A Lady For a Duke: a swoonworthy historical romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material

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I'm going to reiterate what so many reviewers have already said to say that I'm so glad this book exists. Queer historical romances are some of my favourites within the romance genre – I'll never tire of Olivia Waite's sapphic Regency romances – but I've never read or even come across a Regency romance with a trans heroine before. Definitely a conflict, and frankly a good one to have as again, the fact that this book is here at all on the bookshelves in the store is a wonderful thing. I'm glad this book exists and that I can quibble over its issues—but as a reviewer I do still need to highlight them. Viola grew up with her best friend, Duke Gracewood. They spent summers together, went to school together, and then went to war together. They were the closest that any two people could be, and yet Viola was keeping a secret. She had been born the Viscount Marleigh, but she was in fact a woman. When the two friends go off to war, Viola was injured and finally saw an opportunity. She let everyone believe her dead, and returned to London finally as herself. I love you with the unfading flame of my friendship. With every drop of ardour in my blood. I love you with my soul, as some reserve their faith for absent gods. I love you as I believe in what is right and hope for what is good. I love you with everything I am and ever was— and if you will only let me, with every day that comes, and every self that I could ever be.”

The second theme is that of masculine vs feminine "roles". There are so many times when Gracewood has to adjust what he thinks of as his "role" or "responsibility" just because he's a man. He was gravely injured in the war and has been left with a bad leg. There are times when he cannot be as strong as he would like, and even times when Viola has to support him and even fight for him. He comes to understand that just because a woman had to support or fight for him, that doesn't make him any less of a man. And the reverse is also true for Viola. After embracing her womanhood, there are certain things she is afraid to do again because she is worried about embracing her "masculine" traits. From riding a horse to sword fighting to protect the Duke, she also comes to understand that just because she is able to do "manly" things, doesn't' make her any less of a woman. The forms given under "Salutation in Letter" are for use in social correspondence only. In formal letters, "Sir" or "Madam" would be used instead. CW: PTSD, ableism, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, grief, abusive parent (past), use of a dead name, war injury, violenceA man grappling with an unloving upbringing, learning how to give and receive love — as a friend, as a brother, and as a lover; I always feel bad about these crafty kinds of questions because I feel like people are expecting a more insightful answer than I actually have. I mean, the short answer is “I don’t know, and I suspect some readers will think I didn’t.” Every once in a while you read a book that you want to SCREAM FROM ROOFTOPS about. I’m screaming, people!’– Sonali Dev, USA Today bestselling author, on Boyfriend Material A lush, sweeping queer historical romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material - perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Lisa Kleypas!

Viola Caroll, presumed dead when she went missing during battle, takes the opportunity to free herself from the strictures of the identity assigned to her at birth and finally live as herself. But the cost is heavy: her childhood friend, with whom she was as close as family, thinks she is lost. Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood, has not been the same since returning from the war: his injuries are physically limiting and cause him chronic pain, he’s tortured by memories of battle, and he has come to lean on alcohol and laudanum to cope. He’s also never stopped grieving the loss of his greatest friend. When Viola and Gracewood are reunited by their families, they are faced with rediscovering each other, figuring out how they fit together after so much has shifted within and between them, and overcoming the barriers that would seek to part them once more. Several terms have been abbreviated in the tables below. The forms used in the table are given first, followed by alternative acceptable abbreviations in parentheses. The punctuation of each abbreviation depends on the source. For example, the punctuation of "The Rt Hon" is not consistent throughout sources. The Gazette favours "The Rt. Hon.", while the government usually prefers "The Rt Hon" or "The Rt Hon." Her younger brother became the Viscount, and he and his wife take in Viola as she learns to embrace herself and her womanhood in a society ripe with fashions, customs, and gossip. She may have had to give up her title, her money, her lands, but she is free to be truly herself for the first time. And then a letter from Gracewood's sister alerts Viola to the reality that her death has left her best friend a broken shell of himself. She and her sister-in-law travel to the Duke's estate with the goal of rescuing his younger sister in favor of giving her a season in London... but also to help the Duke find himself again. That leads us to part two, which I will call The Pursuit. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, but given that this is marketed as a romance, it can be no surprise to any reader that there is in this middle section a pursuit of romance. And it's during The Pursuit that the fact that Viola is a trans woman once again becomes a source of conflict. But again, not in the way you think. As I said before, this is not a Tragic LGBTQ+ Story (TM). Rather than being denied happiness because she is trans (as one might expect), happiness is instead laid at Viola's feet and it is she who hesitates to grab at it because she's always believed that being trans necessarily meant that she would be denied romance. The joy here is that Viola is given an opportunity for romance just as any other woman would be given the same opportunity.

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I also feel like the first half of the book was what the author wanted to write about. But they didn’t want the whole book to be about that so he probably scrambled for something else for the other half. It was fine, but didn’t come across and strong as the first half. Also, a character saying they didn’t believe a woman was ever beautiful in her life breaks my heart. In regards to the nobility, Mary Brown represents a woman who married John Brown, while Jane Smith represents an unmarried woman. If a daughter of a peer or courtesy peer marries another peer or courtesy peer, she takes her husband's rank. If she marries anyone else, she keeps her rank and title, using her husband's surname instead of her maiden name. From the bestselling author of Husband Material comes a lush, sweeping queer historical romance where sparks fly between childhood friends after a life-changing separation—perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Lisa Kleypas!​ When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. I have been looking forward to A Lady for a Duke since I first read the synopsis. Alexis Hall has such a profound way of writing characters who are so authentic, so beautifully queer that it makes me wish I could dive into each and every world.

What do you want to hear? That I’ve imagined it? Countless times? You beneath me, with your legs around me, wearing nothing but your pretty shoes?” My favorite thing about this book is that it has just taken modern manners on how to treat a trans person, and plopped it down in Regency England. No long-winded justification for respect, just RESPECT. No outing, no microaggressions, no villainous transphobic rant, just...respect. Action taking place in settings including a cold and severe ducal estate, and an airy and modern London townhouse, and a turn about Vauxhall Gardens; For the most part. Viola's thoughts around being trans rung true to me based on my own experience as an agender person. However, while reading this I was very aware that it was a cis gay man writing the inner life of a trans woman and I wondered if that man (AJH) had a right to tell this story, and if trans women would find that he told that story well. And in the same vein, do I, who is not a trans woman, really have the right to judge this story's merits? Justin de Vere, Duke of Gracewood, was overwrought with guilt over losing his best friend, 'the joy of his life'. Returning from war a cripple who suffers from bouts of PTSD and the overwhelming dependency of laudanum and completely ignoring his state of affairs and his sister, his life is unexpectedly turned by the graceful presence of Viola. 😢 He was charmed by her, swayed by her gentle tendencies, he fell in love with her - so utterly smitten with her and how she is able to bring out the side in him he had lost and long forgotten. And then to have the sudden realization that the one who he had held so dear was the same as the one who he wanted to have were one and the same - it made his love for her even stronger, his conviction to make her see that he loved her as she was. 🥰🥰Creating an engaging romance is an art form, requiring an almost supernatural ability to tease and captivate a reader. This is especially true for period romances, which have the additional hurdle of transporting a modern reader into an unrecognizable world. What grounds a historical romance is its characters, who must draw the reader in and give them a foothold into a time gone by. With A Lady For a Duke, Alexis Hall has created a masterpiece that isn’t just good by romance standards. It is easily my favorite book of the year so far across all genres, and the central love story will linger with its audience long after it is over. Absurdly funny and swoonily romantic, with a sharp edge of wit and observation that keeps the story bounding along' - KJ Charles, author of A Charm of Magpies series How is writing about queer love in the Regency era different from writing a contemporary queer romance?