Status Updates From The Duke's Secret

From about half way, this feels like the author has tried to wrap the plot around a Wikipedia article. The 'characters' are more like characters. This either had to be about domestic matters, or about war and affairs of state, but they are tied together in an uncomfortably artificial manner.

Two timelines both in present tense. Why? The 'current' timeline is quite wooden. Ava is currently walking around various European cities, hoping to understand her ancestor through the absorption method and repeating stereotypes.
There is weirdness. No one from Sydney offers to pop over to Paris to join someone for a weekend.