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We all know Historical Romancelandia has a surfeit of dukes. However, never has that fact hit me so hard as while reading this anthology. The stories are set in different eras (the earliest is Georgian, the last is late Victorian), but it’s not the idea that these dukes might exist simultaneously that causes the problem. It’s that compiling a book that’s a barrage of back-to-back stories of young, virile dukes, three of whom marry well outside their class, inevitably results in the trope feeling stale. I can recommend some of these stories on an individual level, but you’ll probably have a better reading experience if you don’t read through this anthology all at once.
The Chasing of Eleanor Vane by Sierra Simone
Grade: B+
This was my favorite story in the collection. Lady Eleanor Vane is known as a competent, even-tempered manager, so Ajax Dartham, Duke of Jarrell, betroths her to his self-indulgent, irresponsible nephew and heir. Ajax is twenty years Eleanor’s senior, a widower, and, in his youth, the co-organizer of Georgian orgies, so he does not expect to fall for a proper young lady. Eleanor, meanwhile, planned to do her duty and marry the nephew, but Dartham’s heir is as appalling as Dartham is appealing. I appreciated the pacing here, as Simone allows tension to build between the leads during the house party, and also established a connection between them that went beyond sex.
Duke For Hire by Nicola Davidson
Grade: D+
A virginal vicar’s daughter walks onto a duke’s estate and hires him to teach her about sex. Look, either you’re willing to suspend disbelief on that, or you’re not. I wasn’t, and consequently this story just felt ludicrous. Even if you can suspend your disbelief, there isn’t any tension in this plot. She hires him. They boink. She has some kinky lesbian aunts so she’s down for everything, like a butt plug. This is also an age gap story – the heroine is thirty and the hero is forty – but the characters aren’t thoroughly drawn so it doesn’t matter. She knows he will not marry her, but we know he will, so you’re just marking time until it happens.
An Education in Pleasure by Eva Leigh
Grade: C+
Governess Cecilia Holme discovered sex and sexual freedom when she traveled to the continent with an aristocratic family. When the husband propositioned Cecilia, she fled to England to teach the daughters of the Duke of Tarrington. Then the Duke dies, and their older brother Owen inherits. Nine years Cecilia’s junior, but now twenty-one, it turns out he’s been hot for teacher all along. Cecilia, who misses sex, becomes his sex tutor.
It all hits too fast, with the characters having sex in the first twenty or so pages. The author tells – but does not show – us that the characters had been nursing a forbidden lust, but why not use flashbacks? ‘He won’t marry me’ is once again the only source of plot tension, and honestly? I wish Owen hadn’t married Cecilia, because I didn’t believe they were in love. He needed confidence; she wanted sex. They were a match in the moment but I didn’t see it continuing. In another novel, Cecilia would be the mistress the hero moves on from when he meets the heroine – and I felt she would have been happier that way. The title of this anthology is Duke I’d Like To F…, not Duke I’d Like To Wed. Just let the girl get her jollies and jewelry and a great town house. Not every lay needs to end in a coronet.
The Duke Makes Me Feel by Adriana Herrera
Grade: B
Reviewing this story was difficult because I think it was better than it felt to me after reading two other stories with the same a-duke- could-never-marry-the-commoner-he-has-feelings-for! plot.
Marena Bain-Torres is a biracial apothecary trained in Caribbean plant medicine. Her sister is in a committed relationship with the illegitimate half-sister of Arlo Kenworthy, this story’s duke. The half sister, a midwife, was forced to go into hiding when her client miscarried and she was charged with illegal abortion. Arlo is hoping Marena can help him find her. You can already tell how much more is going on here than in the other stories.
I liked Marena – who is hard-working, dedicated to learning, carrying on the knowledge of her ancestors, and conscious that her reputation is part of her business – and loyal. Arlo, this 1879 duke, is modern-day wish fulfilment: among other things, he supports women’s suffrage and wants to ban fox hunting. On the plus side, there’s effort to justify him being unusual (he was raised by Quakers), and it’s more credible that such a man would buck standards and choose an atypical bride. Unfortunately, the plot is inconsistent. The setting includes a duke who advocates for divorce and is chill about a lesbian biracial illegitimate half-sister, but the primary obstacle to an HEA for our heroine is that “[a] duchess working as an herbalist…could never happen.” That’s where you’re going to draw the line?
Herrera’s prose is fun. When the duke sees Marena in a chemise, “[h]e made a sound that could’ve been yes, but might have actually been tits,” and I laughed out loud. Her descriptions of food are glorious, and reminded me that I have to check out her chef romance, Mangoes and Mistletoe.
My Dirty Duke by Joanna Shupe
Grade: C+
Forty-one-year-old Max, Duke of Raventhorpe, is disgusted with himself for lusting after eighteen-year-old debutante Violet. She’s not just someone he’s known since her birth; she’s also the daughter of his best friend. Unfortunately, the more he obsesses about their age gap, the more discomfiting it becomes to the reader.
It’s not the age gap itself that is the problem. Rather, it’s the way the author has the characters react to it. Unlike in the first story in this anthology, where the pair seemed personally matched despite an age difference, this hero seems specifically attracted to Violet’s youth and lack of experience. He nicknames her “little mouse” and calls her “girl,” and notes “Violet was the type of gorgeous woman oblivious to her appeal, which in turn made her all the more appealing.” I hate that trope. “Her innocence – not to mention her willingness to do as he said without question – drove him positively wild.” Eew. “Violet had energized his existence. She made him feel ten years younger.” Which would still be thirteen years her senior, and what happens when she’s pregnant, or ill, or simply turns thirty and can’t serve as your human battery? When Max finally says to himself, “God you’re pathetic, You’re attempting to justify bedding an eighteen-year-old woman,” I nodded a hearty agreement.
I credit Shupe with very well-written sex scenes. Violet’s parents have a historically accurate dysfunctional marriage, the drama of which proved more memorable to me than the main characters’. Shupe’s frank inclusion of STDs in the story is unusual for the genre, but truthful to the history. As always, her prose is solid.
I disliked the story because the age gap was written in such a fetishy way. I can see someone who is into that enjoying this story much more – s0 know who you are before you pick up this story.
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Grade: B-
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 12/03/21
Publication Date: 11/2020
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.
I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.
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Um … is that James Franco on the cover?
This is either the worst title or the best. How does it measure against the earlier trend for titles like “Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right” in historicals? Some of those titles were really stretching it, but then again, at least they didn’t cuss.
I have a book bag with the John Waters quote: “If you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t f**k them.” My sister-in-law got it for me when she visited Powell’s — and she apologized to my mother for the gift. :) Sadly, that neglected book bag has to hide in my bedroom because my mother looks at it funny, so I’m afraid to take it anywhere.
It also takes the John Waters quote out of context:
https://mentalexotica.com/2011/09/06/what-john-waters-really-said/
Eh, this wasn’t the best anthology I’ve ever read, but it wasn’t the worst. I want Herrera to do so much more HR, because her take on the genre delighted me.
I find large age gaps off-putting and don’t want to read about them in my romances. Such things are too close to what I read about in headlines about Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein (who could easily have played the 41 y.o. obsessing about an 18 y.o; no aristocratic titles, other than possibly Prince Andrew, were involved in that scandal, but plenty of older, wealthy men were).
I watched the first three episodes of Allen vs Farrow and this kind of thing has been on my mind lately as well.
I stick to my half plus seven rule. Over that, I’m uneasy.
I must have learned that formula from you and have quoted it elsewhere.
“co-sign”
I looked at the cover and thought “Duke” was the name of the hero and he was in a motorcycle gang.
Yes! The cover is a huge non-starter for me as well as the title. The building in the background is so grimy-looking that I thought at first the bloke on the front was meant to be a northern mill-owner or some such.
hahahahahahahaha
Ooh! I want to make some naughty HR titles too! Here goes:
Doing the Duke
Docking the Doge (an m/m, of course)
Banging the Baron
Smashing the Squire
Eating the Earl
Taking the Viscount’s V-Card
Larking the Lady
The Lord’s Lithuanian Lay
Munching the Marquess (f/f)
A Quickie with the Count
Coming on the Countess (well, this is just pure smut)
Going all Knight Long
Impolite Intercourse in Intercourse (Pennsylvania, I suppose)
One Night with the Duchess in Dildo (Newfoundland, that is)
The Princess Paddles Her Pink Canoe
Buttering the Baker’s Biscuit (hey, commoners should be included in the fun too!)
Did I miss anyone?
Can’t believe I forgot Diddling the Duchess and Pegging the Prince…
I have read and enjoyed most of Adriana Herrera’s work, so I’ve had a moderate interest in this anthology, but the title struck me as oddly balanced between ‘trying too hard to be hip’ and ‘signaling erotica.’ Since I don’t read much erotica and the whole Duke thing makes me roll my eyes (So! Many! Dukes!) I hesitated. And now it’s pretty clear I wouldn’t care for most of these stories. Might try the Simone if it ends up available single-title down the line.
All I can add to this is that I was glad to learn it was self-published because I thought I must be really out of touch. I’ve never heard of these authors and so never read their oeuvres. Somehow, I don’t think I will start either. Sounds like total crap to me.
The two “mainstream” HR writers in that list are widely known (well, via Twitter at least) for wanting to “push the boundaries” of the genre – such as writing lots of sex and espousing the current trend that a strong heroine must treat the hero like shit to show how strong she is.
Oh, joy, she said, tongue firmly in cheek. Pass the barf bag please!!
I’m kind of puzzled about who this book was marketed towards. The title, which is seemingly not geared toward older or “traditional” romances readers, using the F word (which confession: I drop a lot outside of work) I would assume it’s for “younger” readers (not us Boomer, Gen Xers)
But the setups of the books, with one or two exceptions, seem to be really old guy with really young, even teenage girl. Are younger readers going to look at that and say “Ooh that’s hot”? Maybe it’s my age but I look at it and say…..ew, no thanks.
Is this another example where I am just out of the loop with what Generation Z wants? Or is the marketing for this a swing and a miss?
I sympathize with authors who are trying to capture the zeitgeist.
It’s self-published so I’m not sure how much traditional marketing there was. I saw posts on Twitter about it, but that was it. (I’m not on a lot of SM though). I suspect it’s aimed at the HR reader who doesn’t tive a F*** about actual history OR romance (by the sound of it). I showed the review to the 21 year old historian in the family and she said “Eeew.” So it’s not just a generational thing.
With the exception of the first story, the rest don’t sound like anything remotely related to romance. The title and the last story in particular sound extremely off-putting.
Sierra Simone really excels at the short story/novella-length romance. Her story SANGUINE (an m/m vampire romance) was the best story in last year’s AUSTRALIA anthology (remember in early 2020, when it seemed the Australian wildfires were the worst thing 2020 could foist upon us?). Likewise, her m/m romance NOT A DIRTY LITTLE SECRET (co-written with Gianna Darling and featuring a British PM and his step-brother) was the best story in the recent TALES OF DARKNESS & SIN anthology. Simone writes in a lush, dreamy style that is not to everyone’s taste (we had a spirited debate here at AAR about Simone’s PRIEST, but I can’t find the link to it because I believe it was one of those comment threads that developed from a review of a different book), but if you’re unfamiliar with her work and are interested in trying it, Simone’s ONCE UPON A DREAM, a collection of three erotic novellas, all adapted from fairy tales, is currently free in the Kindle Store.
Okay, I’m no prude and I swear like a trooper, but that title guaranteed I was never going to read this book.
I get a very strong vibe of ‘we’re the cool kids – we say f*ck’ ……. and write about Dooks!
I feel the same. It’s an odd way to own female sexuality especially as many of the stories here feature younger women and older men.
I assumed they were going for the other DILF vibe with the age gap pairings. And I agree, there’s definitely an attempt to be shocking in the use of that title, especially when they they call it a “Historical Romance Anthology” – because that isn’t the sort of thing you expect to see on an HR cover. I’m not saying HR should be all dainty drawing rooms and pearls – I like a steamy sex scene as much as the next person! – but even the handful of historical erotica books I’ve read are classier than this!
I love to swear and do so all the time. But there’s something about this title that feels anti romance to me.
Yep – it’s completely “in Yer Face” and is obviously designed to do that thing I’m always complainig about in romances and shout “Look How Unconventional I Am!” especially on the part of the authors in his set who are known for historical romance. Two of these authors, from what I’ve seen on social media, don’t seem to like historical romance very much anyway – in the sense that they’re writing 21stC people in period costume most of the time. I’m sure the contingent of readers who will lap up anything with “duke” in the title and who want their HR on the steamier side will have lapped this up. But that’s not what I’m looking for in HR.
I love this review because it makes a case that erotica without a believable romance isn’t romantic.
I wonder if some of these authors are pushing the romance angle not just because of the popularity of HR- although I’m sure that’s a big part of it- but because there is still a stigma associated with hard-core erotica. Amazon will not allow self-published erotica authors to advertise those titles, even if writers are willing to pay. Advertising is, however, permitted for romance titles- even if those titles are filled with just as much smut as their erotica counterparts. Knowing this, a lot of authors try to game the system by classifying their longer erotica works or anthologies as “romances” so they don’t cut off sales opportunities.
This is the only explanation for this “book’s” existence that makes any sense to me. The title is offensive, the subtitle misleading, and everything else is down-hill from there for me. Great review Carolyn but I’ll be passing on this.
Hm… I don’t think it would be that exactly. Eva Leigh and Joanna Shupe are both very well-established HR authors whose books tend to have a higher heat level than many others. If they wanted to write historical erotica or historical erotic romance, I’m sure they would – although I’m not sure Avon would publish it. The other authors are well established, too. (I think Davison actually does write erotic historicals) I suspect part of the reason for that sub-title is to get the attention of readers who know their names and what they write just in case the actual title didn’t appeal. Or something.
It made me wonder, what’s the title of the sequel? “Earl I’d Like To S…”?
Followed by The Baron I’d Like to Bugger….
Or with a slight change, we could have series featuring the ‘Verse Viscounts, the Countesses of Cunnilingus and the Baronets of Bonking … the possibilities are endless.
“lalalalalalala”
The Lord I’d Like to Lick…
Sorry Caz, but that’s just too classy sounding for this series.
Caz!!!!!! Naughty girl!
Oh, I’ve got plenty more where those came from… ;)
Edging the Earl
Haha – Earls are lower rank than Dukes though, so it’s got to be a Prince. How about “Prince I’d like to Poke”?
The Marquess I’d Like to Possess?
Wow—this stuff just writes itself!
That’s a slick one….
Yeah, that’s actually a really good one. It’s just not raunchy enough for this compilation I’m afraid.
That could definitely be a Harlequin HR title. I say this as a compliment! :-)
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