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wordwych's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping and Sexual harassment
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
In the two years since Normandy, Viola's best friend, Gracewood, has thought she was dead. In reality, Viola was figuring out how to be herself rather than the boy she was raised to be, and assumed that her best friend would move on with his life when she was no longer in it. Instead, she discovered that in his grief he had turned to drink and laudanum, terrifying his sister and staff with the depths of his despair.
When Gracewood finally learns that Viola and his best friend are the same being, a new set of complications arise, as the social pressures on the lives of a duke and a lady's companion are deeply felt, and seem inescapable. As a trans person, it's tough to read what seems like transphobia coming from the love interest, even briefly, but the way it's handled and how both characters react to that moment serves to make the story stronger overall.
I like the care paid to developing Gracewood's relationship with his sister, dealing with the trouble has in relating to a teenage girl when he is a man who was raised to give orders rather than to listen. Viola and Gracewood were both changed by the war, but Gracewood's experiences left him visibly scarred and mentally shaken in ways that affect him on a daily basis. This is handled variously throughout, as Gracewood gradually becomes confident to not accept casual ableism from others, but it takes a while.
I love how Gracewood slowly notices more and more of Viola's wardrobe, appreciate that she designs and sews/embroiders it herself. It's made clear that Viola hasn't had previous sexual experiences because she would have either had to have them as a man (which she was uncomfortable doing, even before figuring out her gender), or would need a partner who was not scared off by her body after meeting her as a woman. The eventual sex scenes with Gracewood are careful and intimate, treading the line between being specific about the logistics involved involved and giving Viola space to be feminine and sexual without triggering dysphoria. More than that, with Gracewood's support as a partner she gets to feel good about her body in a sexual context, that it is a woman's body because it is hers, and not based on whether it aligns with some standard of gender presentation.
Things I love, in no particular order: Viola's sister-in-law, and her interactions with her nephew; the audiobook narrator's excellent performance; the way the b-plot gradually becomes more important as the initial tension from the social difficulties of Viola and Gracewood's relationship fade in the face of their care for each other.
A LADY FOR A DUKE is self-contained and ends very satisfactorily, but it does appear that a sequel is planned (which I will eagerly await). Everything I could want handled is covered either in detail, or implicitly by the epilogue, which is set several years after the events of the main story. It seems that future books would be unlikely to feature Viola and Gracewood as main characters, but, based on the title of the sequel I think it will involve one of their relatives (which would be great, I'd love to have them play a role again after they were so wonderful here).
When Gracewood finally learns that Viola and his best friend are the same being, a new set of complications arise, as the social pressures on the lives of a duke and a lady's companion are deeply felt, and seem inescapable. As a trans person, it's tough to read what seems like transphobia coming from the love interest, even briefly, but the way it's handled and how both characters react to that moment serves to make the story stronger overall.
I like the care paid to developing Gracewood's relationship with his sister, dealing with the trouble has in relating to a teenage girl when he is a man who was raised to give orders rather than to listen. Viola and Gracewood were both changed by the war, but Gracewood's experiences left him visibly scarred and mentally shaken in ways that affect him on a daily basis. This is handled variously throughout, as Gracewood gradually becomes confident to not accept casual ableism from others, but it takes a while.
I love how Gracewood slowly notices more and more of Viola's wardrobe, appreciate that she designs and sews/embroiders it herself. It's made clear that Viola hasn't had previous sexual experiences because she would have either had to have them as a man (which she was uncomfortable doing, even before figuring out her gender), or would need a partner who was not scared off by her body after meeting her as a woman. The eventual sex scenes with Gracewood are careful and intimate, treading the line between being specific about the logistics involved involved and giving Viola space to be feminine and sexual without triggering dysphoria. More than that, with Gracewood's support as a partner she gets to feel good about her body in a sexual context, that it is a woman's body because it is hers, and not based on whether it aligns with some standard of gender presentation.
Things I love, in no particular order: Viola's sister-in-law, and her interactions with her nephew; the audiobook narrator's excellent performance; the way the b-plot gradually becomes more important as the initial tension from the social difficulties of Viola and Gracewood's relationship fade in the face of their care for each other.
A LADY FOR A DUKE is self-contained and ends very satisfactorily, but it does appear that a sequel is planned (which I will eagerly await). Everything I could want handled is covered either in detail, or implicitly by the epilogue, which is set several years after the events of the main story. It seems that future books would be unlikely to feature Viola and Gracewood as main characters, but, based on the title of the sequel I think it will involve one of their relatives (which would be great, I'd love to have them play a role again after they were so wonderful here).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death, Cursing, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gun violence, Violence, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
littleflowerfairy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Drug abuse, Sexism, Addiction, Cursing, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Deadnaming, Violence, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
The sexual harassment warning is very minor, nothing really happens,lignjahal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4.0/5
It’s a cute little queer historical romance that will keep you engaged with solid writing and good characters.
My only cons are the length being just a bit too long and the writing sometimes being a bit too modern for the period, but these are only minor complaints.
It’s a cute little queer historical romance that will keep you engaged with solid writing and good characters.
My only cons are the length being just a bit too long and the writing sometimes being a bit too modern for the period, but these are only minor complaints.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Sexism, Ableism, War, Sexual harassment, Classism, Kidnapping, and Drug use
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Transphobia, Outing, Sexism, Gore, Addiction, Child abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kato_goldacker's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Friends to lovers slow-burn with good Trans Representation.
Recommend for Bridgerton Fans
(go to end for conclusion)
(go to end for conclusion)
Loved it. When I found this one I knew I had to read it simply because it is exactly what I wanted.
Alexis Hall has some really beautiful writing and ways of describing things, as well as the ability to spark inspiration or thought with the way he puts things. This had a lot of inspiring, beautiful lines and romantic, soft, yearning moments that I really enjoyed, I marked a lot of parts in this book. Hall did a great job with writing a relatable trans character, too.
I did feel that, overall in its execution it’s not a masterpiece of a book, as I still felt like some things were perhaps missing or too simple. I also wasn’t always entirely sure about the pace of the book, I would call it a slow-burn romance, which I liked, but it did change pace a bit later. I don’t think it’s extraordinary story-writing or anything -generally I felt like there were things missing for me to make it a GREAT book, but I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was. Depth, the feeling of a more detailedly thought-through plot / story, most likely.
Still, I loved it, and I’m so happy there’s a book with this story.
The characters were lovely and the playful, intimate and teasing interactions and the yearning and pining between Gracewood and Viola were really fun to read.
I’m also really happy we got a bit of spicy/intimate scenes, which I think is great seeing trans characters nicely represented in.
I don’t think you always need an absolutely great story with a unique plot that wasn’t ever written before. Popular tropes can still be enjoyable, and I don’t think it’s necessary to have an entirely period-accurate representation in every LGBTQIA+ novel, especially since -some people argue- it can be nice for us to have something simple, cheesy and stereotypical for once too, just like there’s tons of (non-LGBTQIA+) straight fiction like that.
Conclusion
So I’d say, if you’re not looking for a terribly original storyline but for a happy, hopelessly romantic, historical friends to lovers slow-burn, featuring good and positive trans representation, you will really like this.
About Triggers
I put all from this list I think are (briefly) in the book,
Of course it is for yourself to know but I just need to say I didn’t find this much triggering, even though I am quite sensitive to a lot of those. If drug use is really triggering for you it might be a different thing, for me it is mainly violence related as well as any sexual abuse or transphobia related ones, but I was mostly fine reading this and, despite containing all of those listed triggers, I found this was book that still felt light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Drug abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Outing, War, Gun violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia
lynxpardinus's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Ableism, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: War, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Blood, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Deadnaming
intoner1's review against another edition
hopeful
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This review has been copied and pasted from my goodreads account.
What can I say about this book that hasn’t been said already? It’s a tantalizing, thrilling slow burn about two people discovering themselves as they fall in love. Absolutely adored this book. Alexis Hall is a talented writer.
What can I say about this book that hasn’t been said already? It’s a tantalizing, thrilling slow burn about two people discovering themselves as they fall in love. Absolutely adored this book. Alexis Hall is a talented writer.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
jenna_gilb's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Ableism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual violence
danaslitlist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to read a historical fiction book that handled queerness, transness and disability in such an intentional and considerate manner. In a genre where elitist readers claim wanting historical accuracy, while also allowing for all rules to be broken if it fulfills tropes and desires, in order to exclude characters who queer, trans, BIPOC, disabled in leading roles, etc it was a wonderful surprise to have so many characters be of these groups or be supportive allies. And guess what? That doesn’t jeopardize the believability or immersion of the text.
Queer and trans people have always existed. Point blank period, we have been in the world, and it’s about time we have more novels like this exist and are praised.
Not to mention that the book itself is beautifully written and feels like a “proper” regency era romance and not like a book trying to be one. The prose is spectacular, the flirting and building of tension between characters was palpable, and the cast of characters all felt real and genuine.
I think one of the strongest areas of this book is the way that Viola being trans is not the main source of conflict in this book; in that her identity and being herself is not the basis for resentment. And that Viola is loved and respected and cared for by so many allows for the readers to bask in trans joy.
This would’ve been a five star read but I felt that the last plot point that was introduced around the 90% mark was a bit out of the blue and unnecessary. The book would’ve been fine without it, if not better had it not been included so last minute.
Queer and trans people have always existed. Point blank period, we have been in the world, and it’s about time we have more novels like this exist and are praised.
Not to mention that the book itself is beautifully written and feels like a “proper” regency era romance and not like a book trying to be one. The prose is spectacular, the flirting and building of tension between characters was palpable, and the cast of characters all felt real and genuine.
I think one of the strongest areas of this book is the way that Viola being trans is not the main source of conflict in this book; in that her identity and being herself is not the basis for resentment. And that Viola is loved and respected and cared for by so many allows for the readers to bask in trans joy.
This would’ve been a five star read but I felt that the last plot point that was introduced around the 90% mark was a bit out of the blue and unnecessary. The book would’ve been fine without it, if not better had it not been included so last minute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, War, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Minor: Transphobia
tesshersh's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Loved the first 75%, the last quarter could’ve been completely cut out and I would’ve been totally fine :P but all in all very enjoyable!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, War, Sexism, Mental illness, Gun violence, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse