I really enjoyed listening to this book. Benjamin a Duke falls in love with woman who is out of his social circle she was an orphan. They shared one kiss then Benjamin left for five years to purse his passion in helping Europe, while Noelle is heartbroken over him. When the Dukes grandfather passes away he is summoned to the Christmas village for the reading of the last will & testament. Benjamin just want his treasured locket back. At the reading of the will Benjamin finds out he will get the locket back but theres stipulations to get it back. One of the conditions is to assist Noelle with stuff. One thing leads to another and they end up in the bed chamber together. The next morning Benjamin leave to go back to his duties. He realizes he left his heart back in the village. At the same time Noelle realizes her heart was leaving again. In the end they end up figuring out how to live life together so they're both happy. They get married.

If you are looking for a cute, hallmark-y historical romance, you came to the right place. My favorite part of this book was the setting, a Christmas village where everyone shares in the ownership and running of the castle. It definitely has quirky Spindle Cove vibes.
What I didn't love about this book was the power imbalance. The heroine is an orphan and lady clerk (cool) and is desperately in love with the hero. The hero is a powerful, rich duke who chose doing his duty and being a politician over the heroine, whose lineage is not up to snuff (he says this multiple times). He loves her, but couldn't possibly besmirch the good name of the family who doesn't exist (I guess). I found this very frustrating. I wanted him to work harder to earn her, but instead we have a story where she's trying to convince him to stay forever in a very small, remote christmas village.
SO. I would definitely recommend this book for a christmas-obsessed friend. As a romance, I didn't love it. But tis the season.

The Duke hates Christmas more than anything. Unfortunately, he is the heir to an estate in a town that revolves around Christmas. This story dives straight in when the Duke is forced to travel for London to the town of Christmas to hear he’s grandfathers will reading, and he runs into an old flame the second he runs in the door.


This was a cute and fun. The town had such “Hallmark movie” vibes. I think the book was a bit short for my liking for I couldn’t really pine over the romance, but it was a sweet, atmospheric story for the holidays.

❤️❤️ out of 5
I loved the idea of a grinch hero and a Christmas obsessed heroine but unfortunately there were more than a couple things that just didn’t work for me including the first kiss not happening until 75% in.

Our hero travels to a small country town that has nicknamed itself Christmas because it celebrates Christmas all year round to collect a valuable heirloom left to him in his grandfather’s will. However he has to participate in Christmas first before he is able to take possession, and this means spending time with a woman he hasn’t been able to forget for years. Our heroine is an orphan and now a clerk and although the two seem from two separate worlds, they can’t help wanting to be in the other’s orbit.

Overall the pacing seemed a bit off with the start of a real slow burn, then they kiss and it’s still slow burn until right at the end when they are suddenly in love? Unfortunately it just wasn’t believable and I struggled to invest in their relationship. I listened in audio and the audio was pretty good (although I struggle to fine historical romance audios that I enjoy).

A festive setting and a quirky cast of characters led by Ben and Noelle make this a charming Christmas tale (even if it is January). Fuzzy Wig, the clerk; Tiny Tim, the pigmy goat; and a partridge in a pear tree are some of the humorous, not-so-subtle allusions to some favorite characters and stories. Ben is a perfect Scrooge, and Noelle is Christmas Spirit(s) personified. The story is full of wit and romance. Ben and Noelle get a second chance for love. Lively and entertaining narration by Rosie Ackerman makes this whimsical, romantic story quite enjoyable.

I received an ARC of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary

I was gifted an audio version of this book by the author (Erica Ridley) and OrangeSky Audio. The narrator (Rosie Ackerman) has a delightful voice and it made the book all the more magical to have it read with an authentic British Accent.

This is the first in a series by Erica, a delightful romp in the word of Cressmouth England. Noelle and Benjamin couldn't be more different. One is an orphan who lives each day to the fullest in the small town where she was raised. She loves Cressmouth and Christmas and everything about the season. The other is a Duke, with all the trappings and responsibilities that go along with the title. He hates everything to do with Cressmouth and Christmas. Cressmouth because that's where his maternal Grandfather lived, and Christmas because everyone he's ever cared about was taken from him at Christmastime. Can these two overcome their misunderstandings, reservations, and personal issues and come to an understanding of their own? Read (or listen) along to the charming characters that surround them and find out.

I listened to an audiobook version of this book and really enjoyed it! The narration added a great layer of whimsy and magic to the story and definitely heightened my experience.

As for the story, I liked it! I liked how whimsical and magical this sweet little town was and how adorable the people were. Especially since the main guy was such a grump about everything!

The second chance romance too was a delight. Noelle really made him work for her hand once again and did so with class and elegance and some mischief. I’m glad she got him to enjoy the town.

Erica Ridley’s writing was a joy, as always!

3/5⭐️

Nice enough. Once Upon a Duke is a pleasant Christmas-y story about a town named "Cressmouth" rebranded (in the 19th century!) as Christmas and loosely based on Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It's not a challenging tale, and the hero's conviction that he is unloved and that Christmas itself is partly to blame in my mind was not enough to carry the storyline. Most of the story is told from the hero's point of view, with the heroine's chapters used primarily for introducing secondary characters. I found the overly-performed narration irritating at times, but all-in=all it's a decent addition to the Christmas romance catalogue. I personally will not search out titles in this to-be-continued series (12 Dukes of Christmas).

A sweet romantic Christmas story with Noelle and Benjamin the Duke..
After his grandfather died the Duke went back to his home to finally get a locket ,but before he can claim it he was given a task to complete.
Good fun story with a few complication and romance.
Voluntarily reviewed .
Enjoyed the narration.

3/5 ⭐️s

A short and cute Christmas story!

Erica Ridley’s been on my “need to read list” for awhile now, so I was excited to receive this audiobook ARC from NetGalley. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books in the future!

After his estranged grandfather passes away, Benjamin must return to a place where he’s felt nothing but pain and loss…with the exception of one woman he hasn’t been able to forget over the past five years.

I really enjoyed this second chance at romance story! Benjamin and Noelle were sweet and loving, but both of them recognized how much they would lose if they chose to be together. It felt real and grounded in the charming but somewhat silly Christmas village setting, and I appreciated that balance.

The narrator wasn’t my favorite - her voice felt too posh and unfeeling for Noelle’s character, and Benjamin’s POV wasn’t much better. It took me longer to connect with this book than I’d like because of that.

This is by far one of the most entertaining and heartfelt stories I have ever read. I don’t know if it’s the narrator, the era, the Christmas vibes or the abandonment issues the characters had that made me love this book this hard. Maybe it’s all of the above but this is one hundred percent one the post enjoyable reads of this year. The gentle, respectful and sweet romance was such a delight. I savored every second of it. I loved how both characters outgrew their hurt and trauma and learned together how to love again. I also enjoyed how empowering this was for women despite being written about an era where women had so little say on their lives. This is a book for everyone. If you’re in a slump and have been struggling to get out of it then this might be your magical solution. I genuinely cannot wait to discover the rest. Thank you Netgalley and Orange Sky Audiobooks for the ARC.

This is an excellent very engaging Christmas Regency romance novella. It's very cute and has lot's of references to all things Christmas. From the name of the characters to the name of places. Ben The Duke of Silkridge had to travel back to his hometown for the first time in many years because of the terms of his grandfather's will. While there he's reunited with an old friend Noelle and passion reignite but there's lots of obstacles in the way. Their stations in life divide them.

This was a very cute book which had as happy an ending as I should have expected (but for some reason didn't). The narrator made it a bit more cutesy than you might expect during the couple of "romantic" scenes, but they were not entirely as wholesome as her voice might have indicated they would be. All in all an entertaining story about Christmas, love, loss, second chances, small towns, orphans and Dukes.

This was a cute Regency second chance romance. The book is well written with lovely descriptive text. It’s a relatively short read that mixes the hero and heroine’s past traumas with considerable silliness, including frequent references to classic holiday literature and songs. Some of the dialog is quite clever, and the romance between our main characters is sweet and occasionally steamy. It might be just what you need to put you in the holiday spirit.

Rosie Ackerman did a fine job with narration. Her pacing is good, and I enjoyed her character voices. I thought she did well bringing out the humor of the story. I enjoyed the audiobook, but you might want to listen to a sample to make sure her accent works for you.

Note that there is one explicit scene of premarital sex if such things bother you.

Although I purchased the ebook, I was provided a free review copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

If you absolutely love Christmas then this is the book for you. This is my second time reading Once Upon a Duke and I have to say I enjoyed it much more the second time around as this time I was listening to the audio production which was superb! I really hope the narrator is signed up for the rest of the series.

This is a perfect read, or listen, on a cold wintry day.

I really liked this first story in the Twelve Dukes of Christmas series. The town of Cressmouth is just wonderful, I wish it was real. The Duke of Silkridge and Noelle make a wonderful couple.

I enjoyed this Erica Ridley book which was loosely based on A Christmas Carol.
Benjamin had an excellent reason for disliking Christmas. Both of his parents had died on that illustrious holiday. The only reason Benjamin has returned to Cressmouth is to retrieve his mother's locket that his grandfather had taken from Jim five years ago and refused to return.
Noelle like all of the residents of this town that celebrated Christmas year round loved the holiday and it's spirit.
She loved Benjamin too but wanted to hate this man who had left her and Cressmouth behind.
Will these two continue to be at odds or could they give their love a second chance?
I gave this book 4.5 of 5.0 stars for storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 3.0 of 5.0 flames. There isn't an abundance of intimacy between our hero and heroine in this heartwarming story but it is an essential part of this story.
The audio version of this book was very good.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this title to read from the author.
This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

When you buy the novel you must also get the audio. The feeling conveys Duke Silkridge like a movie being played out to you. This historical Christmas romance is a great read. Noelle's is a strong headed woman who has no issues making her opinion known, especially about the Duke's tail in run.


The story definitely shows its going to take more than a kiss to make things right. A wonderful audio to hear and the teller does a good job disgusting the characters. The audio itself is about 3 hours long do so perfect to listen to in front of a fireplace with hot cocoa.

Once upon a duke was my second Erica Ridley book and I am happy to say that I will continue this series, since I’m excited to see who the other couples are gonna be. Im gonna be honest, I hope little Tim will get his own book😂 The romance in this was so adorable and I loved the pining both of them went through at the beginning. I was so sure that something would happen to the locket, and be a start of a third act break up, but thankfully that did not happen.

This was a short Christmas story, but a bit too short to get a real connection with the characters.
But I liked the Christmas town and funny references to everything Christmas.
I didn't like the narrator's voice.