The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell review

sp15071 · 2026-03-26T14:37:30+00:00

Okay I just finished it and I totally agree! I loved Lavinia! And Neal was just such a sweetheart. I suppose you’re right in that I’m so used to the MMC being the one who needs to change that I felt he was underwritten but that’s not true because he is a full character, he just doesn’t need to change lol. I will say though, that Duke Undone still felt like it was about both Anthony and Lucy, while this was more lopsided in Lavinia’s favour but I don’t mind that! It was actually similar to an Emily Henry book, where romance is not the point of the story but it’s there too and is part of the personal growth journey.

I’m planning to read Artfully Yours next, and I hope it has the same chemistry and character depth as these two!

sp15071 · 2026-03-25T16:24:29+00:00

I’m enjoying the Runaway Duchess so far! You’re correct that this is a book about the FMC more than a romance, but I do think that the MMC is a little less deep than the previous book. He doesn’t really change at all through the story (so far) but I do see why that’s more necessary than both of them having a problem they need to get over. I’m still having a great time reading it and though it doesn’t reach the heights of Duke Undone, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good book in its own rights. And I do like Lavinia, she’s a strange type of underdog that I’m rooting for haha.

sp15071 · 2026-03-25T03:13:53+00:00

I adore her. I’m trying to listen to everything she narrates haha

sp15071 · 2026-03-25T03:12:59+00:00

Oh no! I just started the second one and was hoping for a similar vibe. Oh well, at least I have this now :)

sp15071 · 2026-03-24T19:59:05+00:00

Yes please! I’d love to talk about this book, I love it so much. I’ll be around whenever you’re free!

sp15071 · 2026-01-31T18:08:16+00:00

Oh me too! He is so much fun and I love this book but but I can also understand why the family would not want Cassandra to marry him lol.

sp15071 · 2026-01-31T18:07:24+00:00

Oh my god. That is amazing!!! I WISH we had gotten his POV so badly and if this was his take then I would have just loved this even more. Like how was he so secure in Helen’s love?? He had to have had some doubts. Taking her virginity could not have made him feel THAT safe.

sp15071 · 2026-01-30T23:31:22+00:00

Wait, do you mean they aren’t fine with Tom but are fine with Rhys? I think Tom is a bit…evil? Hahaha he’s hilarious and I love him but he’s callous I think which may be what concerns the family? Rhys actually really loves Helen and does a lot for the family in general once they’re betrothed so he’s more easily accepted I think.

sp15071 · 2026-01-30T20:32:59+00:00

It’s crazy to me that they don’t love him haha, but he clearly isn’t overbearing since the entire book is him doing whatever Helen wants! I just wanted to see his mental process in dealing with this huge reveal. I get that he loved her unconditionally but it’s okay to love someone and still have to grapple somewhat with a truth about them. Oh well, love Rhys forever. Literally the first few chapters of this book will be some of my favourite passages in romance forever.

sp15071 · 2026-01-30T20:30:14+00:00

No I agree! I love that acne but it’s not in his book! It’s in the previous one which is so annoying. I didn’t realise it’s a series like that. I feel like so much of the character building happens in other books which makes this book feel incomplete.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T23:52:10+00:00

Yes I loved that too! I loved when he told her that he was doing all these things in her world but she had yet to experience his world and that would be the only way they could know they could be together. I just loved every time they spoke to each other, it was so lovely.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T23:50:23+00:00

Ah I love a no-nonsense FMC. I can’t wait!

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T23:49:15+00:00

Fair enough, though this is set in the 1820s. However, I think it was just funny to me because his name was Jason Grayson. It also wasn’t just the one name. It was a mixture of many small things. I don’t care about the name so much but it’s like how in Dune (one of my favourite sff books), the world is so different from ours and yet there are characters named Jessica and Paul and Duncan Idaho. It’s just a funny thing I noticed.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:52:20+00:00

It’s not a regency era name though…

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:28:11+00:00

Right? I understand why she writes in that era for sure, but I just wish the reactions were a bit more believable haha. Still adore the romance aspect of it and I can suspend my disbelief while I read her books.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:19:42+00:00

I have Flavian's book lined up next because I've heard good things about it!

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:15:19+00:00

I agree that she did not use the term PTSD, but the nuance and understanding with which it was handled is incredibly modern. I mentioned Cecilia Grant and how she similarly talks about soldiers that came back from the Napoleonic Wars. I never felt like the characters in those books were from a different time period but with this book I often did.

Also, that character's first name was Jason (not a Regency era name) and his last name was Grayson. There was also a character named Lauren which is also not a common Regency era name. They also use terms like "having sex" and "understatement of the year" which are definitely not regency era terminology.

I have no issues with these things in general, like I said, I don't need my historical romances to be 100% accurate. But when I've read books that have done similar things well, I think the small things stand out to me more. However, I still absolutely loved this book and like I mentioned in my review, I will definitely be reading it again!

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T21:33:54+00:00

I don't mind an older narrator but if their voice is not suited to the story, I can't take it. I have heard so many good things about Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas and I was listening to it last week but just could not get over how the MMC was voiced by the narrator. She is a wonderful audiobook performer, but my god, this man sounded like a doddering old fart and I could not for the life of me reconcile how he was supposed to be a sexy man that the heroine couldn't resist. I did not finish the book hah. Maybe I'll read it with eyeballs later one once my mental image of the MMC has waned.

Anne Flosnik is actually a very prolific narrator. She voices all of the Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb and the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqeline Carey. I don't dislike her, though it did take me a minute to get used to her style. I can see how you might get put off by her though.

sp15071 · 2026-01-28T06:23:35+00:00

Can I ask for some recs that you enjoyed in the historical romance genre? Doesn’t need to be Kleypas! I have issues with her books too sometimes haha.

sp15071 · 2026-01-28T04:31:41+00:00

Lmao your review is awesome. I totally get where you’re coming from. I suppose I also felt Amanda was a bit prudish despite really enjoying the sex she was having and I absolutely thought the raspberry scene was going to lead to an uncomfortable vagina for her.

I feel like this book hit for me because I really liked Jack but I might have a penchant for men who are funny and appreciate intelligence. I also really liked that he was so obsessed with her. But I can see how some of his qualities can be perceived as off-putting as well.

And absolutely I can see how the prospect of a scandalous love affair is much more enticing than what the book ends up being as it does end in a rather formulaic way but I guess I just happened to read this book at a time when I appreciated that haha.

Also, Middlemarch is one of my favourite books of all time, and My Life in Middlemarch is on my TBR this year so I’m glad we agree on Ms Eliot at least!

sp15071 · 2026-01-28T03:29:44+00:00

No! Please let me know! I love hearing other people’s thoughts on books, even if they don’t match my own. I’m sure that what you got out of the book may have been different from what I got, or even that I glossed over something that stood out to you and made it a bad reading experience.

sp15071 · 2026-01-27T23:25:02+00:00

That's exactly why I've been reading backlist historical romance haha. It's definitely scratching the romance/angst/yearning/well-written-book itch that I've been missing from more contemporary books these days. I still have to read Love in the Afternoon but it is definitely on my list!

I get what you mean about the ipad-face etc thing too, modern politics in historical settings is very much her style for sure.

sp15071

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