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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Duke by Default
Reluctant Royals, Book 2
I Picked Up This Book Because: I’ve been wanting to read this series for a while and finally just jumped in. Didn’t realize I was starting with book 2 though #doh
The Characters:
Portia Hobbs:
Tavish McKenzie:
The Story:
I have to say it first thing, this was a great story ruined by a terrible narrator for me. I’m not saying the narrator didn’t do what she could to the best of her ability but her Scottish accent was Jamacian. It was really distracting throughout the story as there were quite few different accents in this multicultural cast and she just couldn’t do them all. That said the story is definitely the only thing that kept me listening and if I would have been able to get my hands on a print copy quickly I would have ditched the audiobook. Okay now that I’ve let off that steam let's talk about this story.
Portia comes into Tavish’s life as his apprentice, hired by his brother to not only learn to make swords but to boost the armory’s business through social media and other outputs. There is an instant attraction between Portia and Tavish and who could blame Portia. I mean a Scottish hottie with hard earned muscles that knows how to expertly wield and hone an ancient weapon? I’m in love too. Portia resists because she is trying to turn over a new leaf, Tavish resists because it’s professional however neither is able to resist for long. During Portia’s tenure at the armory it is discovered that Tavish’s absent father is actually a Duke and Tavish must decide first if he wants to take up the mantle and then learn to navigate this new world of hidden hostility and scheming.
This story was in part fun, sexy, emotional, and somewhat addictive.
The Random Thoughts:
#LibraryLoveChallenge
4 Stars
Reluctant Royals, Book 2
I Picked Up This Book Because: I’ve been wanting to read this series for a while and finally just jumped in. Didn’t realize I was starting with book 2 though #doh
The Characters:
Portia Hobbs:
Tavish McKenzie:
The Story:
I have to say it first thing, this was a great story ruined by a terrible narrator for me. I’m not saying the narrator didn’t do what she could to the best of her ability but her Scottish accent was Jamacian. It was really distracting throughout the story as there were quite few different accents in this multicultural cast and she just couldn’t do them all. That said the story is definitely the only thing that kept me listening and if I would have been able to get my hands on a print copy quickly I would have ditched the audiobook. Okay now that I’ve let off that steam let's talk about this story.
Portia comes into Tavish’s life as his apprentice, hired by his brother to not only learn to make swords but to boost the armory’s business through social media and other outputs. There is an instant attraction between Portia and Tavish and who could blame Portia. I mean a Scottish hottie with hard earned muscles that knows how to expertly wield and hone an ancient weapon? I’m in love too. Portia resists because she is trying to turn over a new leaf, Tavish resists because it’s professional however neither is able to resist for long. During Portia’s tenure at the armory it is discovered that Tavish’s absent father is actually a Duke and Tavish must decide first if he wants to take up the mantle and then learn to navigate this new world of hidden hostility and scheming.
This story was in part fun, sexy, emotional, and somewhat addictive.
The Random Thoughts:
#LibraryLoveChallenge
4 Stars
This is my favorite in the whole series so far. In large parts due to Portia. She is an amazing character, not perfect but trying, often trying twice as hard as people give her credit for. Her relationship to her family was complicated, and not only did I want to hug her constantly, it also added a layer of depth and emotions to the story for me that I loved.
The writing was as perfect as I've come to expect from Alyssa Cole, the voices of these MCs still grabbed me even more than I anticipated and their inner turmoils hit me especially hard in the feels.
Additionally, I adored how her relationship with Tav developed. The pacing worked perfectly for me, all the ups and downs and complications felt real and left me so emotionally satisfied, I honest to God swooned.
In fact the whole story left me swooning and was definitely one of my favorite reads of the month, possibly even the year.
The writing was as perfect as I've come to expect from Alyssa Cole, the voices of these MCs still grabbed me even more than I anticipated and their inner turmoils hit me especially hard in the feels.
Additionally, I adored how her relationship with Tav developed. The pacing worked perfectly for me, all the ups and downs and complications felt real and left me so emotionally satisfied, I honest to God swooned.
In fact the whole story left me swooning and was definitely one of my favorite reads of the month, possibly even the year.
A Duke by Default was definitely a witty, well-rounded book that took a lot of risks and stood up to the challenges. Portia was a “hot mess” who had something to prove and hoped that she would find herself by learning how to forge a sword. Tavish is a silver fox who has been in over his head for some time now, and never would have guessed that his apprentice, Portia, would be the answer to his dilemma (and issues that he hadn’t even known existed).
The chemistry between them is fun, flirty, and witty, and I can see why this book has received such rave reviews. I really took my time with the story and enjoyed the prose; the voice of the author Alyssa Cole is fresh and edgy, and many topics are as contemporary as from the news headlines.
There were times when some scenes dragged, and a few of the beats were slightly repetitive, but that was easily and quickly forgiven. The ending felt a tad bit rushed for my liking - I would have liked more loose ends to have been tied up instead of dangling; also, the last scene with royalty was admittedly over the top, even with the premise of this book. The two reconciled far too quickly, and again, that was due to rushing to the finish line for the novel.
The author is so witty - there were times when I truly had to chuckle or laugh out loud, which I appreciated. Intimate scenes were exactly that - intimate - and they served to progress the romantic action in the plot.
Because I’m not the kind of reader who will hop into a series without reading previous books, I ended up also buying A Princess in Theory (Book #1) and read that before reading this book. I’m very glad I did, because I was able to enjoy both books immensely. I like the diversity among the characters, and I feel that it was done in a very natural way.
I recommend this book (actually the entire series so far), and I look forward to the release of Book #3 next year!
The chemistry between them is fun, flirty, and witty, and I can see why this book has received such rave reviews. I really took my time with the story and enjoyed the prose; the voice of the author Alyssa Cole is fresh and edgy, and many topics are as contemporary as from the news headlines.
There were times when some scenes dragged, and a few of the beats were slightly repetitive, but that was easily and quickly forgiven. The ending felt a tad bit rushed for my liking - I would have liked more loose ends to have been tied up instead of dangling; also, the last scene with royalty was admittedly over the top, even with the premise of this book. The two reconciled far too quickly, and again, that was due to rushing to the finish line for the novel.
The author is so witty - there were times when I truly had to chuckle or laugh out loud, which I appreciated. Intimate scenes were exactly that - intimate - and they served to progress the romantic action in the plot.
Because I’m not the kind of reader who will hop into a series without reading previous books, I ended up also buying A Princess in Theory (Book #1) and read that before reading this book. I’m very glad I did, because I was able to enjoy both books immensely. I like the diversity among the characters, and I feel that it was done in a very natural way.
I recommend this book (actually the entire series so far), and I look forward to the release of Book #3 next year!
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Such a good book! I loved this installment in the Reluctant Royals series. I cried, I laughed. Portia’s struggle is so real and Tav is perfectly stupid. I did listen to the audiobook tho, and the audiobook narrator is horrible at a scottish accent. I wish Portia’s parents had gotten their comeuppance, but otherwise a really wonderful book.
I've always found that in a romance series, the second book, which features a side character or younger sibling from the first book, is never as good and the protagonist is always really fucking annoying and unlikable, but this trend is really changing. I LOVED Portia's story and felt a surprising amount of sympathy for Portia too. I fucking LOVED Tav- a smouldering, caustic, sarcastic, silver haired SCOT? I mean, fucking marry me already! The romance was adorable and well developed (unlike the first book, which was pretty insta-love) but the ending did feel a bit rushed and I would have liked to see Portia's non romantic relationships developed more too.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The bad:
As much as I like Alyssa Cole's writing, she didn't handle the Scottish accents convincingly enough for me. MANY elements of the plot were just...they stretched my willingness to suspend my disbelief by quite a bit.
The good:
Portia is a delight. A lot of the one-liners had me laughing and continuing to giggle long after I'd turned the page. I still love Ledi so much, and her and Thabiso's cameos were fabulous.
On the whole, I did enjoy this book, but there were a lot of problems with the Scottish setting and the plausibility of the duke storyline. Not my favorite, but I also haven't been dissuaded from reading the next in the series.
As much as I like Alyssa Cole's writing, she didn't handle the Scottish accents convincingly enough for me. MANY elements of the plot were just...they stretched my willingness to suspend my disbelief by quite a bit.
The good:
Portia is a delight. A lot of the one-liners had me laughing and continuing to giggle long after I'd turned the page. I still love Ledi so much, and her and Thabiso's cameos were fabulous.
On the whole, I did enjoy this book, but there were a lot of problems with the Scottish setting and the plausibility of the duke storyline. Not my favorite, but I also haven't been dissuaded from reading the next in the series.
I really enjoyed this one (as is usual with Alyssa Cole books). I thought Portia was a really interesting heroine, and unlike most of Cole's heroines, her insecurities pervade every part of her life, it's not just one specific hot-button issue. This is feels so much more real to me.
That said, I didn't love the side characters as much - they felt cutesy and not fleshed out - but the chemistry between Portia and Tav was palpable.
Definitely one of my favorite romance authors.
That said, I didn't love the side characters as much - they felt cutesy and not fleshed out - but the chemistry between Portia and Tav was palpable.
Definitely one of my favorite romance authors.
This was a fun book. Good characters, good laughter, good romance. I appreciated the portrayal of a woman figuring out an ADHD diagnosis as an adult. Portia's relationships with other women were also much appreciated.
One thing I did find quite distracting though. There were many rather contrived things that I am quite content to overlook for the sake of a fun story. But if you're going to invent a fictitious duke, invent a fictitious duchy to go along with it! I found the fact that he was the Duke of EDINGBURGH incredibly distract since that is decidedly Prince Phillip.
One thing I did find quite distracting though. There were many rather contrived things that I am quite content to overlook for the sake of a fun story. But if you're going to invent a fictitious duke, invent a fictitious duchy to go along with it! I found the fact that he was the Duke of EDINGBURGH incredibly distract since that is decidedly Prince Phillip.