My Inconvenient Duke

Difficult Dukes #3

by Loretta Chase

USA Today bestselling author Loretta Chase continues her Difficult Dukes series with this charming brother’s best friend second-chance historical romance.

Of all the dukes in all the world, why does it have to be him?

Lady Alice Ancaster needs a husband, and fast, because her reckless brother is going to get himself killed, leaving the dukedom—and her future—in their repellent cousin’s clutches.

The Duke of Blackwood has known Alice since childhood, and they’ve always had a special connection. But years ago he broke it, when he chose a riotous life with his two best friends instead of a reasonable one with her.

The trouble is, the tall, dark, sardonic rogue keeps turning up exactly when needed, and ready—though he sometimes needs a push—to play the hero, if only for as long as it takes.

Being irresistibly drawn to the Wrong Man is not convenient, but when events come to a crisis, Alice has to make a choice. The question is, can she live with it?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Second Chance

Audiobook

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Loretta Lynda Chekani was born in 1949, of Albanian ancestry. For her, the trouble started when she learned to write in first grade. Before then, she had been making up her own stories but now she knew how to write them down to share. In her teenage years, she continue to write letters, keep a journal, write poetry and even attempt the Great American Novel (still unfinished). She attended New England public schools, before she went off to college and earned an English degree from Clark University.

After graduation, she worked a variety of jobs at Clark including a part-time teaching post. She was also moonlighting as a video scriptwriter. It was there that she met a video producer who inspired her to write novels and marry him. Under her married name, Loretta Chase, has been publishing historical romance novels since 1987. Her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA.

Reviews

[Merry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have waited a long time for this book to come out as one of my all-time favorites hr is Lord of Scoundrels. I have read book two in this series (4*) and started but never finished book 1. I enjoyed the writing, but it was missing the wit some of her earlier books had. The plot lacked a strong storyline. It seemed to be filling in blank spaces left in earlier books. This is good for closure but doesn't make for a gripping read. I think many fans of Chase will enjoy the book, but it is not her best work. I think my favorite character is the duke not chosen Duke of Doveridge. I am glad I read it.

[GigiReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had anyone told me even a month ago that I'd be skimming a Loretta Chase book, I'd have told them to shut their lying mouth. Alas it's 2025 and everything sucks and I guess we can't have nice things.

I'm not saying the book is bad because Chase is a talented author who is a master at her craft. The dialogue is as always immaculate, the story was engaging enough I guess but the romance bored me and I found the whole thing pretty confusing.

My main problem was with the set up. This is the third book in the series but chronologically it's book one since most of it takes place before the events in the first two books. Events in those books are referenced with little explanation which left me and my goldfish memory scratching my head. Do I recall anything about the first book which I read years ago? Listen, I can barely recall what I read last week. The second book I read last year so I recalled bits and pieces but not enough. So a lot of the external plots in this one was as clear as mud. And yes I said external plots as there are so many things going on here and the MCs spend the entire book doing everything but falling in love. First, they go looking for a missing street urchin. Then, they go after Alice's lost brother (hero from book one) and after that the hero from book 2 has to be rescued from something (himself maybe?) and then street urchin disappears AGAIN! And off they are to find him. It was a LOT.

In between all of these kerfuffles the reader is told a lot about their past relationship when they met as teens in flashbacks. I wish the second chance aspect had been explored more because those flashbacks were the only truly romantic parts of the book. Even though Giles could not act on his attraction because of the Bro Code, he pines for Alice. Too bad we don't really get to see any of it ::sobs:::

So because this book takes place before the other two, Alice and Giles appear as troubled married couple in the other books. I'm not a fan of marriage in trouble tropes but I would have loved that here because it had so much potential for angst but nope they just argue and get mad for a little bit.Giles leaves his wife for his numbskull friends and she's super cool with it and welcomes him back with open arms 😐 We get one love scene and a few kisses but because the chemistry was never built up, it all falls flat. By the time the street urchin disappeared a second time, I had checked out. I'd recommend it if you've read the first two books and are curious about the fate of Alice and Giles. If not please do not start here, you'll be confused AF. I think reading all the books at once would probably improve this one but ain't nobody got time for that lol. The Author's note at the end was better reading than the whole book TBH. Still love Loretta. She's a queen but this book goes down as my least favorite.

⭐⭐⭐/5
🔥/5

Tropes:.
MOC
Marriage in trouble (kind of)
Best Friends Sister

I received an ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+ / 4.5 stars

Loretta Chase, even on a not-great day, is head-and-shoulders above 95% of the other HR out there, but although I liked this more than I didn't, I can't deny it wasn't the story I'd expected it to be.

My Inconvenient Duke is the third book in Loretta Chase’s Difficult Dukes series, although it’s first chronologically, as it takes place a few months before the events of book one, A Duke in Shining Armor . We know Giles, Duke of Blackwood, as the only married one of their Dis-Graces, the three dukes known throughout society for being irresponsible, totally outrageous, and not giving a damn; his wife, Alice, is Ripley’s sister. The bulk of My Inconvenient Duke is the story of how Giles and Alice came to be married, with the final quarter delving into the reasons for the estrangement we’ve witnessed between them in the other books.

I know – as does every historical romance fan on the planet, probably – that the wait for this final instalment in the series has been a long one, so before I started writing this (as a quick refresher), I looked back at my review for book two, Ten Things I Hate About the Duke – AND IT WAS RELEASED IN DECEMBER 2020!! (writing this review in August 2024). Which makes the gap much longer than I thought! So I suppose the question potential readers want answered is – was the wait worth it?

AAR's publisher, Dabney Grinnan, and I got together to discuss this long-awaited new release from a favourite author at All About Romance.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this long-awaited conclusion to Chase’s Difficult Dukes series, we get the story behind Lady Alice Ancaster and Giles Bouverie Lyon, Duke of Blackwood. He’s one of her scandalous brother’s equally scandalous best friends. When she heads to London in search of a husband, he keeps turning up to help and watch out for her.

Sadly, this one did not work for me. It was confusing, boring, and frustrating. Not sure if this would have been improved by having read the first book or remembering the second book more (even though I did read it twice in the past few years). So many times I thought "Did I forget that? Am I supposed to remember/know something already or was it poorly explained?" So maybe it was me? But I would not recommend reading this book as a stand-alone or starting point for the series.

Was this a romance novel or more of an elaborate series of scrapes that a friend group gets into? The characters felt flat and their motivations under explained. Little of the book focused on the actual romance between Alice and Giles. She spends the first half of the novel disappointed in the him and pursuing another man (also a duke). The plot was taken over by so many silly little external conflicts (missing orphan. missing brother. missing orphan again! gotta close down an abusive school. wow the same orphan is missing AGAIN!).

Calling this a second-chance romance felt like a stretch for marketing purposes. Yes, they had a friendship in their youth and one dramatic kiss as teens before Giles realized he didn’t want to be tied down to a wife at 19. But there was no ruination, no promises, no years of angst or pining!

The best part of the book was the time between Alice and Giles agreeing to get married and through the honeymoon because it finally felt like there was some focus and acknowledgement of their romantic relationship. There were a few glimmers of charming banter and successful chemistry. In theory, I like the idea of seeing them work for their HEA post-wedding, but in reality the end of story felt unnecessary and taken over by silly married-life conflict we didn’t need to read about (the demands of the Royal Court, taking care of irresponsible friends, continued villain hijinks, etc).

A few extra grievances:
- Giles’ POV in the first half had so much Excessive Capitalization to Emphasize Big Ideas. It got Very Annoying.
- There were so many instances in the first half of this book where the heroine or dukes joke (?) about how “brainless” the men are or how long it takes them to form a single thought and how hard it is to match the heroine mentally. Like, excessively! Are these your series heroes or not? It went behind “he’s a himbo” and into insulting IMO. I don’t need all my heroes to be scholars but this did not contribute to the romance! And then it just felt weird because Giles is helping problem solve throughout the book! Is he useless or not? If it was meant to be a joke, I didn’t laugh.
- Her background trauma of three months of abusive boarding school could have been cut entirely. Only three months? And then the trip to Yorkshire? I did not need this extra plot distraction.

I do love other works by Loretta Chase so I was bummed about the outcome of this one! Going to cheer myself up with a reread of Lord Perfect or The Last Hellion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review this ARC.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, the story of the third brain-broke Dis-grace, Blackwood, and his marriage to Ripley’s sister, Alice, a story lurking in the background of the first two books in this series. How had Blackwood and Alice married and why were they estranged?

The “how” occupies the first three quarters of the book and doesn’t disappoint. Turns out Blackwood is the least erratic of the three amigos and therefore the de facto protector of Ripley and Ashmont, in spite of his enthusiastic embrace of the drunkenness and debauchery and chicanery and shenanigans for which the group is infamous. Blackwood’s interest in Alice dates back to childhood and became so obvious that, at the age of 17, Ripley forced him to make a choice: straighten up and be a proper peer worthy of claiming Alice or continue acting out with his besties. Naturally, Blackwood chose to romp with his friends, dooming any chance of a future with Alice.

Ten years later Ripley’s heir dies, and the new heir becomes a heinous cousin who hates and threatens Alice. Since the Dis-graces are so out-of-control nobody is betting on their longevity, Alice realizes she must marry to protect her future. She puts herself in the Marriage Mart, hoping for a good, solid man, and finds one.

Only to endanger all her plans by joining Blackwood on a desperate search for Ripley when he mysteriously vanishes one night. In a roundabout fashion Ripley forces another choice, and this time Alice has to choose between (1) her good, solid suitor or (2) Blackwood and her own true self. She chooses with her heart and both she and Blackwood pretend she chooses with her mind, calling their bond an “affinity.”

How they came to marry was pretty nicely done. It may have lacked the sparkle and sizzle of the first two books of the series, but it was a good foundation from which to launch some fireworks. But what giant explosion caused their separation, so often referenced in Ripley’s and Ashmont’s books?

(Sound of crickets)

Time of death: right about the 3/4 point. No explosion. No fireworks. They weren’t even really estranged, just spending a lot of time tending to their separate interests and having a little trouble adjusting to married life as each resented the others’s priorities. This section fit the timelines of the other two novels in the series almost as an aside, and without any interest at all. Even the acknowledgment of “love” instead of “affinity” at the end was underwhelming. Faced with an opportunity to create intensity, heat, collision, passion, and one last hijinks-hurrah for the three difficult dukes, my favorite author landed a minnow instead of a whale.

She’s still my favorite author.

[Donna (Currently Busy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book and what I would call a ‘prequel’ in the Difficult Dukes series. I was fortunate to have read the first two books in chronological order because otherwise, this would be a confusing novel to someone who hasn’t. It begins in the spring of 1832 and provides the backstory of FMC Lady Alice Ancaster and MMC Duke Blackwood.

Giles Bouverie Lyon, the eighth Duke of Blackwood has known Duke Ripley’s sister, Lady Alice since they were young children who spent their summers together at Camberley Place. Ripley’s Aunt Julia and Uncle Charles always hosted a gathering of cousins and friends at Camberley. From the first time 12 year old Giles meets Alice, he’s smitten. A few years later, when Blackwood, Ashmont, and Ripley are rowdy teenagers and well on their way to becoming “Their Dis-Graces,” Ripley notices Blackwood’s interest in Alice.

“Don’t look at Alice that way.” Ripley tells Blackwood.
“What way?”
“You know what I mean. You’re getting ideas and you’ll give her ideas, and it won’t do. If you want Alice, you’ve got to take the respectable road. My sister deserves Sir Bloody Galahad. And that’s not us. Not me, not you, not Ashmont, by a long stretch. If you’re with us, you can’t be with her. I won’t have her trifled with. I won’t have her hurt. She bore enough of that with my father.”

So Blackwood, at age seventeen chooses his friends Ripley and Ashmont and all of their current and future pranks over Alice. And really? At seventeen, this is not a difficult choice. Until years pass and Blackwood notices what a beautiful woman Alice becomes, does he realize that he will never be good enough for her due to his “Dis-Graced” reputation. (It’s important to note that Blackwood’s feelings for Alice are not one-sided. Alice also had a fondness for Blackwood when they were young, and this is demonstrated very briefly later when she’s 17 and he’s 19. )

Alice, as mentioned in the first two books, is best friends with Cassandra and they have similar political and philanthropic leanings. Alice is a good person but doesn’t believe Blackwood, along with his buddies, will ever grow up and use his Dukedom for positive charitable goals. Like Cassandra, Alice has read and is a fan of Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” But over the course of the book, Alice sees a side of Blackwood showing promise and in not an altogether meaningless way.

Back to 1832. Their Dis-Graces have just committed another stupid incident at Camberley Place and Alice tells the Dukes they need to leave because she’s concerned about it upsetting her Aunt Julia – who continues to mourn the passing of Uncle Charles from two years prior. Also at this time, Alice decides to enter the “Marriage Mart” because she worries her brother’s mischief will lead him to an early grave. If Ripley passes, his heir presumptive is currently their horrible, debt ridden, distant cousin Worbury. (This bad cousin becomes another issue Blackwood has to contend with in the book.) Since they were children, Worbury has held a long time grudge against Alice and is an extremely vindictive person.

To increase Alice’s chances of finding a decent and titled husband, Lady Charles tells Ripley and his cohorts to leave London and they do. Distancing herself from her brother’s well known mischief, Alice hopes to stand out more to potential suitors. And she does. One day Alice garners the interest of Duke Doveridge, a man who is 42 years old and has finally decided to settle down.

The story takes a turn when Blackwood discovers Worbury is in London and up to no good. He convinces Ripley that of the three of them, he’s the best option for returning to London and protecting (from behind the scenes) Alice from Worbury’s disruptions that would hinder her chances to marry well. Ripley agrees knowing Blackwood is the most responsible choice in their group. This is the part of the story where Blackwood shines. In the prior two books, his intelligence is underrated. But in this one, he’s the most grounded and astute Duke of the three.

While Blackwood still harbors feelings for Alice, he knows Doveridge is a better fit for her even though he’s much older. The remainder of the book takes the reader through journeys Alice and Blackwood encounter dealing with her villainous cousin Worbury, helping the orphan boy Jonesy, and tackling the Tollstone Academy for Girls.

The reason I rated this book only three stars is because for one, the author took way too long for Blackwood and Alice to find her lost brother after one of his drunken tirades. Their unchaperoned search for Ripley and the resulting gossip of all the “unbecoming” situations Alice puts herself in, are what leads to the ultimate change in Blackwood and Alice’s relationship. The deduction of a second star from the rating is due to no permanent closure provided on Lady Charles and Lord Frederick’s relationship. This disappointed me because I wanted to know more of their backstory and if they have a HEA.

🪁 - Second chance and brother’s best friend relationship vibes.
🪁 - 3 out of 5 star rating.
🪁 - Bingo square #89 – book title starts with an “M.”
🪁 - 25/100
🪁 - No graphic violence or language

[Hannah B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loretta Chase’s writing is so amazing frankly we are lucky to be living in her timeline.

This book was fun and slightly second chance for the majority, despite being a marriage in crisis. It largely took place before the first two books in the series, aka before the two were married. I remembered the marriage was ~in trouble from reading those two books, but this book didn’t really care about that honestly.

I don’t quite know if Chase pitched this as book one but it was push to three or if it was always three, but it felt a bit odd? The whole first half was centered around the Duke of Ripley being missing and a street urchin who was targeted by Alice’s sticky cousin. Blackwood and Alice basically teamed up (albeit begrudgingly) to find the duke and protect the young boy.

These were technically plots but felt random when you were waiting to see why their marriage was in trouble. They almost felt like side characters in their own book I spent a lot of the book waiting for the other show to drop, and I just don’t know if it even really did? Like there was a bit of fighting and marital drama, but it felt rather dramatic to center a whole book around getting to that point when it was all rather mild.

However, it’s a book written by Loretta Chase and I still had a grand time reading the story, even when the romance was waylaid by several other plots. My favorite moment was when she agreed to marry him. That was peak Loretta Chase characterization on his part. It felt like I was HOME.

I listened to the audiobook and while I love Kate Reading—truly there’s no one better to narrate Loretta Chase—I was confused on the timeline of things. I thought we would be getting a book more in the present than in the past, so it came as a surprise (literally) to find that we were in the past so presently. There were moments when I simply didn’t know what timeline we were in. Some chapters had dates but I unfortunately didn’t remember the first date so they consequently meant nothing to me lol. I don’t know if this would’ve kept my attention as well if I’d had read it in print, so I’ll take the confusion (but I’d probably benefit from a reread).

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5 🌶️🌶️*/5

*There was truly like one main scene I remember and pieces of some others. I definitely think we could’ve used a bit higher heat when all was said and done because she made us WAIT for a lot of things.


I received an ARC and ALC from the publishers. All opinions are honest and my own.

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new Loretta Chase just came out, and I could not resist it for long - it is not the book I was meant to be reading, but I have a cold (just as I was recovering from another one! I hate winter) and it was oh so appealing and I dived in. It was just right for my mushy brain...

This is an unusual story because it is meant to work as a prequel to the other 2 books in this series and also for the 4 book series she wrote before that one (but whose interal chronology is some years after this series). And that causes some issues with the flow and the need to establish the mandatory (no sarcasm, that is the rule) romance HEA. One street urchin here will keep appearing in all the previously written ( but set after this one) 6 books so there is no closure for that plot point - and that urchin feels important. And this is the story of a couple already married but with an enigmatic relationship in 2 other books, and the way Loretta Chase makes it work is by marrying them 2/3s in and then introduce a third act conflict that feels a bit lame or at least underdeveloped, compared to the naturalness and sunny feeling of the earlier book. Plot wise also. Two characters (kids) brought into a scene just to work as a tool, and it all feels separate from the first part of the book.

But even if it is an odd book as a standalone romance, it was still so worth it to me and I am rating it upwards to 4 stars: the dialogue (that marriage proposal... The announcing of the engagement to the bride's brother...), the historical details, those self-deluded I-am-not-in-love perspectives, the decency of the two main characters. That is typical priceless Loretta Chase. (Incidentally, her gleeful research into all kinds of historical details mentioned in the novels is so fun to read, and when I say ALL kinds of details, I do mean I think she likely deeply researched ALL...)

Very cute, very enjoyable, but if you never read her books, do not start here!

[legallybookishserena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waaah you guys. I really wanted to LOVE this! Loretta Chase has never failed me, and I did enjoy the first two books in the series. But this one... well, idk just didn’t quote hit the mark for me.

Don’t get me wrong—there are things to enjoy. LC brings her signature witty banter, and Alice and Giles have some genuinely fun and charming moments. I’ve always been a fan of the best friend’s sister trope, and childhood friends-to-lovers can be so satisfying when done right. Their dynamic is playful, with just the right amount of tension simmering beneath the surface, which made for some cute, if brief, romantic scenes.

But, here’s where it fell flat: the romance feels like it’s constantly getting sidelined by everything else happening in the story. There’s a lot of focus on side quests—rescue missions, animal saving, and even long stretches of letter-writing between Alice and Giles. The villain of the story came off as a fool, making the stakes not seem quote as high as the characters were making them out to be. Idk if that makes sense?

Also, as much as I appreciate Alice’s passion for helping those in need, it just took away from the time they spent on their actual relationship. By the time they finally got together, I found myself wondering if they even *really* liked each other or if it was more out of convenience (lol get it?😏).

The pacing, especially in the second half, was a little slow and with the romance kind of taking the backseat, I felt like I was struggling to get through. But then of nowhere, there’s a sudden time jump and we’re dropped into a "marriage in trouble" situation. It was jarring and didn’t feel like it fit the flow of the story. I wanted more of Alice and Giles actually *together*, working through their issues, rather than so much time spent apart.

If you’re already a LC fan, there’s still plenty to enjoy —her writing is sharp, and Alice and Giles are very likable characters. I personally am still a die-hard Loretta Chase reader and just going to chalk this up as a one-off in my pristine LC library. If she continues to write, I will still be jumping over people (virtually speaking) to get a copy.

Thank you to Loretta Chase, NetGalley, and Avon/Harper Voyager for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lady Alice Ancaster is going to get herself a husband before her stupid brother gets dead. So she goes to town and starts flirting with attractive, eligible men. Looming in the margins is Giles, the Duke of Blackwood: he's not only a bff of her stupid brother, but he's also the man who kissed her face off at 17 and then fled back to the bosom embrace of the stupid boys. (The stupid boys call themselves the Dis-Graces because they're all dukes and all dumb.) But when Alice's stupid brother goes missing, the search ends up with her engaged to Blackwood and her stupid brother in a pigsty. Once married, can these two figure out their way to FEELINGS?

1. OOF.

2. So here's the thing: I don't think I liked the framing of this, nor the general narrative beats. I will explain more below, but I need to say that up front because...

3. ...this is still a Chase and she's just unstoppable at the banter, at writing smart people who cut their sarcasm with little feelings bombs that are untouchable. The way Alice and Blackwood back into their emotional vulnerability with one another via quips about tolerating one another; admitting that Blackwood isn't entirely unintelligent; that they rather like one another; that they would prefer to spend time together—and then having these moments of openness and honesty as icing?? Blackwood admitting when he's wrong (which he has to do a bunch) and Alice confessing she doesn't regret their marriage and is glad she chose Blackwood and that they love one another: IT'S PRETTY GREAT.

But does the admittedly great resonance between Alice and Blackwood make up for the inconsistency and problems I had with the rest of the thing? ....I'm not convinced. Let's break it down:

4. The framing of this bothered me because A Duke in Shining Armor came out in 2017 (8 years ago!) and Ten Things I Hate About the Duke came out in 2020 (5 years ago!) and I have read .... a bunch of books in between then and now and couldn't remember where we'd left anyone in this universe. So to get thrown into, ~technically~, a semi-prequel-slash-overdub was....really, really confusing. I didn't have an easy way of comparing dates, nor were my reviews useful in figuring out that Blackwood was already married in those other two books, so...

And then, once I cottoned on to what was happening, I was super disappointed by the latter half of the book which "overlays" the events of the previous two books by glancing at their plots, briefly, while Blackwood and Alice are "separated" (physically, but not emotionally).

Altogether, it just didn't seem to matter to the overarching romance because it's clear that Blackwood and Alice are still feeling affinity for one another all over the place, even if they are not as tightly attuned as you'd imagine a romance hero and heroine to be. Which just makes the final third of the book feel kind of ... space-fillery, keeping Alice and Blackwood apart from one another for no real reason. Which was kind of a disappointment.

5. The general narrative beats in this were also kind of meh: too much is made of the fact that Alice and Blackwood kissed ONE WHOLE TIME before Blackwood decided (on his own) to commit to being a stupid boy rather than a stupid husband. I.e., he and Alice have no conversations nor commitments at that point in their lives. And this thread of like....teenaged urgings is carried forward like it should mean something. Which it mostly doesn't, because they have both been up to a lot of shit in the intervening years.

And then the first third of the book is just ... awkwardly handled, with Alice flirting with a very nice older Duke who seems like a decent dude who deserves some dashing damsel of his own, and Blackwood blundering around in the margins and it doesn't ... move anything. Alice and Blackwood are already very aware of one another; very attuned to one another. They have an established pattern of friendly-but-chilly acquaintance that holds...

Until Ripley (Alice's brother) disappears, and Alice loses her mind a little bit as she rushes off with Blackwood to find the stupidhead. As this section of the book moves forward, there's a bit of a decision point wherein Alice can either rush home back to her attempts to find a husband, or she can agree to marry Blackwood and continue on with the search. And she decides to marry Blackwood, which sets up the back half of the book.

To recap: at this point in the book, Alice and Blackwood are already pretty in line with one another, and the marriage proposal allows them to re-explore the physical aspects of their relationship. (You know: all that lust.) So that arc takes off only to be short-sheeted by the aforementioned "separated physically but not emotionally" bit above.

ALL THIS TO SAY: I think there's a story in here about Alice recognizing that she can, actually, rely on Blackwood, and Blackwood coming to realize that he wants to be dependable for Alice, but it's lost under a lack of overt movement in that direction. It's there, but only if you squint and use some binoculars because its buried under all this other stuff.

6. I'm giving this a 2 because, for a Chase, it's only OK. If this were any other author, I'd be giving this a 3.5 with caveats.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this, read 7 chapters, was confused by who people were and what was going on so decided to read the prior two in the series to make sure I was getting the full story. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite of the three.

In the first two books in the series, Alice and Blackwood are married but estranged. They do not interact, and it seems as though there's a full on rift. In this book, instead of focusing on things we do not know--why the rift happened, how the marriage fell apart--the majority of the focus is on a strange romp around England trying to track down either Alice's brother and a street urchin she has a soft spot for.

The romance sort of just happens, it doesn't feel like the focus of the book, and I didn't care about the focus of the book--because it's all ALREADY HAPPENED in the prior two books. Once they get married, there aren't many chapters left. The rift, that caused Alice to completely avoid Blackwood in the prior two books, is just sort of a fizzling of their marriage. There was no blow up, no big argument. And to solve this, they just decide to be close. It tied up very quickly and didn't really explore any of the things that can be interesting about a second chance romance.

I really enjoy the second chance historical romance when done well, such as The Day of the Duchess, Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage, and The Ugly Duchess to name a few. However in these, the marriage--the reason it happened, the fallout, and the fight for reconciliation is the focus; not so here.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is sharp and the dialogue is witty and acerbic and fun and their particular brand of flirting is delightful but the story doesn’t hold up. It’s weird bc having read the first two books in this series, I expected this to be a marriage in trouble trope. But it’s not. And I don’t understand? Did I misread the vibes between Blackwood and Alice in the first 2 books? The first 75% of the book basically set in motion the events that ultimately lead to these 2 getting married. But also much of the book isn’t really devoted to a full blown romance but rather other things that primarily occupy their attention. Alice wants to help unhoused and orphaned children, Blackwood is busy keeping Ashmont out of trouble and their romance and falling in love feels almost incidental to the whole book: I’m not going to say I hated it but I just didn’t love it as much as the first 2 books and in the context of this whole series, this book did not make any sense.

Content notes: toxic parental behavior in the past

ARC from publisher, review is all mine.

[Joanna Loves Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one quite a bit. It may have been a long wait, but I think it was the strongest in the series. It was at least better than the first one. It takes a bit of a different arc than the typical HR, because they are married early on in the book. So it is a journey of the h&h, who are busy with other concerns needing to prioritize their marriage and each other. I enjoyed it and would recommend. Great characters that are wonderfully drawn.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes I did drop everything to read this book in one sitting and yes I'm so happy about it!!

MY INCONVENIENT DUKE is the third in the Difficult Dukes series and it's been a book I've been looking forward to for a long time because 1) Loretta Chase and 2) we get glimpses of Alice and Blackwood in the first two books and they were married! So I was so intrigued as to how this romance would go.

If you're unfamiliar with the Difficult Dukes series, it's focused on 3 friends who are all dukes and only have two brain cells among them. Ripley and Ashmont tend to pass one brain cell back and forth and Blackwood has a proprietary hold on the other one most of the time. Alice is Ripley's sister, so this book was "brother's best friend" as a trope. Alice and Blackwood have had a connection for years, ever since they were kids, but of course he is fighting it because, one brain cell, but when one of their drunken escapades goes too far, Alice decides she has to take her destiny into her own hands. In fear and worry that her brother might one day go too far and fall into a scrape he can't get out of, thereby dooming the dukedom and her to the dubious mercies of her brother's heir, Alice puts herself on the marriage mart. Blackwood, as a man who has a brain cell 90% of the time, figures this out and goes to London to help and warn the odious heir away. But he is pulled further and further into Alice's orbit as her do-gooder impulses and fearless determination require his help, and if he is honest with himself, he doesn't want to get away. True Wifeguy vibes. And Alice is a classic Loretta Chase heroine, determined and passionate about justice and very clear on what she wants, refusing to be left behind for any reason.

The truth is Alice and Blackwood's story takes place both before and after the other two books, the first 60% or so before and the last 40% a year later. I was a little worried that something catastrophic was going to happen to make me both very sad and this a second chance romance, as one expects when the two main characters appear on page married, but instead what we got was the story of two characters fighting daily to make their happily ever after a reality. They have to figure out how to be married. They have to compromise. They have to apologize to each other. They have to balance their marriage with their loyalty to their friendships. We get a real picture of what it means to be married and to push through the every day trials and come out the other side stronger.

I had an absolutely marvelous time, and we even got some madcap adventures like ones from the previous books. I had forgotten a lot of details and now I am so eager to go reread the first two books in the series. Then I bet I'll love this book even more! Five entirely wonderful stars.

Heat level: 2.5

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC.

[OLT · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Loretta Chase. Just didn't love this particular book. Had to go back and reread my favorite of hers, Lord of Scoundrels, to keep my love alive. It also made for a great escape, something I'm needing 24/7 nowadays.

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Inconvenient Duke is a brother’s best friend, childhood friends, historical romance.

Lady Alice needs a husband, and fast! Her brother is reckless and about to throw away the dukedom, and with it her future. The Duke of Blackwood is one of her brother’s friends and has known Alice as well since childhood.

I was just so bored with this one. Lord of Scoundrels by this author is iconic and everything else I’ve tried from her…just hasn’t worked. I decided to try this one because the cover is so pretty, but that was about the only thing I liked sadly. The characters fell flat and so did the plot. Not sure if this one would have been more enjoyable after reading the rest of the series or not.

I received an audio ALC, all thoughts are my own.

[ToriLovesHea’s · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loretta Chase is Loretta Chase and even at her…not best, I still enjoy what I’m reading from her. And I mostly enjoyed this one. If only because we’ve been teased by this couple for two books and I was ecstatic to finally get to Alice and Giles. For the most part (or better yet for the first 70-ish percent), this was classic Chase and I loved it. The banter is spot on and so dryly witty. Alice and Giles fall into this friends to lovers dynamic that was endearing, sweet, and hysterical (the Dis-Graces are going to be disgraceful, y’know). So far so good. No complaints.

But I kept wondering how when and why this couple came to be the estranged married couple we’ve seen in the prior two stories. I actually was confused when I got to 70-ish percent and still hadn’t even encountered hide nor hair of a marriage on the rocks. And when it did come….I didn’t even really feel like I needed it. Because it wasn’t done well or even really necessary that far into the story?

It’s Chase, so I still had a good time and I loved Alice and her feral fierceness and Giles and his secret gigantic heart of gold (A Chase classic). But I didn’t *love* it as a whole and I’m a bit sad about it!

[Jultri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why I hoped that this third book in the Difficult Dukes trilogy would be any better than the previous 2. It wasn't, although this duke is marginally more mature than the other tediously irresponsible dukes. None of the fun and clever dialogues of the older Chase books. I liked the heroine so marked up for her.

[Pam _P who cusses A Lot · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine? The plot was too convoluted and it's been too long since I read the first two books in the series to even remember half of the reasons why they are the way they are. It was also too light on the romance for me.

[Avid Booker]

FINALLY! I NEED THIS! And from a historical OG!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.

The Vibes: brother's best friend, romcom, known each other since childhood

Heat Index: 6/10

The Basics:

Giles, the Duke of Blackwood, has long been in the orbit of his best friend's little sister, Alice Ancaster. And while neither of them really want to admit it, they've long had a thing for each other, too. Now Alice needs a husband ASAP, and deep down, Giles is who she wants. But he's reckless and unserious—he'll never step up. Will he?

The Review:

Hmm.... HMMMMM....

I was really looking forward to this book after reading the first two in this trilogy (about Giles's BFFs, including Alice's brother, the hero of my favorite installment A Duke in Shining Armor). You get this setup of Giles and Alice as a married couple who clearly have damage. So I went into this expecting one of my favorite tropes, marriage in trouble.

It is not, in fact, marriage in trouble.

Or it is—but these two really don't get married until two-thirds of the way into the novel, and then we have some friction. Which does put their marriage in trouble, yes. But it's not HUGELY in trouble. It's very "these are young people and they are having silly early marriage issues that they kind of blow out of proportion because perhaps they weren't quite ready for marriage even if they love each other".

That's not a bad thing at all. Sometimes, it can be refreshingly realistic. But! I really wouldn't call this a marriage in trouble book, ultimately. There just isn't much time spent on the marriage; it's a brother's best friend book. And that also isn't bad. If you go into this raw (which you can, though the other heroes are fairly heavily involved and this goes back in the series timeline, essentially) you may actually enjoy it more than people who were looking forward to a marriage in trouble novel.

And this has a lot of the hallmarks you expect from a Loretta Chase book—it's breezy, it's QUITE funny, it never takes itself too seriously. The prose is great. But I will say, I feel that some of the other books I've read by her (and I haven't read a TON) tend to be a little more romantic. They're often romcoms, yes, but they're heavier on the rom than they are on the com (lmao).

Here... I don't know. I enjoyed it. I read along briskly, I had fun with it. I enjoyed seeing the other characters from the trilogy. But I kind of felt like the friendship between The Boyz (The Disgraces) was more well-built than the romance?

And that can be a challenge when you jump into a romance where the characters have known each other for years. I personally love that shit. But in some cases, it can feel like the author sort of expects you to Get It, and maybe you don't, because you've never met these people before.

Here, I just felt like we didn't quite dig into the romance enough. And a lot of stuff happens before these two really dig into it themselves. A lot of subplots.

Honestly, if you're a Loretta die-hard, you're going to be into this. The writing remains great. But the romance factor? Could've been fleshed out more. At the same time, I'm not sure I would've felt that way if she'd stuck with the marriage in trouble plot I expected. And not everyone is going to expect that. The average reader won't expect it.

The Sex:

Pretty normal Loretta Chase sex scenes! Cute, sweet, explicit but not overly so, vanilla, tender. Don't really occur until later in the book, like I mentioned. I could've done with a bit more, personally, but that's me.

This was cute! I just kind of think it could've been on another level, y'know? Still worth reading if you love Chase. She's just set a high standard for herself. A double-edged sword indeed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a classic Regency romance with all the expected tropes—childhood friends-to-almost-lovers, a roguish yet secretly noble duke, and a heroine in a bind. While it had its entertaining moments, it didn’t quite leave a lasting impression.

Overall, it was a decent read for fans of the genre, but not one that stood out. If you love historical romance with second-chance tension and a reluctant hero, you might enjoy it—but if you’re looking for something fresh, this one may not hit the mark.

🎶 illicit affairs – Taylor Swift
🎶 Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book significantly later than reading the first two was a bad idea. The timelines are too confusing. Either read all three back-to-back or read this one standalone - though the latter might prove frustrating as there'd be a lot of unfamiliar names thrown at you that you'd be expected to already know.

As I eventually figured out after pulling out my copies of the first two books to cross-reference dates, the vast majority of this book actually takes place before the other two. So, coming out of Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, you'll be expecting the tale of a second chance romance between a couple whose marriage has gone horribly wrong. And that's not at all what you get. Instead, you go back in time and get a surprisingly low-drama story about a couple who have cared about each other since they were young but who never actually got together because the heroine's brother noticed the hero noticing the heroine. This led to the brother forcing the hero to choose between the heroine and their trio of best friends. Given that they were all still teenagers at the time, the boy was obviously going to pick his friends over the girl he had a crush on. Eight years later (and a year before the other books), hero and heroine are thrown together and wind up making choices that require them to marry to preserve her reputation.

The giant conflict implied by the earlier books turns out to be nothing at all - which is really very anticlimactic. And while the heroine has another suitor, there's no real rivalry there and everyone winds up friends. The characters do seem to spend a fair amount of time rescuing orphans though. And I guess that's the thing. This is the book you'd get if you take all the things people say they want in a romance written these days - strong intelligent heroine, strong supportive hero, characters who understand their own privilege and do their best to help others, etc. - but, unfortunately, when everyone is too perfect there's not enough conflict to keep things interesting even with an author as generally wonderful as Ms. Chase.

[eyes.2c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satisfying read!

I took to Lady Alice Ancaster straight away. Also to Giles Bouverie Lyon, eighth Duke of Blackwood, one of the three Dis-graceful dukes. When their disgraceful lordships, Ripley, Blackwood and Ashmont showed up at any ton function, the rooms emptied. Not that they were invited anywhere because they weren’t. Most of the ton ran when they hived into view.
It’s Ridley’s sister Alice who’s our focal point and Blackwood.
A girl Blackwood had taught to shoot when she was fifteen, who’d he first met scrambling out of a second floor window when she was ten, bold and cheery as you please
Alice has grown up. She’s spent a year abroad with her friend Cassandra Pomfret. Alice is part of the Minerva Society that takes on street children, educates and house them and find them employment
At the moment however she’s realized that if something happens to Ridley his black hearted heir, Penric Ancaster, Lord Worbury would make her pay.
Alice decides the only way to be safe is to marry. Taking herself and her aunt to London she sets about the task. Only things keep happening and the man who’d broken her seventeen year old heart is there to pave the way and provide her with backup.
A sort of enemies to lovers romance with intrigue and danger thrown in for good measure. Wonderful!

An Avon and Harper ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Loretta Chase, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Topastro]

Setting this down for now.

[Heather Moll · Rating 2 out of 5]

For all my love of historical romance I’ve never read a Loretta Chase book. Lord of Scoundrels has been in my TBR forever.

But I just could not get into this. It feels like you need to read the other two books in this series, which is out of the norm for historical romance. Alice and Giles have good banter, but the story was all over the place and their romance felt underdeveloped. I was so bored. Maybe that’s because I didn’t read the other books where they were side characters to get the backstory. The time jump and letters and chaotic scrapes took away from getting to see why these two should be together.

This is not the book that would make me a Loretta Chase fan, but maybe I’d go back and try an old one.

I received an arc from NetGalley

[Anamaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and Loretta Chase for the ARC! I’ve always admired Ms. Chase as one of the genre’s giantess, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book.

When I started reading, I quickly realized that more context from the earlier books would help, which delayed my review. Grad school application demands didn’t help either! Unfortunately, even after catching up, I found the book confusing—a sentiment echoed by other readers. The writing didn’t feel quite like Ms. Chase’s usual style, and I was left somewhat disappointed. While I enjoyed the second book in the series a bit more, I can’t say any of the instalments fully resonated with me. The male leads, in particular, felt less like heroes and more like spoiled, brazen characters lacking depth. As for the female leads, they had the traits I typically enjoy, but somehow still fell flat. Perhaps this series just wasn’t a fit for me.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to start by saying it felt so good to read something new by Chase!! I've missed her writing, and it was really nice just to have her back. But I admit this just wasn't my favorite by her. I hold her to a higher standard, and honestly a "meh" book by her standards is better than most things I'd read, but this just was a bit too busy to be a really great romance. There were some great moments here and I loved both Alice and Blackwood, but the plot had too much going on and the romance just didn't get to develop.

[Whitney Theresa June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Alice Ancaster is in want of a husband. Why? Because of her scandalous brother; who she feels is hell bent on recklessness to the point of death. So she seeks out a husband in order to escape the clutches of the dastardly. cousin who would inherit.

The Duke of Blackwood at 19, was told to chose b/w his friendship & his best friend's little sister. Choosing friendship over Alice starts to take a back (carriage) seat years later when Giles finds himself attempting to play behind the scenes knight errant to Alice's season.

My Inconvenient Duke is the third book in A Difficult Duke series. Having not read the previous two novels, after reading this one I look forward to starting from the beginning. I loved Loretta Chase's dramatic writing flare and the angsty banter between Alice & Giles. There is nothing like the drama of a Chase novel; when you know anything can happen. And as scoundrel-y as the dukes were, I always love a friendship group b/w MCs, & this friendship brought a lot of tension to Blackwood & Alice's story. There is nothing like an MMC who doesn't feel like he is capable of love & a FMC who everyone is trying to protect when she can clearly & without a doubt protect herself & those she cares for. I always wish to be more like a Loretta Chase FMC!

I will note that I did feel a tiny bit lost having not read the previous books in the series, mostly because the timelines b/w the three books appear to happen simultaneously. I will rectify this immediately as I am dying to know what happens with Ripley & Ashmont. Which means I will be rereading My Inconvenient Duke afterwards and update my review!

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.