Reviews with content warning for Ableism - A Lady for a Duke

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

133 reviews

maggies's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Oh dear. I really really wanted to like this book. It ticks so many boxes for me and all other Alexis Hall books I've read have been real winners. But it was just so slow and long. Easily could have been 25% shorter. I honestly thought, at the part where

Viola's "secret" was revealed to Gracewood

, that was the primary conflict, and I was shocked to find that was only about 30% through the book. Everything prior had felt much much longer, likely because nothing happened. Viola and Gracewood's internal monologues became tiresome after repeating the same thoughts and feelings over and over again. And finally, by some combination of the written dialogue and the audiobook narration, most of the women ended up sounding whiny and pathetic to me, and it was very off-putting. Perhaps my experience would have been different if I'd read instead of listened, but I don't believe substantially. Ultimately I pushed through because, like I said, Hall has been reliable for me in the past, but this one didn't work for me.

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robin_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

1.0

This is the first book by Alexis Hall I truly neither liked nor enjoyed, which hurts my heart.
It was very long, the pacing was odd and soooo much was happening. The connection between Viola and Gracewood just wasn’t there for me.
I did like the queerness and the historical aspect but that’s about it, unfortunately.
However, the narration of the audiobook wasn’t for me either.

Additional TW/CW: PTSD and flashbacks

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kingcrookback's review against another edition

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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? Yes

I enjoyed this! I appreciate how Hall decided not to make Viola being trans the central conflict and instead focused on gender and gendered expectations. (Although, being the anxious person I am, I spent a lot of time worried that that would happen to Viola. That's entirely on me, though.) The yearning and tension were so good, and I enjoyed both Viola and Gracewood as characters both grappling with the internalized prejudices that they've been steeped in.

This isn't a critique of the book so much as me working out my preferences and how the book aligned with them. I'm still at the beginning of my foray into romance, and while I think some combination of LGBTQ+ and "not contemporary" are more my speed, I don't think I really hit my stride with this one. While I enjoyed the characters' introspection, I think I personally need more plot to keep me fully engaged.

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lisacanteven's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

This is really more of a 3.5 read without rounding up, but I think because of the wonderful representation in a genre like this it deserves rounding up to a 4.

Here's where it didn't work for me: Almost 400 pages were telling a beautiful story with lovely writing and great character development. Then it took a hard left turn somewhere just south of page 400, and we were taken on a totally different ride on a trip I did not sign up for. It wasn't a bad trip, but it wasn't the one I wanted to be on. Maybe another time I would have enjoyed the trip, but I was ready for the trip I already had to be finished. Ya getting me?

Then for a few pages just north of page 400 the story got a little patriarchal outta nowhere. I didn't really expect that one person to just excuse the other person's behavior like they used the wrong fork at fancy dinner. If you read it, think about it. How did they just get away with it, but that is kinda how it usually happens because patriarchy.

Just as I was building my case against the villain's terrible redemption arc, the ending came together in a way that did satisfy me. I mean no one took down patriarchy in this book, but maybe that wasn't the point.

Here's what did work for me: The trans representation was really nice and sweet. I thought it was the perfect blend of trans joy and trans realness. You do have to suspend your disbelief and let yourself enjoy the relationship, but experiencing the trans joy through the story is worth it. For that alone this book was worth the read despite its flaws.

TL;DR- The first 400 pages will seem very laborious, but the last 50 pages will flash before your eyes like you're fast forwarding a movie. Both these parts of the story are enjoyable in their own right, but when put together they make a confusing tale. The queer, specifically trans, representation only gave the story more depth and attachment. For that achievement this story has earned its place among must-read romance books.

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reniareads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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wardenred's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

“I don’t want to go back.” Gracewood reached for his cane and struggled upright. “I want to go forward. And I’m not looking for perfect. Only for you.”

Going by the page count and a couple of reviews I skimmed (and possibly misunderstood), I expected the kind of romance that has a lot in the way of external/non-romantic plot. Instead, most of this story is decidedly slice-of-life, with a super strong focus on the characters' relationship and inner world. Honestly, as much as I often enjoy slice-of-life stories, sometimes it got a little too much for me, probably just because of the sheer length of the book.

That isn't to say that I didn't like it! I have in fact quite enjoyed multiple things about the book. The relationship between Gracewood and Viola was absolutely beautiful. I just wish there wasn't so much repetition in a few parts of the story, where there were entire sections of the two of them walking in circles around a problem without considering more than a single way to solve them (and even then, it was usually only Gracewood considering it in a vague, "But what if something COULD be done about this?" way while Viola was adamant that there is no solution). When those beautiful pining moments were shown so often from different angles, without a lot of events to offset them, they became somewhat... less poignant than I feel they could and should have been.

I also completely loved how the subject of Viola being trans was handled. Yes, Gracewood was mad at her for leaving him and making him believe his friend was dead, but never for why she did so; in fact, once he properly processed why she did it, it immediately pushed him toward understanding and forgiveness and accepting that this wasn't about him, no matter how it impacted him. I loved how he started thinking about her as Viola as soon as all the dots were connected, and I really liked the writing choices Alexis Hall made to avoid full-scale deadnaming. Every time Viola's pre-transition life is mentioned, she's referred to by her original last name, and the pre-transition first name her family and friends knew her under is never mentioned. This choice feels like the best compromise one could make while staying true to the historical period's realities.

What I liked less was the handling of Gracewood's addiction, disability, and PTSD. Especially addiction and PTSD. It felt kind of like a lot of it just... got better once he focused on being in London and his relationship to Viola, because he decided to stop letting it affect his life so much or something. I'm really not sure it's possible to bounce back so fast from using opium to the extent he was using it early in the novel. Really, a lot of these themes felt like the author meant really well, but under-researched.

There were plenty of side characters here I completely adored, especially Miranda with her sweet quirkiness and her desperate want to have a good relationship with her brother, and Louise with her awesome brand of no-nonsense tough love. All the parts where either or both of them were heavily featured were my absolute favorites! The ton storyline later in the book brought some colorful awful rich people to the table, too—the kind I want to stab with a fork, but also find it fun to watch them in morbid fascination. It's a pity that the whole storyline with Miranda having a season wasn't tightened up a bit, and interwoven in a more solid way and with fewer gaps with the main plot. There was a lot of potential there.

Overall, I'm still glad I stuck through it through all of the slow, circular parts, because the characters were great, there were plenty of great dialogue, and I've barely stopped smiling since I read the epilogue. There's lots of good stuff here! It just... felt like reading a very clean first draft that could use some tightening and trimming down?

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smuttymcbookface's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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sproutedpages's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-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

4.0

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kylarenea_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

I thought this book was absolutely delightful. One of the friends to lovers romances I've ever read, especially in the round about way they got there.

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thepoieszedlife's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

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