One Day my Duke Will Come: 5 (The Wayward Woodvilles)

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I loved so many parts of this book. It has to get a five star rating because the first half and the last quarter were excellent, but there was some lag and a bit of repetitiveness in that third quarter. Clara’s enumeration of the reasons she and Quincy couldn’t have a real future got a bit old and she began to sound like a broken record after a while, and I do wish someone had put the duchess in her place more thoroughly. Nonetheless, Clara was very brave in how she revealed her pain to her loved ones and her recognition of Quincy’s inherent goodness when others seemed to underestimate him and only see a carefree rake. I adored Quincy as a hero and just wanted someone to give him the love his family had not. Thankfully, Clara was perfect for him and I loved how he respected her and stepped up to show her what it was like to have someone care for her for a change. In that respect, Quincy reminded me of Cam Rohan, from Lisa Kleypas’ Mine Till Midnight, and one of my all time favorite heroes. Clara and Quincy needed and respected each other so much and that made it impossible not to root for them, plus I quite liked that she was a bit older than him. I was also utterly charmed by the friendship between Quincy and Peter. That bond of brotherhood and closeness is rare and precious, and I thought it was illustrated very well here. I couldn’t put this book down and look forward to Margery’s story now.

It is when their feelings for each other begin to change that their pretend displays of affection get a little blurry. They both have to confront their past before taking the next step. They had to stand up to those who wanted to hurt them and make their relationship impossible. But how do you go from a mutual dislike for each other and not wanting the marriage, to coming to decide to pull up your big girl panties and making the most of the situation? With a lot sparring and making up 🔥, some jealous moments and some heartbreaking moments.

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Quincy was such a cinnamon roll and I was on that emotional rollercoaster right there alongside him. I made a note to remember that I don’t think he ever did a thing wrong or got unreasonably angry with Clara. Like the man never said a regrettable thing in a fit of rage and I absolutely loved that. He was truly a good egg and I love me a good-guy omelette. Oh my, the duchess of Reigate is such an awful and bitter creature, my only regret is we do not learn if she ever gets her right comeuppance. She fed my blood-lust to see her crushed and even harmed, I would have happily walked on her in stilettos. Sorry.

Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide. Yet there was a steadiness to his gaze that grounded her. Just then he smiled. It was a small thing, barely even lifting the corners of his lips. But it gave her the encouragement she needed to do what had to be done. Ugh, I don’t like this – purposefully flirting with another man, especially towards the end of the book (we’re at almost 80% here) Clara grabbed my heart as thoroughly as Quincy did. She raised her siblings after her mother’s death and has taken care of her family so thoroughly that at nearly thirty-one she finds herself at loose ends with her sister getting married and her family no longer needing her like they once did. Clara has no intention of ever getting married – a secret that pains her to this day prevents it. But her aunt is determined to see her wed and it’s getting stressful. Then Quincy shows up with his mother trying to foist an unwanted engagement on him and Clara has the perfect solution: they’ll pretend to be engaged until her sister is wed and Quincy sets the dukedom to rights. The problem is, the more time they spend around each other the harder it is for them to resist falling in love.

Quincy and Clara decide to fake their engagement, to stop Quincy's mother and Clara's aunt from interfering with their lives. Of course, their fake relationship grows to something more, even though both Quincy and Clara resist their attraction at first. Someday My Duke Will Come is not as steamy as The Duke and I, and I found some parts a little slow, but overall I enjoyed this Regency romance.

The steamy scenes were great – I loved those and it probably had the most emotional impact for me between the characters. Something I’m always sad about though is when the first kiss is combined with the first sex scene. I don’t know it’s just personal preference that a kiss can really get them centered on each other and ramp up the tension before going all out. Because the sex happened kind of soon it diminished the tension for me between them. And don't let me start with Clara, she's a caretaker, always putting other above herself so it's time for her to learn that she also deserves a happy ending of her own.

One Day my Duke Will Come

Overall, the characters in this story feel human. These are people with real problems, not modern author-stand-ins trying to shoehorn message fic into a story. They’re also good people who’ve been given a raw deal, but who deserve whatever happiness comes their way. But as was established in the first book of the series, the Isle of Synne is a place where happy endings and true love can be found. I highly recommend this book, and this series.