ARC Review: The Princess Stakes (Daring Dukes #1) by Amalie Howard
10:00
Series: Daring Dukes #1
Author: Amalie Howard
Published June 29th 2021 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Goodreads Synopsis
Princess Sarani Rao has it all: beauty, riches, and a crown. But with her father an Indian maharajah and her late mother a British noblewoman, her mixed blood makes her a pariah and a target. When her father is murdered, her only hope of survival is to escape on the next ship out—captained by the man she once loved... and spurned.
Captain Rhystan Huntley, the reluctant Duke of Embry, has a place in the English fleet that he's loath to give up. But duty is calling him home, and this is his final voyage. Leave it to fate that the only woman he's ever loved must stow away on his ship.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
After discover her father, assassinated in his bed, Princess Sarani Rao has to flee her home in Joor, and attempt to make the crossing to England, to masquerade as an English countess, under her mother's maiden name. When she and her two friends find a ship leaving Bombay immediately, they sneak aboard, but Sarani soon discovers that the captain is none other than Rhystan Huntley, the only man she has ever loved, and who's heart she broke five years ago. Rhystan is angry to find Sarani aboard his ship, and if he didn't have to return to England immediately, to check his mother is well, and look after the ducal estates he reluctantly inherited, he would turn straight back around and dump her in Bombay. But, the longer they spend together, and when they reveal their reasons for going to England, they decide to pretend to be engaged, for Sarani's protection, and Rhystan's sanity. As they face the ton together, will they be able to keep their feelings separate from their goals, or are they destined to be together?
The Princess Stakes was a book I was extremely excited to read when it was first announced, as The Duke's Princess Bride. I was overjoyed to be approved for an ARC, as I've loved Amalie's books in the past, but as the first lot of reviews came out, I saw people better placed than myself have a lot of well founded criticisms about the book. I immediately didn't want to read a book that was full of racist stereotypes, colourism, colonialism, or slurs, so decided to put in on the back burning, indefinitely. Then I saw that Amalie addressed these concerns, The Duke's Princess Bride was pulled, and she rewrote the book, releasing it under it's new title. The version of this book I read was the new one, so I can't comment on how it's changed from it's problematic version, but I did enjoy this one.
I loved Sarani - she was strong, and could've crumbled under the stress and grief of losing her father and having to flee her home, but she didn't. While on the Discovery she was given jobs she would never have had to do, and faced Rhystan's derision and scorn at every turn. Both had been hurt by the events of five years ago, when she was forced to become betrothed to the regent, Earl Talbot, who was old enough to be her father, and Rhystan thought she abandoned him to marry a title. As the third son of a Duke, Rhystan was forced to join the military, and soon made a name for himself in the Navy, but he was still only the third son, and his superiors treated the Indian people with disdain, and anyone who got close to them, like Rhystan did, would be punished. When he was beaten and kicked out of the navy, he joined a privateer, and decided to do everything he could to get revenge on those who'd wronged him, most especially Admiral Markham. He unexpectedly inherited the title of Duke of Embry when his father and two elder brothers died in a fire, but has somewhat ignore his responsibilities in that juncture, except from hiring a trusty steward to take care of the estates, and sell off the plantations, etc., that his father had controlled. Returning now to find the estate in disarray, due to debts of his brother, he has to stay longer than he wanted and being home, with his sister, Ravenna, and his mother, he starts to see the positives about being home - but only if he has Sarani by his side. I didn't like that Sarani had to pretend to be Lady Sara while in London, but understood the reasons behind it. The conclusion of this book was perfect, and I'm happy to realise than Amalie's next book, Rules for Heiresses, is about Ravenna - I'll be reading my copy immediately!
Dates Read:
August 11, 2021
Rating
4 Stars
Published June 29th 2021 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Goodreads Synopsis
Princess Sarani Rao has it all: beauty, riches, and a crown. But with her father an Indian maharajah and her late mother a British noblewoman, her mixed blood makes her a pariah and a target. When her father is murdered, her only hope of survival is to escape on the next ship out—captained by the man she once loved... and spurned.
Captain Rhystan Huntley, the reluctant Duke of Embry, has a place in the English fleet that he's loath to give up. But duty is calling him home, and this is his final voyage. Leave it to fate that the only woman he's ever loved must stow away on his ship.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
After discover her father, assassinated in his bed, Princess Sarani Rao has to flee her home in Joor, and attempt to make the crossing to England, to masquerade as an English countess, under her mother's maiden name. When she and her two friends find a ship leaving Bombay immediately, they sneak aboard, but Sarani soon discovers that the captain is none other than Rhystan Huntley, the only man she has ever loved, and who's heart she broke five years ago. Rhystan is angry to find Sarani aboard his ship, and if he didn't have to return to England immediately, to check his mother is well, and look after the ducal estates he reluctantly inherited, he would turn straight back around and dump her in Bombay. But, the longer they spend together, and when they reveal their reasons for going to England, they decide to pretend to be engaged, for Sarani's protection, and Rhystan's sanity. As they face the ton together, will they be able to keep their feelings separate from their goals, or are they destined to be together?
The Princess Stakes was a book I was extremely excited to read when it was first announced, as The Duke's Princess Bride. I was overjoyed to be approved for an ARC, as I've loved Amalie's books in the past, but as the first lot of reviews came out, I saw people better placed than myself have a lot of well founded criticisms about the book. I immediately didn't want to read a book that was full of racist stereotypes, colourism, colonialism, or slurs, so decided to put in on the back burning, indefinitely. Then I saw that Amalie addressed these concerns, The Duke's Princess Bride was pulled, and she rewrote the book, releasing it under it's new title. The version of this book I read was the new one, so I can't comment on how it's changed from it's problematic version, but I did enjoy this one.
I loved Sarani - she was strong, and could've crumbled under the stress and grief of losing her father and having to flee her home, but she didn't. While on the Discovery she was given jobs she would never have had to do, and faced Rhystan's derision and scorn at every turn. Both had been hurt by the events of five years ago, when she was forced to become betrothed to the regent, Earl Talbot, who was old enough to be her father, and Rhystan thought she abandoned him to marry a title. As the third son of a Duke, Rhystan was forced to join the military, and soon made a name for himself in the Navy, but he was still only the third son, and his superiors treated the Indian people with disdain, and anyone who got close to them, like Rhystan did, would be punished. When he was beaten and kicked out of the navy, he joined a privateer, and decided to do everything he could to get revenge on those who'd wronged him, most especially Admiral Markham. He unexpectedly inherited the title of Duke of Embry when his father and two elder brothers died in a fire, but has somewhat ignore his responsibilities in that juncture, except from hiring a trusty steward to take care of the estates, and sell off the plantations, etc., that his father had controlled. Returning now to find the estate in disarray, due to debts of his brother, he has to stay longer than he wanted and being home, with his sister, Ravenna, and his mother, he starts to see the positives about being home - but only if he has Sarani by his side. I didn't like that Sarani had to pretend to be Lady Sara while in London, but understood the reasons behind it. The conclusion of this book was perfect, and I'm happy to realise than Amalie's next book, Rules for Heiresses, is about Ravenna - I'll be reading my copy immediately!
Dates Read:
August 11, 2021
Rating
4 Stars
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