Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I had never read a Caroline Linden book before All the Duke I Need but I loved this romance. Seriously loved it.

From the hot leads to the hot chemistry between them, from the surrounding familial drama to the estate workings, from the cute little moments—throwing apple cores & walnuts to the almost-kisses—this book is a total delight.

Did I mention that one of the MCs is compared to a pirate in appearance & total charmer but is sometimes moved to blushes and/or stupification (is that a word?) by the heroine’s sass?!

Other things I love:

💛 Class difference. He’s an estate steward & she’s the duchess’s ward (& almost grand-daughter) & heiress.

💛 Secrets & a twist I didn’t anticipate

💛 A consideration of the brutality of colonization (though I wanted the consideration to be even more assertive)

💛 Angst. Kind of kidding here bc you might know I’m not one for angst but it’s really well done here & I could feel the pain & rawness of their separation.

This is a wonderful book & this couple made me so happy. I feel like I had the biggest smile in my heart/possibly on my face reading their interactions. So good!

5 ⭐️. Release date: 04/26


CWs: the heroine, who is Anglo-Indian, faces prejudice in London. Please read reviews by own voices reviewers.

[ID: an ebook rests on an open hardback on a small wood table. Behind it is a white & green vase with sunflowers & to the right is a black headboard & a white floral duvet cover & gray floral pillowcase.]

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

So, in this third book, while not necessary to read the previous books to understand this book, the previous books do offer the backstory.

The Carlyle estate is badly in need of a new steward, and Will Montclair is tasked with the position of helping get the estate in working order again. During his time at the estate, he meets Phillipa, a ward of the Duchess of Carlyle, and it isn't love at first sight. They bickered and fought over everything. Somehow, they begin to understand that they both are trying to help the estate, and she decides to show him the ropes. Will has secrets that threaten to upend his relationship with Phillipa and everyone else at the estate too.

The beginning of this book was slow paced and rambled on for me. It picked up in the middle of the book and then seemed to be rushed toward the ending. All in all, the third installment was ok for me.

I was surprisingly delighted by All the Duke I Need. This is third in a series that also includes a couple novellas but it can easily be read as a stand alone. American William Monclair is in London with his brother to set up a shipping office. Bored with the slowness of starting the business and wanting extra cash for the start up, he takes a job as land steward for Carlye Castle and the estate of the Duke. He is brash, hard working and sees much that has been neglected in maintaining the properties. His manners and suggestion that things have been ignored is enough to have the Duchess of Carlyle wanting him gone. She is aging and has managed the estate for 30 years since the death of her husband.

Phillipa is the Duchesses companion and step-grand daughter. Her father, a colonel brought her to England after the death of her mother. He married the daughter of the duchess. Although half Indian, Phillipa is an heiress and has been raised to be a lady although she doesn’t have the title. She loves the countryside, Carlye and her Grandmother. She is smitten by Will’s dashing pirate looks and tries to help guide him in his work acting as a buffer between him and the Countess.

This is a slow burn romance and there are times when I wasn’t sure why Will tries so hard to avoid time together. But they spar and share lovely conversations while riding the estate, visiting the unwell Duke and even fishing. As with many historical romances you think you know where things are heading but this one has some surprising turns. Phillipa is sent to spend time in London to separate them. And the final twist I didn’t see coming and results in my high rating.

I have read the previous book in the story and it might have been nice if there were updates on the previous main characters. But I was happy with Phillipa and Will finally expressing their feelings. The book has a wonderful ending, that may be too open for some readers. I’m not sure if this is the last in the series but if there is more I will gladly read it. The cover is wonderful with the dashing Will shown complete with his blue coat and sea captains boots. This is one of the few historical romances with a person of color as a heroine and I thought it was missed opportunity to not have her depicted as well. A big recommendation for historical romance readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (4.5 stars)

I received a digital arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There are aspects of this book that very much reminded me of The Secret Garden. The story is largely set in the country and we follow our hero as the new steward as he revitalizes the estate. There is an unseen unwell male shrouded in mystery that our hero eventually stumbled across and also has a positive improving influence upon.

Our heroine is the beloved step granddaughter of the duchess in residence. She loves her home in the country and is reticent to leave for London to do the season. Not least of which because she must deal with prejudice at her mothers being from India and her having browner skin than the average English lady.

There is a theme of mystery surrounding the heir to the dukedom. The romance is slow build, low to medium steam with only about 1.75 open door scenes. Minor enough to skip over if that’s not your thing. Trigger warnings - parent death, racial prejudice.

This is an author I have read before and I would say this is representative of her work if you’re a fan you will likely enjoy it as well. Personally I’m a huge fan of epilogues and there was one but this was a situation where I really wanted to know more about how things continued on and would very much have liked a second epilogue. It is by no means however a cliffhanger and at least all of the important parts are wrapped up. The characters were just really endearing and I would have liked to spend more time with them. 5/5

Philippa Kirkpatrick is one of the most eligible heiresses in England thanks to her connections to the dukedom of Carlyle through her step grandmother’s family. Having been raised at Carlyle Castle, Philippa is a country girl at heart and not eager to leave her beloved home, though the duchess is eager to see her married and settled.

American William Montclair is in London with his brother, tasked with expanding their family’s shipping company. But Will isn’t satisfied with the business and since they could use an influx of cash anyway, he takes a job as steward for the Carlyle estate, promising his skeptical brother that he’ll limit the position to a year only.

Philippa is thoroughly scandalized by the brash young steward and has her hand’s full stopping the duchess from sending him packing on his first day. She decides to teach him how to handle the duchess and other difficult figures around Carlyle, only to find herself unwittingly ensnared by his charms.

For his part, Will is coming to adore everything at Carlyle, especially Philippa. But he has his own secrets to keep and promises to uphold, even from Philippa, even if it means breaking both their hearts.

First off, I want to say I enjoyed this story on the whole and it kept my attention for the most part. That said, the heroine was pretty unlikable at first and definitely had to grow on me, simply because her initial behavior toward the hero was rude beyond belief. Both Philippa and the duchess were incredibly snobby and unnecessarily snappish and judgmental towards him, and this didn’t improve for quite some time. Luckily, Will was charming enough to me to hold my interest and once Philippa started to get to know him and changed her behavior towards him, I really loved her determination to be with Will and make things work no matter what. Considering he almost messed that up big time, her willingness to fight for their future happiness solidified the success of this story for me. I only wish that the story had been more balanced in terms of the secrets Will was keeping and their revelation. Though hints were dropped periodically throughout the story, the big reveal didn’t come till nearly the end and then it was just a lot of plot happening all at once and in conjunction with the culmination of the tension and attraction that had been building between Philippa and Will. I think those revelations deserved a bit more page time or at least more elaboration during the epilogue, which felt like a fairly abrupt ending to me. Everything ended satisfactorily for me, at least, but I would’ve liked just a bit more of it. Beyond that, I liked that once both Philippa and Will were on board with being together permanently, they made it happen and didn’t take no for an answer, I only wish that had happened sooner so I could’ve really enjoyed rooting for them.

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

Well! If that wasn’t the perfect ending to the series! I loved Philippa, both as a child and as a grown woman. She was capable and fierce in her love of her family. I also loved Will, who was determined to make the most of his time as steward to the duke’s estate. It was so wonderful to get to know the estate better, the land and the buildings and the people. And the way Will engaged with the old Duke was so incredibly sweet and gentle. Just….lovely.

Philippa is a half-Indian step-granddaughter of the Duchess of Carlyle (her father married the Duchesses daughter after her mother died). She is fully ingrained within the Carlyle family and is the closest companion to the duchess. She has been raised as a lady in all but in name. Will is the new land steward who shows up. Her first thought is that he looks like a pirate– A rakish American newcomer who unknowingly makes Philippa question the only life she’s ever know. Will has his own secrets he is hesitant to reveal and he only expects to keep the position for a single year, but we know things rarely work out as intended lol

At about 60% I thought I had guessed the twist– I didn’t. But after a while it all started piecing together. I really appreciated the hints that Linden sprinkled in throughout so it almost felt like I was figuring everything out alongside the character instead of just having it sprung on me as a big surprise. I do think some secrets could have been revealed sooner to not make it feel so rushed at the end, and I wasn’t really a fan of the open ending. I want to know what happens!

It takes a bit for the book to fully get rolling and exciting. I loved Pippa and Will together but at some points it felt like there was too much going on, especially as someone who hadn’t read the previous book. This is the third in a series and I read the first one years ago when it was released, but never the second. I think I would have appreciated and understood it more had I read them all together.

Caroline Linden is a solid author who I can rely on for any Historical Romance-- this book included.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thoughts and opinions are all my own.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Caroline Linden never misses.

All the Duke that I Need is no exception to that rule, with my hero of the year for 2022 thus far front and center and an appealing, spirited romance in the offering.  Her characters are alive and lively in a way that’s entirely unique to her, and the whole book was a joy.

Philippa – Pippa - Kirkpatrick is a lovely and eligible heiress, but so adores her home and is so deeply entrenched in the daily running of it that she has no desire to roam. She lives at Carlyle Castle, the seat of the Duchess of Kirkpatrick, who has been her guardian since the passing of her son-in-law, Pippa’s father at an unexpectedly young age. With one son mentally incapacitated and nearing death, one son dead in the Revolutionary War, and her daughter (Pippa’s stepmother, Jessica) long passed, the Duchess yearns for Pippa to find love and happiness of her own even as she is also searching for the heir to the dukedom of Carlyle. In the meantime, the estate needs a new steward, and when and when he arrives, Pippa’s world changes forever.

American William Montclair has taken the position at Carlyle to get out of his brother Jack’s way.  The twosome have been fighting over their shipping firm ever since their father sent both brothers to London to establish the English arm of their business; Will is not suited for office work, and Jack is not suited to shipboard travel, and they argue constantly about money and duties. Will reasons that he’ll only be gone for a year, enough time for Jack to comfortably get things in shape, and it’s unlikely their father will ever find out he was gone.

Will shows up at Carlyle on a mild spring day dressed dramatically and behaving quite forwardly, suggesting modernizations, repairs and improvements that raise eyebrows. He flirts openly with Pippa the second she meets him, and she is instantly fascinated by him but puts him in his place for making assumptions about her staff. Her unexpected boldness finds him equally smitten. Will lies about his background to everyone at Carlyle. He doesn’t expect to fall for Pippa, and he doesn’t expect to immediately clash with the proper Duchess (Will does not help his case by stripping in the courtyard and coming to meet his new employer dressed in  footman’s clothing after his clothes are ruined), which means Philippa must run some interference to protect his job. Promptly humbled, Will works to get into the good graces of everyone while trying to woo Pippa and do his job.  As the year rolls by, they begin to fall for one another.  Which means Will must choose between fleeing at the end of the year or staying – and risking telling Pippa the truth, which will likely disintegrate his hope of marrying her for good.

What a good romance, and more importantly what a couple of great character portraits.

Philippa (only the closest to her get to call her Pippa!) is smart, caring and resourceful. I loved her journey toward unraveling the duke mystery, and I loved watching her try to both love the duchess and forge a brand-new future for herself. Philippa is half-Indian, and how she feels about her lost mother, her late father, and her role in life as a half-white, half-Indian woman is beautifully handled. She knows her own mind utterly, and the romance she stirs up with Will is enchanting.

Speaking of Will - wow, did I love our hero! Will is zesty; he put me in mind of a lively type in the vein of a Carey Elwes.  He wants Philippa to like him so badly and yet has his own vulnerabilities, and struggles with difficult relationships with his father and brother.  Both he and Pippa are vibrant and jump from the page beautifully.

The romance is built on attraction, good banter, and strong commonalities,  just as all of Linden’s other romances are; watching Will and Pippa go from simple lust to true love is a great, fun ride.

Linden knows how to craft memorable, realistic supporting characters as well as memorable plotlines, and there are some wonderful supporting characters here. I adored how everyone else, as well as the omnipresent and wonderful duchess, is protective of Philippa

There is a mystery here connected to the overarching dukedom plot, and yes, if you know anything about the Rule of Three Part Book Trilogies, you likely know that Will’s part of the solution here. One doesn’t necessarily need to have read the previous books to understand what’s going on here regarding it, since Linden ably catches everyone up to speed early in the novel.

All The Duke that I Need is a darned fine romance, and a lovely book that stands among Linden’s best.

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This is the third book in the Desperately Seeking Duke series by Caroline Linden and I have to say, I enjoyed this one.

Phillipa and Will are the main characters and I thought they were both great. Their first meeting was great and the way Linden built out their relationship was well done. It was clear Will was hiding something but I have to admit I didn't even connect the dots until the last few chapters so there's that.

As the story unfolds, Pippa and Will realize just how much they care about each other and what they are willing to do / give up to be with one another,

I definitely recommend that people pick up this series. I can't wait to read what Linden puts out next.

She’s a duchess in all but name
Philippa Kirkpatrick has been raised at Carlyle Castle by her doting guardian, the Duchess of Carlyle. Preoccupied with the succession of the dukedom and the duke’s health, the duchess has left the estate in Philippa’s hands—and Philippa is determined not to let her down.
He's not a duke at all . . .
The arrival of a new estate steward should be a relief, but instead it threatens to upend everything. William Montclair is handsome, brash, and scandalously bold. The horrified duchess wants to sack him on sight. Philippa is just as shocked . . . but also, somehow, charmed.
But could he be her hero?
Carlyle cannot be her home forever, but Philippa is determined to leave it in good hands. She means to teach Will how to run the estate properly and love Carlyle as she does. The more time she spends with Will, though, the more she likes him . . . trusts him . . . even loves him. Unfortunately, she’s also more and more certain that Will is keeping secrets that could break her heart.
Philippa and William are meant to be! A couple who are meant to be have secrets that must be detrimental.
Is he the long lost heir or is it someone else.
Caroline Linden has written another exciting romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

If you've been following this series from the beginning, you probably have some idea what might be coming in regard to Carlyle and the search for heirs. I loved the way Caroline Linden played with this throughout the book and with the twist at the end. Will was utterly wonderful. He was snarky and a bit cynical, but also deeply good and devoted. You could absolutely understand why Philippa loved him. Philippa took me longer to warm up to because of the way she scolded and pushed back against Will at first. But as she got to know him rather than just spouting what the duchess wanted, I grew to like her too. Like Will, she is kind and loyal. They really make a great pair, and their Happy Ever After feels very real. The glimpse of Will's family at the end felt almost like a teaser, and I hope we'll get to see more of them in future books.

Unfortunately, this book was so boring for me. Nothing happens in the beginning and by the time the book begins to pick up, I don't really care about the characters anymore. I wish the author had gotten to the action and the secrets sooner. Something that stood out is why would Will have a French accent in the beginning. He's American! Sorry to say that I don't think I'll be reading any more books in this series.

A handsome man with a slight French accent and pirate-y looks. Could it get any better? Yes! Will is tired of the shipping business, tired of his brother's nagging, tired of trying to work in an office. He takes on a job as the steward of Carlyle Castle, intending to stay only one year. He sends money back to his brother to help their finances until the shipping business is established. He finds all kinds of maintenance issues at Carlyle, a Duke who doesn't ever appear, servants who never speak of him, and the Duke's mother who seems to be in charge. And her honorary granddaughter that Will falls hard for. The Carlyle family have their secrets, but so does Will. There is an unexpected twist at the end that I never saw coming. I totally enjoyed this book!

This was the perfect ending to this series.

It was nice to get a little bit more on Pippa and the duchess. Will and Pippa were great together. This book had a few surprises which were great. It didn't feel too predictable.

While being a good story, I did find the whole situation with the how the Duke was related to everyone a bit confusing at the beginning. I'm reading thinking that the Duke is married to the Duchess and not her son and ended up thinking that him being mentioned as Pippa's stepmom's brother was wrong until I got about halfway through and it's explained more fully that the Duke is the Duchess's son..

Without giving anything away I did wish for the epilogue to include the Duke and both the captain and Max and their respective wives.


Thank you to Avon, HarperCollins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read early.*

This book took me 5 days to read and this is not at all normal for my reading speed. It was way too slow burn for me. I could see where it was headed from 5 chapters in but it just took so long to get there. Even the smutty bits couldn't save this for me. By the time we got there I was so bored they did not even interest me.

I have not read the other two books in this series but after looking them up I still think this one could have benefitted from a prologue explaining some things so we didn't have to have them pop up in the main story line.

The French wasn't italicized and I'm not sure if that will happen in a finished copy but it should be.

I really think this book could have been shorter than it was.

All the Duke I Need by Caroline Linden is a delight! This book is the third installment of a series with an arc threaded through them all. The Carlyle estate is in need of an heir. This book is meant to unveil a mysterious family connection being tracked down.

The book mainly takes place on the Carlyle estate and I felt like Linden took me on vacation to the English countryside. Our main characters are lovely. Phillipa, a ward of the Duchess of Carlyle, is actually family through her father's marriage. She pretty much runs the household and cares very deeply for our family. She can be a spitfire but is willing to do anything to help the Carlyles and the people who depend on them.

Our hero is Will Montclair, an American who has taken on the job of steward at the Carlyle estate. Will seems to have many family secrets and is a bit at odds with everyone at first. I love Will and Phillipa's bickering sparks. Will is very sincere and cares for everyone. His brother runs the family shipping business in London and Will is eventually pulled in that direction.

This novel is very slow burn. Highly recommend the series for historical fans looking for some easy reading. The ending was great! Hope there is more in the series!

I received an ARC and all opinions are my own. #AllTheDukeINeed #NetGalley #CarolineLinden #Avon

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Carlyle estate is badly in need of a new steward, and Will Montclair is tasked with the position of helping get the estate in working order again. During his time at the estate, he meets Phillipa, a ward of the Duchess of Carlyle, and it isn't love at first sight. They bickered and fought over everything. Somehow, they begin to understand that they both are trying to help the estate, and she decides to show him the ropes. Will has secrets that threaten to upend his relationship with Phillipa and everyone else at the estate too.

The beginning of this book drug on and on for me. I kept picking it up and putting it down. It never really caught my attention because literally nothing was happening. The second half got better, but by then I was just kind of over reading it. I didn't like any characters except Will in the beginning. The Duchess was awful and Phillipa kind of got on my nerves, Finally after 60 percent or so, Phillipa grew on me a little bit.

I wish secrets would have been revealed sooner, there is some confusing things in the book like who Will's father is because they call him two different names. I still don't know if that's a typo or if I'm just missing something. If you're in the mood for a low angst read then this might be up your alley. I just found myself wishing for something a little more special to happen especially with how much I adored the last book.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review! All the Duke I need is pretty much your run of the mill hisrom. I loved the diversity in this book and the back ground set up from the first two. You can treat this as a stand alone though!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, and after reading the first two books, I was really interested to see how the series would finish up.

Philippa, the heroine is half Indian and part of the ducal family by marriage, and Will, the hero, is French-American. It's an interesting pairing in how they come at the managing of the ducal estate through different backgrounds, and they are lovely together on page. I imagine that it was a challenging book to write because you can already guess, if you've read the first two books, that the hero of the third book has to be the real heir... and so Linden really leans into the character elements. For me, that worked immensely well.

The resolution and the twist at the end happen quickly, and that also didn't really bother me because of the knowledge you go in with as the result of the series. I thought the ending was also really lovely.

This was a satisfying conclusion to this series--one that both builds on the stories and characters that came before and is a good standalone.

Will Montclair takes a position as a steward for the Duke of Carlyle despite being in London with his brother to expand their family's shipping business. He plans to only be in the position for a year at most, yet he gets wrapped up in the Carlyle estate and family almost at once--and despite his best efforts to keep his distance. Hardest of all is staying away from Miss Philippa Kirkpatrick, the duchess's step-granddaughter and beloved companion. As he and Philippa skirmish and then grow closer, and as Will become more enmeshed in the estate and its people, he begins to wonder whether he should defy his family and reveal secrets that could change his life forever.

Will and Philippa have great chemistry, and it's fun to watch them work to figure each other out. Philippa finds him piratical and attractive, yet bristles at his quick judgments and refusal to follow advice or behave. Will alternately tries to charm and hold Philippa at arm's length, knowing he can (or should) not stay at Carlyle forever. They wrestle with their attraction, and even after giving in, still need to figure out whether its possible for them to be together. Independently, they are also lovely, complex characters: Will is kind and hardworking if a bit mysterious even to the reader, and Philippa is loyal, intelligent, and determined. Great characters on their own, and great characters together.

Ratcheting up the tension, of course, is the poor health of the current duke and the hunt for a suitable heir that has been driving this series. We've met two of them in the past installments, both of whom would be good dukes but are well-situated in their current lives with their new loves. In those books, we met the imperious duchess before those potential heirs went off to establish themselves. Here, we become better acquainted with the family at the heart of this desperate hunt, and the urgency behind the heir hunt feels more tangible as the duchess, Miss Kirkpatrick, and the duke himself become central characters.

Highly recommend!