A Lady For a Duke: a swoonworthy historical romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material

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When she encounters the Duke of Gracewood years later she’d shocked at his depression and overall hiding from life. As a bonus, Hall also wrote the funny, insightful discussion questions at the back, allowing readers space to dwell a bit longer on the story. Hall has crafted a story that centers Viola as a trans woman in the most beautiful, affirming, and empowering way. I only wish there could have been more, but Alexis Hall made it up with so many lines of such utter devotion and absolute love that they had- I was inwardly crying at how heartfelt and endearing every sentiment was between the two of them.

A Lady For A Duke follows Viola Carroll, a woman who was finally able to live as her true self after everyone thought she died at Waterloo. Viola and Gracewood's relationship has this sweetness and depth to it and I was fully rooting for them by the end of the book. So many of their scenes could have been remixed into any spot in the plot and been completely fine, that's how identical in tone and importance they were.

There are so many times when Gracewood has to adjust what he thinks of as his "role" or "responsibility" just because he's a man. Reluctantly, she befriends the duke and she is both relieved and disappointed that he doesn't recognize her immediately. I hope, in explaining what did and didn’t work for me, that this review is helpful in working out whether or not it’s the right book for you. I think what makes this romance so incredibly striking is the fact that being together allows both Gracewood and Viola to process their grief, and they’re both grieving completely different things. Her younger brother became the Viscount, and he and his wife take in Viola as she learns to embrace herself and her womanhood in a society ripe with fashions, customs, and gossip.

There are many more examples of individuals in a similar time period who did not identify with their assigned gender, and many whom lived as the gender they identified as—including James Allen, who wrote to his wife that he was her “Most loving and affectionate husband until death”, and all other ‘female husbands’, the Public Universal Friend, Dora Richter, Lili Elbe, Toni Ebel and her partner Charlotte Charlaque, and many more lost to the ravages of time and poor record keeping.As for the other main lead, Justin De Vere, he provided quite the emotional conversation surrounding grief and the lingering trauma arising from war. My favorite scene: the shaving scene where Viola helps Gracewood shave because his hands aren’t steady enough to do it himself. After a couple of years she has to face an old friend, Gracewood is grieving the loss of his best friend and Viola is the only person who can help him heal. Gracewood is upset that Viola didn’t trust him with her truth, and that he would never have known if he hadn’t figured it out on his own. Through healing together and being with one another, they are slowly learning that the people they are now are fully capable and worthy of love.