Summary:

Cecile Trembley is a French markswoman who makes her living running a circus. She and Guy Darlington have history, in that they used to be lovers. Guy wanted to set her up as his mistress, which insulted Cecile, causing her to break off their relationship, and all contact. Now Guy has returned, sans fiance, sans title, and he wants Cecile back too.

Some background:

I came into this book with high expectations because I am a fan of Minerva Spencer's (though I'm a bigger fan of her pseudonym she uses for erotica, S.M. LaViolette). Her plots are always excellent, the sex is usually pretty great too, and there's always something a little subversive about them. Reading the blurb for The Dueling Duchess convinced me it would be along the same vein, so I was excited to start.

My review:
I knew it was a good sign when I read that the heroine was thirty-six, and the hero was four years younger. This is definitely something of a pattern I'm seeing in historical romances (recently in The Portrait of a Duchess by Scarlett Peckham), and I personally really enjoy it because it usually means the heroine is more level-headed in her approach to intimacy and sex because they have experience.

The plot itself was a *little* convoluted, both in content (Titled Man joins circus to find a friend's relative during the Hundred Days, has affair with markswoman, they part ways unhappily, but now he's back because he needs a job; But also, I've long since stopped caring about how improbable a story is since this is historical romance and all I need to be sold on is the romance of it all) and in structure, but still easy to follow along. There's a "present" section, then a "past" section (we see how Guy and Cecile first met), and another "present" section where most of the plot occurs, and we see what happened after the fallout of Cecile and Guy's affair, and what happens why Guy is rehired as a stagehand in the circus just so he can win back Cecile. Honestly, I respect that level of desperation.

SPEAKING of desperation, I appreciate that this was pretty much a book-long grovel. As far as the egregiousness of Guy's actions, it was pretty standard aristocratic fare ("I can't marry you because Money so will you be my mistress?" *cue slap in the face), but Cecile's feelings matter too, right? So when the tables have turned, you really can't fault Cecile for taking advantage. And hey, he consents to the menial labor and whatnot.

Something else I also appreciated was that Cecile does, in fact, have a lover during the time Guy is trying to "woo" her back while working for her. It's very "how the turns tables" of Minerva when it comes to genre conventions. It's not like Cecile is with Guy at the time, right? She has the right to do as she pleases, and if that means aggressively making out with this other man in front of Guy even after rejecting other man's marriage proposal, then so be it.

The sex:
Fabulous. Fantastic. Well-written. Hot. The give-and-take they have going on during sex is great. She's a little imperious and a little bratty at once. He's a little unhinged but also definitely likes being ordered around. There's roughness and there's tenderness where it fits (and "good girl". Many a "good girl"). It was the best I've read in a long while.

Overall:
I adored this book and would strongly recommend it for anyone looking to read a regency romance set outside the ballroom. It's a book that definitely keeps you on toes all the way. Apart from the romance (which I loved loved loved), I also like how Minerva interwove feminism and the very real trials of being a woman, in this case a female business owner, in that era. There's also a significant found family vibe (the circus is pretty much one big family, plus Guy and Cecile take in a street urchin) in this book, and Minerva did a decent job of setting up her next book The Cutthroat Countess, which I'm very excited to read next.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

*Note: This ARC review will be posted on my blog a month before the book is published, on April 23rd.

First the positives, I don't think I've ever read an historical circus based romance, so kuddos for coming up with something new but... Honestly, I don’t know how to review this book. I have read and enjoyed many Minerva Spencer books in the past but if I didn’t know better I would assume someone else wrote this one. I can’t even begin to describe what a mess this book was. There were too many characters, too many plot threads, too many of those threads tied up neatly with pretty little bows and just not enough decent romance. And it was missing Ms Spencer’s signature steam. I had to skim most of the book because it also had too many pages with nothing happening.

Minerva Spencers Regency - Romane sind mein guilty pleasure! Nachdem mich die Reihe rund um die bürgerlichen Bellamy Schwestern nicht so recht begeistern konnte, ist die Reihe rund um Frauen, die auf einem Jahrmarkt als Teil eines Wanderzirkus‘ ihr Geld verdienen, ganz nach meinem Geschmack! Mit „The Dueling Duchess“ liegt nun der zweite Band vor. Band eins rund um Marianne und den Aristokraten „Sin“, der einen ausgeprägten Gerechtigkeitssinn hat, habe ich geliebt. Es gefiel mir auch, dass die Autorin im Nachwort aufzeigte, wo sie sich historische Freiheiten nahm (es geht u.a. um Napoleon), die meisten Autoren lassen es unter den Tisch fallen, sobald es ahistorisch wird. In diesem zweiten Band geht es um Manon Cecile, die schießwütige Artistin, und Guy. Guy ist der Liebling der Klatschpresse, es heißt, dass er sogar vor verheirateten Aristokratinnen nicht Halt macht. Cecile verschlingt die Gerüchte, besonders spannend finde ich aber ein wahres historisches Detail – Karikaturen (und Flugblätter) erfreuten sich tatsächlich großer Beliebtheit! So kann man en passant noch etwas lernen.
Den Handlungsverlauf fand ich aber fast ein bisschen zäh, was daran liegt, dass anfangs die gleiche Rahmenhandlung wie in „The Boxing Baroness“ präsentiert wird. Man macht sich von England auf nach Frankreich, um Sins Bruder Benjamin zu suchen. Das habe ich alles schon gelesen, der Unterschied ist, dass im zweiten Band der Reihe eben ein anderes Paar im Fokus steht – Guy und Cecile. Es gibt spannende, romantische und natülich steamy Szenen. Man darf also nicht prüde sein, sonst wird man an der Lektüre keine Freude haben. Insgesamt ist „The Dueling Duchess“ eine unterhaltsame Geschichte, „The Boxing Baroness“ gefiel mir jedoch besser, die Figurenzeichnung fand ich im ersten Band gelungener und die Rahmenhandlung hat mich (da völlig unbekannt) nicht gelangweilt.
Fazit:
„The Dueling Duchess“ fand ich nicht so mitreißend geschrieben wie den ersten Band der „The Wicked Women of Whitechapel“ (Alliteration, anyone?) – Reihe. Ich denke, dass mich der dritte Band wieder begeistern wird. Ich freue mich schon auf Blades Geschichte.

I didn’t know quite what to expect going into the new Minerva Spencer. All I knew is that I would probably love it, and boy, she nailed it (pun intended).

The premise of the new Minerva Spencer is different. I will be honest, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was written by Minerva Spencer, I probably wouldn’t have read it. That being said, I am very glad I read it because it was a good one!

The heroine is an orphaned French refugee who is forced to become a circus performer. The hero is a swoon worthy Duke who ends up working for the heroine at the circus, who seemingly gives up everything to be with her. The heroine is strong, fiercely independent, and isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. Minerva Spencer has a special talent for writing strong, passionate, yet vulnerable women, who learn to navigate (and succeed) during a period of time that’s so dominated by men.

My only complaint - the book wrapped up too quickly. I needed at least another 50 pages to fully resolve the plot.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this ARC. Publication Date May 23, 2023

The Dueling Duchess is the second book in Minerva Spencer’s The Wicked Women of Whitechapel’s series.

I really enjoyed the unique premise of this story. So often, female characters in historical romances with similar pasts to Cecile are treated very differently to how Cecile was. It was really refreshing to see a different take on that storyline. When Guy, the Duke of Darlington, returned to try to win Cecile back, I was surprised because again that doesn’t seem to happen often in the his rom’s I normally read.

I enjoyed quite a few elements of this story: Cecile’s unique job and background, her having a lover after Guy leaves her the first time, and how her past plays a part in her story.

However, I thought there was almost too much happening in the story. It felt like there was not enough time to flesh out all the subplots and I think the main character’s chemistry really suffered for that. I didn’t feel as strong of a connection to the character’s as I did to the first book in the series.

However, because of the many unique and refreshing twists and turns in this story, overall I did enjoy it. 3.5 stars

Thanks to Kensington Books, Netfgalley and the author for an ARC of this book - I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to reading this book. I absolutely loved the Boxing Baroness and as soon as I received a copy of the Dueling Duchess, I felt like it was my lucky day.

I love the way this author set up Cecile and Guys story during the first book. Their affair in the last book provides context to the anger that Cecile feels towards Guy at the beginning. The plot is full of twists and turns as we find out more about Cecile's past and what she has had to endure to get to be the successful business woman that she is.

I loved her strength of character and her 'take no prisoners' attitude. I also love the way that Guy acknowledges his deeper feelings first -that and the fact that he is so honourable.

I loved the other characters as well, especially Cat, Helen and George - I hope we hear more about them in the future.

And lastly, I cannot wait for the Cutthroat Countess - Josephine Brown is so intriguing and I loved Elliott from the first book. The next one promises to be a cracker of a book, just like this one!

another gem of a book. I liked this one a lot. glad that i was able to get the book to read ahead of time. Thank you net galley for that. I will read more.

I just reviewed The Dueling Duchess by Minerva Spencer. #TheDuelingDuchess #NetGalley

What an enjoyable read! I would highly recommend reading the first book (The Boxing Baroness), as even though this one can be read without reading the first in the trilogy, it would definitely have made a few things easier to follow if I had read the first book before the second.

The book begins in France, when Cecile is only fourteen years old and fleeing France with her father after the start of the French Revolution. We soon jump forward to 1815, when Cecile is a member of the Farnham Female Fayre. The storyline then jumps around a little between 1815, when Gaius Darlington, Lord of Carlisle (Guy) and Cecile first meet, and 1816, when Guy comes back to Cecile in need of a job after losing his estate and title.

The book is well written, although there were several old-fashioned terms I actually had to look up. Kindle’s dictionary really earned its keep with this one!

The series reminds me of Bridgerton, but with distinctly more boxing, shooting, knife throwing, and talking ravens. And yes, it’s exactly as enjoyable as it sounds.

A solid four stars, with one taken off as I struggled with the mixed timelines at the beginning of the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Minerva Spencer's historical novels are such a treat! I thoroughly enjoyed this one, rooted for the characters, and had a lot of fun.
Well developed plot and characters, interesting social remarks.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This was such an exciting read!! This book is part of a series. One thing that remains the same is a 'tour of the continent ' that Farnham's Female Fayre makes, right as Napoleon escapes from Elba and the caravan is stuck in France, trying to get home. This author has me on tenderhooks because she is only giving out small parts of the tour in each book. But we know that the whole tour was exciting and adventurous based on how the books are written. This review may contain spoilers.
The author separates the book into before the tour, during the tour, and after the tour and she dedicates each book to a certain couple, but they are all part of the whole circus, travelling and in London.
This book contains romance and spies and sharp shooters and knife throwers and actresses and fun and body guards and the best part are the amazing women who refuse to allow marriage be the only option they have.
The heroine is a sharp shooter who runs and co-owns the Fayre. The story starts with her youthful escape from France during the revolution. She is 14 years old and her father actually dies on the trip as they are rowing over to England during a storm. The two men who were hired to row them over were hit by lightening and she is lucky to float to shore and goes to live with her many times removed cousin. This heroine is one of the most unlucky females. She is taken advantage of by her cousin and actually has to move to the colonies for a number of years. She returns to England and is hired as a sharp shooter. But she is smart and has learned from all of her experiences.
The hero is a Marquess who inherits a Duke-dom and is travelling incognito with the Fayre to try to rescue his best friends brother. His best friend is a duke and he is also hiding as a worker in the Fayre. The heroine recognizes the men through their disguises the minute she meets them. She has been following the exploits of the hero in the gossip columns for years. The heroine is intrigued by the hero, but refuses to chase him like most women; she just uses him for target practice.
I cannot wait for the next book in the series. Once they are all written, I will put the collection on my keeper shelf. This book was one of my favorites, in large part because of the age of the heroine. She is 36 years old. In the previous book, the heroine was 21 years old and I thought that was kind of young. In the next book, the heroine will be 25 years old. And then there are a couple other women who need their stories told. I am so committed to this author and her series. I give it 5 stars and recommend reading. I for one, will keep these books so I can re-read them all together.

A truly different romp in the historic world. I haven't yet read the Boxing Baroness, but now will have to go back and read it. The extended jump forward in time was an interesting technique to show their original relationship and where they are now, but wasn't my favorite. I love the characters, but found myself more interested in the side characters than the main two we were to be focusing on (I am definitely looking forward to the next book because of this). The story overall was quite interesting, though it felt like there were too many things going on to truly wrap them all up with ease. I did enjoy the writing a lot and look forward to more by Minerva Spencer.

This title was pure fun. I loved the idea of a crack shot circus performing duchess who is also a talented gunsmith. Pairing her with a gorgeous reprobate who wanted nothing more than to win her heart after carelessly breaking it made for a entertaining story and an excellent match. A bit of deus ex machina to round out the fun makes for a thoroughly enjoyable romance.

Overall I will say that I enjoyed this book. The premise of a secret duchess turned gunslinging circus performer, with some serious family issues, is jilted by a soon to be Duke as he must marry for money is an interesting one. He finds out that he isn’t actually a Duke and is free to come and try to woo her back. He does so by working for her and she tries to push him away at every turn. There were many twists and turns in this story and I liked the storyline overall. The secondary characters were intriguing and I thought that this was one of the better written Minerva Spencer novels I have read. Having said that I really struggled with the animosity between the two MC’s for most of the book, it made it hard to root for them as a couple in the end and the miscommunication between them was frustrating at times. Overall a decent read. I would consider reading the first book in the series, the Boxing Baroness and the third one, the Cutthroat Countess, when it come out later in the year.

While I loved the story of 'The Dueling Duchess' I was extremely put off by the modern language and coarseness of the graphic sex that held little or no romance. That being said I look forward to resolution with Blade, and maybe Helen.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

What a wild ride! The Dueling Duchess is a fantastic read, filled with intrigue, daring, honor, loyalty, and love. I loved it!

I am loving this series so much. This book is follows Cecile and Darlington.
Cecile experienced a lot of trauma. Her childhood was disrupted by war and terror of being on the run. Her father was a stellar gun maker and he taught her the trade but circumstances forced her to relinquish the rights to his blueprints. During her final escape from France, everything important is lost at sea. However, she has reinvented herself by becoming a performer and now owner of a female circus.
Guy Darling, The darling of the ton, ran headlong into Cecile while helping his oldest friend. He knows he cannot have her forever because he must marry for money to save the family property and protect his sisters. So he sticks his big foot in his mouth and then he must make big amends.
This book is so good. There are many flips of forgiveness and circumstance and trying to save the other person by being a martyr. These two are so frustratingly beautiful. I often wanted to GIbbs slap Guy or knock their heads together.
I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this ebook and this is my freely given opinion.

I really enjoyed this second installment of the Wicked Women of Whitechapel. The characters in this story are so different and interesting in their characters and background. This story is about the now 30-something Cecile Tremblay, who has bought the Female Fayre and is running it now, as well as being a feature act, the sharpshooter. In this story, we find out about her history, and what she went through to escape the Revolution in France. She was only a teenaged girl when her father, a famed gunmaker, took her to a notorious prison to visit with his patron, a French Duke. They married Cecile to the Duke, to help ensure that she would inherit his wealth, as he knew he was dying, and was afraid the rest of his family was gone as well. But during their attempt to escape by sea, Cecile loses her father and his papers. She goes to Britain, with only a distant cousin as a connection, one she does not know, barely any English, and nothing to her name, except her knowledge of gun making and her memory of her father's designs.

Her life takes some very unfortunate turns over the years, as her cousin cheats her and discards her. The details of his misuse of her comes out later in the story, but regardless, her life takes many turns between France, England, Boston, and she ends up hiding her tenuous connection to nobility and her Blanchet-legendary gunsmith connections and working as a show in the Fayre. When they embarked on their tour of France (see the first book, the Boxing Baroness) she embarks on an affair with the Darling of the Ton, Guy Darlington. He knew his obligations to his lineage, as heir to a financially strapped Dukedom, and she laid out clear boundaries to their affair. But then he bollocks things up when he oversteps the rules laid out and offers to her a carte blanche, essentially trying to make her a whore.

Cecile moves on, and buys the Fayre, but she carries anger about how she and Guy parted. Guy realizes he made a huge mistake, but feels trapped by his duties to the Dukedom. Until one day he is not... he finds out that there maybe another long lost relatively who claims the dukedom for himself, and Guy is forced to take care of his mother and sister, and seek a future for himself as merely Mr. Darlington... except now that he is free of his obligations, he can try to make amends to Cecile, especially as he realized, possibly too late unfortunately, how much he loves her, and wants her in his life. He abases himself to her, and seeks a job at the Fayre, to at least get a foot in the door to reestablishing a relationship with her.

This was a fun story with some over the top story lines and characters - with Cecile being the gun toting sharpshooter duchess in disguise, and Guy the lovelorn ex-duke. But it was a very interesting and well written story with some fabulous side characters (including that raven and the mysterious enigmatic Josephine Brown), and character histories. I really enjoyed it. The only quibble I had was that Guy's ducal storyline was dealt with in a very abrupt manner, with no real satisfactory confrontation and justice for him, it felt.

4.75 stars out of 5

This will be posted on instagram in mid-february(closet to pub date)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶/5

This book is the sequel to #TheBoxingBaroness and it delivered in so many ways! Much like the first book in this series there was a lot happening, but the split timeline of this book really helped the characters develop and by the end I LOVED Guy so much. Cecile is an absolute badass and much like the first, this had plenty of spice. This one also does a great job of filling in some of the innuendo from book one and gives you a peak back into the lives of the book 1 main couple. Now I just need a third book about Jacqueline!

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The first book in this series was not my favorite. It was convoluted and clunky, but had some silver linings. One of the things I enjoyed was the character of Cecile. She was witty and sparks flew between her and her love, Guy. So I thought maybe her book would be different from the first and that I would enjoy it.
I was wrong.
Although this is a mostly well-written book, it just wasn't for me. I absolutely hate a long separation between the main couple. It was made even worse by the strange formatting of the book, which is divided into sections for the past and the "present." The plot was again unbelievable without foundation and the book dragged in places.

Star Rating: 2/5
Tropes: Unconventional profession for the heroine, class differences
CW:

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