Review: Duke, Actually

Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

The answer is yes, but I have questions. Question the first: Is this going to be one of those elaborately complex romantic comedies where we pretend to be in love to make your ex-husband jealous? 

Continuing with characters readers met in A Princess for Christmas, Duke, Actually takes the two bestfriends of the first book's couple. Dani is going to be the Bestwoman in her friend Leo's wedding and Max is going to be the Man of Honor for his bestfriend and ex-fiancee Marie. This did start off in a fast, jump into it way, that had me wondering if I should have read the first book, Dani and Max clearly know each other and even though they weren't in each other's presence much, there is the feeling that something, however, intangible, is already between them. After feeling a little lost in the very beginning, the rest of the book takes such thoughtful, deliberate time exploring the two that you could, actually start here. 

He was a baron who lived on another continent. There was no danger of him upending her life. 

Dani is a literature professor who is in the middle of a divorce, her husband left her for one of his students, and has decided to swear off love and follow her list that has rules for never losing herself to a man again. At first, Max comes off as the playboy aristocrat because of all the mentions of how he is portrayed in the media, but you can tell he is generally interested in Dani, she's not impressed with his status and treats him in a real way. When Dani needs a date to a holiday party, he agrees to be her plus one and their friendship only grows from there. Right away the two are cracking together but the relationship stays in the friendship realm and the first 20% has a sweet feel with the promise of more. 

She was making snow angels in Central Park with an Eldovian baron. 

The two then separate as Max goes back to his country and Dani stays in New York but they stay in frequent contact as Dani goes to Max for dating advice but really their text message conversations are just bonding these two together more and more. At 50% Dani heads over to Eldovia (the fictional country of Max) and the two are reunited, having that mental and emotional connection foundation. As I mentioned, this was a very considered paced story, the bulk takes place over a year and for the vast majority, Dani and Max are friends but with that slow burn building to heating up the sheets; you're going to say “Now kiss!” out-loud more than once. 

He had come here purely to keep her company at the party she was so dreading. It made her throat catch. 

With that deliberate pace, there is a lot of story to sink into and sit with, this is not a story to breeze through but settle in while Dani deals with the emotional fall-out of her divorce and Max addresses his father's alcoholism and the emotional abuse from it. There was only once or twice I thought the story felt slow in the second half as maybe Dani toed the wallow line with her list but I also could have stood for more scenes added between her and her lovely relationship with her parents and Max and his brother Sebastien getting more bonding moments. 

“You looked at me first.” 

I loved how this became a story to invest in, it has light, sweet moments that will delight those holiday vibe senses, intriguing threads involving a forgotten WWII heroine, sincere emotional pain, full characters, and a relationship that so wonderfully developed from friendship to love.

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