This was solidly written and was, in theory, a fun take on the “enemies to lovers” trope. I can see why Sophie Jordan is a fan favorite in terms of quality writing.

However, this book fell completely flat for me in that the main characters were not at all likable, or interesting. Imogen takes her vendetta too far, meddles unnecessarily in the lives of everyone around her, then does an unsubstantiated 180 regarding the fallen duke. Perry is exactly the jerk that Imogen thinks him to be, and I can't really say he has any meaningful revelations other than deciding to just do whatever he wants (and this isn't really a change beyond him doing it with family money).

This book could have been amazing, but the great plot idea just didn’t do it for me with these characters at the helm.

Plot: This was such an enjoyable read! Reading about Imogen's plan to keep Perry from being an acceptable choice for the heiresses of Shropshire was so funny, and seeing them fall in love was delightful. And I LOVED the epilogue!

Characters: They were all so good! From Imogen and Perry, to everyone else in the village, I liked them all! And I'm curious to read who the next books will be about, though I do have a couple of ideas...

The Cover: I like it!

Overall: I really enjoyed reading this first book in a new series, and I know I will be reading the following books! (And I really did love the epilogue and how it tied together in the end!) I would definitely recommend reading this book!

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher.

The Duke Goes Down is the first book in “The Duke Hunt” series by Sophie Jordan.

Peregrine Butler' and Imogen Bates have always clashed. From childhood, they have been circling each others orbit while getting on each others nerves.

Things between them doesn't get any better as they grow up. In fact, it get's worse. From false rumors to accusations and misunderstandings, they constantly continue to clash. Until one spontaneous kiss between them changes everything and from there sparks fly as they start seeing each in a different light.

Overall, this book was a good start to the series. Will definitely read the next book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had high hopes for this book. I've never read Sophie Jordan before but people seem to love her. And I love a enemies to lovers trope. But this book fell flat. I hated Imogen. She was a terrible person and she didn't really do much to redeem herself to me. Perry was a great character and I wish we got more of his backstory. Overall a disappointing first book in a series.

I liked the premise of this book: A duke is stripped of his title and has to find his way to love and happiness without the wealth and power that he previously had. That said, this one wasn't really for me. There were times that it seemed like it was trying to be a rom-com, and the whole bit with Imogen spreading rumors was just too childish to me. I especially hated that she'd done that when I got to the end of the book. This book was quick, but there was a lot going on, and I couldn't necessarily tell what the real conflict was, between Perry's new status, heiress hunting, Imogen's cousin-in-law, etc. It just felt sort of disjointed, like it was trying to do everything, but the story lost something by splitting the focus. And honestly, it didn't seem like Imogen and Perry even had much reason to be in love? Just about every conversation they had revolved around Imogen's rumors. I get it, they have sexual chemistry. But to me, that wasn't enough for Perry to actually love Imogen enough to forgive her. I wanted more depth.

There were also a few details/mistakes that I hope will be fixed in the final version. For starters, everyone refers to Perry as Penning in the beginning of the book, when at that point he hadn't inherited that title (Imogen thinks of him as the duke-to-be and later mentions his father's more recent passing.) I understand that giving him a lesser title for only the first chapter would be a lot of names for readers to keep track of, but it literally bothered me for the entire book that he apparently had the same title before and after his father died.

This is the first book in a new series. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. First of all... the flesh colored pants on the hero with the cover? That’s just a no from me! I liked the premise of the duke not being a “duke” anymore... but I feel like the read itself was quick and Everything wrapped up rather nicely and quickly. It was just ok for me. All opinions are my own. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

If you're looking for a fast, fun read this summer, The Duke Goes Down will fit the bill! The first book in a new series by historical romance author Sophie Jordan, it features childhood enemies who become something more. Imogen has disliked Perry since he teased and made fun of her as a child. Perry thought she acted superior to him, and being a stuck-up duke's heir, didn't like that feeling. He was honestly quite a brat as a child and teen. Years later, Perry finds out he was born before his parents marriage, and is now on the hunt to marry an heiress to restore him to his former lifestyle. Remembering how he treated her as a child, Imogen is determined to keep Perry from preying on the young women of their village.

I definitely liked Imogen as a main character. She cares a lot about her father and the people in the village, even if she can be a little high and mighty at times. I felt like Perry had more apologizing for childhood actions to do than he actually did in the book, but that's not uncommon in romances. Their romance felt a little rushed, and I wouldn't have minded another 50 to 100 pages to really let everything knit together.

There was a small subplot that came up in the latter half of the book, and I didn't fully understand why Imogen didn't just tell her cousin about what happened. You'd think she'd want to know. And even if Imogen had trouble sharing at the time (she was young after all), it's something she might have wanted to share later. Especially after certain actions in the book. Another thing that could have been more developed with those extra pages mentioned earlier.

All in all, the book was enjoyable. And it was written in 2020, so the fact that it got written at all given that hell of a year is a miracle in and of itself.

I have a stack of ARCs that come out before this one as well as several books checked out from the library that need to read, but I could not resist reading this as soon as I received it. This is the first in the new “The Duke Hunt” series and a wonderful introduction to the town of Shropshire, which I assume will be the setting for future books in the series.

Perry finds himself suddenly stripped of his title and fortune and must learn to embrace the town where he grew up. Imogen finds herself constantly confronted with Perry, the man who was cruel to her as a boy, and discovers that she has power of him and his reputation. The two have a complicated past which comes to a head as their bickering leads to attraction.

I am a sucker for books where the main characters are attracted to each other but don’t want to be. I don’t know that I would go as far as consider this a typical enemies to lovers book as the childhood animosity was mostly one-sided, but this was still a fun play on the trope. The heat level in this book is less than in the last couple Rogue Files books, but still there and yes, the title of the book is both metaphorical and literal.

I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the power dynamics. Perry goes from being the most powerful person in the room to literally being at Imogen’s mercy to maintain his reputation among the town. I also liked that the book addressed the double standard of reputation between the sexes, and literally asks the question, “Can a man’s reputation ever truly be lost?”

I love Sophie’s books they’re always well written and easy to read. I am very excited to see what comes next in the series and I sincerely hope it includes the new duke falling in love with the lady blacksmith.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.