seriously romantic: the duke i once knew by olivia drake

the thing about the duke i once knew is that if only the hero weren't such a gross horndog when we first met him, i might like him better. because honestly, he's not that bad, but first impressions are hard to beat and when we first see the main characters interacting abigail has just heard max finger some random widow in his library. this doesn't scream romance.

and on the one hand she writes it off as this is just max being max and not the guy i fell in love with who must have really only wanted in my pants and became a jerk when i said no. but like, isn't that terrible? it's also weird to me that abigail is fed all these stories of him being this gross libertine. like why would she want anything to do with this guy.

in the here and now we don't see much evidence of this. and the reasons they were kept apart also make no real sense. his dad didn't want him to find love, because his mom was probably manic depressive? i don't know. these things didn't work for me.

but, but, but, max and abby when they are alone and flirty and sweet together, are kind of amazing. the attraction is pretty clear from the get-go, and they have such great chemistry. so in the end, i have mixed feelings. if i ignore the way we're introduced to the hero, it's all good. but every time i remember that library scene and how it was played for laughs that just didn't come, i cringe. but if that kind of thing doesn't bother you, then this is all good.

sometimes i think i must be getting old and prudish, because i don't remember these things bothering me so much before. but i also think that in some ways #metoo and #timesup have changed my perception of this kind of behavior. there's an underlying misogyny that i find hard to tolerate, even if it's true to the time period.

**the duke i once knew will publish on december 31, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press in exchange for my honest review.