{Review} Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Page Count: 356

Published On: September 3, 2019

Published By: Berkley Romance

Genre(s): Adult historical romance

Source: Hardback bought through Book of the Month
Where To Find It: Amazon// Book Depository

My Rating: 4.75 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke...

~ ~ ~

Hey guys!

I had the pleasure of reading this for a book club that I joined thanks to my friend Bethany. It's called @romancethequebookclub on Insta. In April we are reading a really fun romance that I also enjoyed reading. Stay tuned for my reading wrap up and review!

Bringing Down the Duke is a historical romance that follows a brilliantly developed cast of characters. The novel follows Annabelle. A young woman who has traveled from the country to attend Oxford with a scholarship from a women's group. To keep her scholarship, Annabelle must take part in the suffragist movement. To keep her spot, she is entrusted in convincing the intimidating Duke of Montgomery to fight for their cause and give them a voice in the assembly. What they don't expect is developing respect and romantic feelings for one another. 

I'm usually not the biggest fan of historical romance. I usually find the characters to be extremely unrealistic and lacking historical accuracy, the romance is usually steamy, but gross and borderline non-consensual, and the language and writing style is usually so basic and lacks the depth that I enjoy. However, this wasn't the case for this book. I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. The only issue I had was that it took a minute to click into my brain and interest me. It was just a slightly slow build-up. Once the Duke and Annabelle began to actively interact and banter, I couldn't put it down.

The romance in this book was so beautifully developed. It was a sort of slow-burn situation, but mainly because of the society that they lived in. Class plays a large part in this romance because of the trials that the lower class faced when faced with interactions with the upper class and obscenely wealthy. There were many moments throughout this book that made me cry because I could physically feel the heartache and heartbreak that Annabelle could feel when she faced the trials and troubles that followed her attraction to the Duke. This was so well done. You will love it.

In the previous historical romances that I've read, the historic aspects that make up the character's personalities and the setting and the conflict that comes from whatever situation they are put in -- the history is always so lackluster and badly written. However, in Bringing Down the Duke, Evie Dunmore has managed to integrate the history that so heavily influences the character's way-of-life so flawlessly. I cannot gush enough about how fantastic her efforts and how much they were appreciated. The inequality that women faced back in the day wasn't skipped over or sugar-coated for the sake of the romance. The class-ism, the sexism, and the controversy that surrounded the suffragist movement weren't just suddenly okay to the messy society -- it was handled as it would have been handled back then. I loved it so so so much. 

This was just the perfect mixture of the wonderful tropes that I love in my romance. I absolutely recommend it. I cannot wait for the sequel/companion. The story follows two of my favorite characters.

You can get a hardback copy of this book through Book of the Month for $5 with {this code}!

Other Romance Novels You'd Love:

• Well Met by Jen DeLuca
• Hate-to-love, renaissance romance (give me all of the kilts and leather-clad pirates!)
• Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
• Chronically ill, curvy, black heroine; love interest recovering from an abusive relationship; forbidden romance (not co-dependent and gross), and delightful banter
• The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Repairing a marriage; macho-baseball men reading smutty romance novels book-club-style; adorable family dynamics; lovely bromances
• Roomies by Christina Lauren
• fake romance trope; a marriage of convenience; stunning romantic chemistry
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
• Hate-to-love/enemies to lovers romance, office romance
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• #ownvoices for autistic representation; fake relationship trope; diverse casting

I love all of these authors, so definitely check out the rest of their work.

I've been on a massive romance kick lately. My COVID-19 quarantine has caused me to search for all of the best romance novels. All recommendations are welcome!

Please stay well out there, friends!
Olivia
~Liv the Book Nerd~
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March 2020 Reading Wrap Up

Hey, guys!

March was such a stressful month -- and of course, I put all of my stress into reading and escaping the situation. 

I had a good month of reading. The good books outweighed the bad. I had a good time when I read this month. 

What did you read this month? Are you quarantined? How are you all? 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Obsideo by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

4.25 stars

This was such a wonderful and thrilling conclusion to the Illuminae Chronicles. I adored the audiobook production. It was the perfect mixture of fantastic voice acting, imaginative and insanely wonderful sound effects, and a phenomenal story. There were so many moments where this finale could be potentially ruined, but Jay and Amie really blew this one out of the water. Oh my goodness, AIDEN's parts were so captivating and I couldn't stop second-guessing every situation. 

Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle

3 stars

Read for my Women and Literature class.

I really have a like-hate relationship with this book. I really enjoyed how this book dealt with addiction and the pursuit of sobriety, however, I really did not enjoy actually reading this book. I didn't like Paula much at all and this book hit too close to home. I was just sad throughout it.

Restore Me, Shadow Me, Defy Me, and Reveal Me by Tahereh Mafi

(all) 3 stars

Right before this entire enforced quarantine started, I decided that I wanted to listen to the second half of the Shatter Me series --finally. 

Unfortunately, these were just not as good as the first three books. It just felt like the writing has just not lived up to my expectations. Shatter Me, Reveal Me, and Ignite Me were just so fantastic, but these were just a letdown. There were so many moments that I genuinely enjoyed. I really am interested in reading the finale to the series, but I don't have high hopes for the character development, the world-building, or the writing. 

The writing just wasn't on par compared to the previous books. They didn't seem like complete drafts.

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas 

5 stars

This was by far the most phenomenal books I've ever read. It is, by far, my favorite read of the 40 that I've read this year.  Ugh, Sarah has done it again!

I'm so obsessed with the characters, the world that she's created, the slow-burn romance that developed, and the unputdownable story. I didn't want to put this book down. I would read a few chapters a day and force myself to put it down so that I could make it last longer. I desperately want the next book. This is everything I could have hoped for. I will re-reading this before the year is up. 

You absolutely need to pick this book up.

 

Highland Conquest by Heather McCollum 

1.5 star

Thank you Entangled Teen for the e-copy. 

This was such a let down of a read. I have a full review here:

{click here}

Once Upon An Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices 

edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed

4 stars

Thank you Amulet Books for the review copy and thank you Goodreads for hosting the giveaway. 

This was such a wonderful anthology. I've been far too uninformed about Eid, but now I'm a little bit more aware of what goes on. I absolutely adored this insight into so many family traditions. I'm so glad that I read this book because I've easily found so many authors that I adore. This was such a great way to get a "taste" of so many authors that I didn't have the pleasure of reading yet. 

This was flawlessly executed. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

4.75 stars

This was one of my Book of the Month picks. You can pick up yours for $9.99 {here} with code: TAKECARE

Another phenomenal read from Taylor Jenkins Reid. TJR has written such original and interesting novels. I adored that this story followed Evelyn's life and was parallelled with her interviewer's struggle through her divorce. This story was so powerful. It has resonated with me since I finished it. I cannot wait to read more from TJR. I need more of her fiction.  

Well Met by Jen DeLuca 

5 stars

I acquired my copy of this book through Book of the Month! Get your copy for $9.99 {here} with the code: TAKECARE

Another new favorite came from reading this delightful book. I cannot wait for the sequel/companion that follows Stacey, a side character we met in Well Met.

My full review can be found here: {click here}

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore 

4.75 stars

I'm not usually one who enjoys historical romance. They're usually just so unrealistic or much too mindless for me to enjoy. I love a romance novel where the couple genuinely appreciates each other. Usually, I cannot stand the female lead or the male lead -- the dialogue is cheesy, the chemistry seems forced or gross, and/or it's just written badly. 

This book -- oh my goodness this book -- was so beautifully done. Evie Dunmore is a new favorite that I cannot get enough of. Although the beginning was a little slow (that's why it isn't 5 stars), the characters were so delightful. I adored Annabelle and Sebastian's romance. It was a perfect sort of hate-to-love and enemies-to-lovers situation. Their angst and drama were perfectly backed by nineteenth-century customs and the early suffragist movement. The way that Evie Dunmore wove the history behind the women's rights movement into the story was so flawlessly done. 

This was a fantastic read.

You can also pick up a copy of this book for $9.99 through Book of the Month with the code TAKECARE through {this link}.

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas 

 

5 stars

If you're new to my blog, FYI, I'm obsessed with Sarah J. Maas. The ACOTAR series is my favorite of hers. I had the pleasure of joining a group of my Instagram ladies and reading ACOTAR again. I picked up my paperback edition and annotated it during this reread. If anything, this reread just confirmed how much I love SJM and how much I adore Feyre's character. 

I cannot wait to continue my reread with ACOMAF. It's my favorite of the series. My English major brain loves to analyze and critically examine this story. I love it so much.

Anna K by Jenny Lee 

2 stars

This book initially piqued my interest, but as I got about 50% through, it just became a chore to get through. This felt 200 pages too long. I really enjoyed part of what I read, but I was so bored. This just wasn't for me. This has been compared to Gossip Girl and other gossip/angsty shows that I know I cannot stand. I should have known better, but I was hoping for more since it was an Anna Karenina retelling. To be honest, I've only seen the movie (I'm not reading an 800+ Russian tome) and even then I didn't like it. I was hoping to get some modern insight into the lessons from the book. Overall, I wasn't a fan.

Total Pages Read: 5, 275

Total Number of Books Read: 14

Average Rating: 3.61 stars

Genres:

YA Cont/Romance: 1

Adult Cont/Romance: 5

Adult Fantasy: 1

YA Fantasy: 6

Middle Grade: 1

Format:

Audio: 5

e-Format: 3

Physical: 7

Happy reading:
Olivia
~ Liv the Book Nerd ~

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