The Duke of Wyatthaven (aka Wyatt) needs a bride on short notice. A clause was triggered in his grandmother's will that threatens to take Wyatt's inheritance should he remain unwed and give it to his natural enemies, a society of poets (I'm not kidding). The man had a cruel instructor as a child that soured him to the whole mode of writing. Wyatt believes his perfect match is Fredericka because she also needs a husband for a pragmatic purpose. She is the guardian of her late sister's children, but a relative is seeking to take them away. As an unmarried lady, she stands little chance of preventing the theft in court. A marriage of convenience would protect both parties and allow them to carry on as usual. Apparently, Wyatt's shtick is that he gambles... for charity? And hers is that she's secretly a poet, a designation which you may recall immediately qualifies her to be Wyatt's nemesis.

The first thing I need to get off my chest about this book is that there are so. many. "feminine/masculine urges" even just in our protagonists' first meeting. And I kind of can't believe I had to put that in writing. There are also "womanly" sighs and "masculine" thoughts at the wedding because why not? A "masculine moan of anticipation" really takes the cake for annoyingly gendered phrases, though.

Thankfully, things improve after the initial info dump and the establishment of Wyatt and Fredericka's attraction in such audacious terms (see: masculine moan). That tension remains, but I love how the real undercurrent between them is this warm concern that they aren't so emotionally stunted as to hide from one another. Between that and the way that they have genuinely productive arguments, I appreciated their dynamic. I think the central conflict around their custody battle also adds a lot to their story. Not only are they tentatively trying to cobble together this little family, but they're also trying to protect it as Fredericka's cousin, Jane, mounts her smear campaign and does all in her power to wrest the children away.

Unfortunately, I was distracted from my ultimate approbation of our lovebirds by other weird things in the writing and plotting. For one thing, the tandem inclusion and avoidance of politics is weird. The author mentions Wyatt's party and ~the other party~ but doesn't name them, which strikes me as a jazz hands attempt to be apolitical. Wyatt plans to trade a political favor to ~the other party~ to protect the children with no consideration for the greater repercussions... but I suppose there aren't any in a book where we won't even name the groups involved or what they stand for.

My next issue is that the ending is anticlimactic. While I can appreciate a story where the supposed enemy turns out to be more complex than we were led to believe, in this case, it felt a bit convenient. I wonder if part of it comes down to incomplete writing. Early on, we're told that part of Jane's evil is that she wants to split up the children, but that claim is never addressed again. It's always about her intent to take them all, making unclear just how far she's willing to go or what her goal is. I also think scale is an issue. There's this final *shrug* of a feeling like we shouldn't hold Jane's childhood insecurities against her any more than we should Fredericka, but I think making them equal partners in the affair is unfair to our protagonist, who has held less power than her cousin over the course of their whole relationship and had little means to fight back. It's not all just pettiness, as Wyatt seems keen to paint it.

On that note, I don't love a book where one character (a non-professional) psychoanalyzes their partner's trauma, especially in an argument. Sometimes an outside perspective can help a person, but it's weird to see someone take the role of authority in dealing with someone else's family dynamic. I especially disliked, in this case, how Fredericka is made to feel like she doesn't love the children enough. It's accepted as fact by the end of the book that she'd been wrong about her own history and how to approach her wards. I like the idea of growing as a guardian and getting better without it being about how her husband taught her to be a better mother... he whose previous expertise on children comes from being one himself. This reframing downplays Fredericka's contributions to make it about how the children were miserable until Wyatt came along rather than taking the earlier offered route that he brought the family some much-needed balance. I also felt like Wyatt got to process his own grief, whereas Fredericka had it forced on her (by him).

My main issue with Fredericka is actually one that's not addressed. She feels guilty because she told her sister to go away with her husband to try and patch up their marriage, and they died after horrific food poisoning on their journey. Guilt isn't reasonable, so that's fair. My issue is that we later learn her sister was abused by her husband, something Fredericka suspected. This fact isn't factored into the other conversation, but it seems like it should be? She suggested her sister go on holiday with her abuser for the sake of their marriage. Now THAT is some fucked up shit. But it's like the author had one idea and then a different one without putting them together and examining the consequences. It feels like a plot hole more than a purposeful choice (I'm looking at you, haters who come for me for wanting historicals to have contemporary social mores).

This book had a spark of something interesting that was squashed under the weight of all the things that bothered me. I wish those factors could have been stripped away so I could focus on the found family at its core, but alas, here we are. Thanks to SMP Romance for my copy to read and review!

Fredericka Hale needs a husband. She’s been caring for her deceased sister’s three young children, and now a cousin has petitioned the court for custody. Fredericka is powerless to stop her, but having a husband might sway the ruling. The last thing Fredericka wants is a marriage to a man she doesn’t know, but she’ll do it for the children. So, when the handsome Duke of Wyatthaven shows up with a proposal, she accepts. He'll help her, and in return, they’ll lead separate lives. The Duke of Wyatthaven has no interest in marriage. But, if Wyatt doesn’t marry by week’s end, he’ll lose an inheritance from his grandmother. When his solicitor finds Miss Fredericka Hale, Wyatt considers his problem solved. Fredericka prefers country life to London, so he’s free to continue his life as usual. But when Fredericka and the children show up at Wyatt's door, he can’t deny his attraction. And she can't deny his alure.
I liked this historical romance. Both main characters were very likable. I could feel the attraction between them. I like the differences in how they both handled the children. There was enough excitement and intrigue to keep me interested. I will definitely read another book from the series. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Made it to page 163 and it just feels like they keep having the same arguments. I also find it bizarre Wyatt can’t stop thinking about Fredericka but is still so determined to continue living a bachelor’s life as a husband.

Actually 3.5⭐️

This was a cute historical romance and one that I would purchase for my grandmother.

The characters and plot were likable enough that I would recommend this to others who favor historical romances.

The Duke of Wyatthaven doesn't want to marry but needs to if he wants his inheritance. He needs to rush a marriage to someone that would be acceptable and he doesn't care much beyond that. Fredericka Hale needs a husband if she hopes to keep her deceased sister's children. When the Duke's solicitor suggests her, Wyatt jumps at the chance of a marriage of convenience and Fredericka sees a surefire way to keep the children. But emotions run high when nothing works as they planned and they're forced to live together, and they both start to see that what started as a marriage of convenience has the potential to be so much more.

It's a story about personalities crashing, looking beyond the surface, and acceptance, all wrapped up in a sweet romance that has you rooting for every character to find their joy. The beats of the story are obvious, but in a way that feels comfortingly familiar instead of overdone. I knew where the story was heading, but I enjoyed the journey so much that I didn't mind the predictability.

It's not often you find so-called clean romance that still manages to sizzle, but Grey always pulls it off. You're there for the emotions and the description of the physical acts isn't needed for this story. Grey is really good at making a simple kiss feel anything but.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the wonderful read!

Beautifully written and perfectly paced. This was my first book by Amelia Grey and it won't be my last. If you love a great marriage of convenience story, give this one a read.

Yours Truly, The Duke was an enjoyable marriage of convenience romance between a duke and a woman caring for her deceased sister’s children.

The Duke of Wyatthaven needs a wife by week's end to receive a sizable inheritance and Fredericka Hale perfectly fits his needs. She's lovely, intelligent, and has no desire to move to the city. Fredericka needs a husband in order to retain custody of her deceased sister’s three young children after a cousin has petitioned the court for custody. Prepared to lead separate lives, Wyatt and Fredericka marry and promptly go back to their former lives. But when circumstances force Fredericka to show up at the duke's door, their marriage of convenience becomes a whole lot more complicated.

The premise of Yours Truly, The Duke sounded fun and I loved the opening scene of the book where Wyatt writes his proposal to Fredericka with his friends while drunk. The scene was so outlandish and each letter the trio wrote was more ridiculous than the last. It was a great way to set up the marriage of convenience trope and I was immediately pulled in as I wanted to see how everything would play out.

Wyatt and Fredericka's first meeting doesn't go well as she believes he's joking about the proposal but once that is cleared up, the pair marry quickly. Not long after the wedding, Fredericka and the children rush to London due to threats Fredericka receives surrounding her custody of the children. I liked the friendship of sorts that the two develop although I did have a harder time buying into a romantic connection between the two. Their interactions were pleasant but I never really felt they moved beyond that in their relationship. I did like how the plot surrounding custody of the kids played out and was happy with the ending of the book.

Overall Yours Truly, The Duke was still an entertaining read despite the issues I had with the romance and I will definitely be picking up the sequel, Sincerely, The Duke, when it releases.

I really loved this book. It's a marriage of convience, but of course there are feelings that get involved. I thought the romance was sweet and well paced. I would definately recommend this book to a friend.

This made me cry!!!! UGHHHH I loved Fredericka, Wyatt, and the children. Plus, a good marriage of convience is always a fun one!

I enjoyed this book despite how frustrating it was at times. Fredericka was too strict and tightly wound. She was quick to anger all the time when it came to Wyatt and Jane actually. I liked her at first but as the book wore on she got more and more frustrating and unlikable. She took the simplest things and turned them into these big arguments for no reason. And I disliked how Wyatt always backed down even when he was in the right. But eventually he got through to her and in that he learned he had some ghosts to banish. I did love the chemistry between Wyatt and Fredericka. Their relationship was contentious a lot of the time but there were good moments as well. I also loved seeing each of them with the children. Bella was my favorite and made me laugh a lot. I also appreciate the epilogue that cleared some things up when it came to Jane and Angela and how they treated Fredericka when they were children. All and all, this was a good book and I’m excited to read Rick’s book next.

Fredericka and Wyatt agree to get married because it's needed - Fredericka wants to keep her dead sister's children and Wyatt wants to keep an inheritance. I enjoyed the story of them getting to know each other and working out their differing views on marriage, life, parenting and poetry. I thought Fredericka was annoying at times, but she usually apologized and did seem to change. I liked Wyatt throughout. Also, the children were cute. I will watch for other books in this series.

This story was a thrill to read. Fredericka and Wyatt were thrown together for obligations and duty but stayed together for love. I thought Fredericka cousin was dead wrong for trying take her family from her due to jealousy. I hope to read more in this series

I was not a fan of this one. I felt like some of the language used did not make sense and took me out of the historical setting. I did like the romance, but the language was distracting to me and took away from the overall story.

Amelia Grey is a talented storyteller. I have enjoyed every one of her books that that I have read and this one, the first in a new series, has not disappointed. The series is about a trio of dukes, friends from Eton, who have a sporting club, the Brass Deck, which they use to fund a hospital for veterans of the Napoleonic War.

The Duke of Wyatthaven has just found out that his grandmother, dead now twenty years, had a codicil in her will, that he was to be informed on the twentieth anniversary of her death that if he was not married he had 7 days to do so, or lose his inheritance from her. He has had no interest in marriage and has a reputation as a rake, because he believe he would not make a good husband and he did not need the inheritance, but he did not want it to go to The London Society of Poetry instead. He has a hatred of poetry thanks to a horrible teacher at Eton, who tortured his charges if they did not recite perfectly selected poems. He feels guilty about his friend, Grant Fenway, who was punished when Wyatt was the one who failed the memorization, but as the son of a duke the teacher punished his friend instead, destroying the boy's right hand. His lawyer recommended that he propose to Miss Fredericka Hale, who also has a need to marry to keep guardianship of her dead sister's children. A marriage of convenience for two people, who will live separate lives. But when they meet there is something there they both chose to ignore. However, when Fredericka's cousin threaten's to take the children away from her, she goes to London to seek Wyatt's help. Then they find that they make a great team and family. Wonderful story and delightful characters.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.com. this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

I had mixed emotions about this one. It's my first by Amelia Grey, and I didn't know quite what to expect. I liked the premise of a marriage of convenience, and the added factor of Fredericka's guardianship of her sister's 3 young children. I liked the characters, aside from the extra-villainous villain of the piece. I enjoyed watching Fredericka and Wyatt get to know each other and watching their mutual attraction grow. As usual, 95% of the conflict between the two of them is caused by a lack of communication, of assuming each other's actions are based on one thing when in fact it's something entirely different. This is nothing new - it seems like 95% of the relationship conflict in most romance books could be cured by a little communication. It's what I've come to expect after years of reading romances. My one issue with this book was that sometimes the language was far too modern for the time - and while I don't want my authors using Jane Austen's writing style in 2023, I also don't really like TOO much modern language, phrases, etc creeping into my book that's set in the 19th century. It jarring, and it takes me right out of the story. There were bits where I wondered if the final editing might fix some of that, since I was reading an advance copy. Hopefully it did, because overall I really enjoyed this story and look forward to the next book in the series.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

This is my first time reading this author....half way through and I started to wonder if it was written by an AI bot. Some weird terminology and interactions that don't feel quite human....like who calls a library "the book room". I've never seen that in a historical romanace.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I was unfamiliar with the author, but the premise of the story sounded good. The poetry at the beginning of each chapter introduced each section with a non sequitur. Honestly, I could not figure out how they related to the subsequent chapters. It wasn’t until I reached the end and read the author’s note that I understood they were excerpts from The Lady’s Book of Flowers and Poetry, published in 1859. It would be helpful if the author mentioned that at the beginning. Now, I understand the reason for them, but I didn’t much enjoy them. I say this as someone who enjoys poetry.

This is the story of a marriage of convenience between a duke, Wyatt, who wants to secure his inheritance and a woman, Fredericka, who wants to ensure she can be the guardian of her deceased sister’s children. Reading about the evolution of their relationship was engaging and, at times, enlightening. I loved the interactions with Elise, Charles, and Bella, Fredericka’s sister’s children. Wyatt and Fredericka often misunderstand one another and have arguments, especially about issues regarding the children. During one, Wyatt tells her, “We are both wayward souls that can’t find peace. I am searching for redemption and you are looking for validation… Neither of us have exorcised our ghosts from the past. There may be no hope for either of us until we do.” As luck would have it, sharing their pasts with one another is just what they need to exorcise those ghosts.

There were a lot of grammatical and punctuation errors, which I hope were corrected prior to publication. I’m not deducting stars for it, but if I read a final copy and find as many as I did in this uncorrected proof, I will. I mean, one of the errors referenced Fredericka’s beautiful blue eyes when we’d already been told multiple times she had golden-brown eyes.

The reason this doesn’t earn five stars from me is because I didn’t actually feel the emotions of the characters. The writing is fine, but it could have been better. In fact, there is a perfect opportunity to convey a greater depth of feeling when Fredericka encounters a heartbreaking setback, but instead of delving into that, the author ended the chapter and moved on to the next scene. I realize the Brits aren’t supposed to demonstrate emotions too much, but when we’re in a character’s head, we should be privy to what they’re really feeling. To me, it was just, "Meh, that’s sad. Oh, well." I should have been as upset and infuriated as I was told Fredericka was. The problem is that I was told and not shown.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I’m glad to have read it, but there are so many good books out there. This one won’t make it to my list of favorites, nor am I inclined to read it again. I’m not saying don’t read it. It was fun. It’s not outstanding.

Fredericka must marry as soon as possible to continue caring for her deceased sister's three children. The Duke of Wyatthaven must marry because if not, he will forfeit his grandmother's inheritance. They agree to marry, but this marriage of convenience quickly develops into a love match where neither party wants to give in first. It was an entertaining Regency romance.

This was a fabulous book. It was enjoyable and had wonderful pacing. I would read this author again. I would recommend this book to others.

This author did a great job with he characters Wyatt and Frederickca as both not wanting to marry by finding they have no choice. As they both have obligations that will require them to find a spouse. What has been giving Frederick as name by his lawyer and will fit his needs perfectly and he shows up on her doorstep to propose and she accepts especially if it will protect act he nieces and nephew from her cousin. Both agree to live separate lives that is until danger comes to Frederick as door step and needs the Dukes help. Wyatt is throwing a ball for one of his friends sister when Frederickca shows up to his London house in announced and see's her husband dancing in the arms of another women. Sparks f!y between the pair but have to work together in order to save her sisters children from her cousin. Great read.V