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Catch a Falling Duke is an historical romance about a duke who finds out his family fortune has horrifying origins and a farmer struggling with her legacy, who meet at a crossroads of their lives. When the two share a night of passion, both feel a connection, but neither has a place in the other’s life.
Hugo Ravensthorpe has just become a duke, and is still mourning his father when he makes a truly gruesome discovery: his estate is built on the profits of slavery. This sickens him, and prompts Hugo to leave his home, which is now inextricably connected to a heinous crime. Hugo needs space and time to try to figure out how to reconcile himself with this knowledge, and help those his family has wronged.
Bea is alone in the world. Following the deaths of her husband and parents, she manages her family’s farm with the help of their laborers, milkmaids, and her best friend Kate. In her attic, Bea finds a letter dated the year prior to her birth, that indicates that Bea might have a natural father still living. Bea has no children or living family close to her, so sets out to find the truth of her parentage, in the hopes of finding some connection. Bea leaves her farm to go on a trip to the fair, where her mother met the man who might be her father almost forty years ago. Meanwhile, Hugo is traipsing around the country trying to find himself in the wake of his crisis. When Hugo defends Bea from harassment in a tavern, Bea takes a liking to him. The inn has no rooms left, and they end up spending the night together. They prolong their liaison until they reach their destination, the fair where Bea’s mother met her possible father. Hugo is drawn to Bea, and she to him, but can they have any future, given the huge disparity in their social class, and Bea’s reluctance to wed again?
Hugo is an excellent leading man, charming, emotionally available, and overall just a delight. He and Bea have great banter, which helps the reader really feel the chemistry between them, and he has a really strong character arc, which I think will appeal to a lot of readers who are interested in economic and social justice. Hugo is by far my favorite character in the novel; his actions are honorable, and he is true to his resolve.
Bea is also very likable, but despite having a real sense of duty, she seems rather emotionally underdeveloped for someone in their late thirties, and overall, she’s fairly bland. Despite family being both a motivation and a difficulty she faces, we learn very little about hers. Bea is a widow, and there is almost nothing in the story about her husband and their relationship, aside from mention of his disappointment in their childlessness. While Bea was close to her parents, almost nothing was said of them. Family, both found and blood, is a huge theme in the book, but it is used inconsistently and that takes away from its power.
The first act is strong, but the latter two thirds of the book flounder and the pacing of the story is totally lost. Bea being a farmer and raised by a farming family is a huge part of her identity, but it doesn’t really come through on the page. There is a great opportunity to flesh Bea out as a character on her home turf, but that just doesn’t happen. The secondary characters aren’t given their due either; while some are given certain traits and motivations, they feel insubstantial.
Catch a Falling Duke has some high points, but overall it’s just okay.
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Grade: C
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 15/06/21
Publication Date: 05/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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Just seemed a bit Hokey-Wokey to me. I can’t imagine a (presumably) 19th century SJW duke off to find himself as described when he had responsibilities to an estate, employees, tenants, the land, etc. And I kept wondering about the “falling”. From where? The sky? A tree? A stepladder? From what? Grace? Love? Bad company? Catch? In a net? Sorry, the possibilities are endless. The pair on the cover looked like they are square dancing and watched by a bullock on the dance floor.
I have to say that was my reaction as well. We’re talking about a man who has been bred to the “job” – to oversee a large (probably) estate, and the finances pertaining thereto – and he only JUST works out where the money comes from? And the trouble is, I know it’s not “nice” or PC, but I can’t imagine that many members of the aristocracy at this time people actually worried about where their money came from. It’s a big issue in the UK right now, because so many of the grand stately homes run by English Heritage and the National Trust etc. were built or maintained using profits derived from businesses that used slaves.
The whole premise reminds me of Balzac’s contention that “behind every great fortune is a great crime.”
You might want to check out the Dear Author review of this book.
That review really nailed a lot of my feelings on this book! Thanks for linking it.
Too bad this is just an ‘all right’ read! I keep waiting for Pendle to get an above average book out there.