A review by buffyreads
The Duke's Guide to Fake Courtship by Jade Lee

5.0

5⭐️ This was so good!!! The yearning, the longing, he wanted her so bad!! | tropes: forbidden love, fake dating, secrets | medium steam | digital 

"She gazed at him, feeling a tightness in her belly. Was that yearning? Desire? She didn’t have a word for this feeling. In a life dominated by fear, this was something altogether different and she relished it."

favorite bits:

🖤 I loved Declan and Grace! Both of their characters were so different yet very much the same. They compliment each other very well and had chemistry that was off the charts! 

🖤 I loved Grace's story and how she was strong in so many ways but craved being safe and secure. I loved how smart she was but how she at times put what she felt was right over what was good for her. 

🖤 I liked the commentary about how Chinese and English culture were different but neither was necessarily better. Grace went from struggling as an orphan and treated poorly because of her biracial identity in China to being rich and still treated poorly because of her biracial identity in England. Both places she had to deal with the worst of men and plot and outsmart in order to survive. 

🖤 I loved Declan's journey to standing up for self and understanding his rage instead of fearing it. His childhood and his mother's treatment of him made clear why he was so scared of his own feelings.  Seeing Grace understand him and be able to calm him through simply explaining and defusing simple situations was amazing.

🖤 I also loved that their differences in society and the many hurdles they would have to face weren't brushed over. They acknowledged it would be hard and their children might never be truly accepted but the love they share and will share for their children would be enough. Especially since England is not the whole world.