It's a Duke's life: Sequel to 'Don't flatter yourself' - A P&P Variation

by Sydney Salier

Any man in possession of wealth and a title must be in want of a wife.That is what every matchmaker thought about Alistair, even before he became the Duke of Denton.He spent years avoiding compromising situations and unwanted marriages, often with the help of his identical twin brother Robert.Then he met Charlotte Lucas, best friend of his newly married cousin, Lady Elizabeth Darcy.Charlotte Lucas is a reluctant spinster.But is she reluctant to be a spinster or is she reluctant to be a duchess?There is only one way to find out…Sequel to 'Don't flatter yourself' - A Pride & Prejudice Variation

Genres: Romance, Historical, Regency

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2020

Reviews

[J. W. Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There’s nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy. Or more exasperated. Or more… secure.” –Jim Butcher, Vignette

SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain *** SPOILERS ***

>>Rating: mature teen due to adult themes discussed and described. It was only a slight blush factor but still needs to be noted. We are discussing the Ton, you see.
>>Angst Level: minimal
>>Source Borrowed from KU [4-16-24]: I volunteered to leave a review.
>>Trope:[1] AU: Alternate Universe where things are different [2] 2nd Bennet wife [3] Unknown connections, wealth, and titles [4] Elizabeth is not a Bennet [5] a surprise wrinkle in the entail [6] A different pairing for Jane

“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.” Quote from the book

The series should be read in order. Mrs. Bennet is very different than the lady we are accustomed to reading in the canon account. She is a Lady with connections that will astonish and amaze. Many threads comprised this story with characters running back and forth throughout the series. This third book centers on His Grace searching for his HEA. I enjoyed watching Alistair sidestep the matchmaking mamas of the Ton. The gossip was rife with the tittle-tattle that his Grace was looking for a wife. He escaped the shark-infested ballrooms and headed for the calmer waters of the countryside. There he would find a woman worthy of being his Duchess.

“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” –George Bernard Shaw, Immaturity

Lady Catherine showed up and showed out. She pulled a fast one and it was spectacular in its execution. She created havoc that was fast and furious. What was Darcy to a Duke? Her Anne would be a Duchess. How well that sounds. Little did she know, someone was watching and heard her plans. She never saw it coming.

The scene is now prepared for the next book in the series. Lady Alexandra finding her HEA. I liked her. She was best friends with Alistair and they looked out for each other during the treacherous Season.

The Denton Connection [4-books: not all are standalone]
Book 1: Mrs. Bennet’s Surprising Connections: Prequel to Don’t flatter yourself
Book 2: Don’t flatter yourself
Book 3: It’s a Duke’s Life: Sequel to ‘Don’t flatter yourself
Book 4: Lady Alexandra’s Hunt: [can be read as a standalone]

1st read: 5-29-24 ~ 5-30-24
2nd read: 6-27-24 ~ 6-28-24

[gwen christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very favourite

Will definitely read again, Charlotte comes into her own fairy tale happy ever after. But Mary and Kitty are sadly neglected perhaps in another sequel???

[lori huff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet and bland

The events surrounding the life of Alistair Flinter are presented in a calm, matter-of-fact way, and read almost like what would be in a history book, rather than a novel that should have some drama and romance. The story is written well enough, but, as in Sydney Salier's other books, everything falls into place way too easily. There are some minor pitfalls in the life of the future duke, such as the sad fact of his own father's rejection, and also the ladies that are determined to compromise him for their own gain. Things like this are brought up, and then swept away without much fuss.

Much of the book is taken up with events already known, if you've read Ms Salier's other related books, which is pretty much required if you're to understand the situations and cast of characters in this one. It isn't until more than halfway through the book that Alistair discovers Charlotte Lucas.

Any fan of P&P and JAFF knows Charlotte. The story summary reveals that Alistair, now a duke, becomes interested in her, and she is still the twenty-seven year old, practical and somewhat plain daughter of Sir William who considers herself to be a spinster. Therefore, I had a major eye-rolling and head scratching moment when the duke proposes, and she refuses! That is a senseless contrivance if I ever saw one. Couldn't Charlotte just be herself, and joyously accept her good fortune, like a sensible lady would, especially since she's supposedly in love with him already?

Of course, all turns out well, and then some. The Dowager Duchess has all the important people in London at her beck and call, and magically coordinates the perfect scenarios for assuring Charlotte's triumphant acceptance by everyone in the first circles. It seems no one has anything better to do than to help with this quest.

This is a pleasant way to pass a few hours, but this isn't great literature, and don't look for anything too earth shattering. It's pretty blah.

[Allison Ripley-Duggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

It was so enticing that I couldn’t put it down, this book grabbed my interest from the very first page. I couldn’t put it down, I had to know what happened next. The story is well written with a very good storyline. This is a Pride and Prejudice variation. You will see the most beloved characters in a whole new way. This is The Denton Collection Book Three. Any man in possession of wealth and a title must be in want of a wife. That is what every matchmaker thought about Alistair, even before he became the Duke of Denton. He spent years avoiding compromising situations and unwanted marriages, often with the help of his identical twin brother Robert. Then he met Charlotte Lucas, best friend of his newly married cousin, Lady Elizabeth Darcy. Charlotte Lucas is a reluctant spinster, but is she reluctant to be a spinster or is she reluctant to be a duchess? There is only one way to find out. So with all that and more this story pulls you in and holds you tight. It’s a must read. I highly recommend to everyone.

[D M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even a handsome Duke finds he needs to fight for the love of a lady.

After years of evadingnthe machinations of scheming women Alistair, the Duke of Denton, has found someone who likes him for himself not merely his title. However, Charlotte Lucas, best friend of Lady Elizabeth Darcy, never thought of herself as beautiful much less as a potential Duchess. So of course she refused the proposal of marriage from Elizabeth's cousin Alistair. Once her reservations for accepting become known the Dowadger Duchess and several friends step up to help. You'll marvel at all that is involved in maneuvering among the ton. You'll also enjoy seeing certain individuals put in their place.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice end of the series (or at least it is supposed to be the end), but not exceptional. After three books written in the same style, it is getting boring. So I am just going to enumerate what I like and what is not ok for me.
Likes:
*The author shows war, thought Robert and Richard's eyes. It's a not a common occurrence in Regency romances.
*Lady Catherine is mean again, everything is well in the world, though she is bat shit crazy.
*Sugary happy lives. Everything is perfect and they have zero problems. I love a good HEA ending, even though that one was a bit too perfect. Still, I've read the book in the beginning of the covid quarantine and it was what I needed.

Dislikes:
*Alistair is way too perfect. I would like just a few flaws. He is too unrealistic.
*One-dimensional characters. All of them. But well, I still enjoyed most of the book.
*Too much scenes from the first book, exactly the same, no change at all.
*Darcy is still an idiot who thinks only of rank. He is the same all the time in each and every book in the series. No evolution at all. I don't get why Elizabeth would have him.
*Unrealistic facts:
- 300 servants for a ball? I don't think so.
- 300 of their closest friends? I thought they hated the people of the ton and were not interested in their company. I can go on and on. Imagination in romance novels is good, but I have a problem with absurd facts and situations.
Still, if there is another book I will probably read it.

[Michele Packard-milam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Variation Series

I am enjoying this series. It is well-written except that the author doesn’t appear to know how commas work. This is annoying, but the stories are worth dealing with the weird punctuation and occasional missing words. A good editor could solve these minor flaws easily.

[Angie Reon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this series!

I'm very much hoping that there will be more I'm this series! So well written, and such logical character development! This this book, I'm this continuation is especially creative and the last page certainly ends with a great beginning for the next book!

[Wendy DeWachter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book

I enjoyed this book very much. It sure is different from others. In truth parts of the storyline are not believable but to story was so fun it didn't matter. I had to keep reading to see what happened. There are some good set downs as well, people properly put in their place.

[CharlotteReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful tale is set in the P&P Denton world. The Dowager is lovely. It is humorous. The story contains many of P&Ps most delightful characters, while there is only one angst producing one, Lady CdB, of course. This story could be seen as out-strategizing the Ton. Enjoy this funny and happy romp.

[Lisa E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yay for Charlotte

I like that Darcy and Elizabeth are still included. In the other books, I kept expecting to see a connection between Robert and Colonel Futzwilliam, but don't remember one until this book.

[Pet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series so much I wish there were more. It’s exciting and wonderfully sweet in places, ODC was not the main point but they do appear and are as fabulously impertinent as expected. I really hope we get the Colonel Robert’s story.

[Michelle David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely

An interesting variation inspired by author Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice by Sidney Salier. Sequel to “Don’t Flatter Yourself” I enjoyed both

[Daisy Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

Good book. This author has quickly become a go-to. I have not read a bad one as of yet. 5 stars

[Dawn Timan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute short story about Charlotte Lucas. I enjoy Sydney's writing style and the characters are interesting.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much of the first half of the book was reviewing the previous books in the series, although with additional details.

[Rachel Fuente · Rating 4 out of 5]

To start, I was annoyed by how much repetition there was in the first half of It's a Duke's Life (IADL). It's one thing to include the same events, but provide you with drastically different information due to differing viewpoints. It's another thing entirely to simply copy a scene with a couple of notes from the other person's perspective. Most of the repetitive scenes in IADL were the latter.

Now, with the negative out of the way, I can focus on the positives.

I enjoyed how Alistair and Robert switched places to avoid having to deal with fortune hunters. It's definitely a good fit for their personalities.

Lady Catherine was a surprising one for me. I believed in the change she showed in Don't Flatter Yourself. I was convinced she had seen the light. But, I supposed I should have known better. I couldn't believe she was willing to ruin her daughter's reputation by attempting to force a compromise. But, at least it afforded Anne a chance to get away from her mother.

I really enjoyed the Alistair – Charlotte pairing. Despite how unlikely it is that she would refuse him, the author gave her a line of reasoning that made sense for her character. The Dowager Duchess, of course, remains a force to be reckoned with. She not only managed an impressive set of arguments to sway Charlotte, she also managed a plan for Charlotte's launch on society that would make generals envious.

It would have been nice to see more of that launch in the story. I always love when Charlotte gets a chance to shine. Instead, we got mentions of a detail here or there. Overall, though, it was a great story and ended with a fantastic cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next "true" book in the series to find out if Robert is in love with Lydia or Georgiana.