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yourbookishbff 's review for:

The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. George
4.0
emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No

This was an angsty and emotional conclusion to the series that had me ugly crying well before the 30% mark. We knew Camille's backstory would include some significant trauma, and I thought that it was handled well and with the appropriate nuance to help contextualize how a woman of this time - with some limited exposure to women's rights movements - might begin to think about and heal from her own experience of abuse and assault within a marriage. Camille's growing self-confidence through the story was beautifully done, and I loved seeing her reclaim agency and pleasure on her own and in partnership with Jacob. Jacob's arc was missing something for me, though, and I felt his attitude turn-around wasn't adequately supported by character development, so it mostly felt like whiplash. Part of it may be that the set-up for his internal conflict just felt insufficient? I didn't feel entirely confident that he had worked through his own issues in a meaningful way by the end.

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