The world-building is intriguing, and the author's writing style is engaging. Unfortunately, the novel's potential is squandered by its overabundance of viewpoints and overly light tone. Josie, the most compelling character, is overshadowed by a distracting focus on secondary plotlines. Given the promising premise and likable characters, it's disappointing that the execution feels so lackluster. The narrative also suffers from a front-loaded plot, leaving too many questions unanswered by the story's premature conclusion. While the world's mechanics are fascinating, their implementation falls short of expectations.

Humourous historical fantasy. A Spellmaiden and a Scottish Duke Lycan are fated to be mates. Arresting the Duke and fighting demons is the job of one of the most dangerous Spellmaidens. But things don't add up and the Duke and the Spellmaiden join forces to break his curse and the repercussions of not finding his mate by the full moon. Not a genre I usually read, but kept me interested to the end of the book. Descriptive, very descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This book was a surprise i wasnt expecting, it was a good historical romance book with a touch of paranormal story.

I am absolutely obsessed with this book. I cannot wait for more books in this series. Regency Romance/ paranormal/fantasy/suspense all wrapped into one. I love it. The top 5 books I've read this year so far! Absolutely obsessed!!!!
I just reviewed A Spell for A Duke by Amy Quinton. #ASpellforADuke #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

The Spellmaiden and the Lycan

Josie has a task. She must capture Lachlan. They say he has killed a man. However, if you ask him, he will tell you he is no killer. Josie is good at her job, so capture him she will. Then, she finds out she needs him to capture a demon. What’s worse, he is her mate. Hers is a perilous job, indeed. Does Josie get Lachlan out of jail? Do the two accept that they are mates whether they are happy about it or not? What about the demon that will terrorize London if it is not captured? For the answers, you must read this entertaining, steamy, historical fantasy romance. It was my first book by this author, but it will not be my last. I look forward to what comes next in this series.

This story felt overwhelming to me in the beginning if I'm being honest. It might be that I am new to this subgenre or that there really was an abundance of information in the onset of this book, but once I got the hang of the setting and characters, I fully enjoyed this read. Josie Bell (a name which I absolutely adore!) and Lachlan were an intriguing duo and I was so in love with their chemistry. George is for sure a notable mention for great characters in this book. He really had the perfect unbothered cat-vibes in every appearance. In summary, despite the initial challenges I had, this book proved to be an enchanting journey. I eagerly anticipate delving into more of Quinton's works in the future!

If you like witch stories and romances then this is a great one for you! A little to much fantasy for my taste but an interesting story.

Such a great book! The first chapters were kind of slow paced for me but it was totally worth it. I also appreciate that even if your chapters have titles, those weren't really spoilers, they give me ideas but not the whole picture.
A Lycan Duke + A Miss Witch (she is not part of the ton... which is so refreshing in historical romances) = SUCH A MESS! I would love to read more of this series... soon.

A Spell for a Duke by Amy Quinton is a departure for Dragonblade. It is a departure for me as well. I love Dragonblade historical romances so I always request without reading the descriptions. Well, this time the heroine is a spellmaiden (witch) and the duke is a locan (werewolf). This is not really my cup of tea but I hung in and enjoyed much of the book although the plot was riddled with magic and fantasy of other sorts. These two, Josie Bell and Lachlan, were good characters, and enjoyed a steamy romance. It wasn’t easy and everyone was trying to interfere and kill one or both of them. There were tons of peripheral characters, may of whom were very interesting, within the confines of the setting. For another person this book would be a hit. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A Spell for a Duke by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #AmyQuinton #AspellForADuke

This is a first time read for me by this author and I found it to be quite a fun read. I'm not one for reading fantasy and paranormal, particularly in the Regency genre, but this was well done and definitely captured my interest from start to finish. This is the first of a new series and is a delightful start to what looks to be a colorful and unique set of stories. Josie is a witch and must capture a rogue demon. Only in order to do that she has to break out a Lycan, Duke Lachlan MacKeane, who is assigned to help her, one she just captured and arrested. Incidentally, for a crime he didn't commit. Through their hunt for the demon and in search of justice for a crime Lachlan was wrongly convicted of, the two embark on a journey and discover a deep connection neither of them had realized existed between them.
A uniquely crafted enemies to lovers romance in an unusual setting made this quite a humorous and entertaining read. I would definitely like to continue and see where this series leads. I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing and am voluntarily leaving my review.

DNF at 30%

I was expecting more of a historical romance. If I wasn’t told about the old timey fashion and the use of horses drawn carriage, I could thing it happened in the modern world. The writing is very modern, very rom-com.

I also wasn’t expecting the tone to be so « comedic » and the humour did not always work for me.

Another thing that made it harder for me to enjoy this story is that some characters have an accent, Scottish to be precise.. Instead of just mentioning it and using some Scottish slang to make it come across, all their conversation are written in the accent. That slowed my reading speed and was kind of jarring. Since one of the main character has said accent, it happened quite often.

If those thing don’t tend to bother you don’t hesitate to try it out. The story still has good potential. I especially loved the talking animals!

The story is told in the first person point of view, With chapters from the point of view of the FMC, MMC and from the villain, from which I got a Megamind vibe. I'm probably going to pick it up again, or continue reading it in between other books, but for now it just could not hold my attention.

I reeeeeeally enjoyed this book. What a great mash-up: historical/victorian fiction + fantasy romance?! Sign. Me. Up. Such a fun read.

Our FMC, Josie Bell is spellmaiden. Duke MacKeane a Lycan. And together...chef's kiss. Intrigue, curses, betrayals and enough chemistry to keep you turning the page. The story was fun and engaging and I loved the bits of London history interweaved in the story.

Absolutely will be reading more from Amy Quinton.

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a "I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you!" book for me.

It was a very interesting world, and I like the writer's style. However, immediately there were too many POVs, and too light of a tone. The big disappointment to me was the focus on too many things, while Josie is the most interesting part of the book. This is supposed to be about her! Why is this book full of other stuff when it's supposed to be about her? Where is Josie?

I love the premise, and I like the characters, so why is this so insufferable?

The book is also half-finished, with a lot of plot front-loaded and very few questions answered. I liked the mechanics of the world but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Sigh.

I love a good mix of paranormal and historical romance and this book definitely fit the bill. I liked the irreverent humor and author Quinton did a good job building her magical world. I enjoyed watching how Josie and Lach came together and will happily read more stories in this series.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this title. The opinions herein are my own.

It is an uncommon twist to classy Victorian England. A mix of Sherlock Holmes entwined with magic, a powerful witch, and a Scottish highlander rolled up into a plot teetering on a knife’s edge and paced to blow your mind.

The author, Amy Quinton, created a solid foundation from characters, places, abilities, and events. The words and descriptions made it feel believable and dimensionally sound. Love, love the idea of spellmaidens (witches keeping the order). What’s not to like? Details and world-building are vital to any good fantasy, and the author was superb.

I adore all the characters, but the opposing forces of the romantic duo had me unable to set it down. I was invested in their plight from the start and chased each clue with them as each revelation unfolded.

It has curses, mystery, betrayals, love, fate, mates, and family, all wrapped around the driving power of choices and the idea of agency—Adult Paranormal Victoria Fantasy Romance at its best.
4.5/5 Star Rating. Be mindful, this is spicy witch meets wolf.

While Amy Quinton's A Spell for a Duke has an interesting premise, quirkily complex characters, and a thoughtful magic system, ultimately I could not bring myself to like this book. And I do feel quite guilty about that--Quinton clearly has a knack for writing character and her world had many thoughtful details.

But. I had two big problems that really sunk this book for me.

First, and less importantly, in an effort to be mysterious and action-y, parts of the book are frustratingly vague or absurdly fast-paced. As it, I had to reread chapters several times because I completely lost the thread of what was going on.

Secondly, and in my opinion, far more damning, was the author's written out Scots dialect. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was either selectively done or emphasized occasionally for comedic effect. However, it was done constantly and overemphasized for, I think comedic effect at all the wrong times. I will not be able to think about this book without having to think about the phrase "fooking hell" and "ye ken" that were on nearly every page, often several times on the same page. It was not done well and, frankly, it almost made me quit the book several times.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

This was probably the most whimsical book I’ve ever read. I love the authors tone and writing style as it kept things light and entertaining! I was enraptured for 3/4 of the book, and then I kind of got lost in the last 1/4. I was a bit overwhelmed with everything that was going on and it was just too much information at once I feel like a lot of things got left out and we’re skipped to make the ending what it was. This book needed a softer landing that was not so abrupt.

Other than the last 1/4 of the book I really enjoyed reading this novel and I think it could make a great series as we delve into the world and other spellmaidens etc.

A, spellbindingly good fun, new series opener!

My first foray into a Quinton tale and it left me questing and hunting for more! I just love an historical romance that is heavily entangled in magic and paranormal intrigue and A SPELL FOR A DUKE was such a fabulously fun filled treat and series opener.
It was sharp on wit...a volley of delightful lunges and parries of delicious banter, both humorous, and tenderly touching, not to mention, seductively crude in all the right places...delivered and wrapped up around a tale that was so vividly colourful with unique personality. With the use of an engaging, first perspective writing style that sucked me into the musings of our three main characters and entangled them with a whole host of intriguing, well formed, subcharacters. Opening up an emerging, vivid, new world, seen through the highly, heady with individuality, mindsets of an exceptional anomaly and I'm-all-about-the-job spellmaiden in her prime, (non noble, rookeries raised orphan from the other side of the tracks), Josie, as she's tasked with bringing in presumed murdering lycan and lusty Scottish duke, Lachlan. Under the watchful eye of the always scheming, hilarious in his villainy, cursed, Von Rappoldstein. All cast in an enticing fantasy backdrop of Victorian London - that is so ripe for animation or film I'd just love to see it represented in technicolour - as we're introduced to a magical array of paranormal curiosities living right under the noses of the ordinary humans they work so hard to remain oblivious to.
Bringing to life, a fun filled enemies to lovers, across the social divide, romance, that proves we're so much more than the images we project, as, the much more than a lusty, lycan, Lach, imprints on, the need to prove herself-but-already-at-the-top-of-her-game, spellmaiden, Josie. As they unfurl deceit, misdirection, nefarious scheming and even crumble a few prejudices and misperceptions along the way, in the most delightfully fun, not holding back on the lusty, sensually steamy intimacy meets you-never-know-where-your-gotten-be-taken-next array of twists and surprises, that cuts through their well honed sense of self-preservation to expose their charged magnetic connection and heady attraction as it builds and captivates with a good dose of sexual tension that crackles and sparks with chemistry throughout.
Just loved this, such rich imagery, wit and imagination! Can't wait for the magical fun, and mystery to continue!

I did not like this book. The first 100 pages were so confusing that I had no idea what was going on. There were a lot of side characters so it was hard to remember which one was which. The one thing I did like was how whimsical the book was. I would have liked the book a lot more if the first part had been easier to keep track of.

Historical romance and the paranormal/fantasy? Yes please! I was so happy to receive this ARC after reading the description of the book. All opinions are my own.

Josephine Bell and Lachlan MacKeane... Quite the pair. This being the first in a series with a world requires some time on world building, so I always give the first book some leeway in storytelling. I quite enjoyed this secret world that the humans have no idea about and the houses with sentient beings in there, etc, but at times it seemed to go on a bit long, and the story seemed to be just covering off the description at 50% through the novel, so we don't really know what the mystery is. I don't think I realized how much was dedicated to the capture of Lachlan himself. The way the chapters were completed, and maybe the multiple POV made it easier to pause in between chapters, except in the last 35% of the book. Then things really pick up and you get action on all fronts, and the mystery ramps up too. There is an air of mystery and you can tell the author is building things up with secondary characters as well which makes me curious about the next book. The tone of the book was humourous and light but not silly... it didn't have the same wit as an India Holton book, but did improve its pacing in the latter half. Lachlan is such an evolved man, and I loved how much he wanted to give Josie a choice, even at his own expense. It was incredibly sweet though a bit rushed. I really do want to read the next one!

Steam: 🔥
Heart Flutters: ❤️