"The Duke Meets His Match" by Karen Tuft

 The Duke Meets His Match

by Karen Tuft

GoodReads Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Romance, clean, period; Series but stand alone read 

This was definitely a beautifully detailed book, with strong characters. George, the Duke of Aylesham was a wonderful character.  Strong, loyal, and determined. Susan, older and well-past a debutante, speaking her mind, not afraid to stand her ground, and I loved her gumption and courage.  

This is a bit of a 'My Fair Lady' tale in a way, although not to the extreme of Eliza's poverty, and Susan wasn't taken on by the Duke like Eliza with the Professor, but with Susan getting gowned and coifed after living in the country, getting lessons in Royal protocol, and Aylesham giving her some lessons in courage and determination, after being at odds with her, it reminded me a bit of that story line.

Susan is such a strong character, sticking to her ground, trying to make a way for herself as she is thrown into this maelstrom that is Prinny and the circumstances of Ayesham asking for her hand. George's (Aylesham) missteps, their moments as they 'see' each other, strong side characters (I loved the scene with the Walmsley butler, and his 'hint' as to how Susan was feeling that day), and of course their sweet moments of attraction, affection, their chemistry, along with really knowing their hearts and who they were, that made for their 'match'.

So beautifully detailed with strong side characters, political machinations, and brief bits of other characters in the previous novels in this series. I rarely give 5's for reviews, but this truly deserved the rating. The character interactions, side characters, setting, and the flow of the novel was so well done. Perfect read for anyone who is a fan of Regency fiction and is looking for strong, well-developed characters, and moments beyond the escape. Hard to put down it was so engaging, and left you wanting more of these characters. 

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review, my opinions are my own.