The Duke And I by Julia Quinn

Summary of The Duke And I:

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule…

Length:

384 Pages

Reading Speed:

6 hours and 15 minutes

My Opinion of The Duke And I:

Romances written in an era not our own are a weakness of mine. It’s the rules of society, the gossip, and the drama that cannot be solved with a Google search that hole me tight. Then, you had to be clever, you had to be able to fool everybody. And there is nothing I love more than clever executions.

Character:

Clever is exactly what our main characters present.

They fool everybody into thinking they are courting, and in turn, fool themselves and each other. Simon was a lonely Duke, content to outlive his father, treat his grandmother with respect, and live his life in the arms of different women.

Daphne was stereo-typically feminine, wanting nothing more than love and children and a family. She was also delicately sassy, despicable, and responsible. Not only for herself but her younger siblings. She did was what expected of her, treating everyone with kindness and politeness. She also learns to gain confidence in her desirability. Something, I’m sure we all need. In the book, she is described overall as being a friend. The bane of why she can’t find a husband even after three seasons.

Though Daphne is the fourth child in the family, she is the eldest daughter. Her relationship with her mother is a beautiful mix of friendship and typical annoyance. Her older brothers, especially Anthony, took up the responsibility of her marriage. Unawareness of Daphne’s cleverness and deception was overlooked on the counts of them knowing better.

I don’t know if you have older brothers, but this is pretty accurate stuff.

Trope:

Now, fake dating/friends to love is admittedly not my favorite trope. It is usually rushed, with character A falling in love slowly, confessing to character B. That’s when “suddenly” character B realizes that they are in love too. That is not the case here. The friendship builds at the same time as the physical attraction. It had the typical, I’ll love you but only in silence because you are just acting scenes. But they were so perfectly executed, that it doesn’t pull our attention away from them still being friends and continuing to fall in love.

Writing Style:

Seeing as we see both points of view most of the time, we gain a deep insight into their process. It is a refreshing change from reading from only the woman’s point of view. Her invention of Lady Whistledown was the perfect way to introduce us to basic facts in a manner that doesn’t seem forced. Not to mention, her writing style is simply remarkable. She captures just enough details to give us a clear image, but not enough to bore us to death or make it overbearing. The feelings are described, rather than directly said. A fleet not easily managed.

Side Note: The spicy scenes are written in the same manner. 😉

Bonus:

The side characters are what really gripped me. She invented backstories and dropped hints all over this book. It wasn’t just an amazing insight into characters that will later become our main characters, like Anthony, in her next book: The Viscount Who Loved Me. She also sprinkled characters that exist with an untold story. A story, we would love to hear but would only know snippets of more and more with each book.

If you have already read The Duke And I and can’t get enough, click on this link to read my favorite The Duke And I Qoutes and why.

Recommendation for The Duke And I:

Anyone who has re-read or re-watched Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin should start with this book immediately. Not only is the book beautifully written, but it continues the stories with different characters to show us the happily ever after we expect from a romance novel, without getting bored. This is a series about love. Romantic love, parental love, sibling love and love in the confidence the characters have within themselves.