Forever My Duke
Series: Unlikely Duchesses #2
Author: Olivia Drake
Published December 31st 2019 by St. Martin's Press

Goodreads Synopsis
“I find Miss Fanshawe to be quite charming—for an American.”—The Prince Regent

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He even has the perfect one picked out. That is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She’s the opposite of what a man of his high rank should desire in a wife—an outspoken American who has never even set foot in a London ballroom.

But Natalie doesn’t have time to be swept off her feet by a handsome duke who must be a spoiled scoundrel like every other British lord. And she couldn’t care less about Hadrian’s title. After all, it’s not as if he actually worked to attain his wealth and status. He surely can’t understand what it’s like to be a busy woman, planning to open a school while trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan with his English relatives. Nevertheless, Hadrian launches his campaign to win her heart. Can the utterly delightful American beauty ever find a way to love him…despite his being a duke?
Goodreads

Review
In Forever My Duke, the Duke of Clayton needs to marry, and the daughter of his friend and once guardian seems to be perfect. As Hadrian is on his way to reconnect with the woman he thinks he'll ask to marry, he comes across a beautiful young American, and her 6 year old charge, who just so happens to be heading in the same direction. Natalie Fanshawe never expected she would set foot in England, but when the settlement she was living in was attacked, and her friend's dying wish was for her newly-orphaned son to be reunited with his maternal family, she can't deny that wish. Taking Leo to meet his grandparents was harder than she expected though, as they are wholly concerned with status and image, and had shunned their daughter for marrying a lowly preacher and emigrating. Against all the odds, it's only Hadrian who is on her side, and when he takes her and Leo to his family home in London, while they wait and see if Leo's family will accept him, the sparks fly. Will Natalie get over her hatred of the aristocracy, or will her American ideals be too much?

I think I liked this book a little more than the one before, but felt like some aspects of it went on a little long. Both of the main characters were lovely, and I completely understood why Natalie, as the daughter of someone who emigrated from England for being the illegitimate son of nobleman, and being shunned from society, was so against the aristocracy system, but she went on a bit. Okay, you're American, you don't believe in a class system, but remember where you are, and who's guest you are too. She got slightly better as the book went on, especially as she met her paternal family, who weren't anywhere near as bad as she thought they'd be. Nor were Hadrian's family either. They fully embraced her and little Leo, and showed the good side of the aristocracy. The chemistry between Hadrian and Natalie was okay, and I liked seeing Hadrian's relationship with his mother redevelop. There's also a sort of found family aspect too, with Hadrian, Natalie and Leo forming a little unit who loved each other, and would do anything for each other. All in all, a decent book!

Dates Read:
March 21-23, 2021

Rating
4 Stars