Bringing Down the Duke: 1 (League of Extraordinary Women)

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So, I'm torn. I don't think I've ever had my opinion on a book change so radically from beginning to end. Up until about the 35% mark, I was confident this was going to be a 5-star book. By the 50% mark, there were a few things bugging me, but I figured they were small enough that I could ignore them, even if it meant slashing off a star from the overall rating. Now, having finished the book, I don't know whether to give it 2 stars or 3 stars.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore | Hachette UK

Partway through this book, I began to hope that the title meant that it was set in an alternate timeline, where the Duke would be Brought Down by means of a guillotine, and the entire system of monarchy and nobility would be toppled in a swath of bloody revolution, as it well deserves. As I frigging well deserved for slogging through a book with such an unlikable asshole of a hero. There's your cover blurb: This Book Turned Me Into (Even More Of) An Anti-Monarchy Communist: Save A Cow, Eat The Rich. At the same time, Sebastian is finding Annabelle’s green eyes irresistible; however, she’s a commoner and not fit to be his duchess. What a great debut by Evie Dunmore! I am so happy with all of the amazing debuts coming out recently! This was a fantastic book, and I'm so happy that it is part of a series, and cannot wait to continue it! It was well written, funny, angsty and yet sweet, and I had a lot of fun reading it! It actually reminded me a lot of Pride and Prejudice with its slow building romance, which started off as hostility!This story has everything I love in a romance. Annabelle is smart and competent, and she's not afraid to work hard to make the best of her meager situation. Montgomery is dashing and attentive. Though he comes across a bit cold in the beginning, Annabelle slowly thaws him out. Spun around this setting is an epic love story between a commoner and a duke, both very aware of their position in society. Sebastian is right a jerk when this starts off but man, did I fall in love. I fell so hard. He is honorable, considerate, more than he let on when we first meet him, arrogant, high-handed, controlled and incredibly private and emotionally stunted. It was a thing of beauty to watch him turn from this seemingly cold-hearted bastard into a man, who felt deeper than anyone would have ever expected he was capable of. What a complex, infuriating, protective, wonderful man he was. I really didn't see what Annabelle saw in him. Eventually, yes, he was quite the great guy. But right off the bat? No. D azzles and reminds us all why we fell in love with historical romance‘ JULIA LONDON, New York Times bestselling author of Seduced by a Scot

Bringing Down the Duke Quotes by Evie Dunmore - Goodreads Bringing Down the Duke Quotes by Evie Dunmore - Goodreads

and Annabelle Archer, a beautiful but 'over educated' 25 year old becomes one of the first women to study at Oxford University. The fiery Miss Archer, is awarded a scholarship on the condition that she supports the Suffragette movement, and helps to recruit powerful men to the cause. It's whilst fulfilling this duty, that she first meets the wealthy and powerful Duke of Montgomery (Sebastian), a cold and brooding man, with links to the Tory party and to Queen Victoria. He opposes everything she stands for, yet she finds herself fighting her attraction to him. Annabelle and Sebastian were wonderful, likable characters. I loved Sebastian. He's seemed so grumpy and cold, but I loved getting to see the man behind the mask as he got to know Annabelle and opened up. He was sweet, protective, and seductive. I thought Annabelle was such a great character. She was strong-willed with a very intriguing past, and I loved her tenacity and attitude. I love how hard she’s worked to better herself and everything she was fighting against. I really enjoyed learning both of their histories, especially hers. I loved watching these two come together, and fight their feelings as their attraction grew. It felt like a fun game of cat and mouse. I loved them butting heads and how Annabelle challenged Sebastian, it was awesome. I loved the build to them coming together and the growth they both experienced. While I was interested in the Duke's brother and in Annabelle's friends, I really wasn't all that fascinated by either Annabelle or Sebastian. And the anachronisms are awful. Going places without a chaperone, being alone with an unmarried man, wearing a skintight dress without undergarments (seriously this type of dress DID NOT exist), the use of the wrong honorifics, and language that felt too modern all appear here. The beginning of the book started out great. Sure the book has lots of clichés, tropes, and silliness but rather than being annoyed, I kinda felt like I was meeting an old beloved friend. I was entertained because I felt like the novel was pulling from books by Austen, the Brontë sisters, etc. and I liked the homages. I loved the set-up. I was heartily entertained by how the two love interests meet and was looking forward to see how they would interact.And then there's Annabelle, who repeatedly acts like an idiot, but whom we're told is very smart because she's read Thucydides; whose political and moral principles seem to be based on the best interests of whomever she last spoke to; and who never once seemed like the impoverished but genteel daughter of a rural Victorian clergyman whom she purported to be. Her defining personality trait, really, is that she's Not Like the Other Girls—hence why she'll go to a ball in a skintight, fashionable gown with no undergarments on underneath! Even on a practical level this wouldn't have been possible given how gowns were constructed then, but Annabelle just draws all the men's eyes with her astounding beauty, etc. I think could have probably gone with the I-love-you-because-true-love stuff if the book hadn't been so realistic-ish in other areas. Maybe if it were a bit more silly like other historical romances tend to be, you know? When I started at BOTM, I was a professed literary snob—and probably flaunted that term with pride (cue eye roll). I never read romance books because I assumed they were too cheesy and poorly written to be considered worthy of my time. Years later, dozens of romance books devoured, I’m so happy to report that, on that score, I was wrong.

A League of Extraordinary Women Series - Goodreads A League of Extraordinary Women Series - Goodreads

Overall, Bringing Down the Duke surprised me with its heart, and I look forward to the next in the series. An estate with rolling green hills, fountains, and flower gardens… a dashing duke rides up to sweep me off my feet onto his horse as we ride off into the sunset…and, or at this point, of what feels like day 5,879 of stay at home, I would settle for a trip to the bookstore. Happily, I didn’t need to make a trip out because I had Evie Dunmore’s debut novel, Bringing Down the Duke, on my shelf waiting for me to give it a reread. Something tore inside his chest, something vital, and briefly, he wondered if a man could die from it. The pain all but took his breath away. What a way to find out he did have a heart. Although not everything resonated with me the way I hoped it would. Nevertheless I really enjoyed the way the author portrayed that specific epoch of time.Bring Down the Duke is a story of love, independence, and soul mates. It’s one of those romances that makes your heartache as you follow along holding your breath hoping the characters get their happy ending. Evie Dunmore’s debut novel is nothing short of a perfect love story. Bringing Down the Duke was a unique and refreshing story and I enjoyed it all! It was a witty, entertaining, and engaging read that was incredibly well told. Dunmore is my new find in historical romance. Her A League of Extraordinary Women series is extraordinary.” —Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Bringing Down the Duke - Free Online Novels - Novel12 Bringing Down the Duke - Free Online Novels - Novel12

In fact, Bringing Down the Duke seems to use its thin veneer of wokeness as an excuse to revel in gender essentialism. Pretty much every encounter between the two leads mentioned "feminine warmth" and "masculine hardness", so I had strained my eyes from rolling them so hard before I was very far into the book. I'm a romantic at heart, so I'm always searching for the perfect romance that speaks to me. And I found exactly what I was looking for in this book. Strong women and the dashing men who value them for their mind and their wit will do it for me every time. I pretty much swooned from beginning to end. After this, I'll read anything by Evie Dunmore. I just won't be walking at the same time... learned that lesson! Their attraction was so palpable, so passionate and there were times I wanted to smoosh their faces together and tell them to get it over with. There was so much tension between them, the impossibility of their love made this story heartwrenching. In between all of his nonsense, there's also a great amount of ugly gender essentialist language in here about the heroine's Feminine Softness and the hero's Masculine Hardness. This is one of those books that refers to women as "females". Again, this is 2019, I shouldn't have to say that this sort of language completely erases trans and non-binary/genderqueer people from existence, and even cis people who don't have the right kinds of bodies (curvy cis men and lean cis women exist, amazingly). And what does shit like "feminine warmth" mean? Do women somehow radiate a special, mystical body heat that fundamentally differs from men? Do their atoms vibrate at some frequency labeled F E M A L E? I'm so tired, authors, don't do this to me. With her sterling debut, Evie Dunmore dives into a fresh new space in historical romance that hits all the right notes.” — Entertainment WeeklyI have read the future of historical romance, and it’s Evie Dunmore’ Eva Leigh, author of Dare to Love a Duke Bringing Down the Duke is the best historical romance I’ve read all year.. . . Evie Dunmore is a marvellous, fresh new voice in romance who is sure to go far. Don’t miss her brilliant debut!’ ANNA CAMPBELL, bestselling author of the Dashing Widows series Sebastian has been steady his whole adult life. After being thrust into the role of Duke at the young age of nineteen, he has worked tirelessly to restore the family name and fortune. Queen Victoria views him as one of her most trusted inner circle and with good reason. Running the multiple estates that he inherited as the first son and restoring their profitability would break a lesser man. But not Sebastian Devereux, nineteenth Duke of Montgomery. He always accomplished what he sets his mind to, no matter the cost. Nothing will stop him from restoring Montgomery Castle, an estate that his father lost in a bet.