I am a big fan of Caroline Linden's books, but this one was difficult to get into. I think I felt misled by the cover first and foremost; the hero on the cover struck me as a possibly half-Native American man and that assumption was further backed up by the family history presented by Will. It seemed like we were getting a hero and heroine who both had minority backgrounds. It I hated trying to get into the book knowing that Pip would have to struggle with the knowledge that all of the hard work she's put in to help run the castle would be for nothing/someone else as she was expected to clear out once the Duke's true heir was found and we're supposed to be happy for the serendipity that it was in fact Will.

This is such a delightful story where not all is what it seems to be. Will Montclair and his brother, Jack travel from Boston to England on business for their father who owns a shipping business. Will ends up taking a position as a land steward where he meets Pippa, the step granddaughter of a duchess. As they work together on the estate their attraction toward one another grows, but they both realize that their difference in classes will never allow them to be together. But everything is not as it seems!

Great romance with an engaging story. I found it hard to put the book down because I wanted more of Pippa and Will, and really all the intrigue at Carlyle Castle. Pippa is a fantastic heroine — once she decided that she wanted Will, she wasn’t letting anyone, including Will, stop her. I just loved that she had the courage and confidence to go after what she wanted even though it wasn’t what was proper for society. I was sad that epilogue was so short as it still didn’t relay who will be the heir, which directly affects this couple and their decisions for their life. I really wanted more in the epilogue, especially showing Will’s family with the Duke, and tying up loose ends with Max and Capt St James.

There were things I enjoyed about this book, mainly the heroines Indian heritage and the mystery of Will and who he was. However, I had a hard time remaining completely engaged or caring about the romance between the two main characters.

I loved this book! It's a great conclusion to this series, with a great heroine and a refreshing hero. I also really enjoyed the twist ending, because I didn't see it coming but it made lots of sense. A great book, will recommend to others.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the last book in the series, and I’d been very curious to know who would end up becoming the heir to the Carlyle dukedom. As the current Duke was sick and had no sons, his mother set out to look far and wide for his distant St. James cousins as his potential heirs. The first two books featured 2 of them, so I knew the hero in this book would be another long lost St. James. Turns out, he was the son of a Boston businessman who had arrived in London with his brother to help expand their shipping company in England.

When they started to run low on funds, William Montclair decided to take on the job as an estate manager for Carlyle Castle and its surrounding properties. The day he visited his employer for the first time, he ran into Phillipa Kirkpatrick, the Duchess’s companion, and his pirate appearance definitely didn’t give a good impression on her 😂.

I’ve always enjoyed Ms Linden’s books. What I love most about this one is the strong family love, loyalty, and protection. We got to meet the Duke for the first time in the series and seeing him improve slowly with William’s help made me so happy 🥹. It’s safe to say William revived the Carlyle family, both persons and estates. William and Phillipa are strong characters, but I wish they shared more sparks. It’s quite a slow burn and their sexy times didn’t happen until much later in the book 😆. I also felt the ending was quite rush, but I believe the author will have an extended epilogue to wrap up the series, so I’m definitely looking forward to it 😍.

✨Special thanks to Avon Books for gifting me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.✨

This is a great book. You really should read the two previous books before you delve into this one, because there is a lot of background in those two. Plus, those books are fun (especially the first one, About a Rogue—I couldn’t put it down). And this one blows those two out of the water. It is a 5+ star book and you will love it. I promise you.

Caroline Linden has a way of making you fall in love with a character in such a subtle manner. You don’t even know you’ve developed feelings for that character until there comes a point where it hits you and opens your eyes. That’s a lot of fun!

This books wraps up the series, and I could not be more delighted at the ending, which was worthy of a series that I’ve enjoyed.

Will—oh, how I love Will, who is described as looking like a pirate, “rakishly, devilishly, dangerously gorgeous.” And I adore Philippa —as a brown woman, I was delighted to see that representation here. Caroline Linden has other characters of color, particularly. Mr. Amis, who she presents respectfully. If you cannot tell, I loved Mr. Amis. Even the Duchess, who irritated me in the previous books, redeemed herself in my eyes.

It's actually difficult to review this book because I like EVERYTHING about it. There’s a mystery. There are excellent characters. Caroline Linden is amazing when it comes to description—you feel you’re there. You fall in love with Will and Philippa while they fall in love with each other. There are some steamy bits—they aren’t heavy on detail but they are satisfying. Now, I want to learn more about Will’s siblings! Gimme some Jack!

This is the third book in the Desperately Seeking Duke series, and readers of the series know that it’s based on a Duchess’s search for the heir apparent to her ailing son, the Duke. Each book has followed one if the potential heirs as they learn of their status and find love.

I loved how this story features the last and elusive heir, William, right under the Duchess’s nose, as he takes on a posit as the Duke’s steward!

This turn of events allowed for plenty of behind the scenes time with the Duchess and the Duke, who we have only had a small acquaintance with thus far!

In the the vein, our heroine is none other than the beloved Duchess’s companion and honorary daughter of the house, Phillipa! This was a another circumstance where we get a lot of the blanks from past books filled in.

Lastly, I just want to say how much I love the blending of the common/ working man with the the aristocratic characters. She openly shared the biases of the time and give a realistic portrayal.

Overall, this was just a really good HR - definitely should be on your HR TBR!

All the Duke I Need by Caroline Linden was published April 26th, 2022.

#AlltheDukeINeed #CarolineLinden #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

This was a really cute story. I was a little unsure how I felt going into it, but I got hooked on the story and characters. I don't think I would reread it but I definitely enjoyed reading it the first time.

Pippa is the ward of a ducal family in decline and has had the running of the estate for several years. Enter the new (American! hot!) estate steward, who rubs everyone the wrong way yet she can’t help feeling attracted to. As they warm up to each other we learn more about the backstory of each, and the secrets are revealed.
I have to admit, I didn’t see the twist coming - I totally thought it was going to be the red herring. I usually guess the plot twists in books so it was a pleasant surprise to, well, be surprised!

Now on to read the earlier books in the series.

DNF at 39%. There's very little plot and NO romance. I loved book 1, but this one is not working for me.

‘Raised in the splendor of Carlyle Castle by her doting guardian, the Duchess of Carlyle, Philippa Kirkpatrick is one of the greatest heiresses in England. The duchess is eager to see her wed, but Philippa hesitates to leave the only home she knows.

William Montclair is in London to expand his family’s trading firm, with little progress. Impulsively he takes a job managing the Carlyle estate—for the money, he tells his incredulous brother, and only for a year.

Philippa is shocked by the handsome, scandalously bold new steward. It’s all she can do to prevent the horrified duchess from sacking him on sight. She determines to teach him how to love Carlyle as she does, only to find herself reluctantly charmed by the rogue.

It’s true; Will is falling for everything about Carlyle…including the duchess’s beautiful ward. But he has promises—and secrets—to keep, and telling Philippa would resurrect a devastating family scandal. Not telling her, though, means he must break her heart—and his own.’
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All the Duke I Need is the third book in Caroline Linden’s Desperately Seeking Duke series and is a historical romance.

I thought the book was alright but I found my interest in the story fluctuating. The romance aspect of the book was well done, but the accompanying mystery and continued search for heirs was a bit rocky.

I really think the biggest issue was how quickly the book was wrapped up. After following the hunt for heirs across three books and the mystery throughout this book of why Will sought to become steward at Carlyle, these are very quickly resolved and then the book ends. After so much build up. I thought it felt fairly abrupt. I really wish there had been more of a conclusion after the reveal, a bit more balance.
Will really holds all his cards close to his chest and I wish he had confided a bit more during the story, especially to Philippa. Had he shared more, even little snippets, I feel that maybe that could have helped the conclusion not feel so abrupt.

My favorite aspect of the book was the bit of misdirection regarding the family connection. As I was reading, I felt so certain that I knew what the reveal would be. I was feeling that the conclusion was going to be so obvious based on the foreshadowing. But there was some lovely misdirection and I enjoyed the surprise of it, it added a nice layer to the mystery.

I like Caroline Linden’s books, but this has probably been my least favorite that I have read so far. I’ll be reading more book by her, but I will not reread this book.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing an eARC of All the Duke I Need by Caroline Linden with me. This is my honest review.

I voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy of this story.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't care for this story. I never engaged with main characters, I just didn't like them enough to root for their HEA. The story was confusing and one secret after another kept popping up. The ending was such a disappointment, it left me hanging. I wanted the ending to go further & it was frustrating.

#Netgalley #All the Duke I need #Desperately Seeking Duke #CarolineLinden #Avon

A great ending to this series. I really enjoyed all the tension to find out who would inherit the title and I loved Philippa and William too much.

A great enemies-to-lovers

I really liked this book. The characters are real and relatable. The story and setting make this a very good read.

💫 Book Review 💫
All The Duke I Need by Caroline Linden

If you saw my stories this past week, you know our hero is described as resembling a pirate and I was here 👏 for 👏 it!

Phillipa Kirkpatrick is the dowager Duchess of Carlyle’s Granddaughter. She helps manage the Carlyle estate and loves her home almost as much as she loves her grandmother and the Duke, her uncle.

William Montclair and his brother have moved to London from America to help build their father’s shopping business. To help earn more money, he takes a job as an estate steward for Carlyle.

William’s first impression with Phillipa and the Duchess was anything but good, causing shock and disdain. Phillipa noticed potential in William and acts as a liaison between him and her grandmother.

This is an enemies to lovers and a slight slow burn historical romance. I know I’ve said I’m not a fan of slow burn, but William abs Phillipa were worth the wait! I loved the secrets we waited to be revealed, the stolen kisses that peppered their way through the story, and the HEA.

I’ve never read anything by Caroline Linden, but now I am searching for her books!

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🔥🔥🔥.5/5
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Fantastic addition to an already great series. While I’ve read and loved everything Linden has written, the “Desperately Seeking Duke,” series is probably my favorite. Each book has had a completely unique story with characters who have diverse temperaments/stations/interests/values which is a feat in and of itself. Philippa, the ward of the current duchess, has lived on the estate most of her life. When William, the new steward, arrives she is attentive and concerned with his impropriety. Their banter evolves into the expected back-and-forth. However I think the great terms of this book, and also this series is that the family backstory is developed and well explained.

Overall, very enjoyable. Will was a delight to read. Phillipa was also fun--I wish she hadn't been English-ified so much, but I get why she was. Anyone moved to a new country at a young age is likely to lose a large bit of their heritage, I guess. I enjoyed the actual Duke. His parts were some of the most enjoyable of the book for me.
The twist wasn't as twisty as it wanted to be, I think. But it didn't detract from the rest of the story. The epilogue was anticlimactic for me, but that's a me thing.

Miss Kirkpatrick misses out on a topless William Montclair moment and thinks about it in “All the Duke I Need” by Caroline Linden, book three of the Desparately Seeking Duke series!!

I love the premise in which William goes to Carlyle Castle, but the real reason is due to a secret identity. In order to be able to stay as a steward at the castle, William has to be impertinent to his employer to keep hidden. I enjoyed that and read as fast as possible wondering why he did that and how he was allowed to stay.

I love how flirtatious William is with Philippa. Their romance was so fun and super sweet. If you enjoy different social classes and different ethnicities tropes, then this book is for you! I love the support Philippa received, especially from a piece of the past.

Linden’s use of a classic story or two in the book in order to reveal identity is so clever. I thought it brought charm and whimsy to the book.

If you believe in home is where the heart is, then you’ll enjoy this love story. And, the end of the epilogue will make you cry happy tears, it’s a great ending!!

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager US for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

A wonderful end to a delightful series. The characters are wonderfully well developed. This book has some great moments and an interesting plot with several twists. The chemistry between Philippa and Will was well done. I enjoyed watching watching how Will and Philippa's relationship developed. They went from fighting their attraction, to hiding it behind teasing. It then progressed to a lovely friendship and then to them realizing that they were in love with each other and trying to find a way to be together.

I liked all the interactions Will and the duke. They had a rather sweet friendship that I loved watching be built. There were some great supporting characters. I enjoyed Edwards (the attorney) and all his interactions with Will. I also like Will and how he interacted with the duke's valet Mr. Amis. The estate was almost a character of it's own. I enjoyed seeing Will interact with the tenants and other people on the estate.

I wished the epilogue was longer and there was more interaction between the characters at the end, as I really wanted to see more. I would recommend this novel and this series, I have really enjoyed each book in the series and I cannot wait to see what direction Caroline Linden takes us to next.


I received an ARC of this book through being in the Author's review group.