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His Illegitimate Duchess
Elizabeth Hawkins, a duke's illegitimate daughter, gets a second chance at being a part of her late father's family when she meets her half-brother Nicholas.
All she has to do now is prove she can be part of polite society, and the best way to do so (of course!) is by behaving like a proper lady and marrying well.
The only problem with that plan is the haughty, arrogant, infuriating Duke Colin Talbot.
Together, they embark on a tumultuous emotional journey that leads them back to themselves.
All she has to do now is prove she can be part of polite society, and the best way to do so (of course!) is by behaving like a proper lady and marrying well.
The only problem with that plan is the haughty, arrogant, infuriating Duke Colin Talbot.
Together, they embark on a tumultuous emotional journey that leads them back to themselves.
687 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2025
38 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 19, 2025
Excessively long but I still enjoyed it. The one thing that really annoyed me and I consider to be an unforgivable crime in the world of books…there were multiple characters with the same name. Two Mary’s, two Charlotte’s, a boy named William and a man named Sir William. Why would you do that?? That’s like novel writing 101’s biggest no-no. It was so confusing especially because it was a long book and there were a lot of side characters. Trying to keep them all straight was hard enough without having repeating names. There were a few other things that caused confusion that I thought should have been better explained or expounded on but overall a good read if you’re in the mood to get lost in the daily lives of some interesting characters.
August 10, 2025
This is the best historical book I have ever read. The way it was written was so beautifully done. I absolutely loved all the characters and especially loved the two main characters. Duke Colin Talbot is now one of my favorite H’s. Elizabeth Hawkins was such an incredible lady. I felt I was back in the 1800’s while reading this. One thing I really LOVED was the spicy scenes that normally aren’t showed in historical romance books. This book touched so many different things from the 1800’s I learned so many new things. You can tell the author put a lot of heart and knowledge into writing this book.
#overheardbetrayal
#OW drama
#marriageintrouble
#overheardbetrayal
#OW drama
#marriageintrouble
July 25, 2025
loved the first parted, got bored reading the second ( after they married nothing really happened).
i gave it 4* for the effort
i gave it 4* for the effort
August 8, 2025
I'm at almost 25% and absolutely nothing has happened. I'm out.
August 12, 2025
This book is well written and engaging but entirely too long for what it is. No romance needs to be 685 pages ever unless it’s a fantasy which requires world building. I typically don’t read historical because they perpetuate and romanticize harmful misogynistic and patriarchal stereotypes. This one is also guilty of doing this but does maintain a modicum of self awareness in having the characters truly examine the basis for their beliefs and how hurtful and harmful these stereotypes and “traditions” are, particularly to women. So kudos to the author for calling it out. I also enjoyed that Lizzie was not a whiny crying stupid girl and had some grit to her. She had no problem holding a grudge or cutting toxic people out of her life which was refreshing for a romance of any genre. The OW drama was over blown and not particularly relevant. There’s a mean girl who is mean to everyone and a former mistress of the mmc who does absolutely nothing other than exist in their presence for a few days and make a few thinly veiled catty comments. All that being said it was entirely too long. Way too many scenes of the same thing over and over again. I started skimming after awhile. This book needs to be cut by at least half but is otherwise an enjoyable and surprisingly well written read.
July 26, 2025
Wonderful
I love reading about arrogant dukes that fall hard and first. This was simply wonderful. It checks all the boxes.
Dukes
Illegitimate h
Emotional gut punches
Well rounded characters
Overheard hurtfulness (I don't know how else to phrase it)
Grovel
Forgiveness
Healing
Growth
Well rounded characters
Did I mention the duke?
I love reading about arrogant dukes that fall hard and first. This was simply wonderful. It checks all the boxes.
Dukes
Illegitimate h
Emotional gut punches
Well rounded characters
Overheard hurtfulness (I don't know how else to phrase it)
Grovel
Forgiveness
Healing
Growth
Well rounded characters
Did I mention the duke?
December 22, 2025
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating System (as of 8/14/2025):
⭐: It was a struggle to read. I almost DNF
⭐⭐: This could have been so much better.
⭐⭐⭐: Good/Average
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Great book. I will probably reread it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: I absolutely loved this book.
***********************************************************************
Triggers:
🚩Abandonment by Parent
🚩Death of Parent
🚩Bullying
Tropes:
💕Historical Romance
💕MF Romance
💕OW Drama
💕Enemies to Lovers
💕Family Drama
💕Grovel to HEA
Spice Level: 🔥🔥🔥
Spice Level Rating System (as of 9/4/25)
🔥: Clean. Handholding. Kissing.
🔥🔥: Non-Descriptive/Implied on Page Sex
🔥🔥🔥: Hot-Descriptive on Page Sex
🔥🔥🔥🔥: So Hot—Do Not Read in Public
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥: Oh My-BDSM. Blood Play. Smut.
************************************************************************
Quote:
When did you become the defender of the institution of marriage?
Summary:
FMC has been raised by her mother with occasional visits from her father. An incident happens where she discovers her mother is in fact her father's mistress. Sometime after the death of her father her half-brother decides to visit. She has been made legitimate and will have a season of her own to find a husband.
MMC was once friends with the FMCs brother. They had a falling out when the brother got married. The MMC does not believe in marriage. However, during the FMCs season he begins to fall for her. He makes the decision to make her his. This leads to marriage. HEA
Review:
I always have a hard time finding the balance between reviewing and spoiling the book. This book especially. I really want to tell you the twists and turns (curve balls) the author has written into this story. These take the story to another level.
In the beginning the MMC annoyed me. He did everything he could to fight against the FMC. But then when he decided he wanted her he destroyed her reputation and her relationship with her brother. I loved that the FMC had a backbone. I loved how she stood and told people how they had treated her and she wasn't going to take it any longer.
I do feel not only the MMC redeemed himself but also her family members did as well.
Very well written.
*****************************************************************************
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Rating System (as of 8/14/2025):
⭐: It was a struggle to read. I almost DNF
⭐⭐: This could have been so much better.
⭐⭐⭐: Good/Average
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Great book. I will probably reread it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: I absolutely loved this book.
***********************************************************************
Triggers:
🚩Abandonment by Parent
🚩Death of Parent
🚩Bullying
Tropes:
💕Historical Romance
💕MF Romance
💕OW Drama
💕Enemies to Lovers
💕Family Drama
💕Grovel to HEA
Spice Level: 🔥🔥🔥
Spice Level Rating System (as of 9/4/25)
🔥: Clean. Handholding. Kissing.
🔥🔥: Non-Descriptive/Implied on Page Sex
🔥🔥🔥: Hot-Descriptive on Page Sex
🔥🔥🔥🔥: So Hot—Do Not Read in Public
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥: Oh My-BDSM. Blood Play. Smut.
************************************************************************
Quote:
When did you become the defender of the institution of marriage?
Summary:
FMC has been raised by her mother with occasional visits from her father. An incident happens where she discovers her mother is in fact her father's mistress. Sometime after the death of her father her half-brother decides to visit. She has been made legitimate and will have a season of her own to find a husband.
MMC was once friends with the FMCs brother. They had a falling out when the brother got married. The MMC does not believe in marriage. However, during the FMCs season he begins to fall for her. He makes the decision to make her his. This leads to marriage. HEA
Review:
I always have a hard time finding the balance between reviewing and spoiling the book. This book especially. I really want to tell you the twists and turns (curve balls) the author has written into this story. These take the story to another level.
In the beginning the MMC annoyed me. He did everything he could to fight against the FMC. But then when he decided he wanted her he destroyed her reputation and her relationship with her brother. I loved that the FMC had a backbone. I loved how she stood and told people how they had treated her and she wasn't going to take it any longer.
I do feel not only the MMC redeemed himself but also her family members did as well.
Very well written.
*****************************************************************************
FOLLOW ME ON:
INSTAGRAM📢
https://www.instagram.com/bibliodarling/
SUBSTACK📢 https://open.substack.com/pub/mterron...
TIKTOK📢
https://www.tiktok.com/@bibliodarling...
JOIN MY VIRTUAL BOOKCLUB: BOUNDLESS WOMEN BOUNDLESS BOOKS (GOODREADS GROUP)
July 16, 2025
A historical romance with a lot of heart.
The story grabbed me right from the start. We are introduced to Elizabeth as a child while she discovers she is the illegitimate daughter of a Duke. It is impossible not to feel her devastation and it sets the tone perfectly for how this moment forever changed her life. The story follows her as she navigates a new life amongst the ton, including her meeting the arrogant Duke Talbot.
It was such a delightful read and I really enjoyed all the characters due to the nuances with which they were written. There are no characatures of a desperate mistress mother or a Mary-sue heroine, instead they are people living within the circumstances of their time.
The main male character, Talbot, is very endearing even while he's battling against his own lack of emotional intelligence (which is likely very accurate for the time). It was entertaining to read his perspective as this stupidity was balanced nicely against his obvious devotion to Elizabeth.
The author has clearly taken the time to research the period and lovingly sprinkled her interesting findings throughout the book within the story. There was also social commentary that provoked empathy rather than feeling sanctimonious or too modern and it gave credence to the character development.
This was a favourite read and will definitely be visited again.
The story grabbed me right from the start. We are introduced to Elizabeth as a child while she discovers she is the illegitimate daughter of a Duke. It is impossible not to feel her devastation and it sets the tone perfectly for how this moment forever changed her life. The story follows her as she navigates a new life amongst the ton, including her meeting the arrogant Duke Talbot.
It was such a delightful read and I really enjoyed all the characters due to the nuances with which they were written. There are no characatures of a desperate mistress mother or a Mary-sue heroine, instead they are people living within the circumstances of their time.
The main male character, Talbot, is very endearing even while he's battling against his own lack of emotional intelligence (which is likely very accurate for the time). It was entertaining to read his perspective as this stupidity was balanced nicely against his obvious devotion to Elizabeth.
The author has clearly taken the time to research the period and lovingly sprinkled her interesting findings throughout the book within the story. There was also social commentary that provoked empathy rather than feeling sanctimonious or too modern and it gave credence to the character development.
This was a favourite read and will definitely be visited again.
July 27, 2025
Duke Talbot and Lizzie…
Lizzie is the illegitimate daughter of Charles Hawkins, with her mother being obviously a single parent. Hawkins visits her occasionally but Lizzie, being a small child, doesn’t understand the situation. So she manages to get herself to where her father “promenades” each Sunday, and of course he rebuffs her cruelly. He’s got his legitimate daughter with him so he completely ignores Lizzie… and this is how she learns her first lesson about the Ton.
This author has written several of my favorite books, and I’m just glad I found her. The depth and richness of her writing is so interesting. She has a wonderful take on the human condition.
No spoilers, other than that Lizzie becomes a much loved wife and mother. The journey, as usual with this author, is just wonderful. Plus, there’s a story on Wattpad about her brother, Nicholas, that I need to read.
KU read, highly recommended!
Lizzie is the illegitimate daughter of Charles Hawkins, with her mother being obviously a single parent. Hawkins visits her occasionally but Lizzie, being a small child, doesn’t understand the situation. So she manages to get herself to where her father “promenades” each Sunday, and of course he rebuffs her cruelly. He’s got his legitimate daughter with him so he completely ignores Lizzie… and this is how she learns her first lesson about the Ton.
This author has written several of my favorite books, and I’m just glad I found her. The depth and richness of her writing is so interesting. She has a wonderful take on the human condition.
No spoilers, other than that Lizzie becomes a much loved wife and mother. The journey, as usual with this author, is just wonderful. Plus, there’s a story on Wattpad about her brother, Nicholas, that I need to read.
KU read, highly recommended!
July 22, 2025
Worth it
I started this book when it was a work in progress on wattpad. When the author announced it was going up on Amazon I stopped reading it and waited for it to publish. While I found it a bit long winded I really enjoyed it. So thought out and descriptive I felt like I was in the room with the characters. Colin is a new favorite character of mine. His redemption was clear as day. You could feel his love for Lizzie. Great book.
I started this book when it was a work in progress on wattpad. When the author announced it was going up on Amazon I stopped reading it and waited for it to publish. While I found it a bit long winded I really enjoyed it. So thought out and descriptive I felt like I was in the room with the characters. Colin is a new favorite character of mine. His redemption was clear as day. You could feel his love for Lizzie. Great book.
August 16, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
I really enjoyed this book! I’ve just gotten back into reading after a long break, and since I usually avoid long books, I wasn’t sure if I’d stick with it, but I’m glad I did. The story was so good and kept me hooked.
That said, there were a lot of fillers (like, a lot 🫠🫠), which got a bit annoying at times. But overall, I still loved it. Excited to pick up her brother’s story next! (I don't like wattpad, please publish his story too)
I really enjoyed this book! I’ve just gotten back into reading after a long break, and since I usually avoid long books, I wasn’t sure if I’d stick with it, but I’m glad I did. The story was so good and kept me hooked.
That said, there were a lot of fillers (like, a lot 🫠🫠), which got a bit annoying at times. But overall, I still loved it. Excited to pick up her brother’s story next! (I don't like wattpad, please publish his story too)
August 6, 2025
4.5⭐️
This was such a compelling and emotionally impactful story. I adored the character growth throughout, as it makes each character’s motivations nuanced and grounding. There is such tenderness, sensuality, and redemption woven into the tapestry of found family, complicated relationships, and duty. It is a bit long winded but the payoff is truly compulsive read.
This was such a compelling and emotionally impactful story. I adored the character growth throughout, as it makes each character’s motivations nuanced and grounding. There is such tenderness, sensuality, and redemption woven into the tapestry of found family, complicated relationships, and duty. It is a bit long winded but the payoff is truly compulsive read.
August 11, 2025
Enjoyable
I haven’t read many historical romances. I really liked the change. The book was long but that isn’t a complaint. There isn’t really anything I’d shorten or remove. It just flows. My only negative was repetitive character names. I believe there were 3 Mary’s in the book. Otherwise the betrayal was forgivable and the author wrote both characters likable.
I haven’t read many historical romances. I really liked the change. The book was long but that isn’t a complaint. There isn’t really anything I’d shorten or remove. It just flows. My only negative was repetitive character names. I believe there were 3 Mary’s in the book. Otherwise the betrayal was forgivable and the author wrote both characters likable.
September 4, 2025
Swoony, passionate, and everything I want in a romance.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
His Illegitimate Duchess is a heartfelt historical romance that gave me all the good feelings. The character growth between the heroine and her hero was beautifully done, making their love story both touching and unforgettable.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
His Illegitimate Duchess is a heartfelt historical romance that gave me all the good feelings. The character growth between the heroine and her hero was beautifully done, making their love story both touching and unforgettable.
July 23, 2025
This book was surprisingly really good.
July 26, 2025
3.5
I'll review it later
I'll review it later
July 27, 2025
Entertaining
And for a looong book I didn’t get bored
And for a looong book I didn’t get bored
August 13, 2025
He said hurtful things about her. But he loved her very much.
It was hard to read the depressing parts about abandoned bastard babies and dying paupers.
It was hard to read the depressing parts about abandoned bastard babies and dying paupers.
August 16, 2025
great book
This was a new author for me. I loved this book! Characters were well developed. Jealous and possessive hero and strong heroine.
This was a new author for me. I loved this book! Characters were well developed. Jealous and possessive hero and strong heroine.
September 22, 2025
This was a bit of a dense book, but the characters had a believability about them that a lot of books in this genre fail to capture. I will definitely be reading more by this author.
July 11, 2025
I loved this book and the relationship between Talbot and Elizabeth. I couldn't get enough of the slow burn between them and the light enemies to lovers, I couldn't put it down!
highly recommend!
highly recommend!
July 12, 2025
I enjoyed readint this book so much. It has a modern twist that makes it relatable. I loved all the books I have read from this amazing writer
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews