Hello

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title. While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

Thanks,
Laura

Worth the read if you like Burrowes but not her most memorable work. Seriously. I thought I had reviewed this when I read it but apparently I did now. Now, even after reading the description, I cannot tell you a single thing that happens.

Rob and Constance's story in The Truth About Dukes is hilarious and not so boring as it may seem! I absolutely loved reading about Constances, she has easily become one of my favorite heroine! Grace Burrowes did an amazing job writing this book and I can't wait to read more from her! I highly recommend this book toall readers of the romance genre.

The fifth book in the Rogues to Riches series was a rollercoaster. This one might be the most soap operay book in entire series. I’m glad we got to read Robert’s love story because I liked him in the last book. But there was definitely an elevated level of drama throughout this story, and often times it felt repetitive. It was still a cute and steamy read, and I’ll definitely check out any future books. I’m assuming we’ll get to Stephen’s story soon.

I enjoyed some of Burrowes backlist titles, and I thought the synopsis sounded really interesting for this one. But I could not get into the storyline. I am going to skip to her next book, but I’m thinking I may have grown out of her books. DNF for now.

The Trouble With Dukes tells the story of a titled, advantaged man greatly disadvantaged by epilepsy, and has experienced a lot of trauma due to both his condition and the lack of understanding of it during the time in which the book is set. I really enjoyed the progression of the two main character's relationship. By the end I was rooting for both of them to get their HEA, mostly because they are such likeable people. Basically, Grace does it again, and does it well.
*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Robert Rothmere had spent most of his life in an asylum until his younger brother came for him. Since then he has spent years hiding and under his brother’s care, happy with the world thinking he was dead and allowing his brother to take the mantle of Duke of Rothhaven. However, with his brother’s marriage he now must take the reins of the dukedom. But not everyone is happy with it especially as his ailments come to be known. With a scheme to take Robert’s wealth and freedom in the making, he must take action and find himself the right duchess…and he knows just the lady for the position.

I was so incredibly excited for this book after reading A Duke by Any Other Name, the previous instalment in the series, about Robert’s younger brother Nathaniel. I wanted to know more about Robert and after such a hard life I wanted him to find happiness. Robert has the “falling sickness”, which today we would call epilepsy. He has the seizures you usually associate with epilepsy as well as absence seizures. He also has the trauma of having being in an asylum for years where he was subject to abuse. Needless to say, Robert is wary of the world and all the people in it.

In modern day I would hope people would know having epilepsy doesn’t make someone less of a person. It doesn’t make them stupid or incapable. However, this book is set in the 1800s where medical science and society in general wasn’t so well educated. I’m no historian but it really felt like Burrowes had done her research on how the falling sickness and health issues were tackled. It had an air of authenticity to it that really added to giving this book a real sense of being in that time. Which, just made the unfairness all the more infuriating and heartbreaking as you consider that the events that happened to Robert would really have happened to real people at the time.

Then we have our heroine Lady Constance Wentworth who has her own demons to battle; I won’t go into details as I don’t want to spoil the book. But, she was a woman who had been through a lot in her life and still had a deep well of compassion. Both Constance and Robert were excellent characters that you found yourself routing for from the very first page.

On to the romance itself, this wasn’t a book full of mad passion and fireworks. Instead it was two adults, each with their own secrets who come together. There was a deep underlying friendship between them that evolved into more. It didn’t have any sparks flying or very man steamy scenes. It was low key but lovely.

Like I have already touched on and as is the case in every Burrowes’ book I have read, this book really made you feel you were in the 1800s. From the research that had been done on the subject of the book, by the style in which she writes and the dialogue her characters engage in, it’s an immersive experience.

This was a great read the touches on some important subjects such as alcoholism, unwanted pregnancy, mental health, illness, and poverty. I don’t think this will be for everyone, especially if you prefer something with a faster pace, but I really loved it and can’t wait to read the next book.

Thank you Netgalley for this advance copy.
I enjoyed the strong characters but the plot moved pretty slow for me and I didn't feel the sexual chemistry between the MCs. All things considered, I would read more from this author.

The Truth About Dukes (Rogues to Riches #5). By Grace Burrowes. 2020. Grand Central Publishing (ARC eBook)

I always love reading Grace Burrowes. There is always a richness of history intertwined in the stories and the characters always have a lot of heart and charm. The Truth About Dukes is Robert Rothmere and Lady Constance Wentworth’s story. I sure do like the Rothmere brothers and it was delightful to see Nathaniel being completely smitten with Althea (beginning in A Duke By Any Other Name), while Robert and Constance shine brightly as their love and respect for each other strengthen Robert’s resolve to be Duke and softens Constance’s armor so that she can ask for and accept help in righting a past wrong. The Truth About Dukes is a great read and I am looking forward to Stephen Wentworth’s book next.

Burrowes proves again with "The Truth About Dukes" that she belongs on the historical romance hall of fame shelf. Her books are well written and compulsively readable. Always on my watch list!

Grace Burrowes' books are always enjoyable to read and this is no exception, she weaves a great story line with strong characters and great prose. I have not yet read the other books in this series, so it can be read as a stand alone, although I feel that it might have helped given some direction and background to the other characters in the novel. This story is primarily about Robert and Constance but there are so many other characters that it was a bit confusing to keep track of who was who. I did really like that the main characters are so flawed and that epilepsy is featured here and how that impacted daily life then.
One thing I would have to agree with many other reviews I've seen on this book was the fact that the story doesn't seem as centered on the main characters as it should be. There are actually other characters that get their own paragraphs and thoughts which I found distracting even though most of the time the discuss the main characters. The other thing was that the two mains fall for and get together quite quickly and then you are left with more than half of the book left which is filled with the other character arcs, I felt like the other characters were too prominent in what should have been spotlighted for Robert and Constance.
Other than that, it is an enjoyable read and easy to get lost in the superb writing that leaves no questions hanging. I do recommend this book. I received an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It took me a long time to finish this book because while well-written and technically a romance, there was a lot of sadness in it. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it wasn't the best time for me to dwell into the dark side of human nature. And it felt to me like this was a story about illness and how it was regarded back than more than about two people falling in love. I admit to having skipped paragraphs because I felt the point was already made and the talk went on and on. It was an ok story but not great and not very engaging.

Highly enjoyable, action packed, sweetly sexy adventure filled with witty and engaging charters, heart racing twists and emotionally thrilling turns. A pleasurable and heartwarming journey from beginning to end.

I genuinely enjoyed this book. If you enjoyed The Madness of Ian Mckenzie, I think this is just the book for you. Of course, it doesn't have the same dramatics as that one did but the content it deals with and how it deals with it is very similar.

I loved Constance and Robert, and I loved watching their story unfold. I do wish that we had gotten to see flashbacks of their history together rather than mentions of it.

The first half of the story deals with them reconciling, us getting their backstory, and our MCs falling in love. I commend Burrows for being so brave to take on so many emotional and deep topics in a book and still be able to keep the story smooth and calm. The second half of the story is where we get more actions, with the threats that are discussed in the summary coming after Robert.

I found the writing and pacing to be a little weird at times and I, again, didn't like that I was being told about the past rather than being shown their past. This was the first book that I read in this series and I cannot wait to go back in the series and read the rest of them.

- 4 stars -

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Grace Burrowes for providing me with an eARC of this novel for my honest opinion in return.

I don’t know what it is about this series, but I really love these books! This is a tough one to review, though. I’m normally a big fan of low angst books where the couple get to just fall in love without any really major barriers, but in The Truth About Dukes, there was so little conflict and Robert and Constance fell in love so quickly that I felt like the romance itself was over by about the 30 percent mark. Certainly there was a resolution between them by the time I was halfway through the book! Which left only external conflicts related to whether Richard was fit to be the duke to occupy the rest of the book. It was enjoyable enough to read because I really liked the characters, but it became much less of a romance as the book continued.

Also, this book makes me really want to educate myself more about disability in romance novels, especially historicals, because that was a major theme throughout this book and I wish I could speak to how it was handled. It felt respectful, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good representation, and I wish I were more qualified to analyze it.

It only took me a couple of pages into the book to be intrigued. I had so many questions upon reading the first scene between the hero, Robert, Duke of Rothhaven and the heroine, Constance Wentworth. The entire story is so wholesome and beautifully written with attention paid to tiny details such as the love in between spouses. I really liked that the author picked a hero that is suffering from Epilepsy. It was interesting to see how this was addressed in the historical times. Absolutely love this book and I would highly recommend getting it.

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

the truth about dukes is the latest installment in the rogues to riches series, and while it stands alone, it really is best read in concert with previous books in the series. our hero, robert rothmere, has epilepsy, or the falling sickness as it was known at the time. institutionalized by his father and forced to undergo so many inhumane treatments, when he is found to be alive by his brother he is brought back to society to take his rightful place as duke of rothhaven.

because he is at constant risk of being declared incompetent, he decides he needs to marry a paragon for a wife, and he is drawn to constance wentworth. little does he know that her veneer of placidity hides the fact that they met as teens in the very asylum he was sent to, she was avoiding unpleasant family circumstances. she also harbors a scandalous secret.

anyway, they overcome all odds, and it's a romance so everyone lives happily ever after. this lacked some real sparks for me, it's a quiet romance and at times is overshadowed by all the issues it's trying to address, but it's a perfectly respectable entry in the series.

**the truth about dukes will publish november 10, 2020. i received an advance review copy courtesy of netgalley/grand central publishing (forever) in exchange for an honest review.

this book was not for me, it had too many dark things going on and majority of the book focused on negative things.

The intriguing, complicated, gorgeously written Wentworth family is back in The Truth About Dukes. Every Grace Burrowes protagonist I’ve read about so far has had a complex past, which is something I quite enjoy. In Robert’s case, he’s an epileptic who was caged in a private asylum by his father. The horrors of that place and the experiments inflicted on him have left their mark and even after his brother (who had believed him dead) found him, Robert locked himself away in their home. He’s slowly coming out into the world, but there are those who would use him being an epileptic against him in order to further their own agendas. I liked watching Robert come into his own over the course of the story. He’s helped by Constance who is definitely his perfect match.

Constance Wentworth grew up in poverty with an abusive father. Her brother becoming first a successful, wealthy banker and then finding out he’s a duke changed her life forever. Constance has secrets she keeps even from her own family. When she was younger she fled home and came to work at the asylum Robert was kept at. The two formed a bond back then and it springs immediately to life when they are reunited over a decade later. I loved Robert and Constance together. They have an easy chemistry that shows on the page and they simply flow as a couple. Their romance is understated – perhaps a bit too understated for a romance novel – and I wish Burrowes had shown rather than told some of the bits about their bond forming in the past. Yet even with it being understated I simply adored Robert and Constance as a couple. There’s little drama and a lot of heart which makes it easy to fall into their story.

Constance and Robert are at the center of The Truth About Dukes, but there are plenty of supporting characters with their own points of view. Their siblings all see fit to discuss among themselves and interfere (with the best of intentions, of course) in Robert and Constance’s lives. Then there are multiple plots. One I cannot reveal without spoiling the story as it deals with Constance’s past. Not to be too vague, but this was a plotline that started out well, then ended up feeling like it wasn’t as well executed as it could have been. Then there’s the matter of villains using Robert’s epilepsy against him for their own reasons. It’s a plotline with potential but falls apart a bit at the climax. There are a few too many lucky breaks, characters changing how they act to satisfy the needs of the plot, and events taking place off-page for me to be fully satisfied with the story. Still, I really enjoyed reading The Truth About Dukes even with these flaws. I wavered for a long time on how to rate the book because I had so many niggling issues but I weighed this against how much I enjoyed Burrowes’s writing, the characters, and the Constance/Robert pairing. I land on the side of recommending this book, but if you’re new to the series I urge you to read the first and fourth Rogues to Riches books, My One and Only Duke and A Duke by Any Other Name, in order to fully appreciate the family dynamics and the main plot of The Truth About Dukes.

One of my new favorite books. Grace Burrows mixes romance with unusual lead characters and draws the reader in. Robert and Constance were close to each other years ago at an asylum where, due to a traumatic past, she worked and he was an epileptic patient. Now, back in society, both are still fighting demons and trying to find their way. Will joining forces help them to navigate society? This is a definite must-read.
Thank you Grace Burrows, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.