Bringing Down the Duke: swoony, feminist and romantic, perfect for fans of Bridgerton (A League of Extraordinary Women)

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The attraction between them is undeniable, as is the differences in their social strata, and both understand from the beginning that, as a duke, the best Sebastian can offer Annabelle is a place as his mistress. No easy task when, like most men of the time, he believes that ‘too much education derails the female brain’, but Annabelle cleverly manipulates him into agreeing, with certain conditions attached. I wish they had connected this way first and the physical attraction came in slowly later, as that would have been more natural. Clever, self-assured and uncompromising, he has earned the position of Queen Victoria’s most trusted strategist.

It also serves up a few additionally tasty accoutrements, including royals, a heroine with a feminist agenda (Suffragism! first, the writing is delightful - the story is written with a quality that is very reminiscent of the time period, but also feel refreshingly modern. With just the right blend of history and romance (and a healthy dash pride from the British suffragists that would make Jane Austen proud), I was hooked on Annabelle and Sebastian's story from the very first page. Therein lies the conundrum here: this book certainly entertained me, even if it annoyed me equally as much, and so I'm struggling with how to rate it.

Thanks to this compelling and passionate woman questioning him every step of the way, who challenges and infuriates him. Back then the thought of women inheriting and keeping their own houses and money seemed ludicrous, let alone allowing them the vote, and Dunmore uses this plot to add plenty of tension, drama and danger to the story. The setting seemed incredibly realistic to the historic period, as were the majority of events and our characters interactions, though the author did allow for it to be a little more modern in parts. Moreover when it boils down to her fears, they were pretty much the same as any other woman in historical times, scandal, getting pregnant out of wedlock, being shunned, having to marry without love, and ending up as a mistress.

By the 50% mark, there were a few things bugging me, but I figured they were small enough that I could ignore them, even if it meant slashing off a star from the overall rating. Inspiring in them even just a kernel of that same passion for evolving, improving, changing that has led and sustained her during these difficult first months in Oxford. Even the things that are supposed to be nice, like a new coat, are because he doesn't like seeing pretty thing in an old-fashioned shoddy coat.Spunky heroines, banter between hero and heroine, and women not afraid of going head to head with a duke was what made me come back again and again.

Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain’s politics at the Queen’s command. This book had such a different feel than any others I have read from the time period and I loved how it made me feel. As for the hero, he is the powerful Duke of Montgomery who thinks that his lofty position in society gives him the right to ask things of the heroine that he has no right to ask.

Again, this is 2019, I shouldn't have to say that this sort of language completely erases trans and non-binary/genderqueer people from existence, and even cis people who don't have the right kinds of bodies (curvy cis men and lean cis women exist, amazingly).

The pretext for their run-in was the first hint of bad things to come because it was a badly devised supposed suffragette subplot. Something tore inside his chest, something vital, and briefly, he wondered if a man could die from it. Like I mentioned, the political activism quickly becomes background noise and it is only used as a plot device to drive the heroine into her saviour Duke’s powerful arms. expressing in all the conversations, the gestures, the sensuality, the delicate love scenes, the barely restrained emotions, the careful flirtations, and oh so fitting the mood of two completely different realities coming face-to-face, like those of commoner early-feminist Annabelle and noblesse oblige conservative Sebastian, that have to decide which direction their own private world will have to take while the outer one glares disapprovingly. Yet, here she is, in front of Westminster on a chilly October day, her first suffrage meeting, a cold mist dulling Parliament Square.I was tense at times because of the time period and politics and was aggravated on Annabelle and pretty much women's kinds behalf on several occasions. The narrative then pats him on the back for moving past this impulse, as though we're supposed to think he's God's gift to women because he's not taking advantage of his immense power and privilege. But it bugged me because the marketing for this book made it seem like Annabelle was a passionate suffragist, someone who is committed to the cause, and that is what drew me to this book. If Annabelle is portrayed as convincingly relatable, in her strengths and fragilities, smart and dignified in her beliefs and fights, I found that this book was mainly Sebastian’s journey and watching him finally come to terms with his inner "sentimental" self was sheer joy, as far as romances go. The pair find themselves locked in an infuriating battle filled with arguments, tension and plenty of feelings, but will they both be able to overcome their stations in life to find their happy ending, or will society win in keeping them apart.