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shannonxo 's review for:
The Duke Undone
by Joanna Lowell
Whenever I'm in the mood for a romance, I know I'll always find a winner with a Victorian England one. As I hoped, this checked every box!
Lucy Coover is a painting student at the Royal Academy, and while women are now able to attend the school, she is annoyed that the classes studying anatomy and the naked form are still only accessible to the boys. So when she stumbles across a naked man in an alley, she takes full advantage of the sight and paints her best work yet. A work sold and intercepted by the very subject of that painting, the Duke of Weston. Barely hanging onto the chance to finally come into his fortune, Anthony cannot afford for the portrait or any other ... likenesses to become public. He and Lucy come to an agreement that will benefit them both, more so than they expect *wink*
I really enjoyed this and am kind of mad I let it stew on my TBR for so long (especially since I received an early e-copy). It was difficult to put down and my reading involved 100-page inhalation sessions. It's very engaging, and part of that is owed to the vibrant characters and their situations. There's a lot of nuance tucked under their problems, and coupled with a well-researched historical aspect, it made for a compelling read. I admit the pace was somewhat slow, particularly in the beginning. That said, I didn't mind because the pace allowed for the reader to really settle into scenes with a great attention to detail and conversation that helped shape these characters.
Lucy is an art student in a school where she is automatically poorer than every one of her peers. Where they all come from noble and wealthy families, Lucy lives over her aunt's dress shop, where she helps out in between feverish painting sessions. I greatly admire women in these types of books who know they are of lower status and don't give a sh*t. Lucy most certainly doesn't. Sure, she'll do her best to hide certain aspects of her situation, such as the struggle to purchase the best art supplies, but she takes what she has and owns it. And when she sets her mind to saving her building from wrongful eviction, she does what it takes. If that means forcing her way into a Duke's home and being chased by a handful of footmen before telling a woman that her dress is arsenic and killing her, then so be it.
Anthony is the second son, but following his brother's fatal scandal, is now the Duke of Weston. A duke without control of his fortune isn't much of one, though. Anthony is trapped within the constraints of his malicious father's will, which dictates he can only gain control of his inheritance at the age of 30(!) so long as he toes the line. This means no scandal, no whores, no alcohol, etc. I wasn't too sure what to think of Anthony, because on the one hand you feel utterly outraged on his behalf, but on the other he is his own worst enemy. Just because he can't drink doesn't mean he doesn't do so in private. I really liked him, but he did take some warming to, and I think I came to like him as Lucy did, which was a nice character arc to experience.
I was hoping for a swoony romance and this most certainly delivered. The chemistry sparked pretty early between these two characters and promised an excellent story. They gravitated towards each other in a way that I really appreciated, especially within the duke and commoner trope that I always tend to enjoy. As I said before, the nuance behind each of their situations really helped build these characters up and gave their relationship and draw to each other several new layers that I greatly liked.
I hear this is meant to be part of a companion novel series, with another coming that tells Lavinia's story. Gotta admit, after how much I enjoyed this, I will most definitely be looking into it.
Lucy Coover is a painting student at the Royal Academy, and while women are now able to attend the school, she is annoyed that the classes studying anatomy and the naked form are still only accessible to the boys. So when she stumbles across a naked man in an alley, she takes full advantage of the sight and paints her best work yet. A work sold and intercepted by the very subject of that painting, the Duke of Weston. Barely hanging onto the chance to finally come into his fortune, Anthony cannot afford for the portrait or any other ... likenesses to become public. He and Lucy come to an agreement that will benefit them both, more so than they expect *wink*
I really enjoyed this and am kind of mad I let it stew on my TBR for so long (especially since I received an early e-copy). It was difficult to put down and my reading involved 100-page inhalation sessions. It's very engaging, and part of that is owed to the vibrant characters and their situations. There's a lot of nuance tucked under their problems, and coupled with a well-researched historical aspect, it made for a compelling read. I admit the pace was somewhat slow, particularly in the beginning. That said, I didn't mind because the pace allowed for the reader to really settle into scenes with a great attention to detail and conversation that helped shape these characters.
Lucy is an art student in a school where she is automatically poorer than every one of her peers. Where they all come from noble and wealthy families, Lucy lives over her aunt's dress shop, where she helps out in between feverish painting sessions. I greatly admire women in these types of books who know they are of lower status and don't give a sh*t. Lucy most certainly doesn't. Sure, she'll do her best to hide certain aspects of her situation, such as the struggle to purchase the best art supplies, but she takes what she has and owns it. And when she sets her mind to saving her building from wrongful eviction, she does what it takes. If that means forcing her way into a Duke's home and being chased by a handful of footmen before telling a woman that her dress is arsenic and killing her, then so be it.
Anthony is the second son, but following his brother's fatal scandal, is now the Duke of Weston. A duke without control of his fortune isn't much of one, though. Anthony is trapped within the constraints of his malicious father's will, which dictates he can only gain control of his inheritance at the age of 30(!) so long as he toes the line. This means no scandal, no whores, no alcohol, etc. I wasn't too sure what to think of Anthony, because on the one hand you feel utterly outraged on his behalf, but on the other he is his own worst enemy. Just because he can't drink doesn't mean he doesn't do so in private. I really liked him, but he did take some warming to, and I think I came to like him as Lucy did, which was a nice character arc to experience.
I was hoping for a swoony romance and this most certainly delivered. The chemistry sparked pretty early between these two characters and promised an excellent story. They gravitated towards each other in a way that I really appreciated, especially within the duke and commoner trope that I always tend to enjoy. As I said before, the nuance behind each of their situations really helped build these characters up and gave their relationship and draw to each other several new layers that I greatly liked.
I hear this is meant to be part of a companion novel series, with another coming that tells Lavinia's story. Gotta admit, after how much I enjoyed this, I will most definitely be looking into it.