A Duke by Default
2018 • 384 pages
Ratings9
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings9
Average rating3.6
An NPR Best Book of the Year - A Bookish Favorite Book of the Year - A Bookpage Best Romance of the Year Award-winning author Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series continues with a woman on a quest to be the heroine of her own story and the duke in shining armor she rescues along the way… New York City socialite and perpetual hot mess Portia Hobbs is tired of disappointing her family, friends, and—most importantly—herself. An apprenticeship with a struggling swordmaker in Scotland is a chance to use her expertise and discover what she’s capable of. Turns out she excels at aggravating her gruff silver fox boss…when she’s not having inappropriate fantasies about his sexy Scottish burr. Tavish McKenzie doesn’t need a rich, spoiled American telling him how to run his armory…even if she is infuriatingly good at it. Tav tries to rebuff his apprentice—and his attraction to her—but when Portia accidentally discovers that he’s the secret son of a duke, rough-around-the-edges Tav becomes her newest makeover project. Forging metal into weapons and armor is one thing, but when desire burns out of control and the media spotlight gets too hot to bear, can a commoner turned duke and his posh apprentice find lasting love?
Reviews with the most likes.
(Ugh, Goodreads, stop making it so hard to put your review with the right edition!)
Anyway, this is probably like 4.5 stars - I really liked it, but it took me ages to read, both because my stupid library holds just kept coming in and because most of the time I try to read in bed now I fall asleep in five minutes and retain almost nothing. (Hashtag mom life?) I like Portia a whole lot and I identify with her hot-mess-trying-to-be-better self. I wish the book had focused a little more on the psych aspects of that, not just the sobriety. If I remember, there are some quick mentions of ADHD and a call to her therapist, but that's about it. I also wish there'd been just a little more of Jamie and Cheryl, who seemed like great characters but weren't quite as developed as I'd like. I loved the effortless diversity of the characters and the setting. The ending was a little bit rushed, but I loved the world of this book so much I didn't even mind that! General caveat: if you're one of those people who demands complete accuracy in your romance, this is probably not the book for you, as some of the peerage details aren't correct. But then, everyone seems to be fine with a Regency England crawling with hot young available dukes (miraculously with all their teeth and free of STDs), so... let's not get bogged down here. This book is delightful.
4,5★
maybe a favourite.
Adoro quando quebro a cara.
Tinha zero expectativa para esse volume. Porque achava Portia impertinente e sem graça. Então comecei a ler (ouvir) o livro...
1/3 of the book I was like:
Porque é claro que a ideia da Portia foi mediocre. Claro que sua vida será solucionada indo para a Escócia fazer armas. É claro.
E dei ALTAS RISADAS. Sério, de fazer vergonha.
As mensagens compartilhadas entre as meninas sobre Tavish e sua formosura, foi engraçado demais!
2/3
Momento “agora vai”.
E as aulas de etiqueta para o duque, que só consegui imaginar algo assim:
Mas então...
3/3
O final.
Satisfatório, sim. Mas a autora tem uma péssima, péssima mania de solucionar tudo com uma linha. Uma. F*cking. Linha.
A escorregada de Mia resume bem o sentimento. Tudo estava indo bem e, out of nowhere, PAH! Está tudo resolvido.
Já sabíamos que tudo ficaria bem, contudo, veja bem. Uma coisa muito séria foi levantada no final (a questão da dopagem) e isso saiu sem desenvolvimento. Também, porque Portia se infiltrou na recepção, por mais que fosse uma festa da rainha, ficou bem sem necessidade.
Tudo bem que a Portia não tem emprego fixo, não tinha o comportamento mais católico, mas isso não significava que ela era uma filha que merecesse o tratamento cruel que recebia dos pais. Isso me perturbou profundamente. Cara, a bixa tinha um mestrado e mais um monte de qualificações. Tiro meu chapéu.
Claro que ela era uma personagem e pessoa muito melhor nesse volume, justamente longe das influências negativas externas.Claro. Só achei cruel demais.
Ainda mais se, de fato, ela tem TDAH.
Tavish, com toda certeza, é melhor construído que todo o resto. E mesmo com toda a brutalidade irradiante dele, gostei do contraste de crises de fofura e extrema vermelhidão. #SwordBae (ever)
(E juro que se eu for à Escócia um dia e não tiver uns homens 4x4 desses, será uma grande decepção)
Menos hot que o primeiro (mais ou menos) e mais focado no desenvolvimento da intimidade dos dois, para que ocorresse menos instantâneo do que com Tabiso e Naledi.
Me diverti a beça, e espero que o último da série, com um ruivo sedutor e super cheio de sotaque, seja tão bacana quanto esse segundo volume.
Really loved this one! Quite a fun book. My only critique is that the drugging/roofing a drink storyline was added really quickly at the end and not very much explored and it seemed like a weird thing to throw in there just for one last device to use to create drama between the love interests.
Otherwise, though, it was VERY great fun and I really enjoyed this one. A good reset after a lot of 3 star or lower books.
This series is my kind of romance novel. Royalty love interest, but in this case the love interest doesn't know he's nobility at first. I could really relate to the main character's insecurities and lack of self worth and her inability to take a compliment. And its was great to see her grow throughout the novel and learn and accept that she is a bad ass who does get shit down and that its just harder for her to do because she's wired differently. The male love interest was interesting, he is a modern day blacksmith who is crochetty on the outside but has really soft mushy corners. I didn't LOVE him, i think i needed him to be a little more squishy on the outside but overall this was a quick and enjoyable read that felt like it ended abruptly.
