Reviews

Duke in a Box: Twelve Steamy Historical Holiday Novellas by Darcy Burke, Jess Michaels, Lila DiPasqua, Grace Callaway, Valerie Bowman, Kate Bateman, Minerva Spencer, Amy Rose Bennett, Elisa Braden, Christy Carlyle, Erica Ridley, Sasha Cottman

Only show reviews with written explanations

sarah_moynihan's review

4.0

‘Twelve novellas from your favorite historical romance authors featuring never-before-published steamy holiday stories. Don’t miss this limited time collection—on sale only from November 1-December 31, 2022.’
_________________

Overall rating: 3.75 stars, round up to 4 stars.

The Duke Who Came to Christmas Dinner by Amy Rose Bennett - 3.5 stars
Mrs. Peabody and the Unexpected Duke by Grace Callaway - 2.75 stars
Yule Be My Duke by Darcy Burke - 4.5 stars
The Frosty Duke by Lila DiPasqua - 5 stars
Desert Island Duke by Kate Bateman - 5 stars
Her Duke at Midnight by Christy Carlyle - 3 stars
Her Duke With Benefits by Jess Michaels - 3.5 stars
The Duke Deal by Valerie Bowman - 5 stars
Audacious by Minerva Spencer - 3 stars
My Duchess, My Wife by Sasha Cottman - 3 stars
Undressing the Duke by Erica Ridley - 3.5 stars
Right Place, Wrong Duke by Elisa Braden - 2.75 stars

This is a lovely holiday collection and I found most of the novellas included to be quite good! My three particular favorites were The Frosty Duke by Lila DiPasqua, Desert Island Duke by Kate Bateman, and Yule Be My Duke by Darcy Burke.

After reading this anthology, I'll be checking out more works from the authors that I wasn't as familiar with. Fun holiday read for the season.
____

I would like to thank the twelve authors (Kate Bateman, Amy Rose Bennett, Valerie Bowman, Elisa Braden, Darcy Burke, Grace Callaway , Christy Carlyle, Sasha Cottman, Lila DiPasqua, Jess Michaels, Erica Ridley, and Minerva Spencer) that joined together for the Duke of the Month Club and sharing this anthology of holiday novellas with me. This is my honest review.

bookishmya's review

Go to review page

5.0

I had the wonderful privilege of getting my hands on this book early. It is a delightful collection of novellas from some leading authors in historical romance. The first story I dove into is ‘Desert Island Duke’ by Kate Bateman. This is a side story to the Ruthless Rivals series featuring Caroline Montgomery, cousin to the Montgomery’s of this fabulous series. Like all Montgomery’s, Caroline is a woman of independent spirit and plenty of tenacity. Her and Max Cavendish (her brother’s best friend and Duke of Hayworth) find themselves stranded on a desert island when they flee her family’s ship in a storm. Separated from her family they end up alone on an island with no food, clothing, shelter… what are they to do? Spend that time teasing & seducing of course. This story is jam-packed with the delightful witty banter we have come to expect in this series. Kate Bateman is truly the queen of witty banter. I delighted in all the playful back and forth between these two, teasing each other endlessly. This was a surprisingly light, tender story with great humour, passion and excitement. I can’t wait to read more of the stories packed into this wonderful anthology.

maureen_fox's review

Go to review page

3.0

An enjoyable anthology with 2 exceptions.

The story about the Radley family was obviously a novella in a much larger series, and if you've never read any if them (like me), the sheer number if characters is overwhelming and you have no context for them. It was hard to care for the main couple with so much else going on.

And then there's the final story. I couldn't make it past the third page because writing the Scottish accent made it near unreadable.

burlesquemouse's review

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

mephala's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Well, it took me nearly a year, but I finally finished this anthology!

I’ve enjoyed most of the stories included in it – some were excellent and found a place on my 5 stars shelf, others were pretty meh.

I would wholeheartedly recommend to at least read/buy the 4 and 5 stars novellas, ESPECIALLY Elisa Braden’s one, which is gloriously hot and swoony!

My overall rating is a solid 3,5/5 stars.

Fair warning this review is going to be mostly a copy/paste of reviews I’ve had already written for each individual novella (I think only Jess Michaels’s story never got a standalone version). I also added a short explanation why I skipped one story.

For the sake of brevity, here is the short and sweet list of my ratings:

The Duke Who Came to Christmas Dinner by Amy Rose Bennett – 3/5 stars

Mrs. Peabody and the Unexpected Duke by Grace Callaway - 4,5 (rounded to 5)/5 stars

Yule Be My Duke by Darcy Burke – 2/5 stars (to be clear, this rating is for the version of the story included in here, not the stand alone one released recently, which I didn’t read)

💗 The Frosty Duke by Lila DiPasqua – 4/5 stars (my second favourite story in this Anthology!)

Desert Island Duke by Kate Bateman – 4,5/5 stars

Her Duke at Midnight by Christy Carlyle – 4/5 stars

Her Duke With Benefits by Jess Michaels - 2/5 stars

The Duke Deal by Valerie Bowman – 3,5/5 stars

Audacious: A Steamy, Sensual Father's Best Friend Regency Romance

by Minerva Spencer, S.M. LaViolette – 2,5/5 stars

My Duchess, My Wife by Sasha Cottman – No rating. I decided to skip this one, as it was very difficult to get into. The story right away referenced many characters, relationships, and events I was not familiar with. It is a part of longer series, similarly to many stories in this Anthology, but I feel it could not be fully enjoyed without first reading the books that lead to this story.

💗 Right Place, Wrong Duke by Elisa Braden – 5/5! stars (the best story in this Anthology, my absolutely favourite!)

Undressing the Duke by Erica Ridley – 3,75 (rounded to 4)/5 stars

And, now, the full reviews:

The Duke Who Came to Christmas Dinner by Amy Rose Bennett

Very quick read.

I liked the premise – sort of second chance romance story - and at the beginning the interactions between the main couple were fun and exciting. Both main characters seemed to be likable, especially the hero, but very early on during the plot the spark from both of their personalities fizzled. Suddenly there was some awkwardness between the hero and heroine that made the whole story a little dull.

Mrs. Peabody and the Unexpected Duke by Grace Callaway

I loved how much chemistry and spark there was between the heroine and her hero.

They butted heads, but it was absolutely clear from the beginning Hawker was wholeheartedly smitten with Pearl. I thoroughly enjoyed how Grace Callaway portrayed Pearl’s trauma and her insecurities, and how unabashedly sincere Haker was with is adoration for her.

This definitely a great example of a story about second chance romance between a pair that both carry some serious burdens from their past, but together they found strength and courage to seek their happiness.

The thing that I absolutely adored was how Pearl could be considered almost an unapproachable heroine, who’d build all those seemingly impenetrable walls around her, and Hawker - this brusque mountain of man – is unquestionably in love with her. And, even if she didn’t believe herself worthy of love, he was there to assure her how much he cared for her.

Lovely, romantic, and gloriously hot novella.

Yule Be My Duke by Darcy Burke

It’s of course my personal opinion, but Yule Be My Duke has a rather inconsistent feel to it.

For one, it reads a lot like a modern-ish YA adult book, with characters having very chaotic personalities, changing their attitudes towards each other seemingly without reason, and acting more immature than their actual age suggested. But then, the sex scenes are steamy and sensual, almost not matching the characters that star in them. It makes the whole story feel a little awkward.

Still, I liked the premise and some hint of a tension between the main couple - unfortunately it didn’t transform into any palpable chemistry. Cecilia and John definitely communicated they are hot for each other, the sex scenes were steamy, but I didn’t quite get when they supposedly fell in love.

💗 The Frosty Duke by Lila DiPasqua

Definitely one of the better stories in this anthology!

Such a fun and romantic story of a little bit awkward mathematician spinster and a well know about the town rake. I love the trope of shy spinsters asking rakes for tutelage in the romance/sex department, where it’s the experienced party that falls first and falls hard. And this story didn’t disappoint.

There was so much good humour, chemistry, and lovely tension between Sarah and Lewis. I loved her determination and charming obliviousness to Lewis’s growing attraction. And, of course, he first found the awkward bluestocking amusing, but then when the tension and chemistry exploded, he was definitely the first one smitten.

Lovely novella!

Desert Island Duke by Kate Bateman

"Of all the people in the world I could have wished to be shipwrecked with, I'd always and forever choose you."

Judging by my notes and recollection, it was definitely one of the best stories in the anthology.

The setting was particularly interesting, and it sort of gave a fresh flavour to the ‘forced proximity’ trope. I enjoyed all the descriptions of the island Caro and Max found themselves stranded on, how they overcome some of the difficulties of being shipwrecked, and bravely survived a tropical storm (boy, that storm witnessed stuff happening).

What’s more, they had tons of chemistry doing all of that; this was definitely the thing I liked the most – the spark between them. I even really enjoyed the whole Max being amnesiac sub-plot; in the end it was kinda cute.

It was fun and lighthearted (despite plot circumstances) novella, and as summer is quickly approaching – this one would be a pretty nice read for those warm evenings outside.

Her Duke at Midnight by Christy Carlyle

Another of the better stories in this anthology.

I especially liked the heroin this one; he viewed by the ton as calculating and rakich (they called him Heartbreak Duke after all), but was actually really sweet and caring. Any scene he had with the heroine was lovely to read, full of sweet intimacy and softness.

They also had a pretty amusing and fun ‘meet-cute’, when Adam “rescued” Cecilia from her villainous… too tight gown. No, NOT like that. That came later.

Really fun, heartfelt story.

Her Duke With Benefits by Jess Michaels

Ah, this novella was a bit of a disappointment.

I usually really enjoy Jess Micheals stories, but this one was just… not there.

There was no chemistry, no tension, and defiantly no sexiness between the main couple. Yes, they had sex a lot, but some spark was missing. There was no real intimacy or sensuality there, all of the scenes felt dull.

I loved the idea of seriously pining hero, but after a while I kinda felt sorry for Leo. He seemed thoroughly infatuated with Alice, and she ‘till the end appeared to hold him at arm’s length. I understood she just came out of mourning, and expressed many times how much she loved her dead husband, but still…

Maybe this dynamic could be further explored, and better portrayed in a longer book, but a novella’s length made it feel like an unrequited love story.

The Duke Deal by Valerie Bowman

An ok story; there was defiantly chemistry between the estranged couple, and I really enjoyed their banter.

I’m a sucker for any type of bet or wager plots, so this story was really entreating for me. I was intrigued by what could possible made Veronica to leave her husband after only few moths of marriage, and I gotta say – the miscommunication in this story was A LOT. There were moments where the hero and heroine infuriated me to no end. Honestly, this novella could’ve been so much shorter if the main couple just talked with each other.

But, fortunately, the lack of communication fueled some pretty intense tension, and (like I said) the banter was nice.

Curiously enough, the descriptive parts of the prose felt really awkward at times. Dialogs were great, longer parts not so much.

Audacious: A Steamy, Sensual Father's Best Friend Regency Romance

by Minerva Spencer, S.M. LaViolette

I honestly didn’t know how to rate this one – on one hand it was quick, high heat novella with somewhat interesting characters, on the other… the age gap was slightly too much for me, as well as a weirdly structured narration, when at first the hero fondly remembered the heroine as a small child, and in the next paragraph vividly described how much he wants to have sex with her. I’m sure the creepiness was unintentional, but still.

Of course it was not all bad, as Antonia and Lucas had some chemistry together and their families shared history (especially Antonia’s parents) kept me interested.

💗 Right Place, Wrong Duke by Elisa Braden

What a delightful and hot story!

I shouldn’t be surprised at this point how well Elisa Braden intertwines passion with charming humour, but this novella was such a wonderful surprise.

I read it in one go and was baffled when the epilogue rolled in – I was so engrossed in the electrifying and beautifully scorching hot developing romance between Lucie and Silas (I’m starting to love that name for romance heroes. It’d getting up there with Valentine and Sebastian).

This novella was one of the most fun and charming take on “oops, I kidnapped the wrong hot guy” trope I’ve read in a while, and kept me grinning and giddy throughout the whole story. Not to mention pretty hot – I tell you, the author did not exaggerate when she called this one “a scorcher”.

The sex scenes were a glorious mix of intimate sensuality and almost frantic passion – and all of that was just a perfect way to show how both of the main characters saw themselves, what was their love language, and how they overcome their insecurities. There was so much soft vulnerability and comforting touches (especially from the hero – Silas was so tactile it made me so happy!), but also hot passion.

I loved how careful and mindful Silas was of the Lucies’s trauma, how he encouraged her to allow herself to feel pleasure without guilt and shame. And, of course, how she showed him his “hunger” was not “beastly”, and what a caring person he really was.

Even within its short length, Right Place, Wrong Duke managed to tell a lovely, feel good story, with such a scorching sweet heat.

Highly recommend!

Undressing the Duke by Erica Ridley

Recently, Erica Ridley’s books are hit or miss for me – I either really enjoy the almost whimsical feel they have or can’t stand the chaotic characters and plots.

Undressing the Duke was definitely a hit, mostly because the plot was very simple, never overshadowing the real core of the story - a relationship between Duke of Southbury and his valet, Geoffrey Vachon.

I loved the promise of pining austere Duke and charming (almost rakish) valet, and this story had some of that potent longing stares, inner tormented musings, and - of course, beautiful banter.

The way Donovan and Geoffrey sparred with words was both highly electrifying and entertaining. The dialog writing was excellent.

Vachon was gloriously charming, teasing his Duke every chance he got – I enjoyed how close they were, firstly as best friends, then lovers.

As for the story itself, it was very heartfelt and romantic – especially when both protagonist finally admitted attraction for each other.

The setting of Match Making Festival had some of that trademark Erica Ridley’s whimsicality, but it never became more than a charming backdrop for the main couple’s relationship.

Sweet (with a dash of spice!) and romantic story.

glo68's review

Go to review page

5.0

Twelve little gems, twelve great writers. I couldn’t read them all in time for the release, but I chose one from the gorgeous and talented author who gifted the book to me, Amy Rose Bennett, and one from an author I love for her sensual novels, Minerva Spencer.
Amy Rose Bennett
The Duke Who Came to Christmas Dinner
A second chance romance with a rakish and tormented duke and a widow who’s been in love with him since forever. I loved Bennett’s writing: it’s witty and fun, but also emotional. The characters are lovable and beautifully fleshed out. A gorgeous read indeed.
Minerva Spencer
Audacious
The author pens a wonderful age gap romance with a very sexy hero who despite his rough life and his past is sweet, honorable and loyal to a fault (even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his own happiness). But the real treat is the heroine, Antonia, who may be young, but is bold and ready to act to get what she wants. Delicious lovemaking scenes and beautiful writing caps it all!
I hope to update the review when I'm finished reading!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.