Not the Duke's Darling: Includes a bonus novella

Childhood friends, a feminist heroine, blackmail, secrets and some dangerous mystery drive this story forward, while introducing a new setting and set of characters. Freya de Mornay is a feminist through and through, with her determination to right the wrongs done to her family, disgraced by the man whom she was friendly with as a child. She’s living a lie right now -with hiding her feminist tendencies that are far more progressive than would be acceptable in society, and she’s hiding behind an alias – the family disgrace would leave her without options to pursue her interests and agenda – and being able to act as a chaperone allows her access to events that her own name would leave her out of. Christopher Renshaw is now the Duke of Harlowe, and is being blackmailed for secrets from his past – spotting Freya, who knows everything about him from his early years – he thinks he may have found the culprit. From an amazing set up, with plenty of questions to be answered and the promise of some truly dangerous machinations for both their physical well-being and the emotional connection between them, the story quickly was mired in multiple subplots that were vaguely concocted and overly simplistic, I never truly felt connected to the relationship as it developed between Freya and Christopher. Additionally, the plethora of name choices from actual to family, fake to real, kept much of the connection that should have been built in a sort of ‘watch and see’ zone: with a constant need to remind myself of who each character is, let alone what other ‘traits’ they attempted (in Freya’s case) to change for their alias. What stood out was Christopher and his own struggles with a PTSD-like set of reactions to varied situations, and his willingness to believe that the Freya of the current day is the same one he knew as a child. He was solidly developed, and utterly honorable, even with secrets, that made him the standout in this story, even with the feminist approach to Freya and her stubborn (and frequently annoying) determination to view everything in an us v them, man v woman mode that just didn’t allow what character was there to develop in ways that would make Christopher’s fascination and admiration plausible. When the climax should have happened and felt more ‘threat’ from the mystery promised, the story fell rather flat and wasn’t helped by the simple feeling race to the end, few red herrings or actual tension just didn’t make that pan out. Yes, they had a connection that felt very one sided and seemed to have Christopher making most of the effort, but I just wasn’t overjoyed with this story or the characters introduced, and don’t see myself continuing the series. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

3.75 stars--NOT THE DUKE’S DARLING is the first instalment in Elizabeth Hoyt’s adult THE GREYCOURT historical, romance series. This is Freya de Moray, and Christopher Renshaw, the Duke of Harlowe’s story line. Told from several third person perspectives including Freya and Christopher NOT THE DUKE’S DARLING follows the childhood friends /enemies to lovers/ brother’s best friend relationship between Freya de Moray, and Christopher Renshaw. Years earlier Freya’s brother was accused of a heinous crime, and in the ensuing melee was beaten and maimed without benefit of proof. Fast forward to present day wherein Freya will come face to face with her past,a man who stood by and watched as her brother nearly lost his life. Enter Christopher Renshaw, the Duke of Harlowe, and the man with whom Freya will fall in love. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Freya and Christopher, and the potential fall-out as Freya is targeted for her connection to a group known as the Wise Women. Freya de Moray is a titled lady but our heroine prefers to remain in the background as she endeavors to help those who are unable to help themselves. A feminist before her time, Freya’s actions make her a target by the men who hope to destroy anyone who goes against the norm, or in Freya’s case, a strong-willed, stubborn woman who is willing to risk her life to save the life of someone else. Christopher Renshaw returned from exile the Duke of Harlowe but his inability to let go of the past found our hero struggling to make sense of mysterious stranger who despised his presence from the first time they met. Having no recollection of what he had done Christopher would soon come to realize that the woman with murder in her eyes, is someone from his past. Estranged from family and friends, Christopher is desperate to uncover the truth behind Freya’s appearance. The relationship between Freya and Christopher is an enemies to lovers/ best friend’s little sister trope that finds our couple at odds over their future together. Christopher is hoping for his happily ever after but Freya refuses to be bound to any man as a servant or bed mate. Marriage is not out of the question but our heroine prefers her independence over servitude, an independence and strong-will that has placed a target on her back. Christopher considers Freya his equal, and in this, he too, is ahead of the times. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters as Elisabeth Hoyt introduces the players and key figures in her Greycourt series. We are introduced to Freya’s former best friend Messalina Greycourt, and her sister Lucretia. Many of the characters have several names, nicknames and titles, as well as the mention of innumerable others, such that there is much confusion throughout the story. NOT THE DUKE’S DARLING is a story of family and betrayal; friendship and loss; second chances and love. The premise is entertaining; the romance is seductive; the characters are strong and sassy. There are a number of sub-plots including secret societies and witch hunting, murder and confinement, blackmail and estrangement, all wrapped up in an historical romance love story

I loved this complex romantic suspense story! This story hits the ground running with Freya demonstrating that she's not just the heroine of her story, but an actual risk-her-life-for-others hero who needs her own cape. I fell hard for her in the very first chapter, and I adored her spunky, independent spirit throughout the entire book. Christopher took a little while to show his worth. At first he comes across as a bit arrogant yet easily manipulated, but soon his inner strength starts to show through. He's fascinated by Freya (aren't we all?) and finds in her a reason to address his own issues and get his life back on track. This story has a lot of twists and turns, and while the romance has a very satisfying HEA, there's a storyline that we're only given part of the explanation for. It's apparent that this thread will be woven throughout the books in this series. Even so, there's plenty of action, suspense, swoony romance, and triumphant conclusions that kept me glued to the book from beginning to end. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.