An American Duchess
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
At the height of the Roaring Twenties, New York heiress Zoe Gifford longs for the freedoms promised by the Jazz Age. Headstrong and brazen, but bound by her father's will to marry before she can access his fortune, Zoe arranges for a brief marriage to Sebastian Hazelton, whose aristocratic British family sorely needs a benefactor. Once in England, her foolproof plan to wed, inherit and divorce proves more complicated than Zoe had anticipated. Nigel Hazelton, Duke of Langford and Sebastian's austere older brother, is disgraced by the arrangement and looks down upon the raucous young American who has taken up residence at crumbling Brideswell Abbey. Still reeling from the Great War, Nigel is now staging a one-man battle against a rapidly changing world--and the outspoken Zoe represents everything he's fighting against. When circumstances compel Zoe to marry Nigel rather than Sebastian, she does so for love, he for honor. But with Nigel unwilling to change with the times, Zoe may be forced to choose between her husband and her dreams
Series
3 primary booksRoaring Twenties is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by Jenn Bennett.
Reviews with the most likes.
If you're wondering why a 1-star review is the top review, it's because it's pretty much spot-on. But—and I can't speak here for the other reviewers—the high rating is because I couldn't help myself: I really enjoyed the story despite its shortcomings.
Yes, the descriptive prose was often lazy. The same adjectives were sometimes used within sentences of each other when a synonym would've been better.
Yes, there are certain things that are repeated ad nauseam. He is massive in every way and has high Scandinavian cheekbones. She freckled is freckled petite freckled and freckled.
Yes, I was hoping for a lot more of the paranormal stuff and the mystery stuff and the focus was much more on the romance.
Buuuuuut. But.
I don't know a whole lot about romance novels, but I was expecting a lot of fluff. I got a lot more depth than I expected. There's social commentary here that bubbled to the surface of my consciousness whilst reading and that wasn't at all preachy. I think the historical realism and accuracy are a bit selective, and that's fine—I would have been happy to have the envelope pushed even further.
The main and supporting characters are mostly wonderful. The women are self-sufficient, strong, independent, resourceful, and commanding of respect. There's agency and there's sex positivity. There's honest introspection and self-awareness in characters, wherein they question their beliefs and biases; they listen, reflect, grow, and adapt.
I liked the pace at which Aida and Winter's relationship developed. I don't particularly have anything against instalove, but I get tired of it being used in romances. Here the relationship gets more intimate very naturally, and there's a lot of sweetness and hesitation and doubt. And dopey grins. I love the dopey grins.
