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tenderbrushes 's review for:
The Duke Undone
by Joanna Lowell
Sometimes a book comes along and totally breaks you. This is that book. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was certainly not to be knocked on my ass from the very first lines. The cover makes no sense in relation to the contents of this book. Cover= light and sassy lil novel that will tweak your nose - maybe she paints cute watercolors? This novel= female art prodigy, broken hero, multigenerational alcoholism and mental illness, war, depression. Romancelandia is definitely going through some things when it comes to covers, I hope they figure it out (aka just bring back the damn illustrated clinch covers already it's what we truly want).
Anthony arrived into my ear holes fully formed, even before he uttered his first words or even opened his eyes (MY CORPSE!) I could see and feel and hear this man, it was spooky and bizarre how fully wrought he was and gives me a shiver even as I write this. Lucy was a delight, just the quintessential spunky romance heroine trying and failing to avoid falling in love with the hero. But the true magic was in Joanna Lowell's prose, she is a master craftsman, I found myself wanting to stop and rewind and just listen to the words roll over me again and again, some passages were just pure magic. The audiobook being narrated by Mary Jane Wells helps take this into another pleasure dimension as well. You really get to be inside these two people's minds. Not many romance novels make me cry but I was definitely sobbing at the black moment of this one, oof
The only hiccup came in the finale, which very much switched into 'we're wrapping everything up now' mode - almost fully plot driven and the character development got switched to the back burner. That was a disappointment, because I think if those book was edited a little differently, it could've truly been my favorite read of the year. I loved watching these two goofballs fall in love and I now want to read everything Joanna Lowell has/will ever write.
Anthony arrived into my ear holes fully formed, even before he uttered his first words or even opened his eyes (MY CORPSE!) I could see and feel and hear this man, it was spooky and bizarre how fully wrought he was and gives me a shiver even as I write this. Lucy was a delight, just the quintessential spunky romance heroine trying and failing to avoid falling in love with the hero. But the true magic was in Joanna Lowell's prose, she is a master craftsman, I found myself wanting to stop and rewind and just listen to the words roll over me again and again, some passages were just pure magic. The audiobook being narrated by Mary Jane Wells helps take this into another pleasure dimension as well. You really get to be inside these two people's minds. Not many romance novels make me cry but I was definitely sobbing at the black moment of this one, oof
The only hiccup came in the finale, which very much switched into 'we're wrapping everything up now' mode - almost fully plot driven and the character development got switched to the back burner. That was a disappointment, because I think if those book was edited a little differently, it could've truly been my favorite read of the year. I loved watching these two goofballs fall in love and I now want to read everything Joanna Lowell has/will ever write.