A review by harris39
A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

3.0

I liked this one better than the first in the series (which really fell flat for me) but I also thought the first half of the book was way more engaging and fun than the second. Great build up and sexual tension, but once the H&H actually got it on? The book turned into a total slog and the sparks sputtered out. The pacing felt really off in the back half, with nothing really happening in terms of character and relationship development and then suddenly EVERYTHING was resolved within the last two chapters. I also HATE how this author makes so many conscious efforts to be progressive and inclusive in her character depictions and messaging (e.g., pro immigration, anti-bigotry, ADHD, etc), but then resorts to tired cliches in the back half of the romance. I hate when romances fall apart because the characters can’t speak honestly to one another and instead just make crazy assumptions that they hold as absolute truth and then this is the catalyst that breaks them up. Such a lame contrivance, and I feel like this author should be capable of more. (Then again, this is the second book of hers that has disappointed me, so maybe *I* am the one making unfounded assumptions.) Also, even though I ultimately just wanted this book to be over (which was a shame because it started off so fun!) I didn’t like that Portia’s character still felt like she hadn’t come into her own by the end; she definitely needed to have a “Come to Jesus” talk with her parents, and we have no sense of what she would do with her life after her passionate “Happily Ever After” kiss. I haven’t really been able to find any romance novels lately that do it for me, so maybe I am just not gelling with this genre right now, but I also think that maybe this series just isn’t meant for me.