What do you think?
The Thunderbolt Club #2
Can't Get Enough of the Duke
USA Today bestseller Lenora Bell continues her sparkling, sensual Thunderbolt Club series with a marriage of convenience between a grumpy, combat-scarred duke and his cheerful and beautiful ward.
War hero Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, made a battlefield promise to become guardian to orphan Analise Crewe. He certainly didn’t agree to marry the girl! But that’s exactly what happens when he’s forced to wed her to save her honor.
The last thing Analise wants is a loveless marriage to a broodingly handsome duke who lives in a gloomy castle and keeps his doors—and his heart—tightly locked. He’s determined to keep her at arm’s length—but she’s not easily deterred when there’s a tough case to crack.
Warburton never wanted a wife. Especially an inquisitive and far-too-pretty whirlwind who upends his regimented life. Her sunny, winning ways charm everyone she meets and soon she’s unearthing buried secrets, plotting love matches, and shining light into even the darkest of hearts…his own.
War hero Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, made a battlefield promise to become guardian to orphan Analise Crewe. He certainly didn’t agree to marry the girl! But that’s exactly what happens when he’s forced to wed her to save her honor.
The last thing Analise wants is a loveless marriage to a broodingly handsome duke who lives in a gloomy castle and keeps his doors—and his heart—tightly locked. He’s determined to keep her at arm’s length—but she’s not easily deterred when there’s a tough case to crack.
Warburton never wanted a wife. Especially an inquisitive and far-too-pretty whirlwind who upends his regimented life. Her sunny, winning ways charm everyone she meets and soon she’s unearthing buried secrets, plotting love matches, and shining light into even the darkest of hearts…his own.
355 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2026
About the author
Lenora Bell
13 books1,415 followersLenora Bell is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of historical romances with Avon Books. A teacher with an MFA in Creative Writing, Lenora has lived and worked on five continents. She's currently lives in Namibia with her partner and two tiger-striped rescue kitties. She loves hearing from readers!
Learn more at www.LenoraBell.com
Learn more at www.LenoraBell.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
September 5, 2026
Time of death 45%
The fmc is a petulant child. It’s grating and she is so so utterly ungrateful, dumb and entitled.
Also the fairytale in the story is resembling Elizabeth Hoyt too much and it didn’t work for me.
The fmc is a petulant child. It’s grating and she is so so utterly ungrateful, dumb and entitled.
Also the fairytale in the story is resembling Elizabeth Hoyt too much and it didn’t work for me.
April 6, 2026
Can't Get Enough of the Duke by Lenora Bell
Book Blurb: War hero Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, made a battlefield promise to become guardian to orphan Analise Crewe. He certainly didn’t agree to marry the girl! But that’s exactly what happens when he’s forced to wed her to save her honor.
The last thing Analise wants is a loveless marriage to a broodingly handsome duke who lives in a gloomy castle and keeps his doors—and his heart—tightly locked. He’s determined to keep her at arm’s length—but she’s not easily deterred when there’s a tough case to crack.
Rating: ****
Feels: Adventure, Sassy, Fun, Comfort
Style: Historical Romance, Romance, Audiobook, Forced Proximity
First published April 7, 2026 : 368 pages
Spicy, sweet and full of sass !!! Just how I love my regency romances. Ana had such fiery main character energy that I fell in love with her right alongside everyone else in the book. The Duke as the battle hardened dragon was perfect. Loved the dynamic between the two, sunshine and grumpy Duke. The build up between the two was sooo much fun to watch. This story had such great banter that I was kicking my heels in amusinment when the two got into their verbal matches. I loved that Ana wanted to write a book and was an aspiring author in a time that discouarged such things. The Duke was scarred both externally and internally and it was sweet watching the healing take place as he allowed the sunshine that is Ana into his life. Enjoyable read !!!
Favorite Quote: "Dont be so cynical. You have an allure all your own. This dark brooding air about you that makes people, ladies in particular, want to solve your mysteries, unlock the key to your heart."
"Who told you that I have a heart?"
This book has:
Regency Romance
Age Gap (FMC is 18 and MMC is 35)
Guardian X Ward
Grumpy X Sunshine
Scared war hero MMC
Author FMC
Book Blurb: War hero Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, made a battlefield promise to become guardian to orphan Analise Crewe. He certainly didn’t agree to marry the girl! But that’s exactly what happens when he’s forced to wed her to save her honor.
The last thing Analise wants is a loveless marriage to a broodingly handsome duke who lives in a gloomy castle and keeps his doors—and his heart—tightly locked. He’s determined to keep her at arm’s length—but she’s not easily deterred when there’s a tough case to crack.
Rating: ****
Feels: Adventure, Sassy, Fun, Comfort
Style: Historical Romance, Romance, Audiobook, Forced Proximity
First published April 7, 2026 : 368 pages
Spicy, sweet and full of sass !!! Just how I love my regency romances. Ana had such fiery main character energy that I fell in love with her right alongside everyone else in the book. The Duke as the battle hardened dragon was perfect. Loved the dynamic between the two, sunshine and grumpy Duke. The build up between the two was sooo much fun to watch. This story had such great banter that I was kicking my heels in amusinment when the two got into their verbal matches. I loved that Ana wanted to write a book and was an aspiring author in a time that discouarged such things. The Duke was scarred both externally and internally and it was sweet watching the healing take place as he allowed the sunshine that is Ana into his life. Enjoyable read !!!
Favorite Quote: "Dont be so cynical. You have an allure all your own. This dark brooding air about you that makes people, ladies in particular, want to solve your mysteries, unlock the key to your heart."
"Who told you that I have a heart?"
This book has:
Regency Romance
Age Gap (FMC is 18 and MMC is 35)
Guardian X Ward
Grumpy X Sunshine
Scared war hero MMC
Author FMC
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine (but mostly heroine)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: takes just a little bit – at the end of chapter 2 (of 33)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, one year later
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley in e-book form
Why I chose this book: I love Lenora Bell!
Mains: Deckard (Dex) Payne (Duke of Warburton) and Analise Crewe – This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
I think this one is fine alone! I did not read book 1 and had zero issues falling into this story.
Basic plot:
After making a promise during the war to a dying man, Dex returns to England to find his new ward.
Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance (Regency-ish?)
- Duke hero
- author heroine
- guardian and ward
- former soldier hero
- he’s huge, she’s tiny – she’s as a tall as his collar
- age gap – and please only dive in if you’re comfortable with this – she’s 18 and he’s 35
- compromised heroine
- scarred hero – he has facial scars from the war
- opposites attract – she’s impulsive, imaginative and talkative while he’s silent and brooding (some sunshine and grump dynamic)
- Annie retelling
- medium steam but slower burn – 3ish full scenes (and a shorter one I didn’t count) along with some elements of bondage, spanking, and praise
Ages:
- heroine is 18, he is 35
First line:
Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, knelt on the cold ground beside the fallen cavalryman.
My thoughts:
Oh, how I adored this novel!!! I haven’t read Lenora Bell in quite a while but this was exactly what I was needing!
This book...everything went almost exactly the way I wanted it to go. The beginning just grabbed me so good, and I LOVED their first meet. And then it just kept getting better to me, giving me all the romance things I wanted even things I wasn’t expecting but were so perfect for these two. This book totally wrapped around my heart and tugged at it repeatedly throughout their story.
Bell writes absolutely delightful heroines. I always fall in love with them. Analise is just such a lovely, chaotic whirlwind that I adored. I love her imagination, her optimism. I loved her writers’ spirit and her pairing with this large, overbearing grumpy duke I was eating up.
Other reviewers pointed out this is an Annie inspired novel – I am actually not familiar with the musical which I think I only saw once in like 5th grade and that was it 😂 . So that might up the either love or dislike factor for you.
I do want to point out the age gap – the heroine is 18, the hero in his 30s, so if that makes you uncomfortable I would forego this novel. I’m fine with it in fiction (I mean, 20 would be like...more palatable for me, but it’s not a make or break for me. Probably because I cut my teeth on those 80s novels of 16 year olds paired with 40 year olds 😬 )
There were so many lines I was swooning over. I missed the first novel in this series but it makes me want to go back and try it.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 9
Average rating from me: 4.11 stars
Favorite book: I’ll have to reread some of her earlier ones but either this one of One Fine Duke I think
Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine (but mostly heroine)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: takes just a little bit – at the end of chapter 2 (of 33)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, one year later
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley in e-book form
Why I chose this book: I love Lenora Bell!
Mains: Deckard (Dex) Payne (Duke of Warburton) and Analise Crewe – This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
I think this one is fine alone! I did not read book 1 and had zero issues falling into this story.
Basic plot:
After making a promise during the war to a dying man, Dex returns to England to find his new ward.
Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance (Regency-ish?)
- Duke hero
- author heroine
- guardian and ward
- former soldier hero
- he’s huge, she’s tiny – she’s as a tall as his collar
- age gap – and please only dive in if you’re comfortable with this – she’s 18 and he’s 35
- compromised heroine
- scarred hero – he has facial scars from the war
- opposites attract – she’s impulsive, imaginative and talkative while he’s silent and brooding (some sunshine and grump dynamic)
- Annie retelling
- medium steam but slower burn – 3ish full scenes (and a shorter one I didn’t count) along with some elements of bondage, spanking, and praise
Ages:
- heroine is 18, he is 35
First line:
Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, knelt on the cold ground beside the fallen cavalryman.
My thoughts:
Oh, how I adored this novel!!! I haven’t read Lenora Bell in quite a while but this was exactly what I was needing!
This book...everything went almost exactly the way I wanted it to go. The beginning just grabbed me so good, and I LOVED their first meet. And then it just kept getting better to me, giving me all the romance things I wanted even things I wasn’t expecting but were so perfect for these two. This book totally wrapped around my heart and tugged at it repeatedly throughout their story.
Bell writes absolutely delightful heroines. I always fall in love with them. Analise is just such a lovely, chaotic whirlwind that I adored. I love her imagination, her optimism. I loved her writers’ spirit and her pairing with this large, overbearing grumpy duke I was eating up.
Other reviewers pointed out this is an Annie inspired novel – I am actually not familiar with the musical which I think I only saw once in like 5th grade and that was it 😂 . So that might up the either love or dislike factor for you.
I do want to point out the age gap – the heroine is 18, the hero in his 30s, so if that makes you uncomfortable I would forego this novel. I’m fine with it in fiction (I mean, 20 would be like...more palatable for me, but it’s not a make or break for me. Probably because I cut my teeth on those 80s novels of 16 year olds paired with 40 year olds 😬 )
There were so many lines I was swooning over. I missed the first novel in this series but it makes me want to go back and try it.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 9
Average rating from me: 4.11 stars
Favorite book: I’ll have to reread some of her earlier ones but either this one of One Fine Duke I think
Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I have to start this review by saying I didn't know I was getting a historical romance inspired by a musical. I've read most of Lenora Bell's older works, but haven't picked up the last couple because I didn't think the premises were for me. I am, unfortunately for this book, sick to death of retellings in the romance genre. I don't think I'm alone here either. Who is asking for retellings? Avon, do you think this is what HR readers want? Are you pushing your authors to write these?? I went into this pretty blind, having chosen it based on my confidence in the author and the blurb. I like age gaps and scarred war heroes. I realize that this trope can be problematic because of the power imbalance, but usually when an author writes this trope, they age up the heroine psychologically. She's been through it. She isn't naive and juvenile etc etc. Unfortunately that wasn't the case here. This heroine was eighteen going on fifteen. At no point did I think this person was mature, and thus the age gap made me squeamish. Then I realized...this is inspired by Annie. Except the rich dude falls in love with his ward instead of his secretary. (I've only seen the 1985 film and have not seen other Annie source material.)
What are you all thinking publishing a book in 2026 about a man who is thirty-five marrying his eighteen year old ward and then dropping Annie Easter eggs throughout the book? I have no idea who is going to receive this book well, especially in this political and social climate. Perhaps this trope needs to die at this point because the nature of this premise is predatory and not what new readers to the genre will want. The female main character, Ana, acts completely childish throughout the book, and her guardian, Warburton, is completely without personality except for his honour and duty and desire for her. The "good girl" moments in the spice were infantilizing, not sexy. This was grumpy-sunshine, sure, but where is the depth in Ana's character from surviving the tragedies she's been through? Why does she read so one dimensional? The plot felt contrived, and to be honest, I didn't get the feeling this was a book the author even wanted to write.
“I’ve always told myself that even in the darkest of times, the sun will return. Now I’m not so sure.”
If this is what we can look forward to from historical romance in 2026, I'm not feeling very optimistic and sunny.
Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for the arc.
What are you all thinking publishing a book in 2026 about a man who is thirty-five marrying his eighteen year old ward and then dropping Annie Easter eggs throughout the book? I have no idea who is going to receive this book well, especially in this political and social climate. Perhaps this trope needs to die at this point because the nature of this premise is predatory and not what new readers to the genre will want. The female main character, Ana, acts completely childish throughout the book, and her guardian, Warburton, is completely without personality except for his honour and duty and desire for her. The "good girl" moments in the spice were infantilizing, not sexy. This was grumpy-sunshine, sure, but where is the depth in Ana's character from surviving the tragedies she's been through? Why does she read so one dimensional? The plot felt contrived, and to be honest, I didn't get the feeling this was a book the author even wanted to write.
“I’ve always told myself that even in the darkest of times, the sun will return. Now I’m not so sure.”
If this is what we can look forward to from historical romance in 2026, I'm not feeling very optimistic and sunny.
Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for the arc.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I go round and about, in and out with Historical Romance these days. New authors to the genre have literally made me gag and it is with trepidation I even try a new author. I'm goanna say that I like Lenora Bell. She has written a wonderful story about a passionate, creative redheaded character and her guarded, scared guardian finding each other and true love, of course with several bumps along the way.
In the 1800's proper young ladies went from their father's home straight to their husband's, never given a chance to explore the world, make their own decisions or get into and out of trouble on their own, always protected and guarded. It was quite a system and worked to great advantage of the male. Analise Crewe was a part of this system until her father's battlefield death left her unprotected and for over three years, she is on her own. Not a good situation for a redheaded spitfire of a hellion but just when she was about to get in real trouble, she is rescued by Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, who made a promise to her dying father to be her guardian. It took Dex awhile to find her and just in the nick of time.
Ana is imaginative, inquisitive, full of life and not easily controlled. Much to Dex's dismay she is not a demur, retiring debutante and he is having feelings that are not at all the feelings a battle scared gentleman should be having as the guardian for a willful young woman in his charge.
Ana wants to write about the fantastical world she envisions in her mind. But her book is rejected and she is told to continue a romance series penned by her late employer. Ana's major problem is that she doesn't have much life experience to draw on and needs Dex to provide her with some.
Brooding and secretive, Dex just wants to see her married and out of his home to leave him alone, at least that is what he tells himself. When Ana goes too far in seeking experience for her book, she inadvertently courts a real scandal, but Dex is there to rescue her and marry her.
My thanks to the Publisher, and Author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.
In the 1800's proper young ladies went from their father's home straight to their husband's, never given a chance to explore the world, make their own decisions or get into and out of trouble on their own, always protected and guarded. It was quite a system and worked to great advantage of the male. Analise Crewe was a part of this system until her father's battlefield death left her unprotected and for over three years, she is on her own. Not a good situation for a redheaded spitfire of a hellion but just when she was about to get in real trouble, she is rescued by Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, who made a promise to her dying father to be her guardian. It took Dex awhile to find her and just in the nick of time.
Ana is imaginative, inquisitive, full of life and not easily controlled. Much to Dex's dismay she is not a demur, retiring debutante and he is having feelings that are not at all the feelings a battle scared gentleman should be having as the guardian for a willful young woman in his charge.
Ana wants to write about the fantastical world she envisions in her mind. But her book is rejected and she is told to continue a romance series penned by her late employer. Ana's major problem is that she doesn't have much life experience to draw on and needs Dex to provide her with some.
Brooding and secretive, Dex just wants to see her married and out of his home to leave him alone, at least that is what he tells himself. When Ana goes too far in seeking experience for her book, she inadvertently courts a real scandal, but Dex is there to rescue her and marry her.
My thanks to the Publisher, and Author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.
October 7, 2025
So, this book is a ward/guardian romance, and I’m generally not inherently opposed to that or to age gap romances in general, but it just annoys me when the younger woman is 18-years-old, aka could be a high school senior, and not because I’m jealous that 18-year-old are hotter than I am at 30.
As Phoebe Maltz Bovy writes in Features and Bugs, until relatively recently, it was NORMAL for adult men to be sexually attracted to teenage girls, and to not have to bother hiding it.
“Because I lived through the before-times, because I remember like yesterday not just early 2017 but 1997 (when I was 14 myself), I can paint a portrait of the mindset. It was quite simply not pedophilia-coded in that context (SHOULD HAVE BEEN but wasn’t) to declare barely-pubescent girls the world’s most beautiful women. You could do this in the National Review and be celebrated for sharing difficult truths. Only a liberal hag of 21-plus would mind hearing that age 15-20 is, as John Derbyshire argued in 2005, the peak female form. Pedophilia, in the before-times, was molestation. It was men (almost always men) acting on desires. But there was a popular understanding that red-blooded men liked teenage girls (American Beauty, remember that movie?) and that this was something disconnected from the tiny subset of men with genuinely troubling urges.”
One reason that #MeToo had so much backlash is that a lot of people, not just men, were really angry that behavior that previously went undiscussed or was even celebrated and envied was now deemed “problematic,” including but not limited to grown men lusting after and pursuing girls who were young enough to be their daughters.
Look, I’m not a prude about age gaps, in fiction or in reality when all parties are of legal age, like Julie Anne Long’s What I Did For A Duke is one of my favorite romance novels of all time (in it, the hero is almost 20 years older than the heroine). And, I do understand that young women are generally considered more attractive than older ones, and I’m genuinely at peace that I’m not in the initial blush of youth anymore. But that said, I think it’s nasty and unbecoming to insist that 15–20 is the peak female form, and I find it weird that a romance novel that’s set to published by Avon (meaning not an independent publisher) in 2026 has a hero that’s 35 and a heroine that’s 18!
I haven’t read a romance novel published in the last 15 years where the heroine is under 20, and even prior to that, there aren’t nearly as many as you’d expect, even among the bodice ripper categories from the 80s and early 90s. Even though it was more acceptable for older men to lust after teenagers 30-40 years ago, everybody still knew that teenage girls were teenage girls, and romance audiences, who obviously skew female, remembered what it was like to be 16 and have some guy twice your age creeping on you, and it sucked. There's also zero discussion of the age gap in the book, and the fact the hero and heroine have a borderline dominant/submissive sexual relationship, from the very first time they, and she, have sex, combined with the age gap, is kind of disconcerting for me, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I was curious if it was a male thing to be attracted to much younger women and women don’t feel the same way about younger men, but I asked my husband and he said that even if 18-year-olds are physically attractive, being romantically involved with a teenager gives him the ick because of how immature they are, and he didn’t understand why any 35-year-old would marry a girl that age.
Plus, in the case of this book, Analise also acts like a teenager, not just a sunshiney and #irreverent adult woman, and it’s quite frankly annoying because Lenora Bell also is intent on noting how physically SMALL Ana is.
Anyways, other than that, the book could have been worse so I’ll give it 2 stars, but I just couldn’t get past the age gap and I’m not the only one given the rest of the reviews. Next time, Lenora Bell needs to write a protagonist that doesn’t act like she’s planning out her outfit for senior year homecoming, that’s all I’m saying.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!
As Phoebe Maltz Bovy writes in Features and Bugs, until relatively recently, it was NORMAL for adult men to be sexually attracted to teenage girls, and to not have to bother hiding it.
“Because I lived through the before-times, because I remember like yesterday not just early 2017 but 1997 (when I was 14 myself), I can paint a portrait of the mindset. It was quite simply not pedophilia-coded in that context (SHOULD HAVE BEEN but wasn’t) to declare barely-pubescent girls the world’s most beautiful women. You could do this in the National Review and be celebrated for sharing difficult truths. Only a liberal hag of 21-plus would mind hearing that age 15-20 is, as John Derbyshire argued in 2005, the peak female form. Pedophilia, in the before-times, was molestation. It was men (almost always men) acting on desires. But there was a popular understanding that red-blooded men liked teenage girls (American Beauty, remember that movie?) and that this was something disconnected from the tiny subset of men with genuinely troubling urges.”
One reason that #MeToo had so much backlash is that a lot of people, not just men, were really angry that behavior that previously went undiscussed or was even celebrated and envied was now deemed “problematic,” including but not limited to grown men lusting after and pursuing girls who were young enough to be their daughters.
Look, I’m not a prude about age gaps, in fiction or in reality when all parties are of legal age, like Julie Anne Long’s What I Did For A Duke is one of my favorite romance novels of all time (in it, the hero is almost 20 years older than the heroine). And, I do understand that young women are generally considered more attractive than older ones, and I’m genuinely at peace that I’m not in the initial blush of youth anymore. But that said, I think it’s nasty and unbecoming to insist that 15–20 is the peak female form, and I find it weird that a romance novel that’s set to published by Avon (meaning not an independent publisher) in 2026 has a hero that’s 35 and a heroine that’s 18!
I haven’t read a romance novel published in the last 15 years where the heroine is under 20, and even prior to that, there aren’t nearly as many as you’d expect, even among the bodice ripper categories from the 80s and early 90s. Even though it was more acceptable for older men to lust after teenagers 30-40 years ago, everybody still knew that teenage girls were teenage girls, and romance audiences, who obviously skew female, remembered what it was like to be 16 and have some guy twice your age creeping on you, and it sucked. There's also zero discussion of the age gap in the book, and the fact the hero and heroine have a borderline dominant/submissive sexual relationship, from the very first time they, and she, have sex, combined with the age gap, is kind of disconcerting for me, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I was curious if it was a male thing to be attracted to much younger women and women don’t feel the same way about younger men, but I asked my husband and he said that even if 18-year-olds are physically attractive, being romantically involved with a teenager gives him the ick because of how immature they are, and he didn’t understand why any 35-year-old would marry a girl that age.
Plus, in the case of this book, Analise also acts like a teenager, not just a sunshiney and #irreverent adult woman, and it’s quite frankly annoying because Lenora Bell also is intent on noting how physically SMALL Ana is.
Anyways, other than that, the book could have been worse so I’ll give it 2 stars, but I just couldn’t get past the age gap and I’m not the only one given the rest of the reviews. Next time, Lenora Bell needs to write a protagonist that doesn’t act like she’s planning out her outfit for senior year homecoming, that’s all I’m saying.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!
August 31, 2025
This new-to-me author has me hooked!!! Loved this marriage of convenience, grumpy/sunshine story.
The growth, the breaking down of walls. Absolutely beautiful
The growth, the breaking down of walls. Absolutely beautiful
April 7, 2026
A battlefield promise to a dying man
As cavalryman Lieutenant John Crewe lay dying on the battlefields of Belgium his commander Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton promised to become the guardian for his young daughter, Annalise. Wounded, it takes several years for Dex to find his ward.
I loved to two main characters, the delightful Annalise, budding author, and the brooding battle scarred duke, her guardian.
I equally enjoyed the story of the dragon written by Ana unfolding before every chapter. A cunning metaphor.
In the end though the story became all too predicable.
Ana’s search for her father leads her into trouble. We knew it would.
The surprises weren’t as effective.
The potential five star read, devolved for me into a pleasing read.
A Avon and Harper Voyager ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
As cavalryman Lieutenant John Crewe lay dying on the battlefields of Belgium his commander Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton promised to become the guardian for his young daughter, Annalise. Wounded, it takes several years for Dex to find his ward.
I loved to two main characters, the delightful Annalise, budding author, and the brooding battle scarred duke, her guardian.
I equally enjoyed the story of the dragon written by Ana unfolding before every chapter. A cunning metaphor.
In the end though the story became all too predicable.
Ana’s search for her father leads her into trouble. We knew it would.
The surprises weren’t as effective.
The potential five star read, devolved for me into a pleasing read.
A Avon and Harper Voyager ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
January 8, 2026
This book immediately throws you into the story and grips you in its clutches by the prologue! Dex, on the battlefield makes a promise to his dying comrade- find and protect his young daughter. Immediately after making the promise Dex is horribly scarred on his face and spends two months unconscious in recovery. Still healing, he awakes determined to find Annalise to keep his promise to her father. And when he reads her letters containing chapters to a story she is writing- he becomes invested in not just her future but the future of the story. It then takes him several years to find her…Ana is just trying to get her epic romantasy published, but men are small minded as are publishers and they’re not interested in her work. That is, until she sells them on her fake fiancé and her mentor’s post-humorous work. When a Duke shows up claiming to be her new guardian, she might not believ him at first, but he’s about to make all her dreams come true.
Talk about setting up an excellent and compelling plot that throws these two characters together for the best kind of bonkers. Lenora Bell always knows how to grab at my interest and hold it, especially when she does things like adapt well-loved media into steamy historicals. She’s done it with multiple series and when I heard this book was inspired by Annie I was so curious how it was going to play out. Spoiler alert - it so works!
Anna and Tessie’s relationship is so cute and fun right from the start! There’s a level of familiarity since they’re close in age and I just love that Anna’s first duty was to find an ally and friend in the house. Anna’s free-spirited determination was an absolute blast to witness. Especially against her guardian and love interest who’s much more stoic, though he can clock every one of her fanciful plans.
I can see where readers might not like the age gap between Dex and Anna, since it is a large one (14ish years) and Anna is so young in general. But I actually really liked it, because it felt realistic to the characters. Anna isn’t someone who’s “wise beyond her years” and is instead the person who “throws all caution to the wind” which ends up being just what this scarred Duke needs to heal. Her optimism, joy, and youth, bring out these sides in him in a way that I thought was really well done. I also just think it’s so much fun when the older man gets jealous of all the “pups” vying for his girl’s attention, and Dex is Giving that energy with his overprotective instincts.
Like most Lenora Bell books, this one delivered on lighthearted humor and fast-paced dialogue! The characters have insane chemistry and despite their age difference are a perfect match. Watching him take the brat, and her best the beast was a rewarding time all-around. Highly recommend this one for those that love a modern-feeling historical romance that delivers bonkers hillarious situations and dialogue.
4/5
Thank you to netgalley and publishers for an eARC of this book.
Talk about setting up an excellent and compelling plot that throws these two characters together for the best kind of bonkers. Lenora Bell always knows how to grab at my interest and hold it, especially when she does things like adapt well-loved media into steamy historicals. She’s done it with multiple series and when I heard this book was inspired by Annie I was so curious how it was going to play out. Spoiler alert - it so works!
Anna and Tessie’s relationship is so cute and fun right from the start! There’s a level of familiarity since they’re close in age and I just love that Anna’s first duty was to find an ally and friend in the house. Anna’s free-spirited determination was an absolute blast to witness. Especially against her guardian and love interest who’s much more stoic, though he can clock every one of her fanciful plans.
I can see where readers might not like the age gap between Dex and Anna, since it is a large one (14ish years) and Anna is so young in general. But I actually really liked it, because it felt realistic to the characters. Anna isn’t someone who’s “wise beyond her years” and is instead the person who “throws all caution to the wind” which ends up being just what this scarred Duke needs to heal. Her optimism, joy, and youth, bring out these sides in him in a way that I thought was really well done. I also just think it’s so much fun when the older man gets jealous of all the “pups” vying for his girl’s attention, and Dex is Giving that energy with his overprotective instincts.
Like most Lenora Bell books, this one delivered on lighthearted humor and fast-paced dialogue! The characters have insane chemistry and despite their age difference are a perfect match. Watching him take the brat, and her best the beast was a rewarding time all-around. Highly recommend this one for those that love a modern-feeling historical romance that delivers bonkers hillarious situations and dialogue.
4/5
Thank you to netgalley and publishers for an eARC of this book.
June 23, 2026
Just perfect, really. Longer review TK
September 22, 2025
This was a very easy and interesting read and my first by Lenora Bell. The characters are both likable and easy to root for - a brooding scarred military hero Dexter, who tries to redeem the hurt he imagines he dealt on the battlefield and his innocent but curious and imaginative ward Ana, who dreams of publishing her own fantastical novel about castles and dragons and ends up ensnaring her very own dragon and taming him.
They come together out of duty (Dexter’s to Ana’s father) and marry out of duty as well, but there is passion burning underneath (and lots of it too, and not without some steamy kink!). The book is slow burn but once it starts burning, it’s hot.
The author stayed true to the character’s personalities. Ana is only 18 and she is frequently frustratingly dense and spends many a scene attempting to right a wrong that was not hers to get into. Dexter is slow to change and can be surly and disgruntled. I thought the storyline was well done with some action at the end. I found myself slightly wishing there were more pages there at the end to give main characters more time to develop their feelings with the reader. But what a fun read nonetheless!
Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC!
They come together out of duty (Dexter’s to Ana’s father) and marry out of duty as well, but there is passion burning underneath (and lots of it too, and not without some steamy kink!). The book is slow burn but once it starts burning, it’s hot.
The author stayed true to the character’s personalities. Ana is only 18 and she is frequently frustratingly dense and spends many a scene attempting to right a wrong that was not hers to get into. Dexter is slow to change and can be surly and disgruntled. I thought the storyline was well done with some action at the end. I found myself slightly wishing there were more pages there at the end to give main characters more time to develop their feelings with the reader. But what a fun read nonetheless!
Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC!
Read
April 21, 2026So I thought this book was gonna be an extension of grease but it wasn't or I couldn't tell that it was. It does seem to be Annie (based on what other reviewers wrote) and I have not ever watched this that I can remember so there were no references I got. Overall, it was just okay to me. I liked Ana's imagentivness. Her writing was a real passion for her. Our grumpy scarred hero was just okay to me. I went in with expectations that this was gonna be Rizzo and Kenicke and got not even close, so I think that is on me.
Some people had an issue with the age difference, I didn't. He wasn't actually her guardian in any meaningful way.
4/6 stars
Some people had an issue with the age difference, I didn't. He wasn't actually her guardian in any meaningful way.
4/6 stars
May 31, 2026
A decent read with some shining moments but the pacing was uneven. The promised plot from the synopsis doesn’t happen until nearly 200 pages in. It felt like that should have been condensed to 50 pages and what followed expanded and their personalities revealed more as they interacted after the wedding.
But I did love the characters! Ana was delightfully fun and fiery. And Dex’s comparisons to the dragon in the story within a story were great.
Overall, I was happy to have read it but it was a little bit off throughout.
* I received a free copy from the publisher
But I did love the characters! Ana was delightfully fun and fiery. And Dex’s comparisons to the dragon in the story within a story were great.
Overall, I was happy to have read it but it was a little bit off throughout.
* I received a free copy from the publisher
April 15, 2026
Thank you Negtgalley and HarperAudio for this arc!!
I really liked this book! I love that her novel mirrored her real life, but also that it wasn’t involved TOO much, and that it was only little snippets. Sometimes when they include books the characters are writing it can be too much, but this was the perfect amount. The only thing I wish was different, was I wish we got to see more from Decks. I know he did a lot of good work, but I wish we got to see more of it. Because when Ana started piecing together his list of names, I was like woah why haven’t we heard about all the families he’s been helping. I also wish we had gotten ONE nightmare scene. He talked about having them, and then talked about them going away once Ana was there, but I wish we could have gotten a scene when he had a nightmare and she came to soothe him. I also wish we heard more of his inner thoughts about his brother and stuff. But I wasn’t thinking too hard about this, I was having fun and enjoying the romance!! I love that he was the dragon of the story and that he changed! Loved that bit. Great audio production too!!
I really liked this book! I love that her novel mirrored her real life, but also that it wasn’t involved TOO much, and that it was only little snippets. Sometimes when they include books the characters are writing it can be too much, but this was the perfect amount. The only thing I wish was different, was I wish we got to see more from Decks. I know he did a lot of good work, but I wish we got to see more of it. Because when Ana started piecing together his list of names, I was like woah why haven’t we heard about all the families he’s been helping. I also wish we had gotten ONE nightmare scene. He talked about having them, and then talked about them going away once Ana was there, but I wish we could have gotten a scene when he had a nightmare and she came to soothe him. I also wish we heard more of his inner thoughts about his brother and stuff. But I wasn’t thinking too hard about this, I was having fun and enjoying the romance!! I love that he was the dragon of the story and that he changed! Loved that bit. Great audio production too!!
October 1, 2025
*I received a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think it's time for me to throw in the towel when it comes to Bell's books. I've read a few of them now, and I found them all to be just okay. Her premises are fun, but something about the execution falls flat, as was the case here. I appreciated the marriage of convenience element, but the age gap felt unnecessary. That trope is inconsistent for me, and Ana genuinely read as an inexperienced eighteen-year-old. On one hand, I liked her pluckiness, but on the other, it made her feel younger than her years. I also wanted more complexity in her relationship with Dex. He was so emotionally distant that his love confession felt unearned. It was a quick read, and I flew through it all in basically one sitting, but I don't think I'm interested enough to continue the series.
I think it's time for me to throw in the towel when it comes to Bell's books. I've read a few of them now, and I found them all to be just okay. Her premises are fun, but something about the execution falls flat, as was the case here. I appreciated the marriage of convenience element, but the age gap felt unnecessary. That trope is inconsistent for me, and Ana genuinely read as an inexperienced eighteen-year-old. On one hand, I liked her pluckiness, but on the other, it made her feel younger than her years. I also wanted more complexity in her relationship with Dex. He was so emotionally distant that his love confession felt unearned. It was a quick read, and I flew through it all in basically one sitting, but I don't think I'm interested enough to continue the series.
June 17, 2026
Lenora Bell’s Annie retelling, Can't Get Enough of the Duke, we are first introduced to her daddy Warbucks character, Deckard Pay the Duke of Warburton as he is comforting as fellow soldier on the battlefield as he lays dying. Here he has asked to take on the guardianship of his comrades daughter, Ana.
A few years later, he’s finally able to find Ana, and just in time! Ana has just been rejected by a publisher for her fantasy novel and is about to lose her place in the boarding house unless she agrees to work for the landlady’s sister as a courtesan… thankfully, instead of running into the madame and her Johns, she runs into Warburton and his news of guardianship.
Ana now has a home, access to funds and a supporter in her writing career… and expected to go out in society and find yourself a husband! but why go out in society when she has the perfect husband material under the same roof as her!
The romance between Warburton and Ana it’s not easy since Ana is fighting Warburton at every turn. There’s a definite age gap in this guardian/ward situation, and it’s telling by Ana‘s immaturity and lack of realism. She makes a lot of bad choices and pays for it every time!
As for Warburton, he is your typical scarred hero with the lost fiancée and intimacy issues. Though we meet him on the battlefield, I wished that his emotional scars were more fleshed out with more showing than telling.
Overall, I found the story to be OK. It’s not my favourite Lenora Bell book, and it’s definitely not my least favorite. I also find I’m disappointed that we won’t get the third installment of The Thunderbolt Club series.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by historical romance, mainstay, Beverly A. Crick. She’s not a narrator. I personally look for, but I am used to her reading style. She delivers a classic historical romance, read and does a good job with her accents. She provides a traditional vibe to the story that has a lot more modern sensibilities, this helping keep the historical romance feel.
A few years later, he’s finally able to find Ana, and just in time! Ana has just been rejected by a publisher for her fantasy novel and is about to lose her place in the boarding house unless she agrees to work for the landlady’s sister as a courtesan… thankfully, instead of running into the madame and her Johns, she runs into Warburton and his news of guardianship.
Ana now has a home, access to funds and a supporter in her writing career… and expected to go out in society and find yourself a husband! but why go out in society when she has the perfect husband material under the same roof as her!
The romance between Warburton and Ana it’s not easy since Ana is fighting Warburton at every turn. There’s a definite age gap in this guardian/ward situation, and it’s telling by Ana‘s immaturity and lack of realism. She makes a lot of bad choices and pays for it every time!
As for Warburton, he is your typical scarred hero with the lost fiancée and intimacy issues. Though we meet him on the battlefield, I wished that his emotional scars were more fleshed out with more showing than telling.
Overall, I found the story to be OK. It’s not my favourite Lenora Bell book, and it’s definitely not my least favorite. I also find I’m disappointed that we won’t get the third installment of The Thunderbolt Club series.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by historical romance, mainstay, Beverly A. Crick. She’s not a narrator. I personally look for, but I am used to her reading style. She delivers a classic historical romance, read and does a good job with her accents. She provides a traditional vibe to the story that has a lot more modern sensibilities, this helping keep the historical romance feel.
April 17, 2026
Genuinely funny and swoony, Can’t Get Enough of the Duke begins with a promise made, a promise kept that Deckard, Duke of Warburton will look after the daughter of his fallen comrade, agreeing to become her guardian. This would seem to be a simple Duke meets girl meets Guardian to lover, but first Dex will have to find Ana, second he’ll have to convince her that he’s safer than the boarding house she’s been living in for the past few years, and thirdly he’ll have to also convince her to settle down with a husband, despite her lack of enthusiasm for marrying for anything other than love. In other words, Dex has his work cut out for him.
Whe we meet Analiese, her biggest hurdle is that she’s penning a fantasy novel and yet the publisher is unwilling to purchase it from her unless she is married and her husband can do her bidding. One problem: she hasn’t quite finished the novel. So when Dex appears as her solution to a husband, it’s almost too good to be true. Meanwhile Dex has the issue of creating a safe space for Ana and encouraging her to attend balls all the while he just can’t find anyone good enough for her whose face he doesn’t want to punch. The solution? Why a marriage of convenience of course! (This is where we all snicker as readers because we know just how long that’s going to last). All it takes is one kiss from Ana and Dex is done for. No one else is good enough for Ana.
This book was humorous with delightful writing, and let me say I was not disappointed AT ALL with the intimacy scenes. Ana read as quite young to me (she is!) and initially I didn’t know if this age gap would work, but her bold personality makes her a match for Warburton and she keeps him in his toes in and out of the bedroom. Thank you to Avon and Harper audio for my gifted copy. I would recommend reading with your ears or your eyes!
Whe we meet Analiese, her biggest hurdle is that she’s penning a fantasy novel and yet the publisher is unwilling to purchase it from her unless she is married and her husband can do her bidding. One problem: she hasn’t quite finished the novel. So when Dex appears as her solution to a husband, it’s almost too good to be true. Meanwhile Dex has the issue of creating a safe space for Ana and encouraging her to attend balls all the while he just can’t find anyone good enough for her whose face he doesn’t want to punch. The solution? Why a marriage of convenience of course! (This is where we all snicker as readers because we know just how long that’s going to last). All it takes is one kiss from Ana and Dex is done for. No one else is good enough for Ana.
This book was humorous with delightful writing, and let me say I was not disappointed AT ALL with the intimacy scenes. Ana read as quite young to me (she is!) and initially I didn’t know if this age gap would work, but her bold personality makes her a match for Warburton and she keeps him in his toes in and out of the bedroom. Thank you to Avon and Harper audio for my gifted copy. I would recommend reading with your ears or your eyes!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A beauty and the beast trope with the vibes to match! I don’t know if any of this makes sense but a lot of books with this trope are great, just lack the feel I associate with the original tale. This is giving locked away in tower vibes without there being a lock or tower😂 Plus our man is deliciously jealous💕
Loved seeing FMC vs her overbearing chaperone. When Glynis was first introduced I was thinking, “please no, I cannot take this rando lady ripping this poor girl” but lmaoooo was I wrong. No worries yall, Ana drives HER crazy instead🙏🏻✨ We love to see a young woman just REFUSE!! I also loved Celestia and Rupert, I wish that storyline was more of a focus. It was super interesting.
This book had so many parts that REALLY hit for me (FMC’s passion for writing, beautiful love declarations, his admiration for her, moments of healing, Dex’s reflections on the senselessness of war) but some parts were a miss, mostly due to personal preference I think. I wish she was aged up a bit, she had some mature and super observant moments but she also drove me crazy with her immaturity. Her saying (paraphrased) “Aren’t I so smart figuring this out?” and it’s literally his survivors guilt/war trauma list, made me real deal face palm🤦🏻♀️😅 It held me back from feeling the spark between them. Which is crazy because some of the things he says to or thinks about her are the most romantic words can get!
If the premise sounds interesting to you, I would recommend it! Especially if you like the “the grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day” feel😂❤️
Huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!! All opinions are my own.
Loved seeing FMC vs her overbearing chaperone. When Glynis was first introduced I was thinking, “please no, I cannot take this rando lady ripping this poor girl” but lmaoooo was I wrong. No worries yall, Ana drives HER crazy instead🙏🏻✨ We love to see a young woman just REFUSE!! I also loved Celestia and Rupert, I wish that storyline was more of a focus. It was super interesting.
This book had so many parts that REALLY hit for me (FMC’s passion for writing, beautiful love declarations, his admiration for her, moments of healing, Dex’s reflections on the senselessness of war) but some parts were a miss, mostly due to personal preference I think. I wish she was aged up a bit, she had some mature and super observant moments but she also drove me crazy with her immaturity. Her saying (paraphrased) “Aren’t I so smart figuring this out?” and it’s literally his survivors guilt/war trauma list, made me real deal face palm🤦🏻♀️😅 It held me back from feeling the spark between them. Which is crazy because some of the things he says to or thinks about her are the most romantic words can get!
If the premise sounds interesting to you, I would recommend it! Especially if you like the “the grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day” feel😂❤️
Huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!! All opinions are my own.
April 30, 2026
Thank you #NetGalley and #HarperCollins for the advanced copy of #CantGetEnoughoftheDuke by Lenora Bell in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited about this book because I love musicals and I love Lenora Bell's books. This book had all the trademark humor that I have grown to expect from her work and the writing style flows really well also. I was a little worried about the age gap but Bell handled it just the way I like - it's brought up but we don't get a thousand references to how young and innocent Ana is. What I didn't count on is that Ana is Annie in this Annie, the musical retelling and well, Annie is a bit of a brat. There was a time or 2 that I would have thrown her out of my house, if she was my guest and that made it hard for me to believe that these 2 could fall in love. The final straw that sent me over the edge was towards the end where Ana puts herself in danger and completely disregards common sense and that always irritates me in a book. I need the heroine to be smart and sensible. Does she somehow end up in dangerous situations from time to time, sure, I can get on board with that but let them be ones that she can't see coming a mile away. Also, don't go into locked rooms 20 seconds after being invited in someone home and don't invite estranged family members over without easing your husband into the idea.
Don't get me wrong, I still love Lenora Bell and I'll still be jumping at the chance to read her next book (and there a couple of her backlist that I still need to read) but I will probably steer clear from Annie retellings in the future.
I was so excited about this book because I love musicals and I love Lenora Bell's books. This book had all the trademark humor that I have grown to expect from her work and the writing style flows really well also. I was a little worried about the age gap but Bell handled it just the way I like - it's brought up but we don't get a thousand references to how young and innocent Ana is. What I didn't count on is that Ana is Annie in this Annie, the musical retelling and well, Annie is a bit of a brat. There was a time or 2 that I would have thrown her out of my house, if she was my guest and that made it hard for me to believe that these 2 could fall in love. The final straw that sent me over the edge was towards the end where Ana puts herself in danger and completely disregards common sense and that always irritates me in a book. I need the heroine to be smart and sensible. Does she somehow end up in dangerous situations from time to time, sure, I can get on board with that but let them be ones that she can't see coming a mile away. Also, don't go into locked rooms 20 seconds after being invited in someone home and don't invite estranged family members over without easing your husband into the idea.
Don't get me wrong, I still love Lenora Bell and I'll still be jumping at the chance to read her next book (and there a couple of her backlist that I still need to read) but I will probably steer clear from Annie retellings in the future.
May 15, 2026
In this captivating historical romance, we have a war hero duke, a spirited aspiring author, and a guardianship that sparks unexpected chemistry. As usual, Lenora Bell writes a charming story and a swoon worthy romance.
Bell's newest historical romance was an absolute delight! With an age gap, grumpy sunshine, marriage of convenience, and beauty meets beast, it hit all my favorite tropes! Analise is an author of what seems to be a romantasy where the dragon behaves more and more like the Duke as it goes on. How fun is that?
I have to say, I didn't even realize this book was an Annie retelling until I finished it. I'm probably one of the few people who's never actually seen Annie, so even though I know it from pop culture, I don't know it well enough to spot it right away. Looking back, I can totally see it in the story, characters, and names.
This was overall a fun read and I'm looking forward to the next book is the Thunderbolt Club series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Bell's newest historical romance was an absolute delight! With an age gap, grumpy sunshine, marriage of convenience, and beauty meets beast, it hit all my favorite tropes! Analise is an author of what seems to be a romantasy where the dragon behaves more and more like the Duke as it goes on. How fun is that?
I have to say, I didn't even realize this book was an Annie retelling until I finished it. I'm probably one of the few people who's never actually seen Annie, so even though I know it from pop culture, I don't know it well enough to spot it right away. Looking back, I can totally see it in the story, characters, and names.
This was overall a fun read and I'm looking forward to the next book is the Thunderbolt Club series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
September 25, 2025
This one was a miss for me. Age gap romances, however well they're written, always give me the ick. In this case, Ana is 18, and Dex is 35. Worse yet- Ana is a convincing 18. She's naive, dense at times, and childish. Ultimately, I couldn't get over that.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 7, 2026
This was so fun! Such a great reminder of why I love historical romance - a bit extra, a bit chaotic, but also passionate and addictive. I wish the heroine wasn't 18, but aside from that, super enjoyable. Lenora Bell can be hit or miss for me, but I'm so glad I picked this up! Please continue publishing historicals!!
May 26, 2026
thank you NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!
there’s age gap and then there’s just odd dynamics. freshly 18 and their legal guardian is the latter. when you forget that part it’s a good story, but the reminders bring back an uncomfortable air i couldn’t shake.
there’s age gap and then there’s just odd dynamics. freshly 18 and their legal guardian is the latter. when you forget that part it’s a good story, but the reminders bring back an uncomfortable air i couldn’t shake.
June 8, 2026
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, You're the Duke that I Want, which was a loose Grease retelling. From what I've gathered, this book is supposed to be a loose (very, very loose) retelling of Annie. We start off in Deckard's POV on a battlefield as one of his soldiers is dying. The dying man makes Dex the guardian of his young daughter and gives him the letters and her portrait. Unfortunately, right after this, Dex is grievously injured and spends two months recuperating. During these two months, Analise, the new ward, disappears from her girl's school and years pass before we finally catch up with them meeting for the first time. This is not a meet cute, Analise actually attacks Dex thinking he is someone trying to take her to work in a brothel. Anywho, the story continues and Analise is being retrained in etiquette to be presented by Dex's matronly and stuffy aunt, but she is wild and rambunctious. Long story short, Dex is grumpy with a hidden heart of gold and Analise is a wild woman who wants to be an author. In theory, this sounds like something I would like, however, the way this was written very much did not work for me. I liked Analise making decisions for herself about her maid and trying to reconnect Dex and his brother. I liked Dex working in the background to make the lives of his fallen troop members' families better. Unfortunately, the romance fell flat for me. Analise is barely 18 and she very much acts like it. She is extremely immature and childish at times and not in a grown woman whimsical way, more like as a rebellious teenager (which she is??). She also just doesn't think through anything ever in a way that is often detrimental and makes her look very silly and/or unintelligent. This does not work well in my mind for an age gap relationship where the man, Dex, is kind of a dom? It is strange in a way that I do not like. The dialogue surrounding their intimate scenes felt weirdly stilted and unnatural. For example, out of nowhere he just turns to her and says basically "tonight we go all the way" hello?? huh?? It was not hot.
My other issue is something that could be fixed by now since I did read an ARC copy, but there are things that don't match up? For example, Dex tells Analise that his brother Roland is married with two boys; so, he isn't pressed about having an heir at the moment. But this is the only mention of this Roland character. In fact, later in the book, when they are chatting he mentions only a younger brother. She said oh is he married, kids? and Dex says yes and no. What do you mean? What happened to Roland with the two kids? But later he mentions all of his siblings are married? Whomst? How many? Where are they? But later on, they act like Rupert (the married one with no kids) is the only sibling. I was very confused about that, and this is just one instance where things just didn't match up in a distracting way.
I am sure that there are readers out there that will love this book. For me, it didn't really work. However, I am still interested in other books that might pop up for this series. There seems to have been an easter egg of a possible Sound of Music type retelling.
*Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.*
My other issue is something that could be fixed by now since I did read an ARC copy, but there are things that don't match up? For example, Dex tells Analise that his brother Roland is married with two boys; so, he isn't pressed about having an heir at the moment. But this is the only mention of this Roland character. In fact, later in the book, when they are chatting he mentions only a younger brother. She said oh is he married, kids? and Dex says yes and no. What do you mean? What happened to Roland with the two kids? But later he mentions all of his siblings are married? Whomst? How many? Where are they? But later on, they act like Rupert (the married one with no kids) is the only sibling. I was very confused about that, and this is just one instance where things just didn't match up in a distracting way.
I am sure that there are readers out there that will love this book. For me, it didn't really work. However, I am still interested in other books that might pop up for this series. There seems to have been an easter egg of a possible Sound of Music type retelling.
*Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.*
November 1, 2025
I read the publisher's summary before I dug into this historical romance, but still, I misunderstood the timing of the events described there. I imagined the Duke of Warburton was promising to be the guardian of a young woman, not a 13- or 14- year-old. "Several years" pass before he finds her, at which point she's a rambunctious 18 to his world-weary 35. I'm not against an age gap novel, but I think I wasn't quite expecting this.
So not my favorite trope, but I was game...until it struck me that, like the first book in the Thunderbolt Club series, I was reading an adaptation of a musical. (That first book, You're the Duke That I Want, was obviously based on Grease, perhaps to an extreme degree.) I should have seen it sooner: Once I realized I was getting a historical romance version of , the ick factor was high and never really went away. are top on the list of pairings I never, ever needed to see in a romance novel.
And obviously, this story is not identical; I'd say this was loosely inspired by the elements of that story. But once you know, it's hard to unsee.
Other than that, it felt like an uneven pairing, with one of the romantic partners doing all the work to drive the romance forward. Not my favorite type of romance; even if the hero is a bit taciturn and closed-off, I need to see glimmers of softening so that when they finally get their HEA, it feels earned. Here, the change was too sudden, too late in the story. It didn't ring true.
I wanted to like this one. I've been missing good historicals and Lenora Bell has some fun ones in her back catalogue. This just didn't hit the spot. I'm going to have to research which musical she's basing her next book on before picking it up; won't make this mistake twice!
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
So not my favorite trope, but I was game...until it struck me that, like the first book in the Thunderbolt Club series, I was reading an adaptation of a musical. (That first book, You're the Duke That I Want, was obviously based on Grease, perhaps to an extreme degree.) I should have seen it sooner: Once I realized I was getting a historical romance version of , the ick factor was high and never really went away. are top on the list of pairings I never, ever needed to see in a romance novel.
And obviously, this story is not identical; I'd say this was loosely inspired by the elements of that story. But once you know, it's hard to unsee.
Other than that, it felt like an uneven pairing, with one of the romantic partners doing all the work to drive the romance forward. Not my favorite type of romance; even if the hero is a bit taciturn and closed-off, I need to see glimmers of softening so that when they finally get their HEA, it feels earned. Here, the change was too sudden, too late in the story. It didn't ring true.
I wanted to like this one. I've been missing good historicals and Lenora Bell has some fun ones in her back catalogue. This just didn't hit the spot. I'm going to have to research which musical she's basing her next book on before picking it up; won't make this mistake twice!
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
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June 11, 2026CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THE DUKE by Lenora Bell is an adult historical romance with forbidden romance, angst, and forced proximity. I love Lenora Bell's books, so I was super excited for this one, and it did not disappoint.
The book follows Analise, a writer who's desperate to reunite with her father who never returned from a war. And Deckard Payne, her father's friend from the war, who promised him he'd always take care of her. As that suggests, this is absolutely an age gap romance, and it's a really big age gap. She's around 18 and he's about 15 years older. That's the one thing I didn't like in this book - I wish she was a bit older, and that he didn't call her his 'ward' multiple times, because that felt icky to me. So if you don't generally like age gap romances, you probably won't like this. If you do, however, the rest of the romance definitely won me over, so you should check this out for sure.
The duke makes it his mission to take care of Analise, make sure she's safe and has everything she needs. Even if it means entering a marriage of convenience to help save her reputation.
I really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine vibes in this, Analise is a wonderful heroine, and the two of them had great chemistry. Deckard tries not to let people in, but obviously, he falls head over heels for her, and that's always fun to see. I really rooted for them, and I enjoyed the romance. It's angsty, steamy, and fast paced, so I would highly recommend you check this book out, especially if you like all the tropes I mentioned.
The book follows Analise, a writer who's desperate to reunite with her father who never returned from a war. And Deckard Payne, her father's friend from the war, who promised him he'd always take care of her. As that suggests, this is absolutely an age gap romance, and it's a really big age gap. She's around 18 and he's about 15 years older. That's the one thing I didn't like in this book - I wish she was a bit older, and that he didn't call her his 'ward' multiple times, because that felt icky to me. So if you don't generally like age gap romances, you probably won't like this. If you do, however, the rest of the romance definitely won me over, so you should check this out for sure.
The duke makes it his mission to take care of Analise, make sure she's safe and has everything she needs. Even if it means entering a marriage of convenience to help save her reputation.
I really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine vibes in this, Analise is a wonderful heroine, and the two of them had great chemistry. Deckard tries not to let people in, but obviously, he falls head over heels for her, and that's always fun to see. I really rooted for them, and I enjoyed the romance. It's angsty, steamy, and fast paced, so I would highly recommend you check this book out, especially if you like all the tropes I mentioned.
April 12, 2026
3.5/5 There was a lot of parts of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was instantly drawn in to this story. With it being a guardian/ward set up due to a battlefield promise, I liked that it didn’t start out with Ana automatically under his care. It not only set the book apart from others but gave Ana better character development and help established the plot.
It’s a grumpy/sunshine with a scarred hero and I enjoyed the tension it created but also cracked the hero’s resolve by the heroine’s personality.
I enjoyed the author’s writing and the way the plot all came together without it tying up too neatly. After reading, I saw a few reviews mention that this was based on Annie. I didn’t know this going in and I didn’t get that vibe either. Which was just fine for me because retellings aren’t something I’m usually on the lookout for while reading anyways.
I really enjoyed the back half of the story, getting more tension and reward of Dex and Ana’s relationship. I like age gaps and this one had a 17 year gap. For the most part, this worked well. Ana is young but not immature. She’s experienced some hardship but not too much to have become jaded/hardened like Dex has.
Can’t Get Enough of the Duke is the second book in The Thunderbolt Club series. This was a new to me author. I was able to read this as a standalone.
There are four open door explicit encounters.
I received an advance reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
It’s a grumpy/sunshine with a scarred hero and I enjoyed the tension it created but also cracked the hero’s resolve by the heroine’s personality.
I enjoyed the author’s writing and the way the plot all came together without it tying up too neatly. After reading, I saw a few reviews mention that this was based on Annie. I didn’t know this going in and I didn’t get that vibe either. Which was just fine for me because retellings aren’t something I’m usually on the lookout for while reading anyways.
I really enjoyed the back half of the story, getting more tension and reward of Dex and Ana’s relationship. I like age gaps and this one had a 17 year gap. For the most part, this worked well. Ana is young but not immature. She’s experienced some hardship but not too much to have become jaded/hardened like Dex has.
Can’t Get Enough of the Duke is the second book in The Thunderbolt Club series. This was a new to me author. I was able to read this as a standalone.
There are four open door explicit encounters.
I received an advance reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
April 12, 2026
\\\\\ 3.5 \\\\\
This was a captivating one for sure. Right from the start I was pulled in by the tragic story of Dex. And it took no time to get to our characters' first meeting which was a highly enjoyable one. So I was hooked in no time.
Analise was at times so cute but also had such a backbone and really went for what she wanted and deserved. I loved that about her. She was not afraid of grumpy Dex and brought a ray of sunshine everywhere she went. Her determination to follow her own path and also to find her dad was admirable in a way. She was definitely on the young and impulsive side which was a great contrast with Dex and perfect to bring down his walls.
It took quite some time to reach to him (might I even say a bit too much to my taste) but she was nothing if not persistent. The way they got together was interesting and often one of my favourite tropes, but I somehow couldn't get on with how Dex was treating Ana. I get that he was scarred in more than one way, but he was a bit inconsiderate, and it kept on for too long in my humble opinion.
The ending brought a bit of action and a quick realization of how much our Dex truly cared about Analise, so all in all it ended well, and I was happy to see that there was also a satisfying update with the family.
As for the narration of this one, it was well done and easy to enjoy.
Thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook. All opinions are my own.
This was a captivating one for sure. Right from the start I was pulled in by the tragic story of Dex. And it took no time to get to our characters' first meeting which was a highly enjoyable one. So I was hooked in no time.
Analise was at times so cute but also had such a backbone and really went for what she wanted and deserved. I loved that about her. She was not afraid of grumpy Dex and brought a ray of sunshine everywhere she went. Her determination to follow her own path and also to find her dad was admirable in a way. She was definitely on the young and impulsive side which was a great contrast with Dex and perfect to bring down his walls.
It took quite some time to reach to him (might I even say a bit too much to my taste) but she was nothing if not persistent. The way they got together was interesting and often one of my favourite tropes, but I somehow couldn't get on with how Dex was treating Ana. I get that he was scarred in more than one way, but he was a bit inconsiderate, and it kept on for too long in my humble opinion.
The ending brought a bit of action and a quick realization of how much our Dex truly cared about Analise, so all in all it ended well, and I was happy to see that there was also a satisfying update with the family.
As for the narration of this one, it was well done and easy to enjoy.
Thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook. All opinions are my own.
November 11, 2025
In so many ways this was a great book that hit all the high points of the historical genre. All our favorite tropes are here for our enjoyment. The grumpy hero has a solidly tragic past and sense of duty to play the "I want to, but I must not" game perfectly. The heroine is plucky and shiny even when life is not going very well. Add in some marriage of convenience and a cleverly inserted feminist subplot? This should have been a winner.
The hitch? The age-gap trope here was a little too much of a gap to feel OK. While this trope is common in historicals, because historically cis-het men have been free to sexuaize and partner with teenagers, here it was a bit much. Given that the seminal incident for all of this is Ana attempting to break the glass ceiling of getting a book published, making her "barely legal" feels gratuitous. Either the feminism is ahistorical and we all suspend disbelief or not. Given the plot progression and time between our stoic Duke being assigned as Ana's guardian and when they actually meet up, making her solidly in her 20s (and still "on the shelf" by historical standards) was a viable option that would have taken this book right to a five-star rating.
While this was a solidly enjoyable book for the genre, beware the ick that this age gap creates.
The hitch? The age-gap trope here was a little too much of a gap to feel OK. While this trope is common in historicals, because historically cis-het men have been free to sexuaize and partner with teenagers, here it was a bit much. Given that the seminal incident for all of this is Ana attempting to break the glass ceiling of getting a book published, making her "barely legal" feels gratuitous. Either the feminism is ahistorical and we all suspend disbelief or not. Given the plot progression and time between our stoic Duke being assigned as Ana's guardian and when they actually meet up, making her solidly in her 20s (and still "on the shelf" by historical standards) was a viable option that would have taken this book right to a five-star rating.
While this was a solidly enjoyable book for the genre, beware the ick that this age gap creates.
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