Category: Historical Rom-Com

The Duke’s Got Mail by Samara Parish

On By TracyIn Historical Rom-Com, Movie / Story Retelling, Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Duke's Got Mail (England's Sweethearts, #2)The Duke’s Got Mail by Samara Parish

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: England’s Sweethearts #2

Release Date: April 28, 2026

Miss Eleanor Wright’s life is just about perfect; she is the premier compositor in London and is in high demand. Thanks to her salary, she is independent and can afford to indulge in all the books she could want, pretty gowns and a spacious apartment. She has also recently begun a new pen-pal relationship with the brother of her secret pen-pal and they have really connected. Life is good, until it isn’t… She is blindsided by the Linotype machine, a new technology that will forever change the publishing industry and will make her obsolete and costing her job and her self-worth. And the man responsible for her misery? Peter, The Duke of Strafford and the primary investor of the Linotype.

Peter, The Duke of Strafford has not been having the best year, he was jilted by the woman he planned to marry, when he was in a coma and she fell for his younger brother and now he has been roped into acting as his sister’s personal secretary as she is recovering from eye surgery. But there are bright spots, first after years of worrying about providing for his family and his estate, he has finally found an investment that will secure his finances for years to come, the Linotype and he has been corresponding with an amazing woman. Everything is going great, until it isn’t… the woman he has been falling in love with is the same woman whose life has been upended by the Linotype. He knows that there is a price to be paid for progress, but he never imagined it would cost him the love of a lifetime.

I am not a huge fan of movie adaptations, but I will give credit where credit is due – Ms. Parish didn’t just rewrite the plot of the hit 90’s Rom-Com “You’ve Got Mail” and call it a day – she took the idea of that story and made it her own. Yes, there are a lot of similarities to the movie, but there are also a lot of original ideas that give this adaptation its own flair. Unfortunately, I think one of the biggest changes was in Eleanor’s character, who is plagued with atychiphobia (the fear of failure) and is a perfectionist who is unwilling to try anything new and be deemed less than perfect, something that she has struggled with all her life, seemingly thanks to her parents. I tried to feel sorry for her, but unlike her movie counterpart, her dislike of Peter came off as nasty and shrewish, and I felt like she was being unfair to blame Peter for everything. So overall, it was a good read, but it did seem overly drawn out and the romance was bland. I did enjoy the story and appreciated the new twist as well as the cute epilogue, making it a book that I would recommend, but I probably wouldn’t read again. This is the second book in the series, but each book can easily be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

Can’t Get Enough of the Duke by Lenora Bell

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Rom-Com, Movie / Story Retelling, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Can't Get Enough of the Duke (The Thunderbolt Club, #2)Can’t Get Enough of the Duke by Lenora Bell

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Thunderbolt Club #2

Release Date: April 7, 2026

Deckard “Dex” Payne, the Duke of Warburton makes a battlefield death promise to one of his men, Lt John Crewe as he lays dying in Dex’s arms, he promises to find and care for the man’s daughter, Analise, but just moments later he himself is attacked and it is months before he is healed enough to look for Analise. When he finally returns to England and begins his search, he is devasted to learn that Analise is no longer at the school her father enrolled her in and no one knows where she has gone. It takes years for him to track her down and when he does find her, he is shocked to learn she isn’t the docile, young schoolgirl he was imagining, but a beautiful young woman who is anything but docile. He finally convinces her that he was sent by her father to take care of her. But in addition to being older than he imagined, Analise isn’t biddable in the slightest and has no intention of making his task easy. Little by little, she worms her way into his heart, something he thought was long dead.

Analise Crewe doesn’t believe her father is dead, but with no other alternatives, she agrees to let the duke “launch” her into society, something she only agreed to so she can research the ton for her book. As an aspiring authoress, she left school after her father was reported missing and went to work for a well-respected authoress, who believed her work was good and sent her fantasy story to her publisher. But when the lady dies unexpectedly, Analise is once again on her own, that is until the duke shows up. She never expected to be the ward of a wealthy, grumpy duke and when they ended up compromised and forced to marry, she is determined to make the best of things. Too bad her duke is just as determined to keep her at arm’s length.

I definitely liked this story better than the last book and I think that is because I haven’t seen the movie Annie in decades, so I thankfully didn’t make that association. The book has a lot going on and at times I felt a little lost, but overall, it was a fun grumpy/sunshine book with a couple different storylines that ultimately come together in a very charming happy ending. As I mentioned before, I didn’t get the Annie reference (which honestly is a bit cringy) and I wasn’t put off by the age difference, because I have been reading historical romance for years and could easily accept that young women marrying older men was a common practice – but I can also see how it could be off-putting to a contemporary reader. Overall, it was an OK read and if you are a grumpy/sunshine fan – you will probably enjoy this book. This is the second book in the series, but they are very loosely connected, and this book can be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *