seriously romantic: a duke in the night by kelly bowen

so here's the thing, i liked august and clara's story in a duke in the night. from the start, i liked their chemistry. i liked how clearly they both yearned for each other and how they were both afraid to take a leap.

but so much of their romance is spent talking about august's sister anne. and like it's a good topic, she wants to be a more productive member of society than women are generally allowed to be in the regency period. and august is fairly progressive, he's just crazy protective about his sister. but it makes sense because they had a really rough childhood and he wants to provide for her. he wants to give her a sparkling future because her past is full of dirt and grime.

and maybe part of the problem is that august is made out to be in the wrong, but he's also such a good character it's really painful to see him in the wrong. and maybe it's because it goes against the grain to want the feminists in the room to just let the man be. he really does care. he's actually a really good man. and so all these feelings are uncomfortable, and i tried to skin through all the stuff with his sister, to get to the good moments.

of which there are plenty, clara and august continually find themselves alone together. it's really the novel's saving grace. these two and their chemistry.

**a duke in the night published on february 20, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/grand central publishing (forever) in exchange for my honest review.