Abigail and Max grew up as neighbors. They had a secret friendship until Max's mother died. The day of the funeral Max tells Abigail that they are moving but that when he comes of age, he will be back to marry her. They promise to write one another. But their letters never get to each of them. Abigail thinks that Max moved on and didn't really mean what he promised. Max thinks the same about Abigail. When his father dies, Max becomes the Duke of Rothwell and quite the philanderer.

Abigail never married. She takes care of her parents until they die and then is used by her siblings as an unpaid nanny. No one gives consideration to what Abigail may want. Fed up, she takes a position as a governess to Max's younger sister. Max is never at the estate. The position allows Abigail freedom. Until one day a turn of events has Max and his entourage, which includes a widow he plans to have as a lover, turn up at the estate. It's 15 years later. Can the two of them untangle their past?

I enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading others by this author.

A lovely story of second chances. Young love revisited and how cool that he is a duke now! Her family is using her as a nanny so she takes matters into her own hands. I liked this spunky gal though she did seem to speak before thinking. He has surrounded himself with friends that are often unsavory. But the book is really quite wonderful! I liked it!

Thanks for letting me read this book!

This is a great start to a new series. The story is about Abigail Linton, who has been devoted to taking care of her aging parents and her siblings. Now she takes a position as a governess to a neighbor. Maxwell Bryce the Duke of Rothwell, who once had broke her heart, but he is absent from the estate.
Then he arrives unexpectedly, Max is not happy to meet his sister’s new governess. But he is wondering why Abby appears just as displeased to see him when it was she rejected him. So it has some mystery and I love the characters and the plot is good.

Fifteen years ago Abby and Max were young and in love, Now Abby is approaching her 30th birthday. She has given up her life by caring for her parents. She decides she wants to be independent from her remaining family and decides to take the post of governess to Max’s younger sister.

Abby assumes she can avoid seeing Max as he doesn’t visit his estate at all. Until a bout with measles on the estate where Max was going to train his prized boxer brights him home.

It was a nice read as Abby and Max find their way back to each other. But without a lot of misunderstandings and bad assumptions.

That's a wide age difference between eldest and youngest sibling. And who said she wants to be a "companion" to your wife, Clifford?

You know this is actually your baby, not hers, right James? And these people better start remembering that she is their sister, not their kid.

My, Lady Gwendolyn is biddable.

I'm guessing their respective parents hid their letters.

Why would the governess return?

I'm guessing his mother had manic depression.

She has to get back on the horse, literally.

Bertie is cute.

Well, was she planning to be a doormat for the rest of her life?

That witch!

A closeted woman, who spent her life caring for her parents, her nieces and nephews. A Duke who enjoys his rakehell ways. Both had their hearts broken by each other.
A second chance romance of sorts, this book is perfect for historical romance lovers. A dash of villainy, a sprinkling of mischief and tonnes of romance.

Due to being so devoted to her family, Abigail Linton reached spinsterhood but she's set to change that. She went to the neighboring estate as a governess which is a perfect job for Abby as she spent most of her life caring for her parents and then her sibling's children. The only problem is her absentee employer is her first love, Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell. It was the man she used to meet in secret when they were both young and also happened to be the man who seemed forgotten her when he went to London and became the rake that he is. But when they met again, it seemed like Max is as displeased as Abby is. Could it be that they really don't know what went wrong in their relationship?

This is a good read but still has a big potential. The beginning and end seemed rushed but everything in between is enjoyable to read. The characters though not really memorable are interesting enough for me to care and root for an HEA.

Although the plot was predictable, the characters themselves were decently entertaining with their family squabbling. I think the beginning and ending had the most interesting tidbits, while the middle of the book sort of plodded along. Considering this is the first book of a series, overall I’d say it was an okay read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had a great time reading Abby and Max.

Childhood sweethearts...then life happened.

Abby is taken advantage of, a bit, by her family...and doesn't wish to be the maiden aunt of the family, passed around from pillar to post.

Max is determined not to fall into the trap of love - his father warned him.

Mixups, miscommunications, and a host of other happenings. I'd like to read more in this series!

First things first, I wanted to punch Max in the face. He treated Abigail awfully both in the past and in the present, and yet it took SO long for him to realize it. Never rely on the mail! A situation is not resolved until you have talked to that person face to face. Abigail had no way to do that, Max was the one with means. It also annoyed me that it made it seem that Max went immediately from being in love with Abigail as a child to sleeping with half of London. There's nothing wrong (well there are some things) with a run of the mill rake, but his characterization just didn't seem right.

While I really disliked Max, I loved Abigail. She was clearly a loving human being who simply wanted to help those around her. I was consistently angry on her behalf with how her family treated her.

There were two other aspects of the story that I didn't like. One was the characterization of one of the female side characters. She is depicted as mean spirited to an extreme, and manipulates and hurts people to get what she wants. While that kind of person does exist, I don't like how the novel pitted her and Abigail against each other. I prefer my female characters to be allies, not enemies. And Abigail was constantly calling her names in her head, and it just made me super frustrated. Abigail is in some ways depicted as the exact opposite of this woman. She is the stereotypical 'she's not like other girls' to the extreme. She's not beautiful, but she's got a great personality. Max is constantly describing her in rather condescending terms. While Abigail herself was okay, I didn't like how she was described.

Overall, this book was a flop for me. Unless the next character is really interesting, I likely won't be continuing the series.

I totally enjoyed reading this book.. It's about Abigail Linton and Maxwell Bryce, Duke of Rothwell. This couple met and fell in love when they were teenagers. But things go awry soon after the death of Max's mother. Max moves to the city leaving behind Abigail and there lies the problem that will rip the young lovers from each other's arms..
The only thing that was a tad bit irritating was the repeated "playboy ways" of Max.. It was mentioned all the time to the point that it makes you want to say "enough already we get the point..." But other than that, i loved the story and the cast of characters..

The Duke I Once Knew is a second chance at love historical romance. Abigail Linton is quickly approaching her thirtieth birthday and tires of being passed back and forth between her siblings. On the shelf and an aging spinster, Abby gave up her chance at marriage to take care of her aging parents. Now that they are gone, she spends her time playing nursemaid to her nieces and nephews. Abby wants and needs a life of her own, so in a fit of independence she applies and receives a governess job at the neighboring estate of the Duke of Rothwell. Maxwell Bryce, the Duke, and Abby have a past and a shared heartbreak, a youthful love affair that promised to be more until Max ghosted Abby. When Max's party of unscrupulous friends is forced to relocate due to a measles outbreak, Max and Abby find themselves occupying the same residence and butting heads. Max's rakish ways and the past bring the two to a head and the reader is swept along as a leopard might be able to change its spots. Secrets come to light and jealousy rears its ugly head in a quick paced and compelling story of second chances with a sweet HEA. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Abby and Rothwell's story left me wanting for more. Their characters were pretty dry and very difficult for me to rejoice and cheer for.

I wished Abby's character had more fire, and strength. I wished Rothwell was less of a snob and more of a strong, sexy hero. His friends were certainly not the type of people that lend to a good backstory. It almost made me feel bad for poor Rothwell. These were his friends, and they were not very good people.

I did feel sorry for poor Abby. She had sacrificed so much to take care of her parents and now her siblings growing families. You could not fault her for taking on the position of a governess. To try to be independent away from her family.

I really wanted to be able to love their story, but there was definitely something missing.

I fell in love with this book from the first chapter. I didn't want to out it down. I loved these characters and Max being a secret hero to many and only showing the world a rake. Abby wants adventure and to have a choice of her own instead of being at her families Beck and call.

I thought this was a sweet romance. Some of the family members were a little silly, but I enjoyed the way the separated couple was brought back together. Solid 3.5

Never having read Oliva Drake before, I was pleased by this book. It was a spicy tale of second-chance love, that pulled at my heart strings and fired up my libido. It was a sexy-ish romance without being too descriptive.

Max was a broken-hearted nobleman who didn't know he was broken-hearted, not until he reconnects with the one who he thought had rejected him 15 years before. And Abby is a sweet woman who has spent half of her life caring for other people--she is ready to bust out of her family's hold and...care for someone else's family. I felt that Abby should have been more assertive about her wants and needs, and the book glossed over her confrontation with her family regarding her departure. I wanted her to really thrash them about their thoughtlessness--in most all matters. She deserved better than being left to rot in the country.

The romance is a slow burn, with a lot of misunderstandings and bad assumptions--mostly on Abby's part. But it didn't help that Max had earned his bad reputation with all the mistresses and parties and whatnot.

I would have marked this a 5 star book, but I think Ms. Drake should have incorporated the content of the letters into the actual story. I spent the whole book wondering that the H/h had been writing to one another, and then when the letters are finally discovered, we are still left wondering.

All in all, this book held my interest early into the morning, and now I am nursing a headache from lack of sleep.

I received a free copy from Netgalley.

This historical romance is full of misunderstandings and overly dramatic language. While it made the heroine more real, it became irritating. The plot device of her choosing to become a governess and then being hired as one, was flimsy and barely scraped by as believable. I enjoyed the mystery of the letters and what results from it being solved.

An okay story but not one I'm in a hurry to read again.

The Duke I Once Knew (Unlikely Duchesses, #1)
by Olivia Drake (Goodreads Author)
Read
What a lovely read! The Duke of Rothwell comes back into Abby’s life fifteen years after he left. She has never really forgotten him just as he has never forgotten her. Each is under the assumption that letters written were not responded to.
Abby is approaching her 30th birthday. She is the much younger sister to a large family. She has given up her life in caring for her aging parents and nieces and nephews. In a moment of independence, she announces her intention to be the governess to Max’ younger sister. While Abby thinks she can avoid seeing him, a bout of the measles at a planned estate causes Max and his entourage to arrive unexpectedly.
It is a sweet read to have Max and Abby find their way back to each other but not without some bumps along the way. A thoroughly enjoyable read!

Max and Abby had a history but it was one froth with a betrayal that hurt throughout the years. With an attraction that instead of waning increase in its intensity, there was no hope for the two, a head-on collision could not be avoided and none would escape unscathed. Delightfully entertaining and sweet, romance at its finest. A tale that ensnares you as you read along, truly enticing and entertaining, a must read, romantic lovers out there it’s wonderful.

Olivia Drake is a master storyteller. As with her other books, I loved this one! Her characters are strong, yet vulnerable, and I found myself riveted to the page. Her secondary characters, as well, have considerable charisma and bring even more depth to the story. I am only sorry that I have to wait a year for the next book in the series. Brava, Olivia!