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bibliophiliadk's review
4.0
Such sweet, adorable romance. Eli was a really great hero, I loved his passion for botany and for helping women have a safer labor. I am sad that this is the second to last book in this series, because I really have enjoyed it. Especially these last couple of books, they have been so great! Can't wait for the last book!
aaltair's review
4.0
Another great romance story ❣️. I enjoyed reading this book more than the previous one as I think that this book did well in the department of character development.
I enjoyed the strong, confident, wise and kind Olivia. I enjoyed the the ambitious, charismatic and kind Elijah.
Both of them did suffer because of the feud of their fathers. I just love how the story dwell more in the development of the romance although I just felt that some tiny parts were rushed (the last 20-15%) of the book (I think).
I definitely recommend this to those who are looking for a short and quick Christmas, historical romance themed book. This is such a lovely read ❣️.
I enjoyed the strong, confident, wise and kind Olivia. I enjoyed the the ambitious, charismatic and kind Elijah.
Both of them did suffer because of the feud of their fathers. I just love how the story dwell more in the development of the romance although I just felt that some tiny parts were rushed (the last 20-15%) of the book (I think).
I definitely recommend this to those who are looking for a short and quick Christmas, historical romance themed book. This is such a lovely read ❣️.
karentje's review
5.0
Surprising and very moving second-chance-at-love romance between two rivals. I really loved that there was so much tension and (justified) animosity between the main characters, especially on Olive’s part. She quite rightly still feels a lot of resentment and distrust toward Elijah because of a horrible “incident” in their past. There’s always two sides to any story though, and Elijah’s remorse and earnest determination to do better is clear from the onset. Later on, when we discover more about Elijah’s past and his present troubles, it’s impossible not to root for him. He is the kind of hero that you want to cuddle and never let go. He is so brave, but in ways that are not immediately apparent to others. I love that. He’s a more unassuming hero, no alpha stereotype, and seems a bit out of his element, but he is incredibly worthy of Olive. My heart ached for Olive and Elijah both throughout because they don’t have it easy, and I felt incredibly invested in their story and HEA. Olive is such a strong, wonderful character. I love that she’s such a supremely competent, self-assured heroine, at least in most aspects of her life. As always with an Erica Ridley romance, there’s lots of witty banter, a delicate touch with strong emotions, and beautiful imagery to set the scene.
jillmlong's review
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? No
4.0
cuppacora's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
5 Word Review: Family, responsibility, rivalry, trust, love.
For a short read, this was chock full of messy relationships. And as far as I'm concerned when it comes to matters of the heart, the messier the better.
I loved Olive's relationship with her father - and I loved that she wasn't afraid to stand up to him. Her father has a big heart and wants to make things better for everyone, and Olive's clashes with him and her care for him - and the contrast between - was excellently done. Elijah being the catalyst for this really amped up the feelings between Olive and Elijah. It made it so much more intense.
I'm definitely going to read more of the 12 Dukes of Christmas, and I'm happy that they can be read out of order.
natasjalovesbooks's review
4.0
3.5☆
TEN DAYS WITH A DUKE by Erica Ridley is the 11th entry in her 12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS series. I read the first one, ONCE UPON A DUKE, a few days before this one and although I wasn't a big fan of it, it did provide me with some background for this one. And this one I enjoyed far more.
It's a relatively short and simple story about Olive Harper, a very successful horse breeder, whose family has been feuding with the Westons, another family of horse breeders, for decades. One day Elijah Weston turns up on Olive's doorstep, special license in hand, and reveals a plot by Olive's father to marry the two. Olive is furious, because not only is Elijah's family her enemies in both business and life, but Elijah himself once humiliated her with a kiss. A kiss she's had trouble forgetting. And so has Elijah.
It was cute, guys. It all takes place in the town of Cressmouth, called Christmas by the villagers, a town that goes all-in when it comes to Christmas celebrations. There wasn't a lot of focus on the town or on Christmas as such in this one, but that's fine. I thought the story could have benefitted from a higher page count, but on the other hand, it was quite refreshing that there simply wasn't room for the usual "I'm upset so I'll storm off and then weeks will pass before we talk this out" nonsense you're usually subjected to in historical romance.
It was rather sweet, much like a Christmas treat, and like with Christmas treats, I'll probably consume the lot of them in no time at all.
I received TEN DAYS WITH A DUKE as an ARC from NetGalley. This has in no way affected my review. All opinions are my own.
TEN DAYS WITH A DUKE by Erica Ridley is the 11th entry in her 12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS series. I read the first one, ONCE UPON A DUKE, a few days before this one and although I wasn't a big fan of it, it did provide me with some background for this one. And this one I enjoyed far more.
It's a relatively short and simple story about Olive Harper, a very successful horse breeder, whose family has been feuding with the Westons, another family of horse breeders, for decades. One day Elijah Weston turns up on Olive's doorstep, special license in hand, and reveals a plot by Olive's father to marry the two. Olive is furious, because not only is Elijah's family her enemies in both business and life, but Elijah himself once humiliated her with a kiss. A kiss she's had trouble forgetting. And so has Elijah.
It was cute, guys. It all takes place in the town of Cressmouth, called Christmas by the villagers, a town that goes all-in when it comes to Christmas celebrations. There wasn't a lot of focus on the town or on Christmas as such in this one, but that's fine. I thought the story could have benefitted from a higher page count, but on the other hand, it was quite refreshing that there simply wasn't room for the usual "I'm upset so I'll storm off and then weeks will pass before we talk this out" nonsense you're usually subjected to in historical romance.
It was rather sweet, much like a Christmas treat, and like with Christmas treats, I'll probably consume the lot of them in no time at all.
I received TEN DAYS WITH A DUKE as an ARC from NetGalley. This has in no way affected my review. All opinions are my own.
cakt1991's review
5.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Ten Days with a Duke is my favorite of the series so far (even if I have some issues with where it falls in the series, given that it would have been a perfect tenth entry with that title…but I can see why the over-arching plot made this order necessary, even though I haven’t read the entire series yet).
Prior installments have been more fun and surface level, but I like the way this one grappled with the emotional weight of the characters’ past actions, thus making the transition from mortal enemies to lovers feel more well earned. I deeply resonated with Olive, whose self-confidence is destroyed thanks to the Westons and refuses to associate with them again. And there’s also a great growth arc for Elijah, who knows from the beginning he did wrong and works hard to prove he’s changed and win her heart. And the fact that this is complemented by Olive‘s love of horses (her favorite being called Duke) and Elijah working to overcome his fear of them is also beautiful.
I enjoyed this installment, and given what’s been set up, I can’t wait to see what goes down in the final book (I’ll hopefully read the rest before then!) If you love historical holiday romance, this series has been a delightful, from the town of Christmas (actually called Cressmouth) to the wonderful, dynamic characters.
Ten Days with a Duke is my favorite of the series so far (even if I have some issues with where it falls in the series, given that it would have been a perfect tenth entry with that title…but I can see why the over-arching plot made this order necessary, even though I haven’t read the entire series yet).
Prior installments have been more fun and surface level, but I like the way this one grappled with the emotional weight of the characters’ past actions, thus making the transition from mortal enemies to lovers feel more well earned. I deeply resonated with Olive, whose self-confidence is destroyed thanks to the Westons and refuses to associate with them again. And there’s also a great growth arc for Elijah, who knows from the beginning he did wrong and works hard to prove he’s changed and win her heart. And the fact that this is complemented by Olive‘s love of horses (her favorite being called Duke) and Elijah working to overcome his fear of them is also beautiful.
I enjoyed this installment, and given what’s been set up, I can’t wait to see what goes down in the final book (I’ll hopefully read the rest before then!) If you love historical holiday romance, this series has been a delightful, from the town of Christmas (actually called Cressmouth) to the wonderful, dynamic characters.
shilo1364's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this! I thought I loved the previous two 12 Dukes of Christmas books but nope, this one's my favorite. Where Erica Ridley shines is creating characters that are interesting and unique and that grab you from the first page and make you root for them.
I love everything about this novel. I love how competent Olive is and how she knows her worth (as far as running a horse farm is concerned). I love how Eli dreads horses and wants nothing but to be left alone to study botany and discover cures for childbed fever. I love how they're drawn to one another despite being sworn enemies. I even love their fathers' feuding and manipulations.
All of it was grand and made for an extremely satisfying romance. Five enthusiastic stars from me!
*Thanks to Erica Ridley, NetGalley, and WebMotion for providing an e-arc to review.
I love everything about this novel. I love how competent Olive is and how she knows her worth (as far as running a horse farm is concerned). I love how Eli dreads horses and wants nothing but to be left alone to study botany and discover cures for childbed fever. I love how they're drawn to one another despite being sworn enemies. I even love their fathers' feuding and manipulations.
All of it was grand and made for an extremely satisfying romance. Five enthusiastic stars from me!
*Thanks to Erica Ridley, NetGalley, and WebMotion for providing an e-arc to review.
daniairdina's review
3.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*3.5 stars*
This is my first read from Erica Ridley and my, my, this was a solid one. This is a an enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance between Olive and Eli, after an incident years ago when they were teenagers turned sour and Eli humiliated Olive in public. Olive Harper had been insecure ever since and held a grudge against Eli Weston and his father.
I loved how different this was compared to the regular duke/rogue/rake/scoundrel trope. Olive is a horse caretaker and rider (also a former competitive horse racer) at her family's stud farm and she's one of the best in the field. She's passionate about what she does and I loved seeing that. I especially loved that Olive doesn't let this hinder her passion for horses since her humiliation years ago also involved her being called a 'horse girl'. simply because she had larger front teeth which is not something I read about often in historical romances. Eli also has an unconventional passion: he is a botanist and wants to further his research in medicine to hopefully improve the process of childbirth and help women around the world. Again, not a scenario I read often at all.
I loved Eli and Olive together. I liked Eli more than Olive as her defensive attitude got a bit old further on. The first half of this book was a bit slow at first and I wasn't really into it. It may just be me as I've never read Ridley's earlier books in this series, so adjusting to all the side characters took a bit of my brain power. I also didn't like how easily the feud between their fathers got so easily solved at the end, because part of the reason I liked the middle chunk of this book so much was seeing Eli's dilemma to the problem and I was anticipating how it would be solved near the end. Alas, I was disappointed at the resolution of that aspect.
I'll definitely keep an eye out for other works by this author if the synopsis or trope catches my eye. This was not bad for a relatively short book.
petudc's review
5.0
Can this series get any better? I really don't think so, but I hope I'm wrong.
Because this book, people, this book!
This is one of my favorite reads of the year, OK? And I've read more than 200 books, and most of them were actually good, so I know what I'm saying.
Since the moment the plot twist in the middle of the book managed to surprise me, I was a goner. I usually predict plot twists, because I'm always thinking of all possible scenarios and consequences. Yes, I'm that annoying.
So, for a book to manage to get me into the story so much that I'm not overanalyzing it, it must be really, really good.
Also, I loved the characters so much, I might have a crush on both of them. Olive is a badass, a true feminist from the XIX century, with her horses and her stubbornness and her independence. And Elijah is such a cute guy, with his love for plants and his nerdy attitude and his vulnerability but also his decisiveness. I loved how they supported each other even when they were "enemies", and how they learned to be what the other needed without losing themselves in the process.
This book is just so good and inspiring and the Romance is just too sweet and non-toxic. Really, I can't express how much it has moved me.
So, please, read it. Please. Of you're only reading one Christmas Romance in all of your life, please let it be this one.
Because this book, people, this book!
This is one of my favorite reads of the year, OK? And I've read more than 200 books, and most of them were actually good, so I know what I'm saying.
Since the moment the plot twist in the middle of the book managed to surprise me, I was a goner. I usually predict plot twists, because I'm always thinking of all possible scenarios and consequences. Yes, I'm that annoying.
So, for a book to manage to get me into the story so much that I'm not overanalyzing it, it must be really, really good.
Also, I loved the characters so much, I might have a crush on both of them. Olive is a badass, a true feminist from the XIX century, with her horses and her stubbornness and her independence. And Elijah is such a cute guy, with his love for plants and his nerdy attitude and his vulnerability but also his decisiveness. I loved how they supported each other even when they were "enemies", and how they learned to be what the other needed without losing themselves in the process.
This book is just so good and inspiring and the Romance is just too sweet and non-toxic. Really, I can't express how much it has moved me.
So, please, read it. Please. Of you're only reading one Christmas Romance in all of your life, please let it be this one.