain.
Bringing Down the Duke is the first installment in what looks to be a series called A League of Extraordinary Women. The next book, A Rogue of One’s Own will be focused on Lady Lucie, the leader of Anabelle’s suffragist group. Unfortunately, the book is not coming out until September 2020, but I have already requested that my local library buy the book so I can be first in line to read it.
If you like historical romances, especially those set in England and dabbling in royalty, do yourself a favor and pick up this book!
Some stats (since I love stats):
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Finished on January 1, 2020, took three days to read as it was quick and engaging
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4 stars on Goodreads
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Genre: Historical Romance
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