This is the second book in this series, and I liked this one a lot more - although I still didn't love it. Natalie is an American charged with bringing Leo, her deceased best friends young son, to England to be with her family. Along the way she meets Hadrian, a Duke who happens to be on his way to the same family to meet with a potential wife. I enjoyed the drama and the love story in this book, my only gripe with it was that I found some of it to be a bit preachy with regards to the heroines love of America and her feelings about the British class system. I get that it was part of her character and the relationship between her and Hadrian, it just started getting on my nerves. I was mentally rolling my eyes and thinking 'I GET IT!'

Also, even though I was into the story this one somehow didn't keep my attention for long periods. I usually fly through books, this one took me 2 weeks to read which is unusual.

The Unlikely Duchesses series, though only two books, has been one that kept my attention. I loved that the heroine, Natalie, is an American trying to deliver her best friend’s son to his grandparents, a true deathbed promise. The grandparents are definitely less than pleased to have him brought to their doorstep, which adds to the angst of the book. Said grandfather raised the now duke from the age of 5 when his father died. Thus, removing him from his loving, if extravagant, mother.

The Duke of Clayton is typical English aristocracy. To make him a bit more ‘English’ he was raised by an earl who was not a loving, kind father figure. If anything, he was a bit legalistic in his views of how children should be raised. The earl’s oldest daughter ran away to marry a curate ending up in America and meeting/working with our heroine.

A strong secondary character, Leo, is the child of the ‘runaway’ daughter and curate. He is completely adorable in his American ways with the typical personality of a 6-year-old. Leo takes in everything around him causing him to change his mind about a lot of things. One thing he does not change is his nature to take off to do fun and different things as he is learning his possible new country.

Once you are introduced to Leo’s family, and the family that raised the duke, you know that difficulty is coming, just not sure from which side first. All in all, I enjoyed Forever My Duke. I found Natalie to be a strong female heroine who is not afraid to stand you for herself and will not settle for less than what she wants. The duke finds he needs to do some rethinking and adjusting if he wants to win Natalie, once he sees that a simpering English miss is not the marriage he wants.

Hadrian needs a bride and even has the perfect one picked out until he meets, Natalie, an American and totally the opposite of what he should want for a bride. Hadrian wants her but Natalie is to busy to care what a British lord wants with her. Soon sparks are flying. Fast-paced read with great characters, plenty of drama and steamy chemistry. Natalie is a great character and this historical read is entertaining. I liked it.

While this book is the second in a series, it can easily be read as a standalone (I had not read the first book and did not feel I missed anything important in this one as a result). Natalie Fanshawe is an independent, American woman who travels to England to fulfill her friend's dying wish: to bring her 6 year old son back to his family. When she encounters Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton who is taking refuge from a storm at an inn, both of their plans are derailed. Hadrian is on his way to be married to a blue-blooded peer when he is waylayed and then detained by a young boy who hides under his table. When the most interesting and beautiful woman he has ever seen comes looking for the boy, he is entranced. But she is brash American with clear disdain for British aristocracy - how will they ever suit?

Overall, this is a quick and fun read with some witty banter and steamy goodness!

I’m a big fan of Historical Romance novels, although I haven’t been reading a lot of them lately. So when I got the opportunity to read ‘Forever My Duke’, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. Although ‘Forever My Duke’ is the second book in the Unlikely Duchesses series, it can be read as a standalone. This was my first Olivia Drake book.

In ‘Forever My Duke’ we meet the American Nathalie. Nathalie has travelled to Britain to take her best friends son to his family. Nathalie is determined to get Leo save and sound to his family, but life in Britain is very different than her life in America. Here there are so many ‘rules’ and woman are apparently less than man. Well, not if you ask Nathalie. So when Nathalie meets the Duke Hadrian, she isn’t at all impressed by him. He can be handsome, but nothing in his life was earned because he worked for it. Or is Nathalie wrong about him?

I truly enjoyed ‘Forever My Duke’. I love Historical Romance novels simple because I always find them to be so romantic. There’s just something about that era, the gorgeous gowns and that charming British way of life that makes me swoon. And although Nathalie’s character is definitely a little different I loved her. And I loved how she affected Hadrian.

Since it had been a while since I last read a Historical Romance novel, I simple loved the slow wooing in this book. It took Hadrian awhile, but when he finally realized he wanted Nathalie as his wife I loved the way he took care of her and slowly wooed her. He was definitely my favorite character in this book. He was the perfect British Duke if you ask me.

The chemistry between Nathalie and Hadrian was definitely I felt flying of the pages. And I loved reading their story from the beginning till the end. Although the beginning might have been a little slow, I think it fitted this story perfectly.

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton an outspoken American Natalie Fanshawe for his new bride. Natalie does not think highly of the English nobility and she has no time for them. She wants to open a school she has no time for a Duke who’s never know a life of hardship. Natalie while is trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan, Leo with his nobility family who live up to her expectations by treating both her and the child with disdain and distrust. This is enchanting story of a duke going after what he wants, but he has to prove himself worthy to Natalie and Leo. An excellent story and one I voluntarily wrote a review.

Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake is an entertaining romance. This historical had me rooting and supporting the heroine throughout the book. She's not like any other woman. Natalie has an open heart. She defends those that need it, protects others including herself, and she's determined to make it own her. But at the moment she lost her father, her best friends, and has a vow to make. Her charge is an orphaned boy. One that she has started to care for like her own son. The boy is to be taken to his mother's family. Only the reaction is nothing like what Natalie would expect. Natalie and the little brat meet a handsome yet strong man on their way to the boy's family house. What they do not know is that the stranger is a Duke.

Olivia Drake kept my attention every step of the way in this plot. The characters go through one hurdle only to get into more. With each step, they learn a tidbit about themselves, the stranger, and the family members. Danger is just lurking around the corner with every page. I fell in love with these protagonists. They tugged at my heart strings, making me laugh and cry.

Forever My Duke is a must read! It has the perfect combo of romance and humor. It is also action-packed. I was never bored or lost with this novel. The cast of characters felt so real. I loved it!

3-3.5 Stars
Forever My Duke is a cute and charming historical romance with minimal angst. Natalie Fanshawe is a strong-willed american who after a tragic event, travels to England to reunite her best friends son with his English relatives. Hadrian Ames is a Duke in need of a bride. Despite their mutual attraction, they intend to remain friends and nothing more. Natalie is outspoken and unfamiliar with the ways of English society. Not to mention, she doesn't care for the English hierarchy which is the exact opposite of what a man of Hadrian's rank needs in a wife.

I love a good friends-to-lovers or opposites attract romance so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I think what I liked best was the progression of the romance. They didn't move too fast but it wasn't too slow either. Natalie's first priority was to make sure Leo had a safe, welcoming home before she returns to America so despite her growing feelings for Hadrian - and how different he is to what she knows of English nobility - she refuses to give up on her dreams and be his mistress. After all, why would a man of his rank be interested in marrying someone like her?
When Hadrian decides to pursue her, he knows he has to do so carefully. The complication of Leo's unwelcoming family provides the perfect excuse to keep both Natalie and Leo around long enough for him to change her mind.

Not only does this have main characters that you can't help but love, the secondary characters are just as great - with the exception of the Godwin family of course. I absolutely adored Leo and how Hadrian's mother and sister were quick to welcome Natalie into their lives.

This is my first book from Olivia Drake and I have to say it won't be my last. I think I'm going to pick up The Duke I Once Knew soon.

Hadrian has decided that it is time to get married. A cousin would like him to marry his daughter and since Hadrian has not seen anyone else that strikes his fancy, he has decided to visit the girl to see if they could make a match since he hasn't seen the girl since she was a young child. But one the way to his visit, he encounters Natalie. An American, she doesn't seem to be impressed that he is a duke. He is instantly intrigued. When he learns Natalie and headed to the same place he is, he offers her a ride. The more time he spends with her, he realizes that she is the one for him. But how can he convince a woman that hates the nobility to take a chance on him?

Natalie, having grown up in America, sees no reason to treat the duke she meets any different than anyone else. She detests the English nobility after hearing how they treated her father before he moved to her home country. Only in England for a short time, she plans to quickly finish her business and go home where she wants to start a school. But she is running into issues reuniting the orphaned child of her best friend with his remaining family. Hadrian seems to want to help, but since she doesn't have the highest opinion of anyone in the nobility, she doesn't think she can trust him.

Will Hadrian be able to convince Natalie that he is not all the rest of the nobility and that they can make a life with each other?

I really enjoyed Hadrian and Natalie's story. I liked that Natalie challenged Hadrian. He didn't know what to think of her at first, someone that didn't defer to him just because he was a duke. I enjoyed their bantering as it had me laughing out loud throughout the story. This was a great addition to the Unlikely Duchesses series!

When American Natalie Fanshawe crosses the Atlantic to bring her best friend's orphan son Leo back to England, she meets Hadrian, Duke of Clayton, who at first seems to symbolize all she dislikes about the British aristocracy. Throughout ups and downs, the two begin to see the real person and not just the Duke and the American lady. Can the Duke convince Natalie to be his Duchess? Will Natalie find a way to love a Duke?

I really enjoyed watching Natalie and Hadrian fall in love. The dialogue between the two of them was one of my favorite parts of the book. Natalie is a smart and courageous woman who loves Leo like a mother. Hadrian is strong man with a gentle heart who is ready to defy society's expectations for love. I liked seeing them in a united front for Leo's welfare. This book had romance, witty banter, adventure and a bit of steam. Thank you to St Martin's Publishing and Netgalley for an e copy of this book.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I had also read the first book in this series, The Duke I Once Knew, and I wanted to read the next one in the series. I liked this book ok – it was a good romance read but it wasn’t my favorite. I got pretty frustrated with Natalie and how much stock she was putting in Hadrian saying he loved her. The words can be important but she was going to go all the way back to America just because he didn’t say the words, while it was pretty obvious from his actions that he did love her. Some of the conversations / interactions I thought were a little stilted / awkward. It was a sweet story though. I loved Leo’s character and his connection to Hadrian and his childhood. I really enjoyed the side characters in this novel too, they were especially entertaining. I’d still say that I’d recommend this one, though it wasn’t my favorite.

Natalie Fanshawe was an American who disliked the nobility, based on her father’s and friend’s experiences. However, she bravely brings Leo, her friends’ son to his grandparents in England. She is very much her own woman. Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton is attracted to Natalie but she is the complete opposite to the type of lady he should marry. Hadrian has a harsh upbringing with his guardian. However, they both want the best for Leo. This was an entertaining read with a dangerous event and two people who come to realise who they are meant to be with. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I usually really like historical's with plot's like this one but this one just didn't draw me in like I was hoping. Plot wise it was really good. The writing was also fairly good. I was just kinda bored while trying to read this story. Natalie did make me laugh in spots and I liked her spunky attitude. Hadrian seemed like the typical man of rank. And they are completely opposite of each other but the sparks fly? I don't know, something just didn't ring true for me with their relationship and how it all comes about. Other's might absolutely love it, but it wasn't for me unfortunately.

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

Forever My Duke, by Olivia Drake, is available at booksellers on December 31, 2019. Forever is book 2 in the Unlikely Duchesses series. I like the premise that a commoner can be just as elegant and well mannered as an lady of the ton. Good manners are good manners in any century.

In Forever we're given Hadrian Ames, 8th Duke of Clayton. He's been raised to be a dutiful overseer of his estates, family, and fortune. He's so good at it that he's considered a stick-in-the-mud. He is. His plan to marry a well bred lady who fits his ideal of a Duchess is, of course, thwarted. He's led kicking and screaming into examining his feelings. His journey is handled well, a nice medium pace. I like him.

Miss Natalie Fanshawe, of America, was a little harder to like. She's not a bad person but she's really stuck in her dislike for the nobility. It takes her longer to come around than he does. It's not that anyone told her horrid tales of England either, it's more her interpretation of these stories. She still has family in England so between all the English characters being very, very nice, she comes around. Boy is she slow about it. Anyway, there's a nice HEA and I was happy for them. Hope they have a long literary life together.

#OliviaDrake #Netgalley #UnlikelyDuchesses #ForeverMyDuke #StMartin'sPress #HistoricalRomance

Forever My Duke
Unlikely Duchesses
Olivia Drake
St. Martin’s Press, Dec 31, 2019
384 pages
Historical romance
Author’s rep via NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐⭐🌙

The cover doesn’t particularly appeal to me. It seems to lack the richness that we have come to expect from top-notch romances lately. The background simply fades in spite of its bright yellow coloring. While the bright green of the lady’s dress seems glaring in this setting. Too bad, because the story deserves a good cover.

She’s Natalie Fanshawe, an American of dubious English descent. She has brought the young son of her best friend to London so that he can live with his family. His parents were killed during the war in America and his mother’s last request was that Natalie bring her son back to England to her family. Natalie would gladly have taken him into her own home and raised him as her own, but it was her friend’s dying wish and so she will honor it. Natalie has no patience or understanding of the class system in England, nor does she want anything to do with curtsying to those who consider themselves her betters. She’s an America and considers all people equal.

He’s Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, but Natalie thinks he’s just Mr. Clayton when he introduces himself as Clayton. As long as he’s Mr. Clayton she can deal with him just fine even though he is dressed in the finest clothes she’s ever seen, travels with a most superior valet and has a rather polished attitude himself as well. Clayton is on his way to speak to a young lady about marriage when he meets up with Natalie and her young charge at an inn. No, he’s not in love. This is a choice based on the fact that she’s lovely, acquiescent and of a suitable family.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading how the fiery American and the rather staid English Duke find their common ground as they come together, working out their differences. Each giving a bit here and a bit there as they realize what’s important to them and what doesn’t really matter when it’s love at stake. How each starts to look at the other with new eyes and sees things of themselves. This is, of course, a normal historical romance and it doesn’t really break any of the rules except the “bowing/curtsying to one’s betters’ one. I really loved it when Prinny dropped in for the ball when he was specifically not invited because she didn’t curtsy to her “betters”. But what’s a duke to do when he’s in love with a rebellious American? Yes, I certainly do recommend this one!

Natalie Fanshawe is on a mission. She will deliver her best friend’s orphaned son to his grandparents in England, then return to America to open a school. But her beauty, intelligence and intrepidness bring her to the attention of one of England’s highest ranking peers, and suddenly those plans begin to be threatened.

Natalie and Hadrian are an impressive pair, and Leo, Natalie’s ward is a charming scamp. This novel has it all, scorching romance, characters to love and some very hatable villains. “Forever My Duke” is making a late entry to my faves of 2019!

Hadrian Ames Duke of Clayton, was on his way to see Lady Ellen, daughter of Lord Godwin. Because of bad weather, he stopped overnight at an inn where he met Leo who hid under his table and Natalie Fanshawe who was trying to find Leo. She is an American who is bringing Leo to meet his grandfather as a promise she made to her best friend who was dying in her arms. A really good story showing how Hadrian was taken from his mother and brought up by his father’s cousin after his father died when he was just a young boy. Little love was shown and when his mother gave him a present, it was taken from him. Natalie was brought up by her father and was shown love. When he died, she ended up helping Audrey and her husband by going with them out west and starting a school. She wasn’t afraid to speak her thoughts and refused to curtsy to anyone. She stood up for her beliefs. Watching these two show their strengths and finally admiration of each other as well as their love for Leo was so enjoyable. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and this is my honest review.

I liked this book but it was not without any issues. I did think the book had a promising story line, I liked the heroine, Natalie because she was sassy, spunky and felt very original to me and I thought that Leo was quite the little scene stealer. As for the rest, I wish I could say I loved Hadrian but even though he grew on me, it never got past the liking stage. So, in total not a bad read but in my opinion, a slow start and an only OK hero hindered the level of enjoyment I could get from this book.

Loved the story of Hadrian and Natalie! She had all the qualities of English aristocracy with the spunkiness of her American heritage! Hadrian slowly changed from his stuffiness to become a normal person. Leo was great at helping to be a reason to bring them together at times. I loved a line in the story from Natalie. "I'm not worried about the aristocracy accepting me, it's me being able to accept them!". Hadrian's mother and Natalie's grandfather need their own short stories! Thank you for the advanced copy, it was a GREAT story from a new to me author!!!

I know what to expect before I even start when reading a historical romance such as Forever My Duke. And that is exactly why I read it. I’m not expecting an unreliable narrator, a thriller (although I do expect some suspense and action and danger) or a dark story with an ending that leaves me unsettled. What I do expect is action and humor and conflict and romance in a good solid story. With a happy ending, of course. And that is just what Forever My Duke delivers.

When we first meet Hadrian and Natalie it’s hard to decide which one to dislike the most. Hadrian, the Duke of Clayton, is a haughty product of his upbringing. Tradition and rank and one’s place in society are everything. Natalie, on the other hand, could be the poster child for The Ugly American. She believes in equality, hard work and rewards based on merit, not inheritance. Her family history has convinced her that all those who are titled are lazy, arrogant, and undeserving of the riches they have. Both are pretty biased and prejudiced and unable to see much beyond what they grew up learning.

But of course neither of them are as bad as they first seem, and circumstances throw them together in ways they don’t foresee, ways that are funny and sweet and sexy. Hadrian soon realizes that he very attracted to Natalie and doesn’t want the traditional wife that is expected of him. He is determined to woo and win her. Natalie is just as attracted to him but has so many reservations. She doesn’t even consider that he would want her as his wife and most certainly does not plan to become his mistress. And she can’t even imagine herself fitting in with his life, with the ton, especially since her whole life has been about rejecting it. What follows is a very, very enjoyable story about the journey they take to their happy ever after.

I grew to love both Natalie and Hadrian and little Leo and to thoroughly enjoy the quite interesting cast of supporting characters. There were scoundrels and danger and a fair bit of mystery, and lots of love and lust and sweetness.

Author Olivia Drake has provided a good solid story with a lot of detail and backstory that slowly unfolds to a satisfying conclusion. I received an advance copy of Forever My Duke from St. Martin’s Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, I loved Forever My Duke and recommend it without hesitation.