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A review by unsweetener
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
What can I say? This one hooked me, and I loved it more the further I got into it.
Annabelle is a broke, overeducated, and slightly jaded vicar's daughter who becomes one of the first women admitted to Oxford; Sebastian is your prototypical tightly wound, super rich, hyper competent Duke (we all love a Duke named Sebastian; there's nothing for it).
There's a real class difference to contend with, and the late Victorian setting is well researched, lived in, and unglamorous. Annabelle's involvement with the suffragists offers both personal and plot development for both main characters; no 90% mark crisis to add drama here! The external conflict builds gradually, comes to a head with real consequences, and the fallout carries the rest of the book. It's definitely not a downer; there's some really excellent angst, though, and the historical grounding makes the class difference a meaningful obstacle and source of conflict. Since these characters have experience working through difficulties with high stakes, it only enhances the happy ending.
All told, this felt like an original, meaty approach to familiar tropes, and it ended so strongly that I forgot my minor critiques. Read it!
As a final note, I tried and failed to listen to a later audiobook in the series first, and I'd recommend against both (audiobook and skipping this one). Start here; the supporting characters get really excellent introductions (hope to see you again someday, Peregrine).
Annabelle is a broke, overeducated, and slightly jaded vicar's daughter who becomes one of the first women admitted to Oxford; Sebastian is your prototypical tightly wound, super rich, hyper competent Duke (we all love a Duke named Sebastian; there's nothing for it).
There's a real class difference to contend with, and the late Victorian setting is well researched, lived in, and unglamorous. Annabelle's involvement with the suffragists offers both personal and plot development for both main characters; no 90% mark crisis to add drama here! The external conflict builds gradually, comes to a head with real consequences, and the fallout carries the rest of the book. It's definitely not a downer; there's some really excellent angst, though, and the historical grounding makes the class difference a meaningful obstacle and source of conflict. Since these characters have experience working through difficulties with high stakes, it only enhances the happy ending.
All told, this felt like an original, meaty approach to familiar tropes, and it ended so strongly that I forgot my minor critiques. Read it!
As a final note, I tried and failed to listen to a later audiobook in the series first, and I'd recommend against both (audiobook and skipping this one). Start here; the supporting characters get really excellent introductions (hope to see you again someday, Peregrine).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content