Nicole's Reviews > His Grace, The Duke

There is a lot I want to say, but overwhelmingly, you should absolutely read this book (AFTER reading the first one, of course). This is one of my favorite reads of the year, and quickly became one of my favorite 'why choose' stories ever. 

This story has so much going for it - a strong romantic story, a plotline that contains some true surprising twists and turns, 4 main characters that are well developed who are surrounded by intriguing side characters, and high quality spicy scenes. I loved book one of this duology but book two takes everything up several notches.

Some specific things that I loved:
*Our female main character, Rosalie - as in the first book, she's a smart, perceptive, strong-willed woman. In this book we get to see her be possessive, vulnerable, confrontational and find out she is sexually experienced (*gasp*). I like that she was given such range and complexity.
*The men - Y'alllllll these men. While they are all flawed, they are all worthy of being your next book boyfriend. They are grow when challenged, can apologize, and *spoiler* get real possessive of each OTHER once they work out they have some feelings.  
*Different relationships - Truly, there are multiple romantic relationships in this story. Each one develops at its own pace and has its own way of being. The three men each offer Rosalie something different, and the men have varied, complex relationships with each other as well. 
*Sword Crossing - This book is a solid five on Emily's sword crossing scale (see her TikTok). Not all reverse harem stories have MM relationships, but this one does and each one is given lovely space. The men in this book are slowly realizing (or finally admitting out loud) that they have feelings for each other that go beyond brotherly love and companionship. They have sexual relationships that don't involve the FMC at all, and they are...well done. *fans self* 
*Communication - As multiple romantic pairings develop, our characters talk multiple times about boundaries and how to make all of their relationships work. As the story nears the end, all 4 of them actually discuss how this is going to work moving forward - especially set in a Regency era, this was crucial for the story to flow well. Personally, I wouldn't have believed an ending without learning how the four of them could possibly get a HEA within a system that centers on protocol and respectability.
*Reveals - Outside of the plot twists, the author dropped in some character reveals that took me by surprise, and were so much fun. When one of the men revealed that he had been lusting after his friend for years, I actually gasped. 
*Female focus - While this book is called second sons, there is a fair amount of time and space given to conversations about the way that women living in the Regency era were treated, and what their true options in life were. 
*THE SPICE - I mentioned this already, but ...it is so good. High quality AND high quantity. Well written, lots of tension, some surprises, and a surprising variety. You will enjoy it.

I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.