Review: The Duke Gets Even – Joanna Shupe

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I don’t read as much historical romance as I used to, but when I saw the blurb, I couldn’t resist. While this is the fourth in a series, I read it as a standalone. There were cameos from previous couples that I suppose would have had more emotional heft if I was familiar with their stories, but the central story worked well for me.

Nellie and the Duke of Lockwood may have a scandalous first meeting, but it’s the next day at a society party where the battle lines are drawn. Lockwood, an English duke of an impoverished estate, needs to marry well and while rich heiress Nellie may fit that part of his requirements, her scandalous reputation doesn’t. But they can’t help getting under each others skin or the attraction that comes with it. One time to get it out of their systems can’t hurt, right?

Nellie is the apple of her father’s eye and as as his heiress, she doesn’t need a husband to support herself. She’s never had any interest in giving up her freedom for some man, so she deliberately “ruined” herself and has continued to cultivate a scandalous reputation. But with her friends partnered off and about to start families, she feels adrift and abandoned. Besides tending her late mother’s garden, she has no idea what to do next. But whatever she wants to do with her life, it’s certainly not becoming a duchess and moving to England.

“Will you hold back with me, pretending to be someone you’re not, or will you be real? As you were the other night.”
“I cannot be anything but myself when I am with you, it seems. Much to my dismay.”

After inheriting the estate his father mismanaged, Lockwood’s worked hard to fulfill all of the duties and responsibilities of his position, though finding a nice rich duchess (and a quickly produced heir) has proven harder than most. Unlike the bumper crop of unusually fit dukes we see in historicals, Lockwood has a good reason for the amount of exercise (specifically swimming) he does. The navigation around his diagnosis – and his prognosis – was handled skillfully, from his resistance to seeing yet another doctor to his grim acceptance.

An unexpected anonymous meeting in the ocean at night kickstarts their chemistry. Perhaps it’s that first meeting that makes it so easy for Nellie to see through Lockwood’s mask that he puts on for society, the dutiful duke who dances with debutantes. And in return, as Lockwood comes to love her, he sees her clearly as well. Lockwood quickly realizes that Nellie is the one for him, but knows that springing that on her will not go well.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that so much of the plot revolves around choice. There’s a subplot about Nellie’s work supplying contraceptives to bypass the Comstock Act, but it’s also part of the characters. Lockwood has never been free to do what he wants, while Nellie has always been able to. It’s just that now she’s not sure what that is. When Lockwood finally makes the choice to pursue Nellie, she’s stuck being unable to chose what she wants – after she eventually admits it, of course. Sure, some of it is that she knows Lockwood needs a wife with a spotless reputation, but a large part of that is fear, as well. Sometimes it’s easier to continue with the life you’ve known rather than upend everything you know in the search for happiness.

“You think I love you despite your recklessness.” He pressed his face into her hair and spoke quietly. Solemnly. “I love you because of it, you daft woman.”

One of my favorite parts of romance novels is the banter, and wow, this book delivers. Nellie is fierce and unwilling to back down and Lockwood meets her step for step. They absolutely lit up the page, and well, steamed it up, too. Neither Nellie nor Lockwood are as vanilla as society would expect, and they’re as much a perfect match in bed as they are in banter. I also loved Nellie’s Irish family, especially her aunt who acted like a surrogate mother for her.

Overall, absolutely delightful! I’ve already added the first in the series to my TBR list and can’t wait to read it!

Content notes: View Spoiler »period-typical misogyny, imprisonment, police corruption, intimate partner violence « Hide Spoiler

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