The Unsuitable Duke is the fourth book in the Landing a Lord series but was still good reading as a stand-alone. The book was well written and kept my attention. It was a short book so perfect to read in one sitting. It was a perfect second chance romance and the characters were perfect for each other. It was easy to connect with them and to feel their emotions.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Raised as neighbors, Lady Ellen Laughton and Charles, now the Duke of Castlefield, were thick as thieves as children. Until Charles learned his parents hoped for a match between him and Ellen and he sought to create distance between them. Ellen has never forgiven him.

It took Charles too long to realize Ellen was the woman he was meant to be with and by then, she was marrying another man. Now she’s widowed and Charles is determined to regain his position at her side and not ruin things this time.

I had been looking forward to this book after really enjoying previous books in the series, but I must say this one fell flat for me. It felt like I kept reading the same lines over and over at times with so many mentions of specific characterizations described in the exact same way and it got old quick. But what really tanked this one for me was Ellen. I get that her first marriage was awful, and I understand her reticence, but her neuroses went well beyond that. To hold a grudge from something that happened when she and Charles were both 12 and was literally normal childish behavior was just too much. At age 32, I would’ve expected more maturity from Ellen, but her useless vendetta against Charles was uncalled for, as was her spreading defaming gossip about him, especially when she was supposed to have had this close relationship with his sister. You’d think she’d not want to hurt the family because of that if nothing else. Ellen of course came to her senses eventually, but this was too little too late to save it for me and definitely not enough groveling from her after how abominably she treated Charles and how immaturely and irrationally she behaved. This, along with a near total lack of steam, made this feel stilted and lacking in chemistry and it just didn’t really work for me.

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

When they were children, Ellen Laughton considered the Duke of Castlefield her best friend. But when he learned their parents were hoping they'd marry one day, he did what any boy of twelve would do—he pushed her away. She’s been angry with him ever since. By the time Castlefield realized there was only one woman for him, Ellen was already betrothed to another. Now that she’s a widow and out of mourning, he is determined to win back her friendship and her heart. But when Ellen learns about the role he played in her husband’s death, will she be able to forgive Castlefield’s betrayal?
This was an ok story. The plot was fairly basic. The characters were ok. I hadn’t read this author before, so there weren’t any expectations. I’m not a huge fan of second-chance romances, and this one was no different than the others.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

This is the fourth book in the Landing a Lord series. I feel that this could be read as a stand alone. I found the book to be enjoyable but lacking. The main character Ellen was very immature. She held on to hurt she felt from the duke when he was 12 years old and not listening to his words or actions as a man. Also, the more interesting story was what took place between Ellen and her abusive husband. This should have been giving more of the story.
Thank you for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book so much that I went out and bought a physical copy. I wanted to read through the book one more time because I couldn't get enough of the story.

Suzanna Mendeiros really captured my imagination and all my senses when she wrote this book. When I read through the book for the second time I got little snippets of conversation or details that I missed the first time and I thoroughly loved the second read through.

If you are looking for a book that has romance along with great characters and a great story-line definitely pick this book up!

i immensely enjoyed this book. Suzanna Mederiros wove a story I was swept into with ease and happily floated down the river of. The characters were well crafted and I was impressed by the prose. The only things I can comment on were I wish the imagery had been a bit more detailed and I also wish the expiation at the end of the book tying the ducal family’s pain together would have been more intense.. . I greatly enjoyed this book and look foreword to reading more from the author.

The Unsuitable Duke by Suzanna Medeiros is book 4 in the Landing a Lord Series. This is the story of Charles the Duke of Castlefield and Ellen Laughton. I have read the previous book but felt this could be a standalone book. Ellen and Charles where childhood friends...best friends. But Charles when he became older broke things up with Ellen. Of course Ellen had planted rumors to get back at him. But now in the present day a lot has happened since their falling out. Both have changed due to their choices they made. Charles knew pretty quickly that he had made a mistake but it had been to late. Ellen is not trusting of Charles's intention towards her at first when they start to work back to what they had when they were younger, along with their adult feelings now.
Enjoyed this second chance romance.

The Unsuitable Duke is book 4 in the Landing a Lord series and I have read one other book in the series and so was interested when this one came out. Ellen Laughton is the widow of an abusive husband which has caused her to no longer trust men. This lack of trust extends to her former childhood friend Charles, the Duke of Castlefield. It did not help that it was Charles who had rejected her friendship when he, her brother and his sister had been so close. She is the cause of him gaining the title of unsuitable in the eyes of the ton out of spite, when he tried to warn her off her marriage. To find out the true direct cause of him doing that one would of course need to read the book, as I can’t be giving away the plot.

I truly enjoyed the childhood friends to lovers theme and I loved Charles perseverance in breaking down Ellen’s walls. We find out that Charles was misunderstood by Ellen and that youth causes one to believe foolish things and hence act out foolishly. My reason for giving this book less than a perfect score is because Ellen held her grudge to the extreme and that really didn’t sit well with me, but then again she was in bad situation with her husband which would not have occurred, but for the foolish choices made by Charles. I absolutely loved how other characters from the series are featured in this novel as well and provide her with such strong supportive friendships. I give her major kudos though for taking it upon herself to learn to fight back against her husband. I think the pace of the book was quite fine and left you anticipating page to page.

This review was given on the copy received from the publisher and NetGalley in return for my honest opinion

For more of a novella length book, there was a complete story between Ellen and Charles. It was clear they were once best friends but what was lacking was in the development of what caused such a rift between them. The reasoning was told was spoken of numerous times, but there was not a great deal substance behind it.

The writing style was dull and the storyline wasn't gripping enough. The book felt rushed and I skimmed quite a bit. The blurb was attractive enough to request it but the sadly the story wasn't.

Suzanna Medeiros is an excellent author.Not only did this historical romance deliver excitement, believable plot lines, and characters worth reading about, but her writing doesn’t get in the way of the story! She gives me just enough enticement to keep turning the pages, without verbosity and overly descriptive prose. I read The Unsuitable Duke in almost one sitting, as the characters drew me in From the first page, and I was too interested to see how they got to their “happy ever after” to put down the book. It’s a great read, and I’ll now look for Suzanna’s other books.

Ellen and Castlefield's story was a wonderful tale in this series. A broken heart in need of knowing she could still find love. I love this author's writing style. She makes the reader feel like she is one of the characters and you can feel the emotions in her writing.

An good romance, entertaining and engrossing. It made me root for the characters and I appreciated the storytelling, the characters and the historical background.
It's the first book I read in this series and won't be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I think this book had a lot of potential but unfortunately the story fell short for me. Charles the Duke of Castlefield has decided that he intends to marry Ellen, the girl who was his best friend when they were little but he pushed he away as they grew up. Ellen was married to a terrible guy.. luckily he died. So Charles decides he's finally going to make his move.

I know that was a jumble of an explanation but that's the gist of the story. That's all good. I like when childhood friends get together. I just didn't feel any connection with the characters. Zero. Zip. Nothing. And not just with Charles and Ellen but Ellen and Charles' sister.. or even Charles and his sister.. There wasn't enough backstory to feel the connection. You can't just say that 2 people were friends and that's it. It doesn't feel real.

Anyways... I think the book could have been better. It wasn't terrible but it just wasn't great.

Another great from Susanna medeiros, lovely to see other characters in previous books and what happened to them, this book is about ellen sister of Lucien from the unaffected duke and Charles his friend, ellen was in a abusive marriage and found it difficult to trust anyone after her husband died, it was lovely to see how ellen started to trust charles , great story highly recommend

Charles, the Duke of Castlefield, misses his best friend Ellen Laughton. They shared a wonderful friendship for many years until Charles learned their families were hoping they'd marry. Charles made the decision then and there to forget Ellen, or at least he tried to. By the time Charles realized his error and saw Ellen for the woman she'd become, he was too late. She was engaged to another.

Ellen had a terrible marriage. She is just coming out of mourning, not that she mourned the loss of the cruel man she married, but she is astounded when Charles seeks her out. Ellen is even more flabbergasted when he declares his intention to pursue her. It doesn't take much for Ellen to see Charles is a good man, but is she ready to trust again?

Suzanna Medeiros is one of my favorite historical romance authors. Her book blurbs always ensnare me as well as her beautiful covers. Her latest installment in the LANDING A LORD series, THE UNSUITABLE DUKE, was right up my alley. I love the whole best friends to lovers scenario, and even better, when one of the duo has to work to win the other over. Charles and Ellen had to make up for lost time. Their story really spoke to me. THE UNSUITABLE DUKE is a keeper.

Next installment in the Landing A Lord Series. Not a bad book but I was expecting more chemistry between the two leads. It's a second chance at love story from two friends that grow up together. They fell out. She is now a widow. He realises that she is the One and wants to court her. This was a sweet page turner.

There was an air of mystery about it and then when the mystery was solved many things were explained and the romance moved much faster. I liked the story and it was a quick and easy read. If you are looking for a romance with a splash of mystery and coverup then this is the one for you!

A story of a young widow, who has spent ten years in an unhappy marriage. For me, it was too repetitive, her husband has been dead two years, she will not move on, even though a childhood friend who loves her deeply, has waited for her all this time! The PPPOV ( private personal Point of view) goes on and on throughout the book. I liked the characters, they just needed more interaction, something to lift the story. I understand her wariness of marriage, of a close relationship with another man after her husband's abuse. However, it has been two years, and longer than that since he touched her at all. I guess the problem for me is, I found it depressing, not what I was expecting by the title. I liked the ending.
Thank you Netgalley.
carolintallahassee.com

When they were children, Ellen Laughton considered Charles the Duke of Castlefield her best friend. But when he learned their parents were hoping they'd marry one day, he did what any boy of twelve would do he pushed her away plus he loved playing & challenging her younger brother Lucien Charles returned from University to realise that there was only one woman for him, Ellen but she was already betrothed to another. Now twelve years on she’s a widow and out of mourning, he is determined to win back her friendship and her heart. However there’s a secret that could part them forever.
This is the fourth book in the series & whilst its easily read on its own characters from earlier books to appear. I binge read the earlier books quite a while ago now & have been eagerly awaiting this book & it didn’t disappoint. I loved Charles who was toe curlingly gorgeous & so patient & caring. I really liked Ellen & could understand her reticence to trust again but she'd known Charles all her life & he was her brother's best friend so I was surprised she guarded against him so much. I did love their verbal banter & the chemistry between them. Now looking forward to the next book in the series, hopefully sooner rather than later
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read