Vanessa Riley: A Duke, The Lady and a Baby

When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband’s mysterious suicide, she lost everything: her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune—and her freedom. Falsely imprisoned, she risks her life to be near her child—until The Widow’s Grace gets her hired as her own son’s nanny. But working for his unsuspecting new guardian, Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington, has perils of its own. Especially when Patience discovers his military strictness belies an ex-rake of unswerving honor—and unexpected passion . . .

A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his dead cousin’s dangerous financial dealings for Lionel’s sake. But his investigation is a minor skirmish compared to dealing with the forthright, courageous, and alluring Patience. Somehow, she’s breaking his rules, and sweeping past his defenses. Soon, between formidable enemies and obstacles, they form a fragile trust—but will it be enough to save the future they long to dare together?

CW: Suicide, murder, mental illness/institutionalization, abuse, PTSD, amputee/serious injury, racism

Other readers were raving about this, so I thought I would give it a try. And honestly, based on the title and cover I expected a light hearted romp. As you will notice from the content warnings, the book was actually pretty serious in tone and content. And to be fair, the back cover copy does make that clear.

The other element I was not prepared for was a switch back and forth between first person (heroine) and third person (every one else). My instinct suggests this was a way to reduce the “othering” of the heroine and really help readers get into her head/her story.

I have thought a lot about this, over the course of reading the book and afterwards and concluded a few things that I want to be clear about.

1). First person doesn’t work for me in most romances. One or two contemporary rom coms have used it fairly successfully, but I found to the detriment of character development. Generally, it yanks me out of the story…but particularly with historical romance. I get why Riley made the decision, and about halfway into the book got used to it enough to appreciate the choice, but as a rule I know first person is not for me. Doesn’t mean its not for you.

2). The choice of first person forces the reader to trust the narrative of the MC, unless clues begin to suggest an unreliable narrator. In a lot of ways, as a reader, I am falling in love with the MCs while they fall in love. But first person already presumes on my trust.

3). Moving between the two forms of narration is a bit like head hopping…it can make a reader dizzy, especially if the expectations aren’t set early on. I also felt like it really put me at a distinct disadvantage to know/love the other MC.

It really was this, coupled with the unexpected serious content, that made this book a challenge for me. Had I been prepped with this information ahead of time, I probably would’ve been able to relax a bit more. Instead, with the story dramatic from jump, I was confused and waiting for the punchline…until I finally realized it wasn’t going to come, and this was a serious book. Its not the author’s fault the marketing/publisher made some missteps, so I am not dinging the rating because of the cover confusing me as a reader. However, the title made me think wacky romp…so once again I implore authors and publishers to really think about the messages titles send to readers and how that can result in knee jerk reactions when hopes are disappointed.

I do think the mystery element is interesting, the romance appealing (although I felt oddly distanced, perhaps because of the narration choices), and many of the supporting characters sparkled. I loved some of the visuals of the regiments going through their paces on the estate grounds, and also was interested in some of the backstory with the Widows Grace, which worked on behalf of Patience to help her reunite with her son.

I also think Riley does a tremendous amount of research and really brings the era, and some of it complex issues, to light in a way that really challenges readers like myself who read widely in the genre. Not just because of the diverse backgrounds of the character, but also in the issues she works on. In some ways, I think Riley is closer to Inspirational historicals I have read, because what seems to most interest her are character studies of people faced with incredible, life altering choices.

I loved that Patience was from Demerara (now part of Guyana), and a powerful, take charge kind of woman who also has a deep well of love inside her for her family. Her struggles in England and her fight to gain custody of her child are really some of the driving forces behind the plot, and I think really represent how difficult custody disputes would have been for many women in the era. This was a definite highlight of the book, and something I wanted more of. It may be that the first person narration strengthened that sense of desperation, which will be relatable to some readers. I think (probably because of the way my brain is wired) I wanted to understand more of the mechanics/history, and that is what I missed with first person narration. In other words, if your jam is internal strife/emotion this book may land in your sweet spot.

Busick, as an injured war hero, is also well characterized as a former rakehell struggling with his own demons and addicted to precision, schedules, and strategy. He often listed towards the alphahole scale of heroes, which is where I usually struggle, but I think there was a strong element of humanity expressed in his difficulty with coping with the pain and disability resulting from his military service. At the end of the day, he is a strong, kind and capable man who really represents the classic Regency hero.

Despite some difficult subject matter, this is a kisses only book that may be okay for readers who like sex behind closed doors. Although there is a lot of content warnings, most are delivered with a light touch.

I think if you go into it knowing some of my caveats, this could be a brilliant book for readers looking for something a little different from the marriage mart and wanting that more inside the head space look historicals don’t typically offer.

5 Stars 4 out of 6 Masquerades, villains and insta hate/attraction turns to love