[ARC Review] A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Publisher's synopsis: When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.

Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognizes her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.

As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.

My thoughts: I absolutely loved A Lady for a Duke. Between Hall's nuanced writing, the fantastic (and fantastically understanding) characters, and the perfect blending of historical fiction and LGBTQ+ romance, this book will for sure have a place on my favorite reads for some time. 

It was hard not to quickly fall in love with Viola. She was such a brave and caring soul, even when she didn't necessarily recognize those traits in herself. What immediately stood out to me about Viola was her focus on her present. Hall didn't have Viola lamenting on her past or think too much about her life before her transition; as far as Viola was concerned, this was always who she was. I think, too much of the time, traditionally-published LGBTQ+ romance - particularly romance featuring trans characters - has to cater to a wider, cis audience and that leads to over-explaining what it's like to be a trans man or trans woman. I was pleasantly surprised to not see that happening in A Lady for a Duke. Outside of Viola occasionally informing people from her former life that she is a woman, Viola was just herself with everyone. Since straight, cis romance characters don't have to constantly validate their genders, I'm really glad to see a trans woman being treated with the same dignity, especially from a larger publisher. 

I loved Viola, but Gracewood was the true standout character to me. He definitely went through the full gamut of emotion: he had the worst kind of relationship with his pain medication after the war; he had to look after his younger sister in ways he wasn't truly prepared for; and, he spent years mourning the death of his best friend only to discover that his best friend was the love of his life. Once Gracewood realized who Viola was to him, he quickly adapted to everything she told him and loved her to the best of his ability. Given the time period the book is set in, I was actually quite surprised at how easily everyone accepted Viola, especially Gracewood. Two hundred years later, and many struggle to find this level of acceptance; Viola and Gracewood's story is fiction for a reason. 

There are definitely a few steamy scenes between Gracewood and Viola, but Hall created the spice without getting too detailed, allowing for the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks without forcing Hall to violate Viola's autonomy. I loved how Hall wrote these scenes; I thought they were tastefully done while still acknowledging the situation that Gracewood and Viola were in. 

I loved these characters in A Lady for a Duke; even the secondary/support characters were entertaining on the page. Without spoiling what happens in the plot, I will say I was pleasantly surprised that Viola wasn't the main source of plot conflict like I anticipated her story being. Viola was just Viola; her gender was respected but otherwise not a big deal to the other characters so it was definitely not a point of contention worthy of the plot's main conflict. I'm so glad Hall took this approach, as other romances featuring a trans character have not. 

Overall, I found A Lady for a Duke to be a fantastic blend of historical and LGBTQ+ romance. I don't see these two combined very often from big, traditional publishers, so it is exciting to see this story getting the attention I think it deserves. I highly recommend this title for those who love LGBTQ+ romances as well as those who love a good historical romance. A Lady for a Duke is definitely a top read for the month and will likely remain a top read for the year.

A huge thank you to the Forever imprint at Hachette for providing a review copy of this book. I wrote this review voluntarily, and all opinions expressed are my own. 

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Release date: 5/24/22

Format: eARC

eARC obtained via: NetGalley