Title: Bringing Down the Duke

Author: Evie Dunmore

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Genre: Romance (Historical)

Number of Pages: 368

From Goodreads: England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women’s suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain’s politics at the Queen’s command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can’t deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn’t be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn’t claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring… or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke….

I read this book earlier this year with my two former roommates from University. It had been sitting on my shelf for a while, and I’m glad I finally picked it up. While it wasn’t my favourite romance novel, I thought it was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed chatting about it with my two friends.

I liked the two main characters in this book. I liked how stubborn and clever Anabelle was and how devoted to her cause she was. I liked the two sides of the Duke of Montgomery, I liked how he was usually a very serious and calculating man, but he was also head over heels in love with Anabelle.

I liked the suffragette movement plot that was going on in this book. I liked the group of women fighting for their rights, and I’m glad that they all get their own books later on in the series. I’m not sure how historically accurate the depiction of the suffragette movement was in this book, but it was entertaining to read about.

In general, I’m not sure how I feel about historical romance. I liked the balls, the gowns, the estates, and the historical elements, but I’m just not sure if historical romance is my thing. It took me a while to get into this book, but I also liked it enough to read the rest of the series at some point.

As far as the romance in general goes, I enjoyed it. It was slow-burn, which was a nice change of pace. It also had elements of forbidden romance because the Duke and Anabelle are in different social classes, which was exciting. I liked reading about the characters pining for each other, I liked their banter, and overall, it was enjoyable to read.

Rating: 3.5 Stars!

If you’re interested, you can purchase a copy of Bringing Down the Duke from Amazon* here

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