“The Duke’s All That” by Christina Britton
Will the lies be revealed and truth win the day?
The question this story answers, “Can two people recover from lies they believed thirteen years ago?”. This is a very moving story, that had me invested from the get go. Yes, there were tears (of mine) and there were chuckles, too. Oh, and there are the requisite spicy scenes too. (I skip those, as I do not need the details spelled out.). And, it was fun visiting the Isle of Synne again, too. Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.
I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley

Vibes: "my wife is dead--OR IS SHE?", inconveniently talking parrots, there's only one bed, och aye

Working class guy turned unexpected duke Iain thought he was a widower... for thirteen years. Except oops, his wife, Seraphina, has been alive the whole time. And they're still legally married, whether they want to be or not. Ian isn't very happy with Seraphina, who he believes left him without remorse; and Seraphina isn't any happier with Iain, who she charges with his own betrayal. She's made a happy life for herself, and Iain could upend everything she loves; but there's still something between them, and even getting a divorce may not be enough to stop that.

Apparently, "I thought my spouse was dead" is on trend for 2024, and I'm not mad at it! This book was off to a great start with a reunion between Iain and Seraphina, both seriously pissed. And I do love their interplay, the hurt feelings and the snippiness and the remaining attraction. This is a solid book.

... Which makes it a little more disappointing that it's not everything it could've been. It's a pleasant read; I did like it; and I suspect that some of the people reading this would really like it. But I think it could've hurtled to a different level if there had been just a bit more stretching.

Quick Takes:

--This is the type of plot that does rely on chemistry to make the couple believably matched, and Iain and Seraphina do have that. There's more to their history than their (brief) time as a married couple, and that added to the sense of hurt feelings. They don't quite know each other--I mean, can you know someone after thirteen years of separation?--but they do still have feelings for each other, and that's rather delicious.

--Here's the thing, though. After this really arresting first meeting, you kind of go into this "hurry up and wait" thing. I get why Britton focused on Seraphina's relationships with her friends and her sisters. She's a girl's girl. I love female friendships in romance novels, especially historicals.

However, the focus on those relationships and Seraphina's life without Iain either needed to get cut down a good bit, or it needed to be shifted to another part of the book. For all that these two had a lot of chemistry, I didn't feel like they had enough time together in the first chunk of the novel, and that slowed the pacing significantly. Once we get to them one-on-one, I was kind of frustrated.

--Your mileage may vary on why there's so much confusion between Seraphina and Iain and what they both think of each other. I don't really mind miscommunication and secrets in romance, but I will admit that there is a lot happening here. On the other hand, I don't know that this kind of plot works without it.

That being said, there are a lot of external forces at play. Which again, may work for you. I felt like it was sort of... shoved in there to shift some of the blame off the two of them. I'd rather they both have to come to terms a bit more about being a little (or a lot) irrational. Because feelings!

--I did like how tough Seraphina was, and how willing she was to go to major lengths--including painful ones--to take care of herself and her sisters. It's rough at points, but I respected it, and it made her subsequent feelings and emotional walls more understandable.

Conversely, I found Iain to be a bit more "also ran" but still, he was a solid hero. I kind of would've liked him to be more of an asshole, to be honest. But that's kind of hard to pull off in the current market.

The Sex:

There are a few sex scenes, none of which are bad, but they're also not anything super explicit or super tame. Sort of flowery, but not super flowery, if that makes sense. I do think it could've happened a bit earlier in the book. Like I said, this is a slow burn.

Overall, I don't know that this book made me feel like I MUST read another Christina Britton novel anytime soon. But it was good, and I appreciated the places it went to. If you're into something that touches on the "dead spouse but not really" thing without going too far, check it out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Seraphina and Iain were once madly in love with each other, but after deception, hatred, and thirteen years, a divorce is needed. Iain has traveled to the Isle of Synne to confront Seraphina and get that divorce. Seraphina has been living in hiding these past thirteen years but now all that she has worked so hard to push away and the life she has built threatens to come tumbling down when her husband shows up.
This second chance novel will have you riveted and engaged in the story right up to the end. Very well written, has great character development, and a sweet (with some steam) romance. Some very surprising and traumatizing back story that is handled well.
I usually don't like second chance, road trip romances as they are very predictable. While this had a touch of predictability, I found myself unable to put this book down. I loved how strong of character Seraphina was and her chemistry with Iain was palpable. Of course, this story is full of miscommunication and lack of communication. The secondary characters are all well-rounded, and some much-needed comedy from Phineas. The only thing I was disappointed in was how the last chapter and epilogue felt rushed.
This is a must-read for fans of the series (although it is a stand-alone) and if you just want a really great story.
I received an advanced copy but my thoughts and review are freely given.

Seraphina's history is darker than usual for the ladies of Synne. Piece by piece we find out what happened to her when she crossed her father and married Iain. Why their HEA didn't happen. Why she disappeared with her younger sisters and was on the run for years. Why Iain vowed to never love again. Most of this story takes place on the road rather than on the Isle of Synne. It's a tale of tender young love than was nipped in the bud. Can it regenerate or has too much happened?

Seraphina Athwart has spent years building a life for herself and her sisters on the Isle of Synne. Then Iain MacInnes waltzes back into her life. She hasn’t seen him since he broke her heart 13 years ago, and he has tracked her down now because he wants a divorce.

I love the Oddments and the Isle of Synne. I adored Bronwyn’s and Katrina’s books and was so excited to pick up Seraphina’s, but this one ended up falling a bit flat for me.

It has some of my favorite ingredients for a historical romance: a friend group I already love, a Scottish MMC, a road trip (hello, forced proximity in a carriage), caretaking, an only-one-bed situation, some fun steam, and a second chance at romance (which I tend to enjoy in historical romance but not so much in contemporary).

There’s even a parrot that provides humor, protection, and emotional support.

Here’s what didn’t work so well for me, but may work for you (slight spoilers):
- A self-sacrificing character that makes unilateral decisions that impact those around them and their relationships
- How long it takes for the two characters to finally discuss what drove them apart
- Repetitive internal monologues/thoughts
- What feels like some inconsistent behavior for the characters
- Some of the elements in Seraphina’s backstory and how they are addressed
- Moments that feel like angst for angst’s sake
- All that carriage time with no shenanigans

All in all, while I wanted to be invested in these characters and their relationship, I ultimately wasn’t, and the book ended up feeling longer than it actually is. I still enjoyed seeing the Oddments during their brief appearances on the pages, and I always appreciate a love interest with a Scottish brogue.

I received an advance copy of the book from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Second chance romance is a hard trope for me to enjoy because either the reason for the separation is lackluster or the characters themselves are frustrating. Surprisingly, I found the set up for the separation believable and perfectly angsty (young lovers torn apart after they elope by her cruel, classist father). The idea of two knuckleheads going to Scotland to divorce was my cup of tea and I was invested in the first half. Because I think Seraphine and Iain are both characters you can sympathize with, o really, really wanted them to find their HEA together. But….Seraphina is one of those FMCs that is SO self sacrificing it begins to grate pretty early on. Mostly because she seems to think she knows what’s best for everyone without consulting them. Which leads to miscommunication and a lot of hurt feelings that could have been resolved much earlier on and still had good conflict.

I enjoyed seeing how to characters that were in love enough to elope at a young age would come back together and explore lingering emotions while jammed on a journey together. (Loved the reverse imagery of a race to Scotland to marry vs. a race to Scotland to divorce). But I found myself completely confused on WHY the climax had to happen the way it did except for…more angst I suppose. But there was enough already here with Seraphina’s time locked in an asylum + her history of resorting to sex work to support her sisters without adding in a *SPOILER* divorce after they’ve already fallen back in love with each other.

So some parts I really loved. And others just really missed the mark for me. But as always, Britton’s prose is beautiful and the story she tells is engaging, albeit frustrating.

2.5 stars

The first book in this series was almost a 5 star read for me, while the second was a DNF. This third book, The Duke's All That, landed between the two extremes for me. The concept of the book is great - a married couple separated by cruel circumstances fall back in love with each other while on a road trip to obtain their divorce - and Britton really brings the found family element in this installment.

The trouble is that I personally didn't feel like we delved as deeply as we should have or could have into the traumatic events that Britton has her characters experience. There is so much foreshadowing of the secrets that each character is dealing with and yet, the reveals of what they were fairly flippant. I can understand wanting to treat the topics in a thoughtful manner, but I think there was definitely a way to dive a bit deeper while still being sensitive to the complexity of the issues.

There were a few shining moments in this book (the aforementioned found family and Phineas the emotional support parrot being among them), but this romance just didn't hit the way I would have liked it to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This one was a bit of a miss for me. I normally love Christina Britton's books, but this one just felt a little off. I am sure it will find it's perfect audience. For me, it was a just a miss. I will be reading the rest of the series though with high hopes!

The Duke's All That was good. I devoured half of it in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this was a second chance story. I loved experiencing Seraphina and Iain's journey back to each other. It was fraught with secrets and betrayal. There was also steam, sweet moments, cute and fun scenes. It was an overall enjoyable read with a bit of bittersweet tinge to it as it's the last in the series. However, I'm looking forward to reading what the author has coming next.

Seraphina and Iain were once young lovers who were secretly married since he was just a stable boy and she was the daughter of a lord. After they're married, Seraphina worries how her sisters will take her disappearance so returns home to explain. However, once home her father lies to both of them so that they both believe the other has betrayed them. Flash forward to 13 years later and Seraphina has done everything she could to support herself and her sisters after they escaped from their father's home. They're now living on the Isle of Synne and running a circulating library and Seraphina has not told anyone what she's been through to get them to this point. Despite the secrecy that they live in, Iain finds Seraphina on Synne. He is now a Duke and needs a divorce so he can eventually marry. They travel together to Edinburgh to get divorced because Seraphina's father has told everyone that she's dead.

I've really liked the other books in this series and when I heard that this one had a Scottish MMC, a roadtrip, and was second chance (which I typically like in historicals), I was so so excited to read it! Unfortunately this did not work for me for a number of reasons.

My main issue was that Seraphina was so ungodly self-sacrificing that she was pretty intensely unlikeable. I understand that she went through some pretty big trauma and why she wouldn't want to share that, but I get really frustrated with characters that make decisions for everyone else based on what that person thinks is best. Once she finds out that Iain is now a Duke, Seraphina just decides that he could never want her as his Duchess due to her past, despite the fact that he clearly holds no stock in being a duke.

I liked Iain fine - potentially mostly because I was picturing his Scottish brogue. But honestly he deserved better than Seraphina and I just was so not invested in their relationship that I didn't really care if they got back together.

Also (spoilers):
- they actually do end up getting divorced (and then get back together) which I just really did not like and it felt totally unnecessary when they were both in love with each other at that point
- There's this really strange scene where Seraphina (on her way home from the divorce) decides to confront her dad and then is surprised when he threatens to lock her back up in the asylum? Like girl, what did you think was going to happen? You had already cut all ties with him, why on earth did you need to go back there? It accomplished nothing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Duke's All That by Christina Britton is the third book in the Synneful Spinsters series but it's the first book I've read by her. Although this is book three and I hadn't read the first two beforehand, I don't think it created any issues with me enjoying this one - there are characters mentioned who are the main characters but they don't play a huge role within the core of the story.

Diving in, we immediately get some backstory - Iain MacInnes grew up an orphan and eventually found himself working on the estate that belonged to Seraphina's father. As their friendship turns more, Iain and Seraphina secretly marry, and when she goes back to the estate to tell her sisters goodbye, she never returns to Iain and when her father shows up and gives Iain her ring and plaid back, and tells him that she is gone to tour the world, he falls for it. A few years later, he is led to believe she died in an accident but here is where the rest of the story picks up.

Now, thirteen years later, Iain is the Duke of Balgair, and when he receives word that Seraphina is alive and living under an assumed name on the remote Isle of Synne. He sets off with only one goal in mind: bring his wife back to Scotland where he can divorce her.

After a devastating deception by the man who was supposed to love her, Seraphina did what was necessary to keep herself and her sisters safe. And though she’s still haunted by the events that tore her world apart all those years ago, she’s made a happy life on Synne, surrounded by loyal friends and building a secret career as a popular author. Now that Iain has found her, however, all that is at risk and she knows she will have to do whatever it takes to keep her sisters safe.

As they begin their journey to Scotland, both are determined to keep their distance and just get it over with but they both realize that their feelings haven't changed and as the truth comes out, the question really truly becomes, should they still be together. They are very different people now and no matter how much they love each other, they have to decide if that's still the right path for them.

I truly enjoyed this one and will definitely be picking up the other books in the series as well as others written by Britton. If you're looking for a historical with a second-chance romance, consider picking this one up when you can.

Thank you so much for the chance to read this book before publication. It was my first time reading this author, and therefor I had not read the first two books in the series. I definitely think this one can stand alone but, even still, I think having the background and writing style be new to me didn't help me connect with the writing and storyline.

The characters didn't have much of a backstory, and I think that would have been very helpful to get me to buy in to their love story. For some reason I couldn't connect enough to them either separately or as a couple, so I ended up skimming through a lot of the middle of the book. It had its fun moments and I think fans of this author and series will really love it. But coming into it late was probably not the best move for me!

Congrats and good luck to everyone working on this book!

This was a second chance romance between a married couple who parted ways a decade ago, both thinking the other had betrayed them. Iain is shocked to discover his wife, who he thinks abandoned him moments after their wedding then died a few years later, is in fact alive and well.

Seraphina has been living under an assumed name after a tragic series of events to hide from her father and keep her sisters safe. She is shocked when her husband who she thinks left her for a payout from her father shows up demanding a divorce. The two embark on a road trip back to Iain’s home of Scotland to get the divorce and start to get to know each other again over the course of the few days.

There was a lot to like about this one - I love the emotions of a second chance romance and the sparks between this couple were very much still sparking. Throw in an ‘only one bed’ scene and whoo boy it got spicy. I especially loved Iain, he was a self made made man and still cared for his wife so much. He was definitely the one who was more open with his feelings and willing to give things a go again.

Seraphina was a little harder for me to like but at least I understood her. I struggled with their reasons for breaking up the first time - it should have been pretty obvious to them both that the person who broke them up was not trustworthy at all so all their pain and heartbreak felt nonsensical. I mean I get that they couldn’t just text each other and say WTF like we could now but it still felt unbelievable. Also, and I’m not sure if this is an editing issue or what, but Iain has inherited a dukedom in their time apart which he tries to hide from her but his footman calls him Your Grace in front of her and she doesn’t pick up on it? I don’t claim to know everything about the peerage but that seems like a pretty good tell to me.

Overall it was okay but felt a little slow and with the above issues this was not my favorite of the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Seraphina Athwart has always been one of the more enigmatic members of the Oddments, the group of independent strong women who live on the Isle of Synne. Her fondness for and loyalty to her friends is one of her most admirable qualities. I am finally glad to know her story.

This book had so many unexpected twists. I think the biggest surprise for me was Iain MacInnes, Duke of Balgair. This angry, bitter man is not what I would expect from one of Christina Britton's heroes. His life is so complicated. It is a wonder he has survived.

Seraphina and Iain have so many secrets between them. There are those that have each amassed, and then those they have collectively gathered. It is truly amazing and riveting they way their paths have crossed and the way in which fate has conspired to keep them apart.

I enjoyed each moment of conflict and communion between these two complex characters. I also loved the fact that even though this is the third installment of this series, it was an exceptionally different type of story. I adore Christina Britton for presenting such an exciting and touching story while allowing us to also have glimpses of beloved characters from the earlier books in this series. I will definitely be on board for this authors next written work.

I found the characters in this book likable and interesting, especially Seraphina and her sisters. The general comic relief of the pet parrot was fun, too.. However, the miscommunication trope just dragged on and on, which started to be a little rough. I get that it’s very necessary for the entire premise of the book, but by around 40% I just wanted to shake the MCs and make them talk things out. I did really appreciate that once the air was cleared, that didn’t solve everything; there was still plenty of plot and obstacles to work through, which always makes centering miscommunication a little more bearable.

Separated by lies, the married only one day couple has not seen each other in thirteen years. Ian believed Seraphina didn’t want him and left to travel and eventually had died. Seraphina believed Ian did not want her enough to find her when she was held captive and later escaped from her father. Inheriting a title, Ian now must marry. When he learns his wife is still alive he sets out to find her to get a divorce. In this second chance at love story Ian and Seraphina must learn to trust each other again. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Forever for my honest review.

Sadly this was just meh. That’s it. I have to say more but there’s really nothing more to say here. I’m usually a fan of historical romances but this one just didn’t grab me and I found myself skimming a lot, until I just gave up

The ladies of Synne continue to sparkle in this wonderful historical romance. Iain MacInnis is a new Duke looking for his estranged wife Seraphina. Seraphina is a fiery and strong character who is protecting her younger sisters. The plot moves quickly and is easy to follow. The characters are interesting and fun. The dialogue is easy to read and understand. The parrot will provide extra entertainment for readers. A wonderful story with a happy ending.

I love second chances, and I enjoy miscommunication/deception tropes, so this definitely piqued my interest. I thought both leads were compelling and enjoyed the setting. I always like a book that gives you a strong sense of the community the characters exist within. I like that Seraphina has a strong support system and good friends, but I kind of wanted more from Iain's development. I like how it all ended up but that would have strengthened it for me.

3 1/2 stars. I enjoyed this one. I was so so glad that the misunderstanding that separated the H and h did not drag out. Road trip romance. A good edition to the Synneeful Spinsters series.
Thank you to net galley for the ARC. I look forward to more from this author.
Review Posted to goodreads.