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apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I have some complicated feelings about this book, so I hope I don't ramble too terribly much, but also this is my review and no one can stop me.
TL;DR: Leela is a QUEEN and Hunt doesn't deserve her. A man should respect you AND make you orgasm, the two are not mutually exclusive.
I've seen a few others review this novel and they have such high praise for our female lead, Leela, and Hunt is "just there". I get it now. 100%.
The premise of the novel is our love interests, Lady Delilah Chambers (Leela) and the Duke of Huntington Elliot Townsend (Hunt), share a passionate, anonymous night together, promising to never meet again. But as fate would have it, their lives are about to be forever entangled.
I loved, loved, LOVED Leela. She was strong, independent, and refused to take any crap from anyone, but specifically from men who believed themselves superior than her. On paper, Leela should have been granted status and benefits from society due to her title as a lady dowager, but her "unsavory" heritage. Her father was a nobleman, who "lowered" himself to marry her mother, the daughter of a Palestinian merchant. Leela's father never recovered his status in the eyes of elite society; everyone labeled him the "Mad Marquess". When Leela came of age, she married an older nobleman who had children from his previous marriage. When her husband died, Leela ran away to be with her family and did not return, since the heir made it very clear Leela was not a part of the family or welcome in the manor.
Elliot Townsend, "Hunt", is attempting to salvage his family's reputation, run his duchy, and live as respectable and scandal free as possible. There is a rumored curse on the Townsend family, every other generation is doomed to ruin through self-indulgence and reckless behavior. Which is why he simultaneously regrets his unforgettable one night stand with a mysterious lone woman, and wants to meet her again. Until, he realizes who the mysterious woman he shared an evening with is: the stepmother of the young woman he intends to marry.
In my household this was referred to as the MILF book (affirmative). Leela is a MILF, but she is an independent woman who doesn't need Hunt, but enjoys him. However. I did not enjoy Hunt. I found him to be shallow and superficial. I found myself wanting to get back to Leela's perspective or their shared chapters. At first I was like "ok, he falls hard, insta-lust, etc" which I would have been fine with, BUT whenHunt decides to propose marriage to Leela and meets her extended family and says he'll learn to tolerate them??? Leela RUN. In the back half of this novel when he started thinking about the future he desired with Leela, and especially the mentions of his "tolerance" of her family and her future travel plans , he gave me the ick. A real and true partner would have supported her dreams and goals (unless of course they were detrimental to herself or others), but Hunt really came off as wanting to tame Leela and have her act more traditional or in line with English standards WHICH HE SPENT SO MUCH TIME SAYING HE DIDN'T WANT? Throw the whole man away.
TL;DR: Leela is a QUEEN and Hunt doesn't deserve her. A man should respect you AND make you orgasm, the two are not mutually exclusive.
I've seen a few others review this novel and they have such high praise for our female lead, Leela, and Hunt is "just there". I get it now. 100%.
The premise of the novel is our love interests, Lady Delilah Chambers (Leela) and the Duke of Huntington Elliot Townsend (Hunt), share a passionate, anonymous night together, promising to never meet again. But as fate would have it, their lives are about to be forever entangled.
I loved, loved, LOVED Leela. She was strong, independent, and refused to take any crap from anyone, but specifically from men who believed themselves superior than her. On paper, Leela should have been granted status and benefits from society due to her title as a lady dowager, but her "unsavory" heritage. Her father was a nobleman, who "lowered" himself to marry her mother, the daughter of a Palestinian merchant. Leela's father never recovered his status in the eyes of elite society; everyone labeled him the "Mad Marquess". When Leela came of age, she married an older nobleman who had children from his previous marriage. When her husband died, Leela ran away to be with her family and did not return, since the heir made it very clear Leela was not a part of the family or welcome in the manor.
Elliot Townsend, "Hunt", is attempting to salvage his family's reputation, run his duchy, and live as respectable and scandal free as possible. There is a rumored curse on the Townsend family, every other generation is doomed to ruin through self-indulgence and reckless behavior. Which is why he simultaneously regrets his unforgettable one night stand with a mysterious lone woman, and wants to meet her again. Until, he realizes who the mysterious woman he shared an evening with is: the stepmother of the young woman he intends to marry.
In my household this was referred to as the MILF book (affirmative). Leela is a MILF, but she is an independent woman who doesn't need Hunt, but enjoys him. However. I did not enjoy Hunt. I found him to be shallow and superficial. I found myself wanting to get back to Leela's perspective or their shared chapters. At first I was like "ok, he falls hard, insta-lust, etc" which I would have been fine with, BUT when
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Infertility, Sexual assault, and Classism
sobremesa18's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
booksandfomo's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Diana Quincy has officially become one of my favorite authors. From the first page, I was immediately transported into the world she created. It felt like I was watching an episode of Bridgerton.
The chemistry between Leela and Elliot jumped off the page. With one-night stand tropes, you don’t always see what happened between the MCs during that one night. It can be difficult to believe their chemistry development when the reader is simply told a one-night stand occurred. So it was refreshing to see how their mundane conversations stemmed from their one night together. And the TENSION!!! Whew, chile, historical romances hit differently when it comes to tension.
Leela is one of the best FMCs I’ve read in a while. If you want a definition of a boss, read this story. She was not going to let anyone tell her what to do or how to act. I also loved the relationships she had with both sides of her family. And um, I’m gonna need me a man like Elliot/Hunt. I was a bit worried his character was going to be a little dull, but in the end, he did everything he could to be with Leela. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t swoon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
mcmizzie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
I loved the Arab-English heroine and the exploration of mixed race love in this regency romance! Some of the dialogue could have used more fleshing out & some of the plot flirted too much with the unbelievable (even for Romancelandia) but overall I really really enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy
paulasnotsosecretdiary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Her Night with the Duke came recommended via Fated Mates. I was in a reading slump, looking for any suggestions to help me find my out of it. This is a wonderful read, but I wish I had liked it a bit more. The story and character development are strong as are the pacing and plotting. The ending included a miracle baby (kinda a yuck for me). As an exploration and critique of women's agency and societal restrictions during the Regency, there is a lot to like here. A solid suggestion for a historical feminist romance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
laura_mcloughlin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Leela and Hunt have a semi-anonymous one night stand and then end up at the same house party (unbeknownst to them) and turns out that Hunt's potential fiancee is Leela's step daughter (and good friend). Whoops! Leela, Hunt, and Tori are all likable characters that find themselves in this extremely awkward situation, thankfully everyone gets their HEA.
Leela is the half English/half Arab (never specified where her mother is from) daughter of a marquess who has been traveling the Middle East for the past couple of years. She is also the anonymous author of a best-selling travelogue. I do enjoy a historical romance where the heroine has an interesting job.
Leela is the half English/half Arab (never specified where her mother is from) daughter of a marquess who has been traveling the Middle East for the past couple of years. She is also the anonymous author of a best-selling travelogue. I do enjoy a historical romance where the heroine has an interesting job.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
secretromancereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-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
2.0
In this regency romance, instant chemistry and some dagger-waving (literally) lead to a one-night stand that's going to become inconvenient fast. Hunt is shocked when he shows up at the house of the girl he intends to court and discovers the mysterious woman from last night is Tori's stepmother, Leela. The forbidden/off-limits nature of Hunt and Leela's attraction could have resulted in a slow burn, but it was all-out pining with no sparks of escalation to keep the game afoot. I found their instalove perplexing (as usual) since the only basis is their mutual attraction and one night together. Not much conversation or shared experiences pass between them. It's mostly fights where they push each other away for various reasons.
Leela as a person? Love her. Leela desperately trying to convince Hunt and her stepdaughter, Tori, to be together? Annoying as hell. Leela's a travelogue writer, using her relative freedom as a widow to see the world and get to know her mother's Levantine homeland better. As someone with both Arab and English parents, she feels pulled in different directions and wants to connect with the roots her mother kept from her when she was alive. I ALWAYS get excited to see Arabic on the page, and I learned some excellent curse words that I shall endeavor to remember always. I should have taken notes. The book calls out racist, xenophobic, and sexist experiences Leela has, and she dares to carve out the space she wants in the world despite them. The frustrating part was her role in the romance. She's so deep in her self-inflicted suffering in pushing Hunt and Tori together that she doesn't notice her stepdaughter's affections engaged elsewhere. Leela's weirdly confident that Hunt would make Tori happy as if it's a universal skill he possesses. And while he has basic human decency, he doesn't have any characteristic so transcendent that I would buy into that level of hype about him.
As soon as the (dubious) social obstacles are removed re:Tori's engagement elsewhere, Leela and Hunt alternate who is angry and who is attempting to reconcile to keep the drama alive. May I suggest conversation rather than throwing a golf ball at someone's head? There are many scenes where someone storms off to pine in solitude.
So basically, I like Leela as a person. Hunt's meh but fundamentally ok. I was just so completely bewildered and/or frustrated by their romance almost from the start that this wasn't a good read for me. I know some people like this style of back and forth romantic temper, and I think they will appreciate the drama.
Leela as a person? Love her. Leela desperately trying to convince Hunt and her stepdaughter, Tori, to be together? Annoying as hell. Leela's a travelogue writer, using her relative freedom as a widow to see the world and get to know her mother's Levantine homeland better. As someone with both Arab and English parents, she feels pulled in different directions and wants to connect with the roots her mother kept from her when she was alive. I ALWAYS get excited to see Arabic on the page, and I learned some excellent curse words that I shall endeavor to remember always. I should have taken notes. The book calls out racist, xenophobic, and sexist experiences Leela has, and she dares to carve out the space she wants in the world despite them. The frustrating part was her role in the romance. She's so deep in her self-inflicted suffering in pushing Hunt and Tori together that she doesn't notice her stepdaughter's affections engaged elsewhere. Leela's weirdly confident that Hunt would make Tori happy as if it's a universal skill he possesses. And while he has basic human decency, he doesn't have any characteristic so transcendent that I would buy into that level of hype about him.
As soon as the (dubious) social obstacles are removed re:Tori's engagement elsewhere, Leela and Hunt alternate who is angry and who is attempting to reconcile to keep the drama alive. May I suggest conversation rather than throwing a golf ball at someone's head? There are many scenes where someone storms off to pine in solitude.
So basically, I like Leela as a person. Hunt's meh but fundamentally ok. I was just so completely bewildered and/or frustrated by their romance almost from the start that this wasn't a good read for me. I know some people like this style of back and forth romantic temper, and I think they will appreciate the drama.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infertility, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
meowthvader's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
naika's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I enjoyed "Her Night with the Duke", though sadly I was left with some disappointments that impacted my reception of the story. Delilah "Leela" Chambers, upon returning from her travels abroad, finds herself stuck in a storm that forces her to seek shelter in a very unaccommodating inn. Due to her skin tone, the inn keeper and many of the guests make lewd and racists comments towards her.
Upset with her mistreatment, Duke Elliot Townsend sets them all in their place and offers up his room to Leela. Having spent years taking care of herself, Delilah doesn't take kindly to Elliot's chivalry, but being left with little options, she agrees. What was supposed to be a quick layover, turns into a fiery dalliance. Neither knows of their true identity, nor do they know that their agreement for a one night affair will soon be more than they bargained for.
What I enjoyed: Leela's determination and independence. She is well aware of her rights as a Lady and a widow and often challenges the accepted norms of society. She has traveled extensively and has written well-received travelogues (even though she is presumed to be a male author). She has little interest in remarrying or settling down in the traditional sense. This is particularly admirable, given her identity as a half-English, half-Arab titled woman and the challenges she faces existing in her environment.
Elliot was quite the opposite; he was determined to be regarded as respectable in an attempt to shake the rake reputation of all the previous male relatives, particularly his brother. He had a lot of internal battles between following what is proper and following his heart. I appreciated seeing the male love interest be the one to do the pining.
What I did not enjoy: For such a formidable character, I could not help but feel as though there was significant discourse about Leela's darker features that felt exoticized, rather than a challenge to the biases or discriminations of the time period. However, I fully recognize that I am not an own-voices reviewer and cannot speak to whether the Arab representation was sensitively addressed. All I can say was that those parts of the story were awkward to me as a Black reader.
I also was not always a fan of how Elliot seemed eager to bed Leela after she would express her fears and insecurities about being in a relationship with him. Leela often jumped to conclusions. It also felt like they had the same argument over and over again with very little resolution until the end. This resulted in some pacing issues and a waning interest. The ending left much to be desired.
Throughout the story we are told that Leela is barren. I was pretty excited to read a historical romance with the female love interest being not just barren, but also completely uninterested in the idea of having children. But at the very end we see that she gave birth to a child. It's fairly typical to have a wedding or baby in an epilogue of a romance, I get it. But it was quite the letdown to have this be the HEA for the couple when Leela didn't really seem to care for motherhood and often used this as a way to justify why she and Elliot could never work.
Even though I had my own gripes with the story, it is unique and I can see why others enjoyed it. There is angst, banter, and forbidden love. It may not have delivered everything I thought it would, but I am not opposed to reading something else from the author.
Upset with her mistreatment, Duke Elliot Townsend sets them all in their place and offers up his room to Leela. Having spent years taking care of herself, Delilah doesn't take kindly to Elliot's chivalry, but being left with little options, she agrees. What was supposed to be a quick layover, turns into a fiery dalliance. Neither knows of their true identity, nor do they know that their agreement for a one night affair will soon be more than they bargained for.
What I enjoyed: Leela's determination and independence. She is well aware of her rights as a Lady and a widow and often challenges the accepted norms of society. She has traveled extensively and has written well-received travelogues (even though she is presumed to be a male author). She has little interest in remarrying or settling down in the traditional sense. This is particularly admirable, given her identity as a half-English, half-Arab titled woman and the challenges she faces existing in her environment.
Elliot was quite the opposite; he was determined to be regarded as respectable in an attempt to shake the rake reputation of all the previous male relatives, particularly his brother. He had a lot of internal battles between following what is proper and following his heart. I appreciated seeing the male love interest be the one to do the pining.
What I did not enjoy: For such a formidable character, I could not help but feel as though there was significant discourse about Leela's darker features that felt exoticized, rather than a challenge to the biases or discriminations of the time period. However, I fully recognize that I am not an own-voices reviewer and cannot speak to whether the Arab representation was sensitively addressed. All I can say was that those parts of the story were awkward to me as a Black reader.
I also was not always a fan of how Elliot seemed eager to bed Leela after she would express her fears and insecurities about being in a relationship with him. Leela often jumped to conclusions. It also felt like they had the same argument over and over again with very little resolution until the end. This resulted in some pacing issues and a waning interest. The ending left much to be desired.
Even though I had my own gripes with the story, it is unique and I can see why others enjoyed it. There is angst, banter, and forbidden love. It may not have delivered everything I thought it would, but I am not opposed to reading something else from the author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
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