Every now and then, I stumble across a romance novel on NetGalley that I’ve never heard of but sounds a lot of fun. How (Not) To Marry A Duke was one such book. This was an audiobook that I was happy to get through super quickly, but I will admit…I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped in the end.
Jemma is a struggling makeup artist who, after losing her Grandma, discovers that she could inherit a family fortune. The only problem is she has to marry someone with a title to do so. She’s certain this will never happen as she wants romance. But then she meets Ashford, a duke with no money who Jemma’s lawyer suggests she marry. Eventually, she agrees, but when it gets out to the public that they’re married, they have to pretend to be in love for a year to keep their money.
This book sounded like a lot of fun, and in the beginning, I was enjoying it. I had fun with their bickering, and it seemed like this book could be a new favourite.
And then we get over halfway, and things start to go wrong.
Jemma talks about being a romantic but seriously struggles with trust. This leads to some issues that get even worse with another trope that I don’t always mind. But in this case? It just felt so stupid. This started off as a book that I thought loads of people would enjoy. Then it transforms into one that I know a lot of people will get pissed off with.
I don’t want to go into too many details as spoilers. But I know it’s not very popular.
Maybe if I’d liked the characters a bit more, I wouldn’t have minded this book so much. But even they couldn’t win this book over for me.
Fortunately, I read this as an audiobook, so it meant that I did finish this, and it didn’t take long to get through. The narrator was pretty decent for this type of book. Though I’ll admit, when we’ve got multiple protagonists, I do prefer multiple narrators. I had a good enough time listening to this, it just would’ve been better if there had been more than one narrator.
So, yeah…I didn’t really like this book as much as I’d hoped. It sounded like a lot of fun, but in the end…it wasn’t what I’d hoped for. Shame really.
2/5 Stars
Title: How (Not) To Marry A Duke
Author: Felicia Kingsley
Genre: Romance
Age Range: Adult
Publisher: Aria
Release Date: 6/12/22
BUY LINKS
Lace and Dagger Books 