Review of Bringing Down the Duke
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Now I’ve read the entire three-book series and I can’t choose a favorite.
It’s probably a tie between book #3, Portrait of a Scotsman and book #1 Bringing Down the Duke, but book #2, A Rogue of One’s Own is a close second. I’m glad there’s a fourth coming in March 2023, The Gentleman’s Gambit, because I love the convergence of politics and sex that Evie Dunmore has in all of her books. I’m addicted to her League of Extraordinary Women.
It’s perfect that each book adds a detailed backstory behind women’s rights and what it was like before women could vote or own property. It’s amazing how much a woman lost just by getting married. In Bringing Down the Duke, the main character, Annabelle Archer, a commoner, and Sebastian Devereux, the 19th Duke of Montgomery, have an instant attraction even if he is opposed to Annabelle’s cause of amending the Married Women’s Property Act.
Unfortunately, the times dictate that their relationship be on the quiet or preferably not at all. This in a society where a single woman must have a protectorate with her at all times when she is out of her home. Annabelle would actually have a better life if she agreed to be his mistress, but the question would be “better compared to what?” Like her sisters in the The Cause, she’s hoping for the day when Parliament will consider voting in their favor and change the laws that keep women from being free. And so begins the massively unsuccessful avoidance between the Duke and Annabelle. It doesn’t help that she’s appointed by the head of The Cause to create a detailed profile of him with hopes it will help them get his vote in the House of Lords.
She sets out to find his weaknesses without exposing her attraction to him and fails miserably on both counts. He seems to have no weakness and she’s hopelessly overwhelmed by her emotions for him. And it’s mutual. Beyond the politics, the sexual tension between the characters grows, magnified by the society’s taboo on them having a relationship. With the passage of any women’s rights act appearing years (decades?) away, it seems pointless to wait until they are allowed equal footing to express their true feelings.
The author not only does a credible job of keeping them apart, with a stolen kiss here or there, but lots of self-examination and commitments to not let it go any further by both. But the writer also does an excellent job of detailing what happens next, which I won’t reveal, but for readers who believe that love can conquer all—you won’t be disappointed.
Love this book!
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