This was a charming and heartfelt romance between Lady Myrtle McQuoid and the widowed the Duke of Aragon, Val Bancroft,.

While I typically enjoy a bit more steam, the emotional connection between Val and Myrtle more than made up for the ‘told off page’ physical relationship.

The joy Myrtle relished in when being herself with Val and being listened to, was captivating. The only thing better was when discovering that Val was deeply in love with his first wife. All too often a prior spouse is made into a villain to make the current romance work. Val’s love for first wife enhanced the love story between him and Myrtle.

Absolutely lovely!

They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery... in this case, it is basically an insult.

The author took liberties with Home Alone and some Austen influences and presented us with this - which is a rather boring book. I am not sure if this just didn't connect for me because I am not a Home Alone fan, or because the premise of a robbery at Christmas in Regency-era England is no one's cup of tea. I felt bored for most of my read and finishing it was a slog. I would not recommend this book to any friend.

Myrtle, the main character, was a shade past quirky and right into preposterous for me, which definitely made this harder to enjoy. The widower next door, Val, was also a miss for me.

More original ideas, less transportation of plots please!

I received this as an eARC, thank you! I would rate this 3.5 stars if there was an option.

This book is what would happen if Home Alone and Bridgerton had a baby. The Duke Alone was overall a sweet short read and would even better read around the time of year the book is set, during Christmas holidays.

Pros:
HEA
Few triggers (mild flashbacks of death, child loss)
Likeable characters
HORACE
Multiple POVs
Nostalgic time of year
Slow burn (spiciest part is at like 90%+)

Cons:
Lacked depth
Story felt rushed
I wanted more worldbuilding/detail of the Regency era

It might depend on the reader but the story seems familiar (sometimes familiar is nice, sometimes you are looking for something new). Also, I feel like I so rarely see Scottish characters I wish there was more of that thrown in.

#TheDukeAlone #NetGalley

The Duke Alone is a holiday historical romance written by Christi Caldwell. It’s a mix of home alone and grumpy/sunshine neighbor romance. This book is a slow burn, closed-door romance.

Myrtle is the forgotten child whose parents are too busy to give her attention. She is sent off to boarding school when she starts playing pranks on her family members to get attention. When she comes home for the holidays, she finds that her family is going to the country while their London home is being repaired. When she returns, she meets the Duke of Aragon, who is grumpy and prickly. She peeks into his windows to see if the rumors her cousins told her about him are true and they begin their relationship from there.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this book. One being Myrtle’s age, she turns 18 in the book. She is young not only physically but mentally as well, even though she reminds herself throughout the book that she has to be grown up now because she was sent to boarding school. Also, even for a holiday romance, there was an enormous amount of singing of Christmas carols done by Myrtle.
I couldn’t believe that she was left by her parents. I know that that is part of the plot but that made the ending with her parents so incredibly unbelievable. Also, I don’t think the “home alone” plot was ever discussed with her family, which would have helped the cohesion of the story in my opinion.
I did like the Duke’s storyline with his brother. I think the portrayal of grief was well done and I really appreciated how understanding his brother was. Overall, an okay read.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC.

A light, fun mash-up of Pride & Prejudice and Home Alone. Likeable characters, closed-door romantic scenes, some plot threads left hanging by the end. A fun read for Christmas vacation!

3.5 Stars! Cute and entertaining story, however unbelievable. Myrtle and Val are the two main characters and complete opposites. Both have pretty sad lives. And there just so happens to be some bad guys who are going to break into the house that Myrtle was left at all alone. Why wouldn’t a servant have been left behind to oversee the home reno? This book definitely has ‘Home Alone’ vibes, but that part of the story felt unfinished, almost like an unneeded afterthought. I wish the end had been more drawn out with more answers to my questions, such as ‘how did Myrtle and Val react when they met up with Myrtle’s whole family?’ Or ‘What happened to the robbers?’. Other than that though, it was an enjoyable read.
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

Often overlooked Lady Myrtle McQuoid has been forgotten by her boisterous family when they leave London for the country at Christmas. Myrtle just needs to distract herself until her relatives realize their mistake and return for her.

Brooding widower Val Bancroft, the Duke of Aragon, has shut himself off from the world with his dog and has no interest in the chattering of the joyful, opinionated young woman next door.

This is basically Home Alone tuned into a romance, complete with its own Harry and Marv interested in stealing precious artifacts while the family is away over Christmas. The thief plot is definitely secondary to the romance, though.

Myrtle has been neglected and resents being the only child sent
away to school, and she resents still being seen as a child by her family. But at just turned 18, I did find her immature and insecure. I found it hard to like her because she was so chatty and naive. There were a lot of whiney “nobody notices me” moments.

Val is haunted by the brutal death of his wife and has closed himself off from everyone, even his jovial younger brother. Sidney’s attempt to get Val to join in Christmas activities gives him a Fred Scrooge vibe. Val is a fully developed character and you could see him slowly come to tolerate, then admire, and then love Myrtle—although she’s so innocent I couldn’t understand why someone who had seen so much could be charmed by her. Myrtle seemed to be attracted to him because he was kind and paid attention to her, unlike her family.

Maybe because it was set around Christmas, but there were some religious undertones I wasn’t expecting and it was closed door. And the romantic payoff was a bit of a letdown given the P&P quote as a proposal. This is a likable story about someone finding a second chance at happiness, but Myrtle just seemed so young for a thirty year old widower that it made me uncomfortable.

This sweet romance between Lady Myrtle McQuoid and Val Bancroft, the Duke of Aragon, Myrtle feels overlooked in her large, boisterous family a feeling that only worsens when she wakes up to discover that her family has forgotten her - they left for their country house without her! The only other person around is the brooding, grumpy neighbor next door. Christi Caldwell has created a delightful holiday story, a perfect book for a cold winter night.

Val is a reclusive Duke. He lost his wife because of a terrible accident. Myrtle lives next door. She feels like she is not loved by her family. Her parents sent her away to finishing school. Her family is planning to go to their estate in Scotland for Christmas because there are renovations needed in their home in London. On the day of departure her family forgot her and left her behind by herself with no help. She tries to become friendly with her neighbor the Duke. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. She needs his help. He finally agrees to help her. That includes helping her fight off thieves. He finally decides to take her to her family in Scotland. Their trip brings them closer together.

This book is well written. It kept me wanting to turn to the next page. The hero is brooding and sad. The heroine is strong and capable. She survives being left alone, when she has never been alone before. I hope there will be more books about these families.

As always, a good book by Christi Caldwell. An excellent romance with twists and turns and likeable, strong characters.

As always. I was excited to read a new book by Christi Caldwell. I was not disappointed. I will admit to being a bit skeptical at first at the Home Alone type plot but the brillant author she is, Christi did a fabulous job and soon the movie fell from my mind. Val and Myrtle are now apart of me and I want to read more about the brooding Duke and his forever cheerful neighbor. The characters were both so well-written and having his dog Horace in the story was an added bonus that I enjoyed.
This book was very entertaining and mostly fast paced. I read it with only a few breaks. Some passionate kisses brought a little heat to the story. The ending was a little rushed, but overall no complaints from me. I look forward to more books from Christi.

I received this book from NetGalley and Montlake Publishing for an honest review.

Taking place during the Christmas season, this story is essentially a reimagining of Home Alone with some adult emotional struggles, dealing with past grief, and coming to terms with new love. It was a sweet story with some heavy, emotional themes, but it was also fun and quirky like the main heroine, Myrtle. Has a little bit of that Christmas, holiday cheer mixed in, and some holiday songs I was unfamilar. Overall, it was an easy, sweet read.

The Duke Alone proved to be a very sweet romance that I greatly enjoyed reading. Val and Myrtle was a couple that I found myself cheering for as I read along. However the use of language was a major turnoff to me, so I could not give this book 5 stars. I felt that the use of language was not needed in this book.
The romance is only somewhat clean. There is nothing too overly descriptive and steamy, but some suggestiveness and descriptions.

Home Alone is one of my favorite movies ever, so I really got a kick out of reading The Duke Alone. I also love a good old reclusive hero but I was disappointed by the lack of steamy scenes. Regardless, this was a cute Christmas tale!

3.5 out of 5 stars rounded up :)

Not my favourite, but still very sweet!! I really love Christi Caldwell's writing, but I think that the reason for my not loving this one as much as her other works is because I'm not a fan of Christmas romances (I am literally the grinch lol). However, I did think that the plot was clever. Myrtle's and Val's chemistry was lovely and it was a perfect blend of grumpy-sunshine... Val being all closed off and grumpy, and Myrtle being the bright bubbly energy that that broken man needed!!

Such a cozy book, and if holiday romances are your thing, pick this one up!!

“There’d been a heat the likes of which she’d never known before. Nay, not heat; heat would have been the candles upon her cake. This had been an all-out burning within, one that had started like the slow kindling of a fire and had grown, overtaking her, and she’d been content to burn.”

I’m a sucker for a good Duke book and this one did not disappoint. Myrtle finds herself accidentally left behind by her family during Christmas time (think Home Alone in 19th century London) and turns to her neighbor for company, who just happens to be a lonely, reclusive Duke.

I liked that this book had a subplot besides the budding romance between the two main characters and showed Myrtle trying to protect her home from thieves who knew her family was going to be out of town (I’m not kidding about the Home Alone vibes).

If I’m being honest I was surprised by the lack of steamy scenes in this one, but the banter and relationship between Myrtle and Val is so pure you don’t even miss it. This would be a great book to add to your Holiday TBR!

Sadly, I really did not enjoy this book and that was mostly because it was very unoriginal because of its influence by Home Alone and Pride and Prejudice. To start with, the entire book is an homage to Home Alone, but instead of Kevin, the person left alone is eighteen year old Myrtle, abandoned during the holidays and wouldn't you know it: two robbers are staking out the place. On top of that, the next door neighbor, is Val, a duke who is the subject of gossip about how bloodthirsty he is and thoughts that he might of killed his previous wife.

From then on, it basically follows the plot of Home Alone except that instead of creating elaborate ways to fool the thieves, Val never really believes what Myrtle is saying about them, and Myrtle never really takes action against them. It's mostly just an afterthought despite being the so-called plot of the novel. Even once the thieves plot is wrapped up, the originality still never surfaces, with even the final love confession being a quote entirely from the love confession of Pride and Prejudice without an original word spoken.

It also doesn't help matters that Myrtle seems so young throughout all of this. She reacts to things like a child and routinely has to remind herself that she's a grown woman which makes the entire romance feel unbalanced and awkward.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A "Home Alone" retelling! Lady Myrtle is left behind by her family during the holidays. She has to ask her neighbor Val, Duke of Aragon for help. Of course they fall in love in the midst of danger and holidays cheers. :) She is the sunshine and he's the grump.... Yes, it has been done but not as fun as this. :) A wonderful, fun holiday historical rom-com. :)

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This was such a fun read.
Lady Myrtle McQuoid feels ignored and overlooked by her large family. Especially when she realizes that they have forgotten to take her with them to Scotland for Christmas. Leaving her alone in the house with robbers trying to break in.
Lord Valentine Barcroft Duke of Aragon wants nothing more than to be left alone with his dog in his misery mourning the death of his wife and child. But Myrtle keeps interrupting his peace and becoming friends with his dog.
I don't think I have ever read a Home Alone retelling but I really enjoyed this one. I loved Myrtle and Val together. She's the sunshine heroine to his grumpy hero and I am here for it. I love all of Christi Caldwells books but this is one of my favorites from now on.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.