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loverofromance 's review for:

The Duke's Rules Of Engagement by Jennifer Haymore
3.5
adventurous mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

 Introduction
The Duke's Rules of Engagement is the 1st book in a new series by Jennifer Haymore. Jennifer Haymore was once one of my all time favorite historical authors. I just adored the charm that she delivered in her books. I think readers that love historical romance will really enjoy this story. I really enjoyed the story as a whole. I do kinda wish that I had read this physically instead of audio format. I think with historical's I want to just listen to the beginning and once I am into it then switch to physically reading it. Because I think the accents can get to be a bit too much sometimes and too distracting.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Matthew, Duke of Crestmont
The hero is a Duke, and is just wanting to get married to get his heir. He isn't interested in love. He lost his parents at a young age, and was traumatized by how his uncle always has worked on demeaning his role as a Duke and his influence with his properties and those depending on him. Which is where his motivation for getting an heir is coming from.

The Heroine: Joanna Porter
She is a matchmaker, she believes in love and wants to bring people together. When a friend of her gets put into a situation where she and the man that loves her won't be albe to find a way to be together unless she can find someone to marry one of his sisters. So when she has the Duke of Crestmont come into her office, she hatches a plan that will fit all parties. Joanna is strong and intelligent and creative.

Summary
Joanna Porter is one of the most elite matchmakers of London and with the Ton. She is well renown for her talents in making the best matches and how well they work together. But when the Duke of Crestmont shows up in her office, she knows this might be the most difficult challenge she has faced yet. There is a lot of conflict between these two from the get go. Matthew needs to marry to get an heir but Joanna is determined to make them be a love match but what she doesn't expect is that she would fall in love with her client and that when the truth comes out, Joanna will have to work at proving her genuine heart to her Duke....

My Outlook
I had a fun time with this one, I do think I probably would have enjoyed it more if it had been physically read to be honest. After the first 1/3 of the story, the accent used just became so distracting and just not fun to enjoy as a whole. But this is a common complaint for me, I used to love the British accents in historical audiobooks but lately it just seems to distract me from enjoying it as a narration to be honest. I have no clue why it has changed so much. But I found the plot of the story to be such a delight. It was so wonderful to see the way it was developed throughout the story. And if you enjoy the more "forbidden" feels to a story then it will really work for you. I was charmed by the story but didn't quite fully connect with the romance itself.

Overall View
I found the Duke's Rules of Engagement to be a stunning story that was endearing in its quaint historical charm with some light touches of laughter and notes of the forbidden. Eager to see this author develop this series.

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 4/5
World Building: 3/5
Cover: 3/5
Hero: 4/5
Heroine: 4/5
Steam: 4/5
Heart & Feels: 3/5
Ending: 3.5/5
Overall View: 3.5/5