A Lady For a Duke: a swoonworthy historical romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material

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But Viola's past has not fully escaped her, and one of the people from her past haunts her still. Her childhood best friend, Justin Gracewood, needs help.

The article I have taken much of the information and quotes from discusses d’Eon’s life with the author of the biography Monsieur d'Eon Is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Sexual Masquerade. The biographer views d’Eon’s transition as seemingly as much—or possibly more—having to do with d’Eon’s religiosity as gender. In the article this is attributed to d’Eon’s discussion of this transition, as a “conversion from bad boy to good girl”. While I have far less context than the biographer, this proclamation sounds somewhat complementary to modern trans narratives I have heard—that one was ‘bad’ at presenting and fulfilling all the aspects of their gender assigned at birth, and there is a specific rightness to the gender they identify as. Viola somewhat echoed this sentiment as well—not that she ever considered herself a man or ever refers to herself as such, but in the manner she refers to her life before her transition; “You loved a phantasm… Someone who wasn’t there”. Although Viola’s insistence in her womanhood in the face of confusion or questioning is more stalwart, it has echoes of d’Eon’s insistence at being born a woman. Viola says “I was born Lord Marleigh, but I am Viola Carroll… I am—I have always been a woman. I feel as a woman. I desire as a woman. I… I could not bear being thought otherwise”. Gracewood had already begun to love Viola before learning he already knew her—although he had not yet known her fully. Much of the conflict in this book stems from the tension of Gracewood absolutely wanting everything with Viola, but not feeling good enough for her due to his struggles with his physical disability, PTSD, and drug dependency. Viola loves Gracewood but does not want to marry him, functionally ending the line of De Vere’s. The longing and yearning in this book is incredibly well done. Justin and Viola have loved one another since they were children, and the evolution of their love—and as individuals—makes for an incredibly compelling story. The epigraph is a quote from Twelfth Night, "Do not embrace me till each circumstance, A trans heroine. A grieving Duke. Two old friends. A moving and beautiful historical romance. Alexis Hall has outdone himself! What do you want to hear? That I’ve imagined it? Countless times? You beneath me, with your legs around me, wearing nothing but your pretty shoes?” This review discusses individuals who may have identified as trans given they had the language to do so, and some quotes may use language that would not be correct, but I have made best efforts to use thoughtful language.Whatever it is,” she told him, her head turned away, her expression cast in shadow by the fall of her hair, “there is no place for it in the world.” A best friends to lovers queer romance featuring a trans heroine and a grieving self destructive hero. This book is about self discovery and finding love when you aren't even expecting to! I found myself profoundly moved by the relationship between these two characters, which will come as no surprise at this point to anyone reading this. Their relationship felt inevitable, with a quality of kismet that made them read like the most perfect of soulmates. The relationship between Viola and Justin truly is one of the most romantic love stories I’ve read in a long while, and I relished every single second of their friendship and courtship, loving the way they carved a HEA for themselves in a world that would generally not permit such. Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.

CWs: descriptions of PTSD and chronic pain; instances of deadnaming/misgendering (in the past tense); some references to dysphoria; brief mentions of suicide ideation; some exploration of drug addiction; references to past abuse; some misogyny; and explicit sexual contentIf he allowed himself to think beyond the moment, beyond her closeness, and their entwined fingers, he would have known she was right. But he had no wish to think. I think what makes this romance so incredibly striking is the fact that being together allows both Gracewood and Viola to process their grief, and they’re both grieving completely different things. Viola is grieving both the person she was wrongfully raised to be along with the womanhood she was never fully invited into or allowed to embrace. Gracewood, on the other hand, is not only coming to terms with the fact that he was grieving someone who was never actually lost, but he’s also grieving the past version of himself that was stronger, more independent, and more able-bodied—because that's how he's been taught to define his masculinity and because the world has conditioned him to place value in those things.

I think the concepts, representation, and emotional journeys were all top tier. I laughed out loud a lot and absolutely loved the side characters with all of my soul. But I must say, the actual plot and pacing were dull by comparison.Viola Caroll, presumed dead when she went missing during battle, takes the opportunity to free herself from the strictures of the identity assigned to her at birth and finally live as herself. But the cost is heavy: her childhood friend, with whom she was as close as family, thinks she is lost. Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood, has not been the same since returning from the war: his injuries are physically limiting and cause him chronic pain, he’s tortured by memories of battle, and he has come to lean on alcohol and laudanum to cope. He’s also never stopped grieving the loss of his greatest friend. When Viola and Gracewood are reunited by their families, they are faced with rediscovering each other, figuring out how they fit together after so much has shifted within and between them, and overcoming the barriers that would seek to part them once more. The only spot of freshness in this story did not come from the main characters at all—it came from the side characters, Lady Marleigh (sister-in-law to Viola) and Lady Gracewood (Justin's younger sister). They were doing fresh things in this story, thank goodness, and Justin and Viola got to semi-react to those events throughout the novel. But that did make for awkward reading in a romance subniche that tends to rely on its main characters to provide the agency in a story. And the biggest, most dangerous moment in the book? Has NOTHING to do with their romance. And yet their romance AND their childhood friendship play a part in bringing about the expected happy ending. Alexis Hall produces the most unique and thought provoking relationships in his novels, and he’s just completely elevated the bar with A Lady for a Duke. Way more than simply a beautiful friends-to-lovers romance, Mr. Hall delivers a profound look at gender roles, and explores how physical perception affects the relationship between these two characters.

This book was so well written and just a lovely reading experience all around. While reading, I was inclined to learn about trans experiences/history contemporaneous to ‘A Lady for a Duke’. The accounts are somewhat few and far between given the largely puritanical cultural attitudes. There is a quote from the book where Viola is expressing her anger—and fear—at Gracewood for not understanding the risks of simply living as she is, and the risks she would be taking on by becoming more visible being a Duchess. Like I said before I loved the characters, main and side, but this book struggled to hold my interest for long periods of time. And I think it could have been a lot shorter than it was.A Lady For a Duke follows Viola Carroll, a former soldier presumed dead at Waterloo who used the chaos of the battle to finally live as her true self. She is content with a quiet life, not daring to hope for much more. But she still worries about the Duke of Gracewood, her best friend that she left behind. The duke was devastated and broken emotionally by the loss of his dearest friend, as well as the PTSD and physical injuries he sustained during the war. He isolates himself in Northumberland, unwilling to face the world and dealing with internalized ableism along with addiction. There are a lot of very serious themes in this book, and yet every heavy thing is held so kindly, with such compassion and care, that it is not a heavy story. Indeed, it is delightful, full of wit and humor. It evokes beauty at every turn: in the personal empowerment expressed in the detail of an embroidered glove or a pretty pair of shoes; in the strength and courage that it takes to be a better person than you were; in the ways that simple expressions of care can create breathtaking intimacy. I am completely in awe of Alexis Hall. As I concluded today with a friend, even if he writes across so many genres, he always manages to deliver brilliantly thought-out books. A Lady for a Duke takes the best of old and new: classically crafted in scope with a progressive premise and ideology; yes, one can argue it's a little bloated plot-wise surrounding its secondary characters, but nothing can be categorized as a meaningless filler. This feels like a 'director cut' of an already epic story with all the trimmings—do not rush through it and enjoy the journey. I listened to an audiobook which was Narrated by Kay Eluvian. What a wonderful performance. From depression to joy and every emotion in-between, plus young children to adults, the vocalizing is clear, gripping and engulfing. I did speed this up to 1.5 for conversational comfort.