The Duke and I Review

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Pages: 384

Quote: “he was helpless against his own devilish nature when it came to this girl”

Summary: In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...

Thoughts: I never thought I would find myself intentionally picking up a romance novel, but low and behold, here we are. Honestly, the only reason I picked this up is because the Netflix series has me in a chokehold!!!

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I did enjoy it. I think some of the magic was gone because I knew exactly what was going to happen, but I did enjoy it. I was kinda hoping it would be a little more spicy, and a little more dramatic, since the Netflix show was so dramatic but I like the more toned-down version. I think I spent too much time comparing this to the show though. I probably would have liked it more if I didn't already know what was going to happen and how. 

I think part of the problem for me with this was that the book and the show weren't very different from each other. Most book-to-TV adaptations I've read/ seen, are very different from each other with the main themes being similar but that just wasnt the case with this, it was basically a copy-paste. I'm going to keep this short though and say that even though I wasn't super impressed with this book, I will be continuing the series. I just don't know if it will be anytime soon. 

But anyway, until next time!!!