The Rose and the Duke book review

The Rose and the Duke by Jillian Eaton
Series: Ravishing Rosewoods #1
on February 14, 2022
Pages: 225
Goodreads

Four roses, pretty and fairAll with different color hairLenora, stern and strict and wiseBridget, quiet, bookish, and shyAnnabel who wants happily afterEloise who will bend to no masterIn their secret garden waitingFor a man to set their heart racing...

As the eldest of four sisters, Lenora has always taken life far too seriously. Looking after her brood of wayward siblings like a mother hen, she has disregarded any and all advances from handsome gentlemen. Who has time for courtships when she’s busy pulling her sisters out of trees? Until she meets a duke whose smoldering stare is impossible to ignore...
A renowned scoundrel, Perth never takes anything seriously. Until he meets the infuriatingly stubborn Lady Lenora Rosewood. Completely impervious to his charms, she presents a unique challenge. And even though stern schoolmarms are decidedly not his type, Perth vows to loosen those too-tight corset strings one way or another…
Equal parts romantic, humorous, and tantalizingly passionate, The Rose and the Duke is the first book in a brand new series from best-selling author Jillian Eaton!

This was a random purchase I made a really long time ago, back when I was trying to read the entire Bridgerton series (still haven’t managed it). The Rose and the Duke follows the same kind of formula and while it was enjoyable it wasn’t my all time favourite. I think if you’re going to follow a very cliche story then the writing needs to be optimal and I struggled with this.

We follow Lenora as she hosts her family’s annual house party, an event which requires opening their doors to 20 odd people for a month of entertaining and food. One of the lucky guests is the new Duke of Monmouth, a man with a horrid father and who vows never to marry. You can guess just how well that ended up going.

I don’t really have a huge amount to say about both the characters or the plot, except the fact that everything plays out exactly how you think it’s going to. There wasn’t anything revolutionary within the story or with the build up and I think that really lets down not only the characters but the actual storyline. There is one main point of contention throughout the entire story, and it is solved within 3 pages, no joke. I wish there had been more time spent on all of it. The potential this book had was so missed by the weird time skipping, the fact we weren’t introduced to the majority of the characters and the house party literally faded into the distance.

What I did enjoy about this book was just how easy it was to read, there was no complicated storyline or plot devices it was unapologetic in its simplistic form. I loved the romance elements and I genuinely did enjoy the coupling. The representation of the elder sister being in charge of everything and having the weight of the world on her shoulders felt completely real and so well written.

I think anyone who enjoys regency romance would love this one, especially Bridgerton, this series seems to be going along the same way so it might be worth a read if that’s your cup of tea. Whether or not I don’t think I will be carrying on with the series.