Review: A Duke by Default (Reluctant Royals #2) by Alyssa Cole

Saying that I didn’t like this book as much as the previous in the series does a disservice to this book, because I still enjoyed it thoroughly. This is completely subjective reasoning on my part, because I did not connect with this heroine as much.  She’s a rich trust fund kid, even though she struggles with previously unaddressed behavioral and mental health issues. I wish that had been more of a plot point, rather than something mentioned and not delved into because more time needed to be spent on the relationship arc. But this is a romance novel, after all.

On the other hand, my favorite part of this story was how the hero is the one who ends up with a surprise title. Tavish was a great, fully developed character who stays true to himself through the course of the story. I cheered him and Portia on from day one, despite the roadblocks that existed from the moment of their first meeting.

A British title is a bit cliche, and I found some of the shenanigans to be unbelievable (especially with a certain character pulled from real life). Nevertheless, this story was a fun ride with lots of great secondary characters to also enjoy. It also did a great job of setting up the pairing in the next installment of this series without detracting from the main plot line.

Rating: 4 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.