The Duke I Thought I Knew by Emma Linfield

The Duke I Thought I Knew Reviews

• 
  tweety ✨

  I'm saddened whenever I have to write a bad review but I can't lie about book ratings.
  What attracted me towards this book was the regency romance setting, which is one of my faves. I expected to find an exciting story with multi-layered characters and plot lines, but I was super disappointed in that department.
  
  Let's see what I didn't like:
  
  1) The names of the protagonists are Anastasia and Clayton. They don't look like Victorian names at all, if you ask me. This irked me a little because I couldn't picture them as British with these names. Silly? Maybe, but in these types of romances, I find the names to be important.
  
  2) I didn't like the the format. My Kindle edition of this book had gaps between paragraphs. I was annoyed by this thing.
  
  3) The prose was iffy and weird. I think the author wanted to imitate the style of the classics but it made the whole thing annoying and difficult to read. The narration staled a little with the way it was written. I understand that the aim was to reproduce a Victorian "talking" but in my opinion it failed.
  
  4) It was mostly a "tell not show" story. The story had great potential but the way it was delivered was superficial. If there had been more care into the development phase, in worldbuilding, plotting, dialogue, ecc. this would have made this story more interesting. Oh, and some scenes were confusing to understand because once you think some character is on land and then they are on a boat? Needs editing. Plus, there were a lot of exclamations. Too many for my taste.
  
  5) The characters were mono dimensional and flat. Again like with the plot. There is no development.
  
  I think that with the right editing this could become so much better.
• 
  Sharon

  Two sisters, Anastasia and Holly have just lost their father after a long illness. They lost their mother when they were very small. Their uncle moves in and takes over. He doesn't want to have to support them so he tells them they must marry quickly. Holly is very happy about this as she is in love with a gentleman. Anastasia does not want to marry but her uncle finds someone for her as part of a business deal. The gentleman doesn't come to call on her and she doesn't see him until she is walking down the aisle. He is a large man and rough looking. After they arrive home they both keep their distance from each other. How will these two get to know one another? Could they ever learn to be happy together? Is it even possible for them to fall in love? This story has intrigue, suspense, kidnapping, attempted murder, love, twists, and turns that will keep you turning pages to the end. You will find it hard to put this book down. Characters are fleshed out, the plot is well constructed, and the story is well written.
  I voluntarily received a copy of this book from the author and I'm voluntarily posting a review. My opinion is entirely my own.
• 
  Patsy

  A Wonderful Historical Recency Romance: Anastasia Byers had always looked after her sister, Holly after their mother died. Her father had just died and her hard core Uncle became their guardian. He was determined to make an arranged marriage for Anastasia. Holly had already found love and was waiting to get married.
  
  Clayton Gale the Duke of Calford was looking for a wife to entertain his business associates with lovely dinner party's. The Duke's main goal in life was to increase his wealth. This is the man her Uncle had chosen for Anastasia. The couple married although they had numerous mountains to climb and to overcome in their marriage.
  
  This was a good well written story with many twists and turns. There were adventures and mysteries. The characters were strong making this Victorian story flow smoothly as Duke Clayton and Duchess Anastasia fall in love. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it to everyone.
• 
  Diane Horne

  The Duke I Thought I Knew By Emma Linfield
  
  Five stars, Clayton was a duke a large lonely man, only thought of business. He realize he needed a wife, marriage was arranged, an Anastasia shy and quiet became his wife..
  Slowly he learns to love her, and through some mishaps, she in return.. Happily ever after.
• 
  Gerri Johnson

  This was an interesting story about two people who are missing something in their lives. Anastasia is missing a love for herself since her younger sister is married. Clayton is a man who lost everything as a child and doesn't know how to love. This is a definite HEA but it takes awhile to get there.
• 
  Sharon

  A good book. Even though I was given a copy of this book by the author, it in no way influenced my opinion and this is my honest review.
• 
  Karen Janet

  Fine until the last bitter chapters
• 
  Dionne

  A wonderful story.
  
  I loved the and so much that I read the story over again. The setting was great it totally blew my mind.
• 
  Patricia Schuette

  Quite a change
  
  A father dying, her uncle fixing her up with a man she gas never met. She meets him at the alter.
• 
  Lusie

  To me this story lacked depth
• 
  Boylan

  Disappointing read
  
  I often find romance stories to be rather sappy and unrealistic . This story line is excellent. The writing was stilted and unbelievable
• 
  Annette Sullivan

  romantic
  
  A very romantic story. I’ve read similar before. Ice characters though, but not written without errors.
  Glad I didn’t pay for this very often broadly used plot.