My Darling Duke

4.5 stars — You know what I love?? Truly good main characters, who, despite their flaws and missteps, I still can’t help but love. And yeah, I DEFINITELY loved Alexander and Kitty. I marked this one as a fairy tale retelling, but it is VERY loose. They even mention the story in the story, which amused me greatly. My favourite parallel was the delightfully invested and meddling servants — totally a highlight. I started this one in audio, and while the narrator seemed okay, she was a bit qui

In a galaxy far, far away..... far away from the British Regency life and filled with irritating Americanisms and social gaffs which did not convince this reader of this author's ķnowledge of the British way of life of tge oeriod and even now. The sensual elements are repetitive and explicit to the point of b-o-r-ing!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it. This was an updated version of Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is the Duke of Thornton, Alexander Masters. Ten years prior, a twenty year old Alexander saved himself and his seven year old sister from a fire that raged in their home in Scotland that killed their parents. He sustained life-threatening injuries. He hasn't been seen in London for seven years, preferring to remain in Scotland away from the ton. Miss Katherine Danvers, but goes by Kitty, is the Beauty. She is a wallflower. Kitty along with her closest friends, who are also wallflowers, decide to do something wickedly fun. She concocts a tale to weave that she is engaged to the Duke to help promote her younger sister(s) to make better matches as they are near-penniless since their father a Viscount has passed away several years ago. The tale is a charming one. It is full of wit and angst. I felt for both characters. I was extremely glad to see the story written in a dual POV format. Getting into Alexander's thoughts and see the fear and pain that he suffers really helped me to understand some of his actions much better. For the most part, this is a clean read but there are a few parts that near the end that should really only be read be someone over the age of 18.