If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell Review

If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

        Really enjoyed this one. Almost gave up seeing the sights on a vacation to read it!!

        Lady Dorothea Beaumont wants nothing more than to survive one more season as a wallflower before she officially becomes a spinster and spends the rest of her days in Ireland with her aunt. And to gain permission to raid her neighbor, the Duke of Osborne's art collection. 

         Dalton, that very duke, is living a double life; the shameless rogue he has convinced all of London he is and the vigilante he is by night while trying to find the man that destroyed his family. He doesn't need Thea as a distraction, but she can provide a distraction from his other activities. Following one dance with him at a ball, Thea becomes the Season's Original, a title she DOES NOT want. Thea demands Dalton escort her to her aunt's as repayment for destroying her plans. Along the way, they come to realize they need each other more than they ever could have guessed. 

         I loved Thea. I thought it was fantastic to watch her learn who she was. I liked that she really found her courage when dealing with Dalton and had no problems standing up to him. Her sense of humor cracked me up several times, too. Also, I loved that she didn't like snuggling with Dalton. I myself hate snuggling and had never read about anyone in a romance novel not loving it.

         Dalton was a very sweet guy hiding behind a wall of grief and guilt. It was obvious the way he took people into his protection that he wasn't the selfish rogue he'd like everyone to believe. 

         Con was probably one of my favorite characters. He made me laugh out loud several times with his matchmaking antics. And I liked that he had his own tragic backstory. 

         I thought the story itself moved along fairly well. I love Thea and Dalton's letters to each other at the beginning and they really helped pull me into the story. I felt the first half was slightly more entertaining than the last half but it still moved along at a good pace. It was a light read, exactly what I was looking for. 

          The only issues I had with this book were very minor. For instance, I have naturally curly hair. Over the years, I have learned to regard it much the same as a wild animal; I care for it as best I can while giving it some space and try to remember it is sometimes aggressive and unpredictable. I have had my hair pinned up enough times to know that there is no "fluffing" it after. Thea's curly hair was apparently magical because it always did what she wanted. And remained curly after being pinned up all day. I call BS on that one. But that is just a minor issue. 

          I will definitely be picking up the next in the series!!

          I received an ARC of this book from Avon in exchange for an honest review. 

-Reader