Member Reviews
Every Duke Has His Day is an enchanting stand-alone historical rom com by Suzanne Enoch, author of some of my favorite books. As has been typical of my reading life lately, it seemed I couldn't get into the story at first. Our heroine Bitsy appeared to be insubstantial fluff. But "did not finish" isn't in my vocabulary, so I stuck with it. And lo and behold, this ended up being one of the most charming books I've ever read! So stick with it, Dear Reader, as the payoff is worth the perseverance.
Michael Blumley, the Duke of Loriton, doesn't care for the foolish indulgences of Society. Why waste time at parties making chitchat when he can be working on science experiments? He's busy working with electricity, separating gasses and perfecting an antiseptic that will save lives. But when his aunt, Lady Mary Harris, asks him to watch her beloved and well-behaved black poodle Lancelot when she goes out of town, he cannot refuse her. Little does he suspect that his life will take a turn to the absurd! Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering, the third daughter of a viscount, is the total opposite. She's the "Diamond" of the season, attending parties and outings while being pursued by many young men. She's adored by all, especially by her black poodle Galahad. However, Galahad behaves like a demon to most other people. Peter Cordray, her main pursuer, is especially hated by Galahad; so he hires a petty thief to steal her poodle, thinking that will open the way for his suit. When Michael and Bitsy meet in the park with the dogs, total pandemonium occurs, and unwittingly dogs are swapped...ending in Lancelot being dognapped instead of Galahad. Then Galahad is taken! Michael and Bitsy must look high and low for the precious dogs, before they're lost forever and Michael has to explain to his aunt that her dog is gone. Will two disparate people be able to work together to find them before it's too late for the pooches?
Michael quickly burrowed his way into my heart and is now one of my favorite romance heroes. I just adored him, but I also wished I could imitate him. He treated people the way I sometimes wish I could. People being irritating? Just ignore them. Busy doing something important? Be rude and tell them to just go away and leave you be. (Poor Huston, his poor beleaguered butler!). Alas, I am not rich and gorgeous (and my "important" activity is usually reading), so I have to follow decorum. Though rude, he was attempting to better people's lives with his scientific studies and experiments. Then there was Bitsy (whom Michael refused to call Bitsy, calling her Elizabeth instead...good call, Michael! What adult should called Bitsy, for heaven's sake?!)... As I stated earlier, she didn't appear to have much substance; her life was full of frivolities, going to parties and looking for a husband. I did, however, admire her love and devotion to her pet. The more Bitsy was around Michael, though, she really began to grow on me. She showed him how to have fun. When he talked science, she didn't zone out; she actually was interested and was enchanted when he talked about stars. Michael learned that talking to others and helping them was actually enjoyable, all thanks to Bitsy. Both had quick minds and a sharp wit. It was obvious Michael and Bitsy were crazy about each other, but it took them a while to figure it out. There wasn't anything beyond kissing here, but erotic moments weren't necessary; it was all about connecting emotionally. I loved the wit and snappy dialog. Beau Peter was an awful, scheming young man, and he was fun to hate. Outstanding supporting characters, having their own little romance, were petty thief Jimmy Bly (the dognapper) and fair performer Sally Pangle. Jimmy wasn't cut out to be a criminal who would kill someone's pets; he was actually a sweet soul who was crushing on neighbor Sally, who performed with her three trained dogs. It was a lovely side romance that just added to the sweetness and fun of this story. This book wasn't Shakespeare plot-wise, but it was witty and romantic which brought laughter and tears. What more could you wish for in a romance?
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Another good historical romance. The Duke of Loriton is so busy with his science lab and discovering new things that he has no patience for the ton. When he gets his aunts poodle mixed up with another poodle and it gets stolen he follows the clues with a lady to get the poodle back. I enjoyed watching them banter back and forth and get their HEA.
Thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC of the book!
Michael is a reclusive, science-focused duke. Elizabeth is the belle of the season. They couldn't be more different, and there is no reason for them to cross paths.
Except when Michael is watching his aunt's well-mannered black poodle, Lancelot and Elizabeth is out for a walk with her beloved, skittish poodle Galahad, the two collide and then accidentally swap poodles.
This would be an easy fix, except Elizabeth's suitor hates her poodle. And Galahad, a good judge of character hates him. Her suitor, Peter, arranges for Galahad's kidnapping, resulting in Lancelot's kidnapping instead. Once Peter learns that the wrong dog was kidnapped, he sends his lackey back for Galahad.
This ties Elizabeth and Michael together, bonded over a desire to find the poodles and bring them back home.
Peter's lackey, Jimmy, is a delightful character. A well-meaning man who keeps getting himself into some trouble. His character journey and side romance with Sally are a charming complement to the grumpyxsunshine romance of Michael and Elizabeth.
Highly recommend if you're looking for a cozy Regency, with adorable dogs with their own personalities.
A delightful low-steam read!
The publisher sent me a Netgalley widget to read this in the summer, and I decided to give it a chance as I’ve been reading more historical romance thanks to some of the newer SmartyPants Romance titles. I read more when I was younger, and I definitely enjoyed this one! The science bits were fun with my background as a science teacher. I like how at the end of the book the author noted that some of the science in the book was based on a real historical figure. It was easy to see how the two main characters, Elizabeth or Bitsy, and Michael, were opposites, but that was perfect to show how opposites attract and are often perfect to balance each other out.
The dogs were fun too, as a dog lover I was definitely feeling all the feels along with Bitsy when her beloved Galahad was kidnapped and with his past experience as well. If only she had completely trusted Galahad’s opinion of her most fervent suitor earlier, and not encouraged him at all, maybe things could have been prevented. However that wouldn’t have led to the fun meet-cute for Bitsy and Micheal when their two dogs collided and got confused in the crazy aftermath.
One aspect of the story that I really liked also, was the secondary characters, Jimmy Bly the dognapper, and his neighbor Sally, who I kind of fell in love with their story as well. I love how their own romance filled in as the story progressed, giving us love at both ends of the spectrum with our duke and diamond of the season alongside a dognapper and entertainer. Also the butlers and other people working in the houses added so much humor in their own respects and it was nice to see that as well. Elizabeth’s parents while totally proper ton people, had her best interests at heart, and wanted only to see their daughter happy in whatever way was going to happen.
A wonderful story and I hope to read more by this author in the future!
I really enjoyed Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch. It's been a minute since I've read a regency romance but this was a nice treat and I flew through this one.
I liked the interactions between Bitsy and the Duke. I liked that at first it was an "enemies" vibe and then it turned into lovers -- that is one of my favorite tropes. I also enjoyed that the Duke was not the "It" guy in the book, and everyone thought he was odd and kind of an outcast and yet he didn't care.
I didn't like Peter -- he was too arrogant and "everyone owes me" so I can't understand why Bitsy entertained him for as long as she did except for the plot to move along, because he was extremely unlikeable and I don't think he had any redeeming qualities.
If you like enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, regency romance, and a mystery, this is definitely for you!
Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
This book was so much fun. Mistaken dog identity foiling a doggy kidnapping and leading to a whole big mess is such a great jumping off point for the plot. I loved both Michael and Elizabeth, and especially loved how they saw each other for more than what their reputations were. Their chemistry and banter were fun and sweet, and they were just so perfect for each other. Their families were great supporting characters as well, helping the leads feel well rounded.
The pacing of the kidnapping and search were really well done. They never felt too dragged out for plot’s sake. Even the asides in the kidnappers POV worked, and that is a device that I rarely think works. The villain was fun to hate, and I was absolutely delighted to see him get his comeuppance in the end.
I think this was a plot that could have easily gotten bogged down in unnecessary melodrama and I’m so happy Suzanne Enoch sidestepped that so gracefully. I really, really enjoyed this book as a result.
Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch had an interesting idea behind it, but it didn't really deliver for me. The main characters just didn't click and I found myself struggling a bit to maintain interest in their lives. I didn't get that "can't-put-it-down" feeling. Still, props for the unique premise. Just wish the story popped a bit more.
I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.
Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch is the story of Michael Bromley, Duke of Woriton and Elizabeth Dockering “Bitsy”. Elizabeth if very popular in her season and has a beau. But, no one likes her daemon dog named Galahad. So her beau thinks to kidnap the dog to get rid of it. Micheal is a very smart scientist top person so he knows hes in trouble with he has to look after his aunts dog named Lancelot. This was a fun read. Enjoyed
Super cute, fun reads. Opposite attracts and a pup, what’s not to love? Thank you for this arc in exchange of an honest review. Apologies for the delay in review, I fell a bit behind.
I found myself utterly charmed by this book. Bitsy and Michael's story is an effervescent combination of opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine romance and mystery that takes place in a regency setting. Generous amounts of emotion, humor, sharp wittiness, and heart are woven throughout this canine kidnapping caper that will have you falling hard and fast for these incredibly lovable characters.
Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch
Historical romance.
Michael Blumley is he Duke of Loriton. He spends his time on science rather than society frivolities. He agrees to care for his aunt’s black poodle Lancelot, while she’s away visiting his friend, as long as he agrees to take the dog on walks. With his mind on electricity and his hydrogen experiments, the first walk with the dog ended up with him and his dog in a pond.
Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering is enjoying her second Season in London. Her black poodle Galahad goes with her on most social outings but he’s not quite as friendly and ends up getting kidnapped just so one man could get closer to Bitsy. Except Galahad and Lancelot had been switched in the pond incident causing chaos all around.
Enjoyable with some amusing incidents between Michale and Bitsy as well as with secondary kidnapper Jimmy Bly as he cares for the two poodles. Michael turns out to be quite the hero as he’s able to draw more out of Bitsy than social nonsense.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher.
4.5
An enjoyable cute, quirky, kissing only romance. A reclusive, studious, grumpy duke, and the lady who is the life of the party accidentally get their poodles swapped at the park. When her poodle gets stolen (but its actually his) a journey to recover the dog ensues. As the MCs work to solve the crime and recover their pets, love also begins to blossom.
A fun, sweet story that I liked, but it didn't wow me.
As someone who absolutely loves RomCom’s and Regency books, I loved and enjoyed this book so much. It’s really hard for me to not love a book when it fits into these tropes, and I clearly didn’t hate this book.
Some of the chapters were a bit too long at times, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. This book was a very enjoyable and easy read for me.
This was the first book I’ve read from this author, but I’ll definitely be looking into more of their work.
If you’re also a fan of RomCom’s and Regency books, then I definitely recommend this book for you. Give it a shot, you might end up absolutely loving it as well!
This was utterly adorable. I really liked the way the POV switched between our upper-class main couple and the lower-class secondary couple. I haven't run across that in a romance novel and it was a lot of fun. I love that it's a lighthearted romp that doesn't take itself too seriously, too. And all of the characters were really wonderful and fun to get to know.
I'm not usually a dog person, but the dogs in this book were super cute and really added to the story. I also really liked how much the characters cared for the dogs. It was a good way to show who was a kind person and who was not.
I also liked getting to see all sides of the dognapping. We have Michael's side of the story, and Elizabeth's, and most authors would stop there, but Suzanne Enoch gives us both the villain's side and the unwilling henchman Jimmy's side, and his sweetheart's side as well. It gave a much broader and more complete picture of the world the characters are inhabiting.
The investigations Michael and Elizabeth undertook were great fun, especially when it gave them an excuse to banter. I love a competent hero and heroine, and we definitely get that here. I love how each is competent in their own way and both are useful to investigation - and both of them appreciate the other's competence. Michael is a brilliant scientist and great with details, and Elizabeth is clever and outgoing and great with people. They make a wonderful team.
I did find the ending to be a bit saccharine for my taste, and the declarations of love did drag on rather too long, but that's a minor quibble and I think I'm in the minority in liking books to end with only a suggestion of a happy-ever after. Restrained. Think Mr. Darcy. Not effusive drawn-out declarations like this. They're not *bad* exactly, they just aren't my preference. But the rest of the book more than made up for it.
The audiobook was performed beautifully and I really enjoyed listening to it. The character voices were excellent and the narrator really brought all of the characters to life.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing an early audio copy for review.
I felt bad for the animals but I loved the MCs. The kidnapping of Galahad was unfortunate. I do love that he was loyal to Bitsy and not to any others. Good read and the relationship between MCs is touching.
I had to read this when I saw the Bringing Up Baby comp! Love Suzanne Enoch’s writing as she usually has laugh out loud moments and this one was no different. I will say that you need to want to read about dogs for this one. Thanks for the chance to read early!
I thoroughly enjoyed this story shich takes place in a time of glamour and royalty in England. It begins with a grumpy, scientist duke walking his great aunt’s dog and running into the most popular socialite of the Season who is walking a pretty much identical poodle. The dogs get switched and then the duke’s dog is stolen from Elizabeth’s bedroom while she is at a ball. The novel then proceeds to have the two main characters begin to know and fall in love with each other, each thinking that the other wants nothing to do with them. I do not wish to spoil the ending, but it is an interesting book and I am very glad that I read it. I will look for more books by this author. It’s a fun romantic comedy, without any racy scenes.
I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
A dog-napping caper drives the events in this thoroughly enjoyable rom-com.
Michael and Bitsy were the perfect foil for each other. Bitsy liked it very much that Michael took her seriously, as opposed to the somewhat frivolous façade she presented to society. Not that she was unhappy with that role, but she realized that she was more than just a pretty face. And Michael found himself drawn out of his self-imposed hermit-like life.
This book was so much fun. The villain was known almost right from the start, but that just added to the hilarious mishaps all over the place. I also adored the secondary story of Jimmy Bly and Sally and her dogs. They were just too cute for words. And I loved the addition of Michael’s chemistry experiments and his discussions of it with Bitsy.
I can highly recommend this book if you like closed-door historical romance with plenty of humor.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was such a fun regency RomCom that kept my interest and I couldn’t put it down. It had a 101 Dalmatians meet cute with forced proximity, opposites attract, mystery and grumpy/sunshine.
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It could be because I’ve been watching Psych which deals with mystery but I pictured the grumpy and scientific logical thinker of the Duke as Detective Lassiter/JJ Field who doesn’t care who he insults.
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This is a sweet romance with some innuendo, multi POV from the villain too.
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You see the train wreck disaster and have to keep reading. I felt the ending ended too quickly. I wanted a little more but it was sweet. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the e-arc copy.
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Content: some innuendo, dog napping but the animals are safe
✨ Book Review ✨
A big thank you to @stmartinspress @netgalley for this #gifted copy of #EveryDukeHasHisDay !!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch
An eccentric Duke and Diamond of the ton partner up to search for their missing poodles and find love along the way.
What to expect:
💋 Sweet Romance
🔁 Opposites Attract
☀️ Grumpy/Sunshine
🎂 Age Gap
Quick thoughts:
✨ I loved these characters!
✨ Watching them work together was enjoyable.
✨ Secondary characters were interesting too.
✨ The conclusion was perfectly paced.
Overall thoughts:
When the Duke, Michael, agrees to watch his aunts poodle he certainly wasn’t expecting to cross paths with the seasons Diamond, Elizabeth Dockering. However, that’s exactly what happens when the two collide trying to wrangle their respective poodles in the park.
Unintentionally mixing the poodles up, Michael and Elizabeth agree to a trade but when one of the dogs is stolen they end up partnering up to find the dog not knowing that the mastermind behind the dognapping is one of Elizabeth’s suitors.
I really loved this book. From the very beginning it caught my attention and held it. I loved how different Michael was from the usual Duke characterization. He’s very much occupied in the sciences and doesn’t function well in society. He kind of reminded me of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.
Then there’s Elizabeth who’s young and popular. She’s the sunshine to his grumpiness. She makes him come out of his shell and he challenges her intellectually.
I also enjoyed the mystery aspect to this story. As the reader we know who the culprit is and the answer to the puzzle but it was still fun watching Michael and Elizabeth work to figure everything out.
This story was perfectly paced especially the ending. Everything about this one was beautifully executed. If you like a sweet romance with interesting characters then give this one a try!