Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - A Lady for a Duke

This was a beautiful exploration of gender identity as our heroine navigates coming out to her friend (our heroine) after her transition and our hero navigates what it means to be a disabled man after his experiences in the war. The writing is lyrical or witty at times, a bit overwritten or redundant in others. Overall, it is a bit too long and the kidnapping scene near the end seemed totally unnecessary, but I still loved it.

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kathleenmcg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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cominguproses's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-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

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Forever Publishing for the opportunity to do so!

Summary
After nearly dying in the Battle of Waterloo, Viola is given a chance to let who she was die and emerge anew as her true self. However, she finds that her oldest and dearest friend has fallen into the pitfalls of grief thinking that she is dead. Through friendship and love, the two find their way through society and back to one another.

Review (Light spoilers, so be warned)
Overall, I really liked this book. I've rarely come across a romance-never mind a regency era/period piece romance-with a transgender character that doesn't center their trans identity as the main conflict of the story. Viola being a trans woman is a portion of this story, yes, but it is by no means the focal point of the plot or the only defining characteristic she has. I think Hall did an amazing job executing this. Gracewood, Viola's friend and love interest (and other main character), also has an amazing character arc that sings true to the struggles of grief and PTSD. While it does take until the 50-60% mark to begin their relationship, the two of them are absolutely adorable together. All of the main supporting characters are amazing as well, and there is plenty of funny banter to go around.

My only complaint about this book is that it is very slow-paced, and the language tends to drag on from time to time. However, I cannot stress enough that this is merely personal preference-this is very typical for a regency-era romance, and those who are well versed in the genre will likely not bat an eye at it. Nevertheless, I like my romances slightly faster-paced, but that is just me!

Conclusion
I give this book 4/5 stars - the transfeminine representation is absolutely outstanding and unlike anything I have read before. While I do like them from time to time, I've grown weary of reading stories of queer characters being persecuted for or otherwise struggling with their identity. It's so refreshing to have a story where the representation is there but is not a major point of conflict. I want happy LGBTQ+ characters!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes regency-era romances and/or anyone who is looking for a good queer romance. For the latter, be aware that it is a bit slow/has flowery, period-typical language, but is overall an amazing story!

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mjwhitlock18's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Without a doubt my favorite romance I’ve read this year. This slow-burn, long time friends to lovers, historical Regency M/F romance with a trans heroine had me invested from the beginning. It has fantastically witty moments and beautifully poignant, insightful ones as well.

I adore that while Viola’s gender is integral to the story, it’s not the central conflict of the novel. It’s more about the defying of societal gender roles (by many people, not just Viola). She refuses to apologize for living as her authentic self and has given and found families who accept her without question. And many of these side characters are interesting and delightful in their own right.

“Forgive my language, but...fuck the world. I will change it for you if I have to.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC!

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