Bringing Down the Duke: 1 (League of Extraordinary Women)

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She’s been told she must recruit men to support the cause, and in her sights is the Duke of Montgomery, Sebastian Devereux. Annabelle and Sebastian are not the predictable pair, so common in the genre, composed by the smart-mouthed, anachronistically liberated heroine and the uppity nobleman with a hidden wild side, no, there was instead an authenticity to them which stemmed from the layered, nuanced and vibrant characterisations, so consistently immersed in the historical setting that each of their moves and skirting around also became a sort of social tableau on the customs and mores of their times. They act, think and behave like late Victorian people without becoming stale stereotypes and preserving their own unique personalities, and the realistic hurdles on the path of their relationship, when contemplating such vast class difference in those days, are not magically brushed aside but, on the contrary, cleverly turned into pivotal issues and plot-points. I have read the future of historical romance, and it’s Evie Dunmore’ Eva Leigh, author of Dare to Love a Duke She had never really known her place. Where others were appropriately intimidated, she seemed oddly intrigued by the challenge.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore | Waterstones

With her sterling debut, Evie Dunmore dives into a fresh new space in historical romance that hits all the right notes.” — Entertainment Weekly When I started at BOTM, I was a professed literary snob—and probably flaunted that term with pride (queue eye roll). I never read romance books because I assumed they were too cheesy and poorly written to be considered worthy of my time. Years later, dozens of romance books devoured, I’m so happy to report that, on that score, I was wrong.

and Annabelle Archer, a beautiful but 'over educated' 25 year old becomes one of the first women to study at Oxford University. The fiery Miss Archer, is awarded a scholarship on the condition that she supports the Suffragette movement, and helps to recruit powerful men to the cause. It's whilst fulfilling this duty, that she first meets the wealthy and powerful Duke of Montgomery (Sebastian), a cold and brooding man, with links to the Tory party and to Queen Victoria. He opposes everything she stands for, yet she finds herself fighting her attraction to him. In fact, Bringing Down the Duke seems to use its thin veneer of wokeness as an excuse to revel in gender essentialism. Pretty much every encounter between the two leads mentioned "feminine warmth" and "masculine hardness", so I had strained my eyes from rolling them so hard before I was very far into the book. But things are destined to change when a shift in the course of action on the suffragists’ front brings these two rivals at close quarters. She might not exactly like him. But she very, very much wanted to make sense of him. Evie Dunmore shows us how far women have come, how women fought for what we consider normal and rightfully ours. This alone makes it this book worth reading and will give you a new appreciation of the women's role in society today.

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women)

Sebastian has been steady his whole adult life. After being thrust into the role of Duke at the young age of nineteen, he has worked tirelessly to restore the family name and fortune. Queen Victoria views him as one of her most trusted inner circle and with good reason. Running the multiple estates that he inherited as the first son and restoring their profitability would break a lesser man. But not Sebastian Devereux, nineteenth Duke of Montgomery. He always accomplished what he sets his mind to, no matter the cost. Nothing will stop him from restoring Montgomery Castle, an estate that his father lost in a bet.Bringing Down the Duke is the best historical romance I’ve read all year.. . . Evie Dunmore is a marvellous, fresh new voice in romance who is sure to go far. Don’t miss her brilliant debut!’ ANNA CAMPBELL, bestselling author of the Dashing Widows series

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women Book 1) Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women Book 1)

Annabelle and Sebastian were wonderful, likable characters. I loved Sebastian. He's seemed so grumpy and cold, but I loved getting to see the man behind the mask as he got to know Annabelle and opened up. He was sweet, protective, and seductive. I thought Annabelle was such a great character. She was strong-willed with a very intriguing past, and I loved her tenacity and attitude. I love how hard she’s worked to better herself and everything she was fighting against. I really enjoyed learning both of their histories, especially hers. I loved watching these two come together, and fight their feelings as their attraction grew. It felt like a fun game of cat and mouse. I loved them butting heads and how Annabelle challenged Sebastian, it was awesome. I loved the build to them coming together and the growth they both experienced.I think could have probably gone with the I-love-you-because-true-love stuff if the book hadn't been so realistic-ish in other areas. Maybe if it were a bit more silly like other historical romances tend to be, you know? Something tore inside his chest, something vital, and briefly, he wondered if a man could die from it. The pain all but took his breath away. What a way to find out he did have a heart. Simply superb! Evie Dunmore will wow you ‘ GAELEN FOLEY, New York Times bestselling author of Duke of Storm Bringing Down the Duke gives us the best that the romance genre has to offer: light-hearted fun, steamy sex scenes, and lots of brooding, read-between-the-lines dialogue. It also serves up a few additionally tasty accoutrements, including royals, a heroine with a feminist agenda (Suffragism! Get involved, people), and witty repartee that make for a very entertaining read. FYI, this is not a book that takes itself seriously—but I think you’ll agree the result is serious fun. Cheers! The beginning of the book started out great. Sure the book has lots of clichés, tropes, and silliness but rather than being annoyed, I kinda felt like I was meeting an old beloved friend. I was entertained because I felt like the novel was pulling from books by Austen, the Brontë sisters, etc. and I liked the homages. I loved the set-up. I was heartily entertained by how the two love interests meet and was looking forward to see how they would interact.