The Duke Undone

I'm completely on the fence about my rating. On one hand this was a fresh and funny take on historical romance and there is no denying that Joanna Lowell's writing was spectacular at certain points but overall I was left unsatisfied.<br /><br />Lucy, a talented artist and student at the Royal Academy stumbles over a passed out man in an alley. She is inspired to paint this man and churns out a masterpiece, but she discovers her handsome muse is no farmhand or pauper but a Duke. Anthony, the Duke of Weston, is waiting out the days of his conservatorship. At 30 he will be able to gain his freedom and funds to look for his missing sister. While trying to avoid any scandal, he uses alcohol to manage his PTSD from war and the grief from the death's of his mother, father, &amp; brother. Searching for his sister Effie and drinking himself into unconsciousness is what leads to Lucy finding him sprawled out in all his naked glory. Anthony comes to know of his portrait and finds Lucy, they strike up a friendship despite their difference in station and life. Anthony promises to help Lucy keep her neighborhood from being condemned and Lucy will help Anthony find his sister.<br /><br />Lucy, the artist heroine was bold and vivacious; she was easy to love and I was cheering her on from page 1. Lucy was the standout and star of the book. I wanted to love Anthony so badly but he was disappointing as a hero, he did too little to late and somehow won Lucy's affection by doing the bare minimum for 95% of the story. Anthony was passive to a fault, he never choose or championed Lucy. There was also a lot of convoluted side plots and secondary characters that got much attention, it seemed every character was overly written only to have one brief appearance. The over characterization of minor characters overshadowed any character development for the Hero. I mainly felt depressed at the injustices Effie &amp; Lucy face, Lucy constantly got the short end of the stick while the villain just got a mild talking to. I just couldn't help but think "GIRL! YOU! DESERVE! BETTER!"<br /><br />I do have to applaud Mary Jane Wells' narration, the story was elevated by her suburb reading and I didn't totally regret using my audible credit on this.

Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<br />Plot/Storyline: ?????<br />Feels: ???<br />Emotional Depth: ?????<br />Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡<br />Romance: ??<br />Sensuality: ???<br />Sex Scene Length: ???<br />Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): ???<br />Humor: Yes! Even though I found this a heavy book, I also found it hilarious, especially in the beginning.<br /><br />(These are all personal preference, except the steam scale which follows our chart in The Ton and the Tartans facebook group.)<br /><br /><b>Basic plot </b><br />Two souls are brought together when Lucy, art student, comes across a naked and passed out Duke, Anthony, and she cannot get his image out of her mind. She paints him, and his impressive ‘quirk of proportion’ with his nether regions (in the best way).<br /><br /><br /><b>Give this a try if you want:</b><br />- Lots of historical facts/events woven throughout the story<br />- Mid steam – a 3 steam on our scale (details under spoiler warning at end of review)<br />- You’re okay with some heavy issues being presented – alcoholism, ptsd, abuse of people suffering from mental illness<br />- Victorian time period – story takes place in 1882<br />- Class difference trope – hero is a Duke and heroine is well below that (from a working class family)<br />- A touch of enemies to lovers in the beginning<br />- Soldier hero, artist heroine<br /><br /><b>What I thought</b><br />I am really, REALLY struggling with this one. I loved it. I hated it. I was disappointed. I was breathless. I loved the characters. I wanted to throw some characters in the garbage.<br /><br />First of all, the writing was completely unique to me. I will admit I found it a bit...chaotic? Sometimes? I’m sure this is purely just me not being able to focus like I should, but I found myself sometimes being overwhelmed or confused about what exactly was happening. But also was drawn in to the world Lowell has created. This definitely is a reflection of me, and not the author. <br /><br />I adored the humor in the first part of the book. It was really lovely. But I found that soon the heavier themes moved in, and they were really gripping. I didn’t feel the romance quite so much in this book as the complete personality development and depth of characters individual lives. I was really rooting for them, separately. And yes, even together, but every time they were together, I was somewhat let down. <br /><br />Anthony – well he struggles. And it’s completely understandable as his story unravels what is driving his behavior. But...I was let down by him so so many times. At by the end, I still wasn’t convinced he was a hero worthy of Lucy. I think, if we would have seen a bit further into the future with their relationship, or if specific things were addressed on page (like the alcoholism?) or even a really good epilogue, I may have felt better about leaving them convinced of an HEA. <br /><br />Lucy was pretty awesome the whole way through. She’s just so strong and I just loved her. Especially how much she cared for those around her and her effort in helping Anthony, even when faced with her own problems.<br /><br />I’m just not left feeling complete by the end. Would I try another by her? I think I would. I’m hoping Lucy and Anthony show up and I can have some closure that they are really making it. <br /><br />So overall, I’m just left feeling conflicted. But the book definitely gripped my emotions in a few parts – though those weren’t necessarily romance related (which always makes me sad). I can’t say I felt super strong tension in this book, which is what I lived for. But it made up for that with the plot and characters that really stood on their own as unique personalities.<br /><br />Content warnings:<br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="e691b999-12bf-417c-87eb-cac4a09c0132" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="e691b999-12bf-417c-87eb-cac4a09c0132"><br />Alcoholism (pretty severe, on page abuse multiple times)<br />PTSD<br />British colonization of India and the war related to that – scenes of remembering the war<br />Mental heath issues and abuse of people suffering from<br />Oral for her while she is intoxicated – she initiates<br />Suicide/death of a parent<br />Issues with consent – heroine does paint and sell a picture of the hero while he’s completely unaware<br />Child prostitution/human trafficking <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="ea72e420-8686-4b57-8b01-18f8f0b24b24" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="ea72e420-8686-4b57-8b01-18f8f0b24b24"> hero’s older brother would ‘procure young girls for the madam’ at a brothel </label><br /></label><br /><br />Locations of kisses/intimate scenes<br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="701e8295-b45c-4477-b722-9b0a1d1a1195" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="701e8295-b45c-4477-b722-9b0a1d1a1195"><br />Kiss – Pg 67<br />Kiss – Pg 125<br />Oral for her – Pg 200<br />First sex scene, bedroom and missionary – Pg 254<br />Second sex scene – in a carriage, her on top – Pg 334<br />Total pages 363<br /></label>

3.5 stars - This was my first outing with this author, and I think it is quite an impressive start! The writing was particularly lovely, so I would definitely recommend this as a good choice for readers who value prose quality. I very much enjoyed all of the individual elements of the story (the main characters were well drawn, the set up/tropes were intriguing &amp; well executed, and I believed in all of the motivations)... however, I did feel like the individual elements didn't quite come together as strongly as I wanted them to. There was something ever so slightly off, but this may also be colored by the fact that this was slightly more angsty than my typical preferences. Still, I would definitely read more from this author &amp; I would recommend it<br /><br />CW: addiction, depictions of cruelty towards those with mental illnesses

4.5 ? This book came across my perusals in Audible. The premise sounded interesting and far from ordinary, and I wasn’t disappointed. Having Mary Jane Wells narrate was perfection. Her performance added much to the story (especially heroine’s personality). The time period wasn’t always clear and I would have liked more details there, but that’s being particular. It wasn’t an obstruction to my enjoyment of the book. <br />The characters and storyline worked perfectly with the greatness of Mary Jane Wells in what came to be an exceptionally entertaining book with memorable characters. I look forward to what this author has in store for future reads.

<i>The Duke Undone</i> is exquisitely written, much darker in tone than its hot pink and floral cover would suggest, and reads like a combination of <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/18775709.Evie_Dunmore" title="Evie Dunmore" rel="noopener">Evie Dunmore</a>, <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/23890.Laura_Kinsale" title="Laura Kinsale" rel="noopener">Laura Kinsale</a>, and popular fiction from the Victorian era. This mix worked well for me until the book’s fourth quarter, when its historical and psychological realism became too disparate from the melodrama. However, I was impressed by the quality of the prose, the affecting portrait of alcohol dependency, and the satisfying cross-class romance. <br /><br />When working class art student Lucy Coover serendipitously crosses paths with an unconscious naked man, she can’t help but take a good long look. Yes, he’s beautiful, but more importantly, her prestigious art school has only recently begun accepting female students and continues to bar them from life drawing, which is a particular area of interest for her as an aspiring portraitist. Afterwards, unable to get the drunken man’s image out of her mind, she creates a painting that replicates his nude form, and in a time of financial desperation, arranges a discreet private sale of it to a lady of means. Unbeknownst to her, her subject isn’t an itinerant farmer or street tough, but the brand new Duke of Weston, Anthony Philby. When he learns of the painting from the wealthy woman’s husband, he’s understandably horrified and quickly locates Lucy to confront her. She apologizes and hands over all of the painting’s secondary material, although their magnetic connection isn’t over. When her tenement building is unfairly targeted for demolition by corrupt city officials, Lucy turns to Anthony for help and he agrees, if she assists him in searching for his missing sister, who disappeared from Lucy’s neighborhood. <br /><br />Before I get into it, I want to point out the ways that <i>The Duke Undone</i> might not work for someone. Although I think the brightly colored, silhouette-style illustrated cover is a shockingly poor choice for the contents of this story, it’s clearly meant to invoke <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/18775709.Evie_Dunmore" title="Evie Dunmore" rel="noopener">Evie Dunmore</a>’s books, which is helpful. Joanna Lowell’s prose style is similar; her writing is just as dense, literary, and packed with well-researched detail as Dunmore’s. However, if you’re a stickler for historical authenticity, it’s worth noting that the high-ranking hero struggles under the unusually (perhaps implausibly) strict contents of his father’s will for most of the novel and that includes a legal trusteeship that prohibits him from public scandal or drunkenness and keeps him from full financial control of his own property. <br /><br />Like Dunmore’s <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/49202118.A_Rogue_of_One_s_Own__A_League_of_Extraordinary_Women___2_" title="A Rogue of One's Own (A League of Extraordinary Women, #2) by Evie Dunmore" rel="noopener">A Rogue of One's Own</a>, the hero here is also a veteran. Much of his individual trauma derives from his active combat experiences in the Battle of Maiwand during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. In <i>The Duke Undone</i>, Britain’s atrocious colonialist agenda is consistently characterized as immoral, disingenuous, and elitist, which it was. But it’s also used as part of the foundation for the white hero’s pain and there’s comparatively little attention paid to the pain of native Afghans. Since we’re working with a staggering low bar for depictions of colonialism in today’s historical romance, I guess I was relieved that this book avoided the overt appropriation/fetishization in <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/49202118.A_Rogue_of_One_s_Own__A_League_of_Extraordinary_Women___2_" title="A Rogue of One's Own (A League of Extraordinary Women, #2) by Evie Dunmore" rel="noopener">A Rogue of One's Own</a> or the capitalist enthusiasm for colonial industrialization in <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/53283742.The_Heiress_Gets_a_Duke__The_Gilded_Age_Heiresses___1_" title="The Heiress Gets a Duke (The Gilded Age Heiresses, #1) by Harper St. George" rel="noopener">The Heiress Gets a Duke</a>, but…if something is the best version of a bad thing, does that make it good? In my mind, the answer is no. <u>If you prefer to avoid colonialism in historical romance when it isn’t interrogated fully, I’d skip this one.</u> <br /><br />I’ve also seen that a reviewer struggled with the premise’s non-consent. The heroine replicates a fully nude vision of the insensate hero and sells it for profit, which is definitely a violation. For me, that was partly nullified by the conversation the pair have afterwards, in which the hero specifically confronts her about his lack of consent and she apologies remorsefully. I felt that Lucy’s transgression was problematized within the context of the story without sacrificing historicity, but I also understand if readers find that insufficient. <br /><br />With those caveats, I’d recommend <i>The Duke Undone</i>. I was mostly swept away by this book from beginning to end (more on that in a minute) and it often reminded me of one of my favorite historical romance authors, <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/23890.Laura_Kinsale" title="Laura Kinsale" rel="noopener">Laura Kinsale</a>. Like a <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/23890.Laura_Kinsale" title="Laura Kinsale" rel="noopener">Laura Kinsale</a> novel, the characterization here is thoughtful and precise, the pace is slower, and it’s an <b>opposites attract</b> love story wherein appearances are always deceiving. While Lucy seems inconsequential and flatly long suffering at first blush, she’s actually much more industrious, focused, and self-assured than her male counterpoint. Simultaneously, Anthony is privileged, powerful, and wealthy on the outside but sees himself as powerless and self-destructively buries his current frustration and past trauma in alcohol dependence. <br /><br />And, like so many of my favorite romances, these imperfect people fit together perfectly. Lucy’s forthright communication and uncompromising attitude leaves him little refuge to wallow in self-pity and emotional inaction. Anthony’s enthusiastic appreciation for her art and boyish sense of adventure pull her out of creative self-doubt and personal stagnancy. Their love story has real obstacles, as he continues to drink his way through his troubles and she considers betraying their bargain when a better offer presents itself. However, their excellent, heartfelt communication and the author’s talents at sincere, heartrending relationship development keep this couple afloat through stormy seas. <br /><br />Unfortunately, those stormy seas come very close to capsizing the whole operation and loom overlarge in the novel’s last quarter. Aside from <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/18775709.Evie_Dunmore" title="Evie Dunmore" rel="noopener">Evie Dunmore</a> and <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/23890.Laura_Kinsale" title="Laura Kinsale" rel="noopener">Laura Kinsale</a>, the book’s third clear influence is Victorian popular fiction. With that inspiration, the melodramatic elements that provided clever contrast for the first 75% of the story begin to clash jarringly in the end. It isn’t that that these gothic or sentimental elements are unsuccessful – far from it, they’re done well. And it isn’t that gothic or sentimental bits are unwelcome in genre romance more generally – I think <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/5808498.Kerrigan_Byrne" title="Kerrigan Byrne" rel="noopener">Kerrigan Byrne</a> adapts them quite masterfully, especially in her earlier work. The problem is that this author has invoked such amazingly lifelike emotion and vivid historical realism, and that’s impossible to reconcile with an over-the-top villain, saccharine family reunions, and dramatic escapes from nefarious captors. As a pastiche of nineteenth century literature, <i>The Duke Undone</i> wonders too far from its own unique strengths and there’s an aspect of “too much-ness” that overtakes the conclusive section. <br /><br />It sounds like I didn’t like this and that’s not the case. I actually kind of loved it, but perhaps that’s made its flaws a bit more obvious. It got very, very close to being a new favorite and then one ingredient drowned out the flavor of the whole dish. Or, I was enjoying an auteur art house film and it turned into a Marvel movie 20 minutes from the end. Regardless, I’m 100% signed on for the next book in this series and excited to see what this author does next.

I love this author’s style of writing. Brilliantly done. The story is a typical HEA historical romance, but it was executed in such a fresh way that I couldn’t put this book down until the end. A great and entertaining read!

This is a well-written, entertaining, steamy, historical romance novel. It has a likable, artistic, female protagonist, an engaging, war veteran, male protagonist, a missing sister, family drama, an evil villain, and a happily ever after ending.

<b>2.5 stars</b><br><br><b>** MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT **</b><br><br><b>The Duke Undone</b> is my first Joanna Lowell’s. It starts off strong … but then few heavy issues make the book rather unbalanced for me to enjoy. And I have very difficult time to like the main hero. In the end, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would’ve liked.<br><br>The main issue for me is Anthony’s problem with alcohol. The first chapter (or the Prologue) has Lucy stumbles into Anthony’s naked DRUNK body. This alcoholism happens several times in the book – in which Lucy finds Anthony drunk, or that Anthony prefers to drink his problem away with whiskey or gin. <br><br>And that’s what bothers me, I think. Anthony seems to be in denial about his alcohol problem. He either claims that “<i>Before George died, I didn’t drink</i>” (George is Anthony’s older brother) or that he is not a drunkard, <i>his brother or his mother were</i>. Heck, even Lucy confronts him on that a couple of times.<br><br>The thing is, Lucy is a daughter of an alcoholic. She sees what alcohol did to her father. Would it be easy for her to forgive Anthony? To accept him on his reasons? And is it that easy for Anthony to stop drinking because he rather <i>drunk with Lucy</i> rather than drunk with alcohol? I mean, in contemporary romance, Anthony might need to seek help or go to AA or other things. But because this is historical, easy for him to dead stop because of his determination? Really?<br><br>I just can’t pass this issue and wonder whether the <i>raison d’être</i> of Lucy and Anthony’s relationship is never there to begin with. I don’t think they are connected in mind and hearts. And let’s face it, Anthony doesn’t do a lot of help either for Lucy’s request to save her home. It feels like Lucy does most of the heavy lifting, including finding Anthony’s sister.<br><br>Oh, and talk about Anthony’s sister! Man, that is a whole another issue for me. The injustice of it all – the treatment towards women accused of “that” problem. I know it’s the problem of the <i>yesteryear</i>, but still, all I felt about it was anger.<br><br>As a character, Lucy is okay, I guess. I liked the idea of her being as student painter – and the whole historical context of women not being allowed to paint life model was a knowledge for me. I’m so happy of living in contemporary times, by the way. But, Lucy is more forgiving towards Anthony that I think she should.<br><br>So yes, I didn’t enjoy this book. Of course, your miles may vary. On another note, the next book seems to feature the spoiled girl, Lavinia, and I have ZERO interest to read about her.<br><br><br><br><b>A Guest Review for <a href="http://thebloggergirls.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">The Blogger Girls</a></b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1408342739i/10838921.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><i>The ARC is provided by the publisher via <a href="http://www.netgalley.com" rel="nofollow noopener">Netgalley</a> for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.</i>

England October 1881, onward. <br /><br />Anthony, a duke, did not get on w/ his late sire, + his late <br />mom died in an asylum. His sister went missing. Anthony <br />had dyslexia &amp; PTSD. He drank too much &amp; had difficulty <br />w/ decision-making. You'd think he would have learned <br />command &amp; confidence &amp; decisiveness while serving in <br />the Army? <br /><br />Per his late sire's will, Anthony accounted to Yardley, who<br />oversaw the hero's properties and behaviors IE did the H <br />drink alcohol? create scandal(s)? Anthony was nearly 30. <br />Surely he would've had an independent solicitor review <br />this will? Since when did an underling boss around a duke? <br /><br />Lucy, an artist &amp; seamstress lived w/ her equally talented <br />'genius' seamstress aunty. These ladies and their friends <br />faced eviction in the recently condemned large house all <br />these merchants shared. <br /><br />Lucy sold the nude painting she made of the H when she <br />discovered his unknown self, bosky &amp; outside, in an alley. <br />On another day, h + sober H met. His had justified anger. <br />Later she asked Anthony to help prevent the eviction. <br /><br />Anthony at times did not seem present &amp; did not use <br />his duke power. I kept waiting for him to assert himself, <br />especially w/ the Y-man. Could Lucy depend on the H? <br /><br />The MCs seemed good together. The author knew how to <br />write a story. I wished she'd written a tighter story &amp; left<br />out too much self-reflection by the MCs.

This is a difficult book to review. Looking at the cover you would think it was a light romp or mystery. Its not... It's a strange story of a second son who becomes a Duke after his brother dies living a life of true debauchery. Lucy is the main character and is wonderfully written. She has everything from talent, wisdom and hard work to being a quirky beauty. Anthony is the Duke, he is smart with a learning disability and an alcoholic. Parts of the story I really enjoyed. Other parts left me thinking that is too good to be true. The plot is about duplicity and control. The secondary characters do not add as much to the story other than the villain. It is not your standard romance so I rate it 3.5* and would enjoy reading more by this author.