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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I was worried about Portia in A Princess In Theory, because of her drinking and because Ledi was worried about her and it rubbed off on me. I'm glad she put those worries to rest in this book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but I felt that the ending was a little less solid than the rest of the book. I hope we get to check back in with Portia and Tav in the next book. I'm also disappointed that Portia spent hardly any time actually learning to make swords, which is addressed in the book and Portia doesn't mind, but *I* do! Those are minor complaints though and I still loved reading it.
I particularly enjoyed the use of social media/technology in the book and thought it was well done. It's a little weird for me that I'm closer in age to Tav but much closer to Portia in my use of technology. 😂 I liked that his ex-wife wasn't villainized and that she was happy in her own life.
I see some significant parallels to Courtney Milan's The Suffragette Scandal and would happily host a compare/contrast discussion book club of those two.
I particularly enjoyed the use of social media/technology in the book and thought it was well done. It's a little weird for me that I'm closer in age to Tav but much closer to Portia in my use of technology. 😂 I liked that his ex-wife wasn't villainized and that she was happy in her own life.
I see some significant parallels to Courtney Milan's The Suffragette Scandal and would happily host a compare/contrast discussion book club of those two.
It was nice to see a heroine portrayed with ADHD. I loved the characters, especially Cheryl. However, I felt the story was trying to do too many things and I found the climax veering a bit towards the silly for my taste.
Not bad, but not as good as the first book in the series eather. The story dragged on and on but couldn't really hold my interest.
This was GREAT!! They were misunderstandings but it never pulled me away from the story. And I just loved the whole premise. So wonderful! I can't wait to read more of the series!
I enjoyed this, and I'm glad I listened to so many recommendations and picked it up. Portia, a wealthy New Yorker who grew up with privilege (but not much love nor support) is engaging on a "Time to be a Functional Grown Adult" project, takes an apprenticeship with a very surly weaponsmith in Scotland. I really appreciated her point-of-view for the vast majority of the book, especially in her mindset with her relationship with her parents (who needed a bit of a throat-punch, to be honest), and her attempts to move past their influence (often failed). Tav was a borderline alphahole at first, so I didn't really care about him at all until we got to see some of the gooey centre, but his brother and brother's wife made me grin, and cast enough of a softening effect on him that I did come around.
Other than the "black moment," which I struggled through (I was almost ready for both of them to lose, given the incredibly short-sighted assumptions and huge-ass leaps of logic they were making) 'A Duke by Default' was a lot of fun—and the ending scenes with the Queen made up for how much I wanted to slap them both for a few chapters. Portia's journey, especially, sort of hiccoughed around the 80-85% mark in a way that I felt like maybe I'd missed something and went back a full chapter to re-listen, but I hadn't—she just did a reversion/fall-back/repeat of an ongoing mindset, which didn't quite feel out of character exactly, but I did put down the book for a while in frustration. Had either of the two just spoken and communicated clearly with the other, they could have avoided that extra black moment, and those are my least favourite black moments as a reader, so it's more a me thing.
Also, I listened to this on audiobook, and the reader wasn't great at Scottish accents, especially at the very start. I got used to it, and overall it wasn't a detriment, but at the start I wasn't entirely sure.
I loved the sheer variety of people in the story, though. Unless I missed it, everyone seemed to be nonqueer—with the potential exception of a character who might have been saying she was aro but honestly came across as miserable, so that was... sad—and of course, Tav being close to his brother meant they got to receive some homophobia (and one of them also directly relatedly suffers violence, to boot, though it's all history before the start of the book), but the sheer range of ethnicity and background, neurotype and ability, and socioeconomic status was a welcome thing.
Other than the "black moment," which I struggled through (I was almost ready for both of them to lose, given the incredibly short-sighted assumptions and huge-ass leaps of logic they were making) 'A Duke by Default' was a lot of fun—and the ending scenes with the Queen made up for how much I wanted to slap them both for a few chapters. Portia's journey, especially, sort of hiccoughed around the 80-85% mark in a way that I felt like maybe I'd missed something and went back a full chapter to re-listen, but I hadn't—she just did a reversion/fall-back/repeat of an ongoing mindset, which didn't quite feel out of character exactly, but I did put down the book for a while in frustration. Had either of the two just spoken and communicated clearly with the other, they could have avoided that extra black moment, and those are my least favourite black moments as a reader, so it's more a me thing.
Also, I listened to this on audiobook, and the reader wasn't great at Scottish accents, especially at the very start. I got used to it, and overall it wasn't a detriment, but at the start I wasn't entirely sure.
I loved the sheer variety of people in the story, though. Unless I missed it, everyone seemed to be nonqueer—with the potential exception of a character who might have been saying she was aro but honestly came across as miserable, so that was... sad—and of course, Tav being close to his brother meant they got to receive some homophobia (and one of them also directly relatedly suffers violence, to boot, though it's all history before the start of the book), but the sheer range of ethnicity and background, neurotype and ability, and socioeconomic status was a welcome thing.
3.5 stars
the pining and back and forth should I shouldn't I was a little too much for me.
But I love that Portia has so much character! Her character is so well developed and I love that throughout her apprenticeship she learns more about herself. I also love that the story aside from the romance is so fleshed out!
I don't love the relationship between Tavish and Portia though I just don't see the appeal in Tavish lmao Portia could do so much better.
the pining and back and forth should I shouldn't I was a little too much for me.
But I love that Portia has so much character! Her character is so well developed and I love that throughout her apprenticeship she learns more about herself. I also love that the story aside from the romance is so fleshed out!
I don't love the relationship between Tavish and Portia though I just don't see the appeal in Tavish lmao Portia could do so much better.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is really fun! I liked it even more than A Princess in Theory, I think because I connected to the characters better this time, and the book isn't quite as rooted in deception as A Princess in Theory is. I loved how lively this book is and how much it feels current, acknowledging that the world is full of emoji-strewn group texts, memes, social media, etc.
I do not claim to be an expert on Scotland or English royalty in any way, but there were a few things in this book that kept throwing me out. First, the word "Highland" is thrown around a lot, but the book is set in Edinburgh (or a fictional Leith, really) which is definitely not the Highlands. Then, the titular duke in this book has the title of the Duke of Edinburgh, and that was legit confusing until I figured out we weren't dealing with Prince Philip. Like, this is an alternate universe with a Wakanda-like African monarchy, so just go ahead and make up a title that isn't currently being held by the queen's consort. The last thing that threw me was spelling whiskey with the e. Very not Scottish. Sure, that could be a style guide thing, I suppose, but I think the best style guide would spell whisky in the way that was appropriate for its context.
All that said, I don't really require a lot of verisimilitude in my fiction, so they were all just momentary stumbles in the flow of reading an otherwise delightful book.
I do not claim to be an expert on Scotland or English royalty in any way, but there were a few things in this book that kept throwing me out. First, the word "Highland" is thrown around a lot, but the book is set in Edinburgh (or a fictional Leith, really) which is definitely not the Highlands. Then, the titular duke in this book has the title of the Duke of Edinburgh, and that was legit confusing until I figured out we weren't dealing with Prince Philip. Like, this is an alternate universe with a Wakanda-like African monarchy, so just go ahead and make up a title that isn't currently being held by the queen's consort. The last thing that threw me was spelling whiskey with the e. Very not Scottish. Sure, that could be a style guide thing, I suppose, but I think the best style guide would spell whisky in the way that was appropriate for its context.
All that said, I don't really require a lot of verisimilitude in my fiction, so they were all just momentary stumbles in the flow of reading an otherwise delightful book.
Alyssa Cole is a phenomenal writer. She writes a mean slow build andthe eventual romance scenes evoked ~feelings~ in my cold, cold heart that I haven't gotten from romance novels in a minute. She clearly does her research and digs into the history of a place, which I enjoyed because I know jack squat about Scotland. Her characters also have unique voices. Portia's position as the black sheep in her family really resonated with me, and I enjoyed the subplot of her trying to navigate her dysfunctional family.
I was worried that there would be more characters from the previous book in the series that I'd be confused by, but their inclusion didn't impede on my understanding of anything in the novel. I think I'll go back and read the first in the series, though ;)
I was worried that there would be more characters from the previous book in the series that I'd be confused by, but their inclusion didn't impede on my understanding of anything in the novel. I think I'll go back and read the first in the series, though ;)
soooooo cute. the sexual tension between Portia and Tavish was A++++, even though the steamy scenes themself were a little lack luster for me. I think this book was a little to focused on mundane day to day things and could have moved a little faster. However, the end 50 pages went waaayyyy too fast. That's something I noticed in the other Alyssa Cole book I read too: the final act of her books are really weirdly rush and sort of convoluted. It doesn't take too much away from my enjoyment tho