Thank you to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and Eva Devon for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Rating:3 stars

This book was very difficult to get into for me. The first fifty pages were quite boring and had very lengthy inner monologue. Other than this I really liked this book.
I absolutely adored Beatrice. She had such a strong personality, wit, and strength that one couldn’t help but adore. The moment William saw Lady Beatrice coming toward him at a ball he knew his life would never be the same. There was an immediate spark between the two of them. Once he revealed to her he was on her side, their fiery relationship was unstoppable. This was definitely one of my favorite scene in the book.

“Beatrice, we shall make London quake underneath our polished boots, for you and I can make the world sit up and take notice. Nothing will ever be the same.”

Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon
⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a light hearted read, but unfortunately I struggled to stay interested in it.

The history nerd in me felt the timing of somethings in the story was off as well, especially with society’s reaction (or lack thereof) to some of the main characters’ actions. Other things were small, but I would get stuck on them, such as the duke taking ice baths with “ice cubes”, which wouldn’t have been a thing at that time - maybe ice chips instead?

Overall, not bad, just not one of my favorites of this author!

Last year I read and enjoyed Eva Devon’s “The Spinster and the Rake”, so when I saw that she had another book in the series AND that it was based on Much Ado About Nothing, I knew I had to request it. If there’s anything to know about me it’s that I will consume anything even vaguely related to Much Ado About Nothing.

There were definitely plenty of things I enjoyed about the book. I really enjoyed Beatrice and Will’s banter, I loved all the little references to the original play, and I was really impressed with how Beatrice’s passion for social issues worked in the book. Trying to incorporate social issues into a historical fiction work can be difficult when some of the thoughts of the time don’t line up with our current prevailing philosophies, but Devon handled it well. I especially liked the ways in which Will was already on the side of women’s rights, but Beatrice pushed him to see and do more, and to become even better.

My biggest issue is that the romance just fell flat in the second half. I hate a marriage of convenience plot in historical fiction. I think if it had lead to a confession of feelings earlier on in the book it could have worked, but it ended up just pushing them further apart emotionally, which did not do it for me.

Overall I had a fun enough time reading it, but the second half of the book was a disappointment. I would not be opposed to reading more works by Devon, but I also probably won’t seek them out.

Let me start by saying it had been a very very long time since I read an Edwardian romance novel.

After reading thos one I have to say I've missed them, this really was the perfect book to bring me back to the favorite genre of my twenties.

With an instant attraction, Beatrice and Will had a fate that was sealed, the fact that they had the same beliefs was almost unheard if in that time, and that description of an electrical, time stopping, can form a coherent sentence magical first meeting set my heart a flutter.

It took them a while to get there and it was one heck of a fiery ride. One that was amazing to get lost in.

The descriptive storytelling had me visioning it in my mind, from that first party for Maggie and Kit all the way to the final kiss, it was a beautifully written story that let's you escape the crazy world we live in.

With everything I love about these books (language, love, politics, the inevitable blow up before the happily ever after) this one had all of the markings of a wonderful book and I loved every page of it.

If I could give this one 4.5 stars I would.

Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

Beatrice loathes the Duke of Blackheath, who ignores her letters and doesn’t want to use his considerable power to help further the causes of women’s rights. When her cousin becomes engaged to his brother, Beatrice and William are forced to spend time together, and she realizes he actually does believe in the same things as her. He’s willing to work with her, and oh yeah, he’s painfully attractive.

He’s also in that ever-popular category of Regency romance heroes who truly believes they can have a marriage based on a friendship and never fall in love, because they’ve vowed not to. Obviously, he’s wrong, and it’s a really fun ride to see how he finally realizes it.

I absolutely LOVED Beatrice. A ton of historical romance heroines are bluestockings, but she’s out there campaigning for rights, handing out pamphlets, and putting in the work. She asks William to teach her to box, and he does, because she’s a force of nature that he can’t say no to. For his part, William is principled and sweet and, though he makes mistakes, exactly the kind of support system Beatrice needs in her endeavors. We stan a hero who can readily admit when a woman is right AND that she looks great in spectacles.

William’s stubborn insistence that he wasn’t and never would be in love was dragged out a bit too long, even after it’s so obvious to the reader he’s already fallen. And I wasn’t convinced that his grand gesture at the end was something Beatrice would truly appreciate. But otherwise, this was a really fun book, with a lot of great chemistry and wonderful characters. I loved both of William’s brothers, and I would read a book about Ben tomorrow if it was available to me.

#books #bookstagram #netgalley #evadevon #muchadoaboutdukes

Interesting story with lovable characters. Unfortunately, there were parts I found boring as the story dragged and skipped them. But overall, I enjoyed reading it.
A strong female, who knows her mind and has a cause she is devoted to. Lady Beatrice just wants to talk to the Duke to convince him that fighting for women's rights is a worthy cause. It bothers her that she has no real power and the men who can actually change things are doing nothing. So, you can imagine her delight when her cousin falls in love with the Duke's brother, providing her with the opportunity she has been dying to get. But will things go her way?
A kind man who is trying to avoid war but it seems Lady Beatrice is determined to stir up trouble. When William is cornered by her, he knows what the problem is; she is too attractive and he can't help but feel mesmerized by her passion. He is a man who doesn't believe in love and he has no intention of ever getting married. There can be no future for them together. But will he be able to stay away from her?
Soon, the two will realize they have much in common and love is not as bad as they thought.
It's a good historical romance. Sometimes it gets too "political" for my taste but I'm sure, for many that will be a strong point in the book's favor. It's interesting to see history unfolding on pages as if it's happening right in front of us.

3 stars

This was a good solid three star read for me, despite what to me felt like rather a slow and awkward start. I fully expect that some part of this perceptions has to do with my own mood at the time. I currently find it very hard to read a book focused so hard on women's rights and how they were hard done by in history when I no longer feel so comfortably secure in the idea that I live in more enlightened times. That said, despite my own feelings on the topic at this time, I did come to like the passionate focus on those rights and on a hero who believed in them equally fiercely.

This story was not a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, despite the heroine's name and the title. Fortunately nothing in the description had led me to believe it would be so I was not the slightest bit disappointed by this. Though not a retelling, the play and some of its themes were an important and recurring part of the story and I did quite enjoy the allusions to one of my own favorite Shakespeare plays.

I did also very much like both of the main characters and a number of the side characters. Will was a delightful hero and his hurt and his anguish and his rather stubborn ideas about how to handle them really grabbed hold of my heart. And Beatrice quite suited her namesake without ever feeling unlikeable or beyond the pale in her stubbornness. I was rooting for both of them very hard, for Beatrice to get what she wanted and for Will to come to his senses and in that respect it did of course give me the joy I was looking for.

The characters were brilliant, the ending satisfying, and the story overall enjoyable. For me the negatives were simple. My interest wasn't fully captured until Beatrice's troubles arose and the plot escalated. From that point on it did a far better job of drawing me in. I have mixed feelings about the moment of resolution because of my own personal tastes, but found the overall ending quite satisfying. Overall this, my first book by Eva Devon, was a solid read. I will definitely consider picking up some of the other books in the series, but did appreciate that this one stood entirely alone quite well and I do not feel I've missed or misunderstood anything by beginning somewhere in the middle.

Feminist Beatrice meets stoic William and finds herself attracted to him. Neither ever plans to marry, but Beatrice finds she must when she learns she is suddenly penniless. I found it hard to swallow that she is not angry at the man who invested her fortune unwisely. I also find it hard to believe she would marry a man to save herself. Her cousin seems to be made of sterner conviction as she finds herself in a similar situation. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for my honest review.

Beatrice and Will…a sweet regency story, with nice themes of Shakespeare running through it. I quite enjoy when the story follows a couple past the marriage and into the happily ever after, and this one did not disappoint, though is it possible that she made Will a bit too perfect and thoughtful? :)

I had mixed feelings about this book. The heroine is a bluestocking, very independent, and never wants to get married because she doesn’t want to become the property of a man. The hero is a powerful duke, and believes he is bringing about change for the betterment of women and the poor. He doesn’t believe in feelings, because his mother left with her lover when her children were very young. This book was well written, the secondary characters added to the story, and the growth of the main characters felt believable. There was just so many thoughts and feelings, and very little action, the story felt so long and drawn out. I have not read anything else by this author, not sure if I will continue with the series.

Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon is the second book in the Never a Wallflower series. The genre of the book is historical romance and is set in London during the 1800s. Dukes are supposed to be staid and stern, projecting an emotionless demeanor. Such is the case with William Eaton, the Duke of Blackheath. Love is not conducive to marriage and to working toward change.

Beatrice is a fire breathing bluestocking determined to change the world, or at least the world of women being possessions of men. She writes letters and pamphlets, she leads demonstrations and is passionate about her cause. She knows she is lucky to have the time and money to follow her dreams. Until the money's gone. Beatrice knows she cannot survive on air and agrees to marry William the Duke of Blackheath. A perfectly respectable marriage bound by common goals and desires.

Until there is a family crisis, things are going along swimmingly. Until Beatrice uttered the words about love, that’s when everything fell apart… for good?

What a fun novel to read. I loved the passion of the two main characters, both for each other and for their causes. I thought the storyline was well thought out and moved along quite nicely. I think I really enjoyed Ben, the brother, the best of all the secondary characters. He was so refreshing. Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon was a fun read.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
For the most part I liked this book.

I do feel like it was a little slow and could have been shorter.
Beatrice is determined to never marry while she fights for the rights of women and children including the right to vote for women.
She has been writing letters to the duke, who so happens to be her cousin's fiancé's older brother.
Once the two meet sparks fly. Will is a champion of women but he will not marry for love because his mother abandoned them when he was a child.
I like the relationship between Will and Beatrice but I felt like both were very one dementional. For that reason I give this book 3.5 stars.

I knew going in that this book was going to feature a feminist character as the female lead. I generally try to avoid reading stories like this because they force modern ideas on people from another era. It was therefore very surprising that Beatrice ended up being an enjoyable character. She was an intellectual and her verbal sparring with the Duke was entertaining. William was an interesting character as well. He was actually a male feminist without realizing it. I found him to be more emotionally deep than Beatrice. The journey from Marriage of Convenience to Love Match was unique. I would encourage you to read this book if you enjoy feisty female leads that try to stick to their principles. You might not like this book if you prefer more traditional gender roles.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

“…she looked as if she was going to come over, grab him by the balls and lead him in the most merry of dances.”

Y’all let me tell you about Much Ado About Dukes. It’s fun, and clever and charming…and ..and…boy, can you tell that I really enjoyed this book! I simply loved the characters. All of them. Will and Beatrice are amazing together. Their chemistry is so strong it’s almost palpable. The push and pull between the two is potent. Kinda like watching two boxers going after the other in the ring. The way the two needle each other is pure joy to witness which left me with a constant smile on my face. What’s missing in “physical steam” is made up in the passionate verbal exchanges between our MCs and sometimes our supporting characters.

My only criticism is that at times, the story seemed bloated. I do love when authors provide additional background; however, too much background can slow down the process of the book. And on occasion, I found myself skipping over content that added to the overall word count, but not the story. That said, I’ve read Much Ado About Dukes twice…so evidently it wasn’t so bloated that I didn’t want to ready it again…and that’s despite it being a low-steam book.

Beatrice is an extraordinary woman. She’s a brazen bluestocking that’s bold and charming …fierce and passionate ..blunt and straight forward. She is in one word MAGNIFICENT! And she has absolutely NO plans to marry and become any man’s property. An advocate for women’s rights and a force to be reckoned with, Beatrice loves to fight for her fellow woman while plaguing the one man she believes can help her with her goals, the elusive Duke of Blackheath.

William Easton, Duke of Blackheath is powerful and wealthy, forceful and strong…and absolutely against love and marriage and anything remotely akin to feelings. Unfortunately for Will, he finds himself unwilling infatuated with the cousin of his brother’s betrothed, a woman he has admired from a far, but avoided like the plague.

Forced together due to the betrothal of family members, the two find they have more in common than they thought. And, when Beatrice finds herself in an uncomfortable situation, both she and Will must reevaluate their beliefs in order to forge agreeable alliance, one that could tear their worlds a part or take them on an amazing journey!

Overall…I can give this book a good four stars. Eva is an incredibly talented author and I love reading her material.
Much Ado About Dukes

Eva Devon
Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Protector, Bluestocking
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🔥🔥

William Easton, the Duke of Blackheath is a brilliant statesman with a bright political career and he has a secret that he would never confess to anyone and even tries to deny it to himself, that secret is he greatly admires Lady Beatrice Haven. She is smart, outspoken, unconventional, and unashamedly feminist, and since she is the cousin of the woman his brother hopes to marry, unavoidable. She writes to him constantly urging him to support women’s rights, a cause he is happy to support. William learned long ago that love is a myth and marriage is hell, so despite his attraction to the lovely Lady Beatrice, without offering marriage, there is no possibility of him acting on his attraction.

Wealthy, independent, and smart, Lady Beatrice has no desire to give the little freedom she is afforded to any man and she too has a secret, that despite all her protestations about men and marriage, she is a romantic and will settle for nothing less than a love match like her parents shared. And while the duke intrigues her like no man ever has, she senses a sadness in him and knows that he doesn’t believe in love, so logically, he is not the man for her. But when her circumstances change and William offers a marriage of convenience, she accepts and tries to keep her heart in check. But soon is it clear that she is falling for him and that her love will be the reason she loses him unless he can open his heart before their chance at HEA passes them by.

This was a very well-written, emotional story featuring a cast of very likable and relatable characters. The story has a secondary romance woven into Beatrice and William’s story, but it adds to the story rather than becoming a distraction, additionally, there is plenty of witty banter, interesting historical facts, lots of familial love, emotional healing, steamy love scenes, and finally a lovely HEA complete with an epilogue. I will admit that I wasn’t a big fan of Beatrice at the beginning, she was a bit too aggressive for my taste, but as the story unfolded, my opinion changed and by the end of the book, I greatly admired her. This is the second book in the series, but the books are very loosely connected and can be read as standalone titles. I enjoyed this story and am happy to recommend this title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Beatrice, our heroine, fights for rights for women and the underprivileged and thinks if you don't agree with her you're against her. Will, our hero, is in favor of taking the slow but steady approach to getting things done, and avoiding any emotion while he's at it. The two clash but not nearly for as long as they should before a marriage of convenience must take place. I'm a fan of historical romances, enemies-to-lovers romances, marriages of convenience, and women trying to get equal rights, but this book didn't do it for me.
Some of it was the pacing, some of it, I think, was the characters. Beatrice starts the book expecting to hate the duke, based on his lack luster responses to her letters about supporting her causes and her opinions on the aristocracy in general. Apparently she thinks between her writing and the romance between her cousin and Will's brother, the duke should just instantly change the world for her. Or at least agree to a meeting. So she hates him. Which makes me not so fond of Beatrice and think she's pretty arrogant, quick to judge, and not particularly in touch with reality. While she got a little more palatable as the book went on, she never really seemed to grow as a person, or change. Will had potential as someone who tries to keep himself separate from his emotions but struggles with depression and childhood issues, but then the depression part faded away and the childhood issues kept him rigid until the end.
Pacing flung them from enemies to friends to married to partners to disaster. There was far too much repetition over Beatrice's issues with society and how women aren't equals and are considered property. It worked well in conversations when she is actually showing Will something, but I ended up skimming the non-conversation parts that felt like I was being hammered with the same thing over and over. Same for Will and his fear of love. In conversation with his brothers or Beatrice it worked, but rolling around in his head over and over got old really fast.

Overall, the potential was there, but I didn't particularly enjoy the characters or feel like the story lived up to the potential ideas.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Ok so this book is a bit difficult to rate, so I'll jot down my thoughts and then decide on a rating.
The beginning of the book was pure RELISH. I loved the anticipation of their first meeting, how their preconceived ideas of each other had nothing on how they actually found each to be. I also really enjoyed every time Will and Beatrice were together, their witty dialogues and undeniable attraction to each other.
However, I grew tired of Beatrice's whole Women Are Not Given The Same Rights As Men and You Are A Duke So Everything Goes For You thing. I understand that she's very passionate about it, but to fault Will for not being conscious about this with every word that comes from his mouth, that was a bit much. Example:
<spoiler>
She - “But I am most busy today. Please forgive me, but I would prefer if you departed and came back at another time.”
He stilled. “Forgive me. I’ve behaved abominably, but surely we can—”
Her eyes sparked with passion. “You are a duke, and so your comment is perfectly natural, but not everything is about you, Will.”
</spoiler>
Dude, come on *eyeroll*.
Also, there seem to be pages and pages of roundabout-saying-the-same-things-over-and-over-again that had me skimming through the parts with no dialogues. Lots of skimming towars the end.
But the attraction though. The pining, the ✨️ache✨️. Very well-done. Sadly, the parts that I really enjoyed would probably come down to 25% of the whole thing, which is why this is only 2 stars for me.
Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Beatrice is a classic bluestocking--vibrant, passionate, and a strident proponent of the rights of women. She's not thrilled that her beloved cousin Margaret is getting marrying to a man she doesn't know overly well, but Margaret is in love and Kit is a good man. What Beatrice is even less thrilled about is Kit's older brother, Will. Seeing Will as pompous and arrogant, Beatrice can't stand the sight of him--whereas he is hopelessly attracted to her (though he insists that he's above love, of course).

But when an uncomfortable truth is revealed about Beatrice's guardian, she's left with few options... Aside from marrying the man who's always irritated her most.

This started so well! Beatrice is a bluestocking, yes, but she comes off as the kind of bluestocking that still has a lot to learn about the practical world, and Will is--for all his protests--hopelessly besotted with her from the jump. His attempts to keep himself in check while around her, all the while baiting her to argue with him, are extremely charming. They have great chemistry, and he does seem more educated about the world than she is. You learn pretty quickly why Will doesn't want to fall in love or even marry (hint: mommy issues), and it gives him a more realistically world weary vibe than Beatrice, and that makes sense given their places in the world.

I didn't even mind that the enemies aspect of their relationship faded pretty quickly. I was okay with that. Once Beatrice figures out that Will is also in favor of women's rights, they're friends. It steps up their marriage of convenience pretty well. It does, however, begin to chip away at the tension. Once Will and Beatrice are friends, there's no more sparring. They're just kind of comfortable. And she does know about his Secret Pain pretty immediately. It's one thing for the reader to know, but her knowing explains outright, if you think about it at all, why he has the issues he has in the book's third act.

Which is where it all falls apart. There is a third act issue, and I love a third act issue, but damn this was flimsy. And when that issue does occur, Will digs his heels in and Beatrice is the voice of reason and it's clear that we the readers are supposed to just agree with her and say "good job Beatrice! Good feminist! You are right, he is wrong, time for him to apologize, yay Beatrice!"

The thing is that without giving the issue away--it's probably not what you think--Beatrice is technically right. But Will is coming from a completely understandable emotional place, and if she took the time to think about it and consider his perspective rather than pontificating about her morally superior stance, she'd get that. If the book called her on this, I'd be like, okay, this is where she needs to grow.

But no. Instead, it seems like the book just sides with Beatrice entirely, and she doesn't need to grow. When only one character needs to grow, you're kind of left with a rather flat and unfulfilling story, regardless of how fun the beginning was.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Beatrice Haven, activists, independent, strong, loving, passionate person. She fights for women's rights.

William Leonidis Maximillian Easton, Duke of Blackheath, strong, determined, protector of his grown brothers. He fights for those who can't.

What happens when two people that fight for those that don't habe a voice clash? You will see once you read this dynamic story. It brings to mind all the struggles over the years for equal rights and what has been done but also how if you work together what can be accomplished.

From ballroom to parliament these two stove for a better world, however, you must not forget there is more to life that that. Through her creative writing Eva Devon has brought to life two wonderful characters and their family, the struggles, and all the feelings that go with it. The banter that these two have flows from Shakespeare to stubborn pride with great relish you will laugh and cry.

You can't go wrong with this compelling story that will make you want to fight right along side them. And wear britches while doing it!

5 stars for Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon

Much Ado About Dukes is the second historical romance in Eva Devon’s Never a Wallflower series. Each book of the series is standalone, and Much Ado About Dukes is delightfully fun, with strong and witty Lady Beatrice Haven fighting for women’s rights in London, England. Her nemesis-turned-friend, William Easton, the powerful Duke of Blackheath, is splendidly clever as well, so lively banter entertains throughout the novel.

Neither Beatrice nor Will ever wants to marry, so you can likely guess what happens. The reader’s journey to that destination is filled with marvelous dialogue, some emotional upheavals and a fair bit of pining and smoldering.

My favorite relationship in the book is not that of Beatrice and Will, despite how enjoyable it is to see their shared interest in human rights for all bring them together. Ms. Devon has created a wonderfully amusing and endearing relationship between Will and his younger brothers, Kit and Ben. They tease, they box, and they support each other with humor and love, sweeping the reader into cheerful contentment.

The novel is well-written and paced, though I would have loved if some of the content in the epilogue had been saved for a full sequel about two of their beloved family members. I will definitely be reading more of Eva Devon’s uplifting and humorous romances in the future.

Thank you @EntangledPublishing and @NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of #MuchAdoAboutDukes in exchange for my honest review. The expected publish date is August 23, 2022.