How (Not) to Hate a Duke by Jennifer Haymore

Tracy

February 13

Series: Standalone Title (with characters from Earls Rush In)

Release Date: February 19. 2024

Heiress Georgiana Milford is tired of the social whirl and fending off fortune hunters and is impatiently awaiting the arrival of her older sister who has been in Nova Scotia for 9 long years, so when her dearest friend Charlotte suggests that she join her and her husband at a house party for a couple weeks, she happily agrees. But her happiness is extinguished by the arrival of her family's country neighbor and archenemy, Theophilus "Theo" St. Clair, the new Duke of Desborough, and an unfortunate encounter with a hawthorn bush. After that fiasco, she can't wait to get to the country, but when she arrives she is in a for surprise, the duke is also a guest. She wants to leave, but Charlotte convinces her to stay and begs her to give the duke a chance, swearing that she has known him for years and that he is nothing like his vile father. She promises to try and is shocked to realize that she has misjudged Theo, and after getting to know him, begins to fall for him. But what future could they possibly have? Her father hates him and Theo has done nothing to improve his image in her father's eyes. Is happily ever after possible or will she have to sacrifice one love for another?

Theo St. Clair inherited a nightmare from his father, the former duke aka the Duke of Despots. The estate is in disrepair, the fields are fallow, the tenants leaving, the villagers and his staff don't trust him and to make matters worse, his neighbor Thomas Milford is spreading rumors about him and undermining all of his attempts to make improvements. Theo is at his wits end with the estate and when he is called to London to deal with his younger brother Sebastian's gambling debts, things just get worse when he encounters Georgiana Milford in Hyde Park and is blamed for the damage done to her gown. He tries to make it up to her by offering the use of his carriage to get home without anyone seeing her, but his offer is met with contempt. Thankfully, Charlotte, the wife of his best friend Lord Trevelyan is there and manages to smooth things over. Later when Trevelyan suggests he take a break from his troubles and join them at the Merrick's house party, he jumps at the chance. But when he arrives and finds that Georgiana is a guest, he wants to leave, but Trevelyan convinces him to give Georgiana a chance, telling him that if he can prove to her that his intentions for the estate are honest, then maybe she can get her father to back down. But the more time he spends with her, the more he realizes that she is the only Milford he wants to impress. They declare their love, but when her parents arrive, it is clear that her father will never approve of him. He can't lose her, but neither can he make her choose between him and her family. Will love find a way or was it doomed from the start?

This was a well-written, nicely done Enemies to Lovers story that gives readers a new twist on an old trope. The book is filled with wonderful characters, misconceptions, great secondary characters, spelunking, steamy love scenes, heartbreaking revelations, painful choices, true love, and finally a hard-earned HEA complete with an epilogue. I liked this book, but to be honest, I wasn't a fan of Georgiana at the start of the book, she was very closed-minded and judgmental, but once she was able to put aside her preconceived notions about Theo, she became his fiercest defender and redeemed herself. Aside from that, this was a very entertaining and steamy read that was a fresh take on an old trope and a book that I am happy to recommend. Although this is touted as a standalone title, it is worth mentioning that it features characters from another one of Ms. Haymore's standalone titles "Earls Rush In".

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*