Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Every Duke Has His Day

Thank you to NetGalley, Suzanne Enoch, and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book! Available as of September 19, 2023.

Elizabeth Dockering is the extremely popular and charming diamond of the season, and Michael Woriton is a scientifically inclined Duke who prefers being away from society. The two main characters meet in the park where they get into an argument after Elizabeth’s dog, Galahad, scraps with Michael’s aunt’s dog, Lancelot. The dogs happen to be identical and end up being switched. When they later try to switch them back, both dogs end up being stolen. While the two embark on an adventure to rescue the dogs, they learn more about each other and themselves along the way.

This is a comedic story with a straightforward plot, medium pace, and multiple points of view. I appreciated that both characters get proper character arcs and are fully formed characters. It was cute seeing the main characters come together and use their respective skills to overcome obstacles. I enjoyed the secondary characters and their storyline, and that I got to see the personalities of some of the “smaller role” characters. It was fun seeing their reactions and feeling like I knew them as well as the main characters. They expressed concern, gave good advice, and played matchmaker without just being tools to move the plot forward. The villain came off as an entitled fool to me. He consistently looked down on others and underestimated them, which ultimately led to his downfall. On top of that, his bad nature and rude attitude made it hard to feel bad for his demise. I had a great time reading this book. I would recommend this to someone looking to laugh, smile, and ultimately just have a good time.

Content Warnings

allingoodtime's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a new-to-me author and I’m sure I’ll be reading more from her. This story was delightful. I’m not a person who is too keen on dogs, yet I understand the depth of love dog owners have for their pets. While there is no animal cruelty in this story, per se, there are discussions of causing harm to animals so be forewarned if that is hard for you to read.

Elizabeth and Michael have a total meet-cute, with her dog and his aunt’s dog getting tangled together at the park. Truth be told, Galahad is not a well-behaved dog and would have driven me crazy if I was friends with Elizabeth. But Galahad is fiercely protective of his owner so you can’t fault him in some of his actions, especially toward Elizabeth’s current suitor. After their disastrous meeting, Elizabeth and Michael don’t expect to ever see each other again. She is a social butterfly who is the belle of every ball she attends. Michael is an introvert who loves science and books, learning, and teaching. They feel the attraction from the first but shove it aside knowing they wouldn’t be well suited to one another.

Instead of never seeing each other again, Michael and Elizabeth are thrown together after one of the dogs is kidnapped. Michael’s structured, brilliant mind is perfect for coming up with a plan of action while Elizabeth’s kindness and natural way with people help those plans along. The heat level of this story is a departure from much of what I read more regularly, but this book is proof positive that warm-fuzzies can and do exist in low-heat books in the hands of a good writer. They don’t even kiss until more than halfway through, yet I could feel their connection every time they shared the page.

Their adventures are a lot of fun and help them both to understand the other side, so to speak. There are wonderful side characters who ended up endearing themselves to me when I thought they wouldn’t. The villain is terrifically terrible. Michael’s servants and aunt made me smile as well. The dialogue is witty and smart. This was a very enjoyable read.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

Content Warnings

girldetectives's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Michael Bromley, the Duke of Woriton, is a scientist (and eligible bachelor). Elizabeth "Bitsy" Dockering is the diamond of her second season. What happens when an accidental mix-up of their black poodles results in a calculated double dognapping? But who could be behind such a horrible act? And are Michael and Elizabeth, with their very different interests and demeanors, going to be able to team up for long enough to ensure that they get their precious companions back?

I really liked Something in the Heir, so I was excited to read another Suzanne Enoch book. This one didn't disappoint! If you like opposites attract romances, this is a definite recommendation! Every Duke Has His Day was well balanced, with the romance and other key parts of the plot feeling equally as important. I appreciated the multiple viewpoints that were explored, which was particularly important given the awful act that served as the main plot point for the book - the dognapping. In the end, though, there's a happy ending for (almost*) everyone.

*aside from the villain, thankfully!

The only thing that could have made this five stars for me would have been pushing something from the final chapter into the epilogue. Overall, this was a delightful read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC.

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fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fun, adventurous, and clean romance. I especially liked having the multiple storylines: Elizabeth and Michael and Jimmie and Sally. This was a fun change from the typical historical romance that only focuses on the upper classes. Michael was very much neurodivergent-coded, but in a way that I, also neurodivergent, recognized his characteristics and it wasn't presented in a heavy-handed, stereotypical way. My only complaint is that the

marriage proposal at the end seemed to come out of nowhere. I wish there had been more romance prior to that

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