A review by warlocksarecool21
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

emotional funny hopeful 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

I thought A Lady for a Duke was a very heartfelt (and queer!) historical romance. What strikes me across all of Alexis Hall’s books is that the characters feel like real people, they have feelings, desires and flaws and you experience all of that with them. Viola and Gracewood were such interesting and dynamic characters and I really enjoyed reading them. I thought Hall did a good job of exploring how PTSD and trauma affect a person, especially in a time period where there wasn’t a term for this condition yet. I also loved how Hall explored how a trans person might live back then, that being trans was just one part of Viola’s story, and that her version of womanhood was never made out to be less than. The romance between Viola and Gracewood was sweet and moving, although I was frustrated with them in the first half of the book, I loved how their relationship progressed and the ending they chose with one another. The only things that didn’t work for me was the pacing felt a little off at times, and I thought the conflict that Viola and Gracewood were working against in the third act was kind of ridiculous but it had its place in the story at the end. (and to anyone worried it’s not a third act break-up! so bless alexis hall for that) Other than I had a great time reading this; and I look forward to more books in this universe (because I definitely saw the seeds planted!) 
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