Series: Hazards of Dukes, #2
Traits & Tropes: friends to lovers; brother's best friend; hero abused as a child
Genre/Setting: Historical; London, England
Publication Date: 10.27.20
Heat Level: 3.5/5
Rating: 3/5
Nash, [I don’t think we ever get a surname], the Duke of Malvern, has always worked to keep his hot temper in check, determined not to become like his abusive late father. He sees to his duties as duke with extreme devotion but allows himself few pleasures and is determined never to marry or even allow himself to feel anything too deeply. But when his grandmother tells him that his heir, a distant cousin, is just as despicable as the previous duke, Nash knows he must marry and provide an heir who will see to the care of all who rely on the dukedom. He reluctantly beings attending social events and meeting debutantes, all the while knowing he can never be with the one lady he has true feelings for, as he fears his passion will lead to violence and he refuses to take that chance.
Lady Ana Maria Dutton spent most of her life as a servant in her own home thanks to the hatred of her stepmother. With her parents’ deaths, Ana Maria finds herself thrust into high society and balking at the restrictions now placed on her. She’s used to being independent, but her new status means that independence is putting her in dangerous situations, so she agrees to allow her brother’s friend Nash to instruct her in self-defense. Nash’s signature glower and tendency toward grunting rather than actual speech sends most ladies scurrying away, but not Ana Maria. She sees Nash for who he really is and as they spend more time together, their long-standing friendship soon begins to evolve into an altogether different and more complicated sort of relationship.
This book wasn’t quite up to my hopes for it given how charmed I wound up being by the first book in this series. The brother’s best friend/friend from childhood trope had so much potential that wasn’t realized here. Nash’s past abuse also deserved more attention, from Ana Maria, but also from Thad and Sebastian and even his mother. In fact, though the last arrival of Nash’s estranged mother on the scene did catalyze some action, it also brought up even more questions for me. For instance, why did Nash’s mother and grandmother both wait so long after his father’s death to check on him? Sure, they were worried he’d be like his father, but they both were ultimately selfish in their actions toward him. It’s no wonder Nash was so emotionally stunted. That said, Nash did at least show quite a bit of growth as he set about becoming his own man, outside his father’s shadow. For her part, Ana Maria struck me as very immature and naïve, especially given both her age and experiences in the time she’d spent among the servants. The more I read, the less substance she seemed to have. Nonetheless, I liked her for the first half of the book, even if she did act like a sheltered kid newly arrived at college and despite her ridiculous overuse of the word oxymoron. I get where we were going with that, but it was overdone and just emphasized the inconstancy that I didn’t care for in Ana Maria’s character. By the latter half of the book, Ana Maria was making poor decisions just for the sake of being able to do whatever she wanted, which was incredibly short-sighted. She was excluded from her noble family, but not sheltered, so while I understood her wanting to find her place, I didn’t get how she was still so naïve and never really seemed to learn. She and Nash were so sweet together at first, but then veered way off course, largely because she wouldn’t try to let him into her feelings, despite expecting him to do just that for her. All that aside, Ana Maria and Nash had excellent chemistry and I was happy to see them together. I just would’ve liked to see more support for Nash, especially from Ana Maria’s family, who were also supposed to be his closest friends, to make him feel and see his own worthiness sooner. This ending was too abrupt for me given the angst in this relationship and I would’ve loved an epilogue to bring it all together. Overall, however, this was enjoyable despite its issues and I look forward to Thad’s story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1139019511
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