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wanderinglynn 's review for:
The Duke Undone
by Joanna Lowell
lighthearted
This book started off strong and had all the pieces I love in a romance. A bluestocking who has grand dreams but is low born. A rouge with a heart of gold but lots of flaws. And yet sadly, this book just didn't work for me.
I wanted to love Anthony. A bad boy with a heart of gold. A rouge who’s had a tough go of it. Lost his mother, his big brother, his sister. Suffered in a pointless war. Everyone thought him stupid. Just the kind of hero I love to root for. But sadly, I just couldn’t root for him. So disappointing as a hero. He did too little too late for Kate (and ended up doing nothing for Effie) and was too passive, except for the horse (which was one of many subplots that went nowhere and really had no point). His “light bulb” moment, that moment that every rouge has to have, didn’t happen until 80%.
There were also a lot of random secondary characters that got a lot of attention, but then never went anywhere. Like why didn’t Anthony’s so-called best friend help him? Slap him upside the head? Or his not-really-a-butler, army buddy? Why didn't he give Anthony the tough love speech? But neither the best friend nor the butler was ever developed that far. They got quite a few pages and mentions, but those characters went nowhere. The over-characterization of minor characters diminished Anthony’s potential character development.
Had Anthony’s light bulb moment come before 80%, it would have worked better. Sadly, 2.75 star read rounded up to 3.
Total 5 stars for the narrator, Mary Jane Wells, who is one of my absolutely fave narrators.
I wanted to love Anthony. A bad boy with a heart of gold. A rouge who’s had a tough go of it. Lost his mother, his big brother, his sister. Suffered in a pointless war. Everyone thought him stupid. Just the kind of hero I love to root for. But sadly, I just couldn’t root for him. So disappointing as a hero. He did too little too late for Kate (and ended up doing nothing for Effie) and was too passive, except for the horse (which was one of many subplots that went nowhere and really had no point). His “light bulb” moment, that moment that every rouge has to have, didn’t happen until 80%.
There were also a lot of random secondary characters that got a lot of attention, but then never went anywhere. Like why didn’t Anthony’s so-called best friend help him? Slap him upside the head? Or his not-really-a-butler, army buddy? Why didn't he give Anthony the tough love speech? But neither the best friend nor the butler was ever developed that far. They got quite a few pages and mentions, but those characters went nowhere. The over-characterization of minor characters diminished Anthony’s potential character development.
Had Anthony’s light bulb moment come before 80%, it would have worked better. Sadly, 2.75 star read rounded up to 3.
Total 5 stars for the narrator, Mary Jane Wells, who is one of my absolutely fave narrators.