If you’re a fan of Olivia Drake, or if you’re just looking for a good book to while away a quiet afternoon, you can’t go wrong picking up The Duke I Once Knew. As the first book in the new Unlikely Duchesses series, it’s easy to jump into, and the reunited lovers theme is a classic romance plot well executed here.

Abigail Linton is a step above Cinderella when the book opens. The good news is she’s genuinely loved by her family, and is never asked to clean out the hearth. The bad news is that every one of her siblings seems to enjoy her presence mainly because it makes their lives easier. As the youngest child and a spinster to boot, Abby was the obvious choice for taking care of their parents in old age, and now that they’ve both passed, her older siblings get to fight over whose household will acquire a nursemaid/chaperone/companion.

After listening to the debate and not hearing a single person ask what Abby would like to do, the poor girl decides she’s going to claim a life for herself. Although it’s not financially necessary, Abby announces that she intends to apply for the position of governess to the Duke of Rothwell’s sister, who is their neighbor. She’ll return to the family eventually but needs a breath of fresh air and independence at the moment. Although they clearly don’t understand the impulse, Abby’s siblings eventually, begrudgingly, wish her well.

What none of them realize is that Abby has a history with Maxwell Bryce, the current duke. When they were fifteen, they spent a summer falling in love, meeting in a secret glade and exchanging confidences. When his mother died and Max was forced to leave for London, Abby wrote him constantly. But no letter ever came back, nor did Max himself return to the countryside, so after a time Abby resigned herself to a broken heart. That feels like ancient history as Abby applies to be governess of his sister Gwendolyn, but all the same she’s glad Max has no plans to come out to visit.

Wouldn’t you know, Max does choose this as the first time to return to Rothwell Court in fifteen years, and he’s shocked to find his old sweetheart working there. His first encounters with Abby are fraught with awkwardness and some long-ignored anger and hurt on both their parts, as Max also wrote to Abby and never heard back. Fortunately, Ms. Drake doesn’t drag out the Big Misunderstanding too long. It only takes a few encounters with each other when a stray comment has the pair realizing Max’s father interfered with their budding romance, stopping the flow of letters and thus sending their lives down completely altered paths.

Abby and Max straddle the line between eagerness and hesitancy in the wake of this realization. While there’s a part of each of them that simply wants to return to their previous closeness, they also recognize that significant time has passed. They’ve both changed, and they need time to learn each other anew. I particularly appreciated the way Ms. Drake maintained that feeling of excitement without allowing the pair to rush into a relationship prematurely. It made for a distinct contrast with the impetuousness of their younger selves.

As the story develops, Abby in particular comes into her own, learning to stand up to her family more regularly and make a habit of pursuing her goals. I particularly liked that, while Max is able to recognize her problems (it only takes one encounter for him to understand how her siblings take advantage of her), he acts as a support to Abby rather than her savior. When she truly stands up to her family, as in the beginning, it’s on her own.

In sum, you should read The Duke I Once Knew. It has drama, but not excessively. It has main characters falling in love, but also finding their independence. And it manages to capture just a dash of that magical-true-love feeling I like to see in a good romance novel.

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I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Duke I Once Knew from St Martin’s Press and Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of The Duke I Once Knew by Oliva Drake. This was published on 31st December 2018

This was an adorable romance done by the queen of historical romance Oliva Drake. I loved the tale of Abby & Max. If you have not yet picked up an Oliva Drake novel, I highly recommend that you do.

If you love historical romance then you will love this story.

The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake.
A Spectacular 5 Star Read! This is the first novel I’ve read by this author and I have to say, I’m an INSTANT FAN! I LOVED this book! The writing is flawless, witty, and exciting. I was hooked with the perfect amount of descriptive nuance that brought this novel and its complex characters to life. I loved the relatable characters and the intensity of a well thought out plot with twist and surprises that kept me reading until the end!
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a GREAT historical romance of lost loves and a chance at healing. This is one of the best books I’ve read and I will put on my “great books to reread” list. I’m looking forward to more great reads from this author!
This book has some delightful 3.5 flame romantic scenes.

Reviewed by Barbara--I enjoyed this well-written book. It is a lovely second-chances love story with flawed but likable main characters and a ‘perfidious peahen’ of a villain. Overall, I loved the story, but I did think that some of the middle section could have been pared down and that space reallocated to flesh out the end because I thought the end was a little abrupt.

Abigail (Abby) Jane Linton is just weeks away from her thirtieth birthday. This upcoming birthday has her considering her life – she is unmarried, has no prospects and is at the beck and call of all of her much older siblings and their families. At this very moment, they are all around her loudly discussing her future – which of them she should live with, what she can do for them, which of them needs her services the most. Not one of them has asked her where she wants to live or what she wants to do. This will be her future – going from one home to the other being the unpaid companion, caregiver, nursemaid – whatever. Now, she loves her family unconditionally – and they love her, but she just has to have at least one adventure in her life. So, amidst all of the family arguments, she interrupts and announces that she is going to apply for the open governess position at Rothwell Court.

Rothwell Court is the property of Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, although he hasn’t lived there for fifteen years. He’s actually only visited there once, very, very briefly in those fifteen years. However, it is the home of the duke’s much younger sister – Gwendolyn (Gwen). Gwen has spent most of her life living at Rothwell Court with only the company of her governess, an old aunt who pays little attention to her and the servants.

Maxwell (Max) Bryce’s father whisked Max and his newborn sister away from Rothwell Court when his wife died. Max was sixteen and he was in love with the girl from the neighboring estate – Abby, who was fifteen. They had a tiff on the day of his mother’s funeral and they never saw or spoke to each other again for fifteen years. Each had promised to write and Max had told Abby that he would come back and marry her when he reached his majority. Each kept their promise about writing letters, but neither received any letters, so each thought the other to be faithless. Max’s father preached at Max constantly about not falling in love because love only made a man weak and brought him nothing but pain and heartache. Max took that advice to heart and became one of the biggest rakes in London.

When Max unexpectedly visits Rothwell Court and finds Abby there – sparks fly – and not necessarily the good kind. Max has brought several friends from London and one of them is the woman he wants to become his mistress. Abby can’t believe it and constantly takes him to task about exposing Gwen to that woman. Max and Abby still feel that strong attraction that was there when they were 15 and 16, but both fight those feelings – especially Abby because she doesn’t want any part of the debauched man Max had become. So, I loved watching the two of them grow and come back to the sweet love they once had for each other. I did think it took a bit too long to get there, but when it happened, it was lovely.

I recommend this book and hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

3.5: This was cute! I’m a sucker for second chance romances, and I’m glad the drama wasn’t dragged out over the *whole* book as it was a misunderstanding versus genuine Thing that needed resolving, but I do wish there had been a bit more of a present conflict keeping them apart once that was resolved? It felt like there were too many extraneous plot threads competing to really give full attention to any by the end, which was a bit of a bummer.

I really enjoyed this book! It was my first Olivia Drake read, but won't be my last.. It's always a plus when one can feel the betrayal, hurt, and anger the character does., and I was angry with Abigial or Max, depending on whose viewpoint was being expressed. That is a full on win for me! I am looking forward to catching up on Ms. Drake's booklist.

A sweet story of first love regained. Abigail Linton longs to break away from her family's reliance on her and hopes to find a bit of independence as governess to the sweet duke's sister next door, But of course the duke, one Maxwell Bryce who broke Abigail's heart years ago, comes back to open up all the old wounds as well as stir up all the old feelings . . . Read a fuller review at femmeliterate:

Be still my heart! This was a very cute historical romance! Thanks for the review opportunity!

3.5/5

This is the first book I have read by this author and I mostly enjoyed it! It was nice to read about a more mature woman during this time period. Max and Abby were childhood friends and each others first loves. After Max`s mother dies, he is taken to London. They promise to write to each other. But neither ever gets the others letters.

Abby is now nearly 30 and is still living at home with her oldest brother and is wanting a change. She has decided to apply for a job as governess to Max`s young sister. He is never around so is not concerned with seeing him. The way she stood up to a family that mostly treated her as a servant, and went to make her own way in the world was great. I was really rooting for her.

Max has decided never to marry and lives his life in London, enjoying mistresses and betting on fights. He ends up back at his home with his sister and Abbey, bringing along his current mistress and prize fighter with reluctance.

Mostly I enjoyed this book, however, it seemed like once Abby was reintroduced to the Duke, her personality kind of changed from sweet and caring to sort of a pious snob. Even after they had sorted out the mystery with the letters. It also was kind of long winded in parts and I ended up skimming through paragraphs.

I like how Abigail finally follow what she wants and take a step of being a governess. Her meet-up with her childhood friend after how many was unexpected. It was cute.

Max's heart had been hardened because of his Father but upon seeing Abigail again, he learned to love again.

Probably my most favorite part was the lake moment of Abigail and Max. There are many promising characters that hopefully will be the main character in the next series.

Thank you St. Martin's and Net Galley for the ARC!

The Duke I Once Knew was one of those romances that I read for the love of the genre and the tropes, but it wasn't super amazing. Abby is pulled in all directions by her siblings and finally decides to strike out on her own rather than let them continue to use her for their own purposes.

That set-up alone made me want to root for Abby and the feeling continued the more her character revealed itself. She was smart and down to earth and just someone you want good things to happen for. I think her character sold this book overall. My only issue with her was how she let her family walk all over her any chance they got. I wanted her to stand up to them more and do something for herself.

Her love interest, Max, was a teen love before they fell out of contact, so this was sort of a second chance romance but the flashbacks didn't lead me to believe it was anything more than infatuation disguised as more to make the story work. Max just didn't stand out for me and not in a good OR bad way. But I finished the book and he instantly became a name on the page. His character worked for the story, though, which is all that really matters. I rarely re-read romances (there are just SO MANY out there) so he'll just fade into the background.

The story itself is much like Max: unmemorable. I kept reading despite the rushed pacing and lackluster plot but I wouldn't say I was super engaged. Their romance was cute. I didn't really feel it but I was rooting for Abby enough to invest SOME part of myself into their relationship. The Duke I Once Knew just isn't one of those books I'd pick up for the story. It's fine if you have the time and want to read a historical romance, but there are better books out there.

That said, I may keep reading in this series. I haven't decided yet but I have a habit of reading romances like I'm eating candy so we'll see!

The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake is an unusual historical romance. The story is quite involved. Abigail Linton, youngest of 5 siblings, and Maxwell, the Duke of Rothwell are childhood friends. Now Abby is turning 30 and has never been over 20 miles home, has always taken care of family, especially her mother who was hurt in a horse riding accident. Abby's parents have passed away and now her brothers and sisters are fighting over who is going to get Abby to take care of more family. Abby decides that she is going to take a job as a governess just to get away from her brothers and sisters. Abby's job takes her to Rothwell Court to be a governess to a young lady who's governess has left and needs to be replaced. Now throw in the fact that Abby and the present Duke of Rothwell have a history of sorts. Abby and Max were close growing up, but Max was sent from home by his father. Max, sent to London, has not been home to Rothwell Court since; but now he is in the area and circumstances have him going home with 'friends'. Max is involved with a boxing match and he's training a Bristish boxer to take on an American boxer in a well advertised fight. Max knows nothing about what happened with Abby and her family and Abby is blindsided by Max's arrival at Rothwell Court and she believes all the gossip and innuendos coming out of London. Through all the interesting characters - Max's friends, the boxer, the family and staff at Rothwell Court and you get a lively romantic adventure with a happy ending.

Eh this wasn’t anything special if I’m being honest. I got kind of bored reading it and had no interest in the plot nor the characters. It had the potential and I was invested when I read what it was about but really diving into it I couldn’t care less honestly. Doesn’t mean I’m done with her but just that sadly this book wasn’t for me.

I got a free copy of this book through NetGalley. This is the first novel I've read from this author and it was well-written; I really enjoyed it. What I liked best was the strong character of Abigail. She was smart and brave and proper, but she also recognized the importance of grabbing hold and enjoying life, without expectations for the future. She was an admirable heroine.

Max was not irresistible, but I grew to like him more as the story progressed, and I did understand him. He had a surprising depth of character. I would have liked to learn more about his aunt. His sister was quite sweet. It was hard to like Abby's family because they were so out of touch and self-absorbed. Again, that was understandable, but her devotion to them was slightly less so. At one point, Abby noticed that her eldest brother's eyes were similar to Max's and his father's. I thought more would come of that, but it never came up again. Also I would have liked to see Max dismiss Mrs. Desmond. There's something about seeing a villain get his or her comeuppance that's very satisfying, feeding that desire we all have to know that karma works. Overall, this was a great book and I would happily read more from this author.

Abby and Max were once in love. Abby was 15 and Max just 16 years old. Unfortunately, after the death of Max’s mother, his father took Max and his sister to live in London. It’s been 15 years and Max only came back for a very short time to bury his father. Abby though they’d be together forever but since she wrote multiple times and received no reply she got on with her life.

Abby is the youngest of 5 siblings. They were all older and out of the house by the time she was born and it was her pleasure and duty to take care of her aging parents. She loved them to pieces! Now that they’re gone, her siblings are all gathered to decide who Abby should live with – basically planning her life. Abby isn’t having it. She was happy to take care of her parents but she’s now 30 years old and knows that she’ll never have a husband or family. It hurts that she can’t control that, but there is something she can control – where she lives. She heads to the estate next door and applies for the job of governess to Max’s younger sister, Gwen, and gets the position. She has no fear of Max showing up because he hasn’t been there in 15 years. Of course, he shows up.

Max is on his way to a friends house so that is pugilist champion can have a match with America’s champion. Unfortunately when they arrive at the friend’s estate they discover that all of the servants have the measles. Since Max’s estate is so nearby, they decide to stay there. Max isn’t thrilled to see Abby as he doesn’t have fond memories from 15 years ago. He also wanted to seduce a woman he’d brought with him but he suddenly is only interested in Abby. The pair soon start to talk and discover a few things about their past. The question is, can those revelations make a difference for their future?

While I always find Drake’s books enjoyable, this one wasn’t my favorite. From the moment that the letters are mentioned I knew immediately what had happened. Despite this misunderstanding there wasn’t much angst except on Max’ part. I felt his reasons for not falling in love again were weak, but maybe that’s just me. The story was more to the tune of Max and Abby getting to know one another again and rekindling the love they once shared. It was cute but pretty basic.

Overall a decent read but nothing I haven’t read before.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Okay, the beginning of the book was not what I usually expect. In fact, I think this was the first historical romance I have ever read where the main character has much older sisters and brothers and where the heroine is a thirty-year-old spinster. Her family actually pissed me off after couple pages of reading because you can clearly see how they treat her and while that was probably common at the time it still surprised me how snobby her sisters (in particular) were. Downright bitchy at the moment, too.

It was a little slow paced romance for me but nonetheless, the book was greatly written. There were characters (other than brothers and spinsters) that I hated but then again, there’s always at least one character you don’t like in a book.

I wished for Max to be more open in a conversation with Abby because she trusted him and told him a lot but I can see why he was so reluctant.

I was kind of hoping for an epilogue at the end but I didn’t get it. The ending was nicely done but I think it could be better because they made up at almost the last page if not the last. So I think a sentence or two could wrap up their story… or yes, an epilogue since we learn a lot about their history maybe a view in the future would be nice too.

And yes, I know, I’m picky but I usually have some closing in books, especially historical ones…

4-4.5 stars because the beginning actually made me consider giving up reading this book, I was that mad at her siblings.

Being a romantic person, of course I love plots about second chance. And this one is perfect.

Abby and Max lived a romance in the past, but without knowing why, Max discovered that Abby could not stay with him, and for fifteen long years they stayed away from each other.
Over that time, Abby, as the good daughter she was, raised her siblings and took care of her aging parents.
But now she wants more in her life, she wants her independence, and so she goes to work on what she does best, run a house.

But Abby ends up working as governess for Max's sister, and their meeting is inevitable.
Maxwell is known as a notorious rake, and to make matters worse, he brings with him other friends as terrible as his.
However, he's in love with Abby and will do everything to make them together this time for good.
5 stars

This is a story of two childhood sweethearts that are separated by family. Now, years later they meet again, where the hero has become a Duke and the heroine is serving as his sister’s governess. Max and Abby have grown up but the trauma of the heartbreak has stayed with them. With each of the character thinking that the other person ignored them, it is an interesting story towards a happy ending. I really enjoyed this story and the characters of Max and Abby. I loved how strong and feisty Abby’s character is written, especially when she stands up to her entire family. I really enjoyed some of the side characters like Gwen and wish she also gets her own book in the future. This is the first book in the Unlikely Duchesses series.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

First of all, what a delightful cover of the dashing and brooding Duke with the demure and gentle Abby Linton! The Duke I Once Knew was a very sweet story, full of redemption, lost love, and misunderstandings. This is the first book I've read by Olivia Drake and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her other titles! I found Ms. Drake's writing delightfully engaging and full of heart and humor.

In The Duke I Once Knew, Max, the Duke of Rothwell and Abby Linton became fast childhood friends at the tender ages of fifteen and sixteen. At the brink of young love, Max declared he would forever love Abby and promised to marry her as soon as he came of age. Well, with all good intentions that any new and young love might bring, Max unfortunately got whisked away to London with his sister after a tragedy befell the Rothwell family. Saddened but with the prospect of meeting again, the two young loves exchanged letters until they can once be together again.

Fifteen years later, bitter and hardened by the reality of life, Max, the new Duke of Rothwell must return for a temporary visit to his Duchal estate, which also neighbors the Linton household. After being rejected by Abby, he decided to live his life full of uncompromising situations and dalliances with willing and available ladies. His heart was hardened and he vowed never to fall in love again, after Abby had cruelly broken his heart. Abby on the other hand, never got over the fact that her Max had broken his promise to return to her and marry her when he was of age. With letters unanswered and never seeing Max again, she too had decided to go on with her life as a spinster. With caring for her aging parents and then later her siblings and their children, Abby was resolved to just live a plain yet content life.

But...the author could not leave these two lovebirds to forever live a life of unrequited love! No, Ms. Drake wrote each heartbreak, each misunderstanding, and each redeeming quality so brilliantly, that you can't help but root for Max and Abby to come together as they truly should. While their young hearts had made solemn promises, so had a fast and true friendship developed between them. It's due to this deep-rooted friendship and connection between Max and Abby, that their inevitable reunion could only spell drama.

Oh, and drama there was in this lovely story! The author wrote Max and Abby's thoughts so well and clear that I could do nothing but finish the entire book in one sitting. I was immediately drawn to their personal feelings and how they both felt like they didn't deserve to find happiness again. Max, while he stayed in London and vowed never to return to his Duchal estate, resolved to live his life without needing love either. His father had drilled into him that true love wasn't real so he never sought it out with anyone. Abby, continued on with her life after Max left and resolved herself to take care of her parents. After the death of her parents, she bounced back and forth between her siblings and their own families.

In a sudden realization on her own behalf, Abby decided she needed to go her own path, rather than what her siblings forced her to do. While she was gentle and kind, she also wanted to find out what life was like outside of her immediate family. So, in a twist of events, Abby took on the role of governess to Lady Gwendolyn, the younger sister of Max. Abby never fathomed that Max would return to the country estate as he had never bothered to do so after his abrupt exit fifteen years ago. But, because this story is so bent on bringing these two lost loves together again, Max does once again return to the estate if not for only a few days.

I don't want to give too much away, but my heart broke for these two because as a reader (and an outsider), I was able to read Abby's own heartbreaks and her own need to be accepted and loved. The meeting between these two lost loves was inevitable yet so brilliantly written that all I wanted to do was shout at both Max and Abby to just realize their feelings for each other and admit they still loved each other! But ofcourse, throw in a rival beauty and other circumstances, Max and Abby must struggle to get to the truth of what really happened to their lost letters and why their relationship never continued.

At times I was so frustrated because I really hate reading stories of characters who won't admit their feelings for each other. But that is the dichotomy of these type of love stories though. There has to be some barriers and obstacles in the way of true love in order for true love to really realize it. Argh! But it's both disheartening and appealing to read the push and pull between Abby and Max. I didn't truly understand to the full extent of Max's reticence to wed or even fall in love until towards the end when he reveals why he could not love anyone. Was it because he thought Abby forgot all about him when he left with the result of unanswered letters or was there something else so deeply rooted in his psyche that he refused to fall in love. Therein itself, lies the hypocrisy, because deep inside him, Max WAS still in love with Abby even though he thought she had fully rejected him.

I really liked Max' character even though at times I just wanted to shake him to realize that he never stopped loving Abby. And I adored Abby's character because even with the disillusionment of true love, she was still a sweet and caring person, even if she herself regretted to not have had a chance to marry and start a family.

The Duke I Once Knew is a sweet and strong story. There are several minor character in the story that moves the story along quite well. And even with obstacles and tons of misunderstanding along the way, the two friends manage to somehow make things right in the end. There is one steamy scene in the story but it wasn't raunchy or demeaning. You could just feel the love and passion emanate between Abby and Max and you just want them to be happy together. While there were some very frustrating scenes between them as well, I knew I had to push those feelings aside, hoping that the author will do right for Abby and Max.

Thank you, Olivia for a sweet and heartwarming story!

I am always enchanted with a Regency Romance and Olivia Drake made The Duke I Once Knew a totally enjoyable read. The main characters were written with clarity and were very interesting. The story line was riviting and kept me extremely interested in what would happen between Abigail and the Duke of Rothwell.

Abby considered herself a spinster and felt greatly underappreciated by her family. She sacrificed her youth taking care of her parents and now they feel as though they could count on her to be there for their every need. They never considered that she just may want to do something for herself. They got a rude awakening when she announced that she was taking a position as a governess. She knew it was risky but also assumed that she would never have to run into her employer … the infamous Duke of Rothwell.

Maxwell is an interesting person. Swearing that he is a self-proclaimed bachelor, he lives his life with carefree abandonment. Mistress to mistress, he'll never give his heart to anyone again after Abby just up and ignored him. But, because of circumstances beyond his control, he's back at his childhood home with nothing but bad memories surrounding him. But, with him is the woman who keeps trying to make herself a Duchess. When he finds himself face to face, in a compromising position, with the one woman he never thought he would see in his home, the memories besiege him and he's not really sure how he feels about the situation except for aggravated.

As this story progressed, I wasn't sure if I even liked Max. He was arrogant and blind at times. He ended up being a very reasonable, loving and romantic man but it took a lot to get him there and my heart kind of got a little full when he did. And, as for Abby … she was one feisty female who said what she meant, knew how to shut someone down and knew, in her heart-of-hearts, that she never fell out of love with Max and knew that she could never have him. Ms. Drake also wrote some interesting minor characters that were both funny and infuriating. I loved Finchley … I hated the so-called mistress. I loved Gwen and cringed with Valerie. All in all, the characters were all very well written and extremely interesting.

The Duke I Once Knew is the first in Olivia Drake's new series, Unlikely Duchesses and I am looking forward to reading her again.