Moreso than any other genre I am incredibly particular about the romances I read. I know exactly the tropes I like and exactly how I want them executed. Because of that, I find it pretty difficult to find romances I love so I'm glad to say Alexis Halll hit it out of the park.

A Lady for a Duke is an incredibly unique historical fantasy. It follows trans woman Viola Carrol after leaving behind her old life letting all but her immediate family believe she died during the Battle of Waterloo. However, she soon discovers her best friend Lord Gracewood is in a bad way. Gracewood suffering from PTSD and severe depression and suicidal ideation has barely been living since his friend's death abandoning his soon-to-come-of-age sister Mirander to flounder in their cold stately home. After discovering this Viola with the help of her sister-in-law travels to Yorkshire and soon the two fall for each other.

What I love most about A Lady for a Duke is how it subverts common romance tropes. The setup of this novel under the hands of a lesser author could have led to an incredibly predictable and tedious miscommunication plotline. But because of Alexis Hall's determination not to eke out cheap drama, this book allows itself to explore much more interesting conflicts and tension. Hall avoids making Viola's "lie" the central conflict of the story leaving it to be revealed in the third act as most romances do. He also respects the dignity of Viola's trans identity. Viola is never framed as deceitful for not coming out and is never subjected to transphobia by Gracewood or anyone else.

Outside of the thrill of my expectation being subverted the central romance between Viola and Gracewood was absolute perfection. Hall in this novel captures intimacy, tenderness, and connection between characters at a level unlike anything I've read in a while. In the first quarter of the novel, we see Viola and Gracewood build a connection as Viola helps Gracewood through his grief. While Gracewood doesn't know he's building a connection with his best friend the novel still managed to sell me on the instant connection between the two. What I especially loved about this section was the way Hall built angst throughout. The emotional turmoil Viola is going through seeing the unintended repercussions of her choices felt meaningful and aching, but the novel never once undermines Viola's decision to transition.

The story also explores the fascinating ways Viola as her true self is able to access aspects of Gracewood's personality that he never revealed to her before she transitioned. The bond they formed before Viola's identity was revealed was honestly my favourite part of the story. Their connection felt so genuine and the way they just clicked together was so satisfying. One of the best examples of this is the shaving scene fairly early on in the novel. In it, Viola shaves Gracewood because his hands are too unsteady to do so without injury. And when I say this book is more intense than every sex scene in this book combined I'm not joking. Hall here captures what it means to be vulnerable with someone in such a moving way.

On Gracewood's side of this seeing him half-living through the immense grief of losing his best friend and the only person he let himself be vulnerable to was heartbreaking. the novel explores his opiate dependency and PTSD post-war and his history of childhood abuse with great care. I love how Hall unpacked Gracewoods on relationship to his newfound disabilities as a result of the war.

Another thing Alexis Hall did well that I'm super particular about in romance was the way he wrote sex scenes. There's so much in a sex scene that can squick me out but Hall managed to capture the intensity, intimacy, and pure delight of enjoying the person you love body so well in this story. I will warn you that this book is a slow burn that makes you wait for Viola and Gracewood to get together but when they do it's amazing.

I will say where the story might lose some people is its plot. A Lady for a Duke is 460 pages long which is hefty for a romance. This isn't helped by the final burst of conflict in the story having little to do with our protagonists leaving it feeling like a tangent rather than a necessary part of the story.

Overall I adored A Lady for a Duke. This romance was excellently crafted, perfectly subversive of tired romance tropes and an all-around amazing read.