A Lady For a Duke: a swoonworthy historical romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material

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Although Viola’s insistence in her womanhood in the face of confusion or questioning is more stalwart, it has echoes of d’Eon’s insistence at being born a woman.

The bravery and vulnerability of these two characters—the beautifully nuanced acknowledgment that necessary choices can bring relief but also loss (but also hope, and new opportunities)—I cried so much while reading that my mask became utterly saturated and probably lost structural integrity. Justin and Viola have loved one another since they were children, and the evolution of their love—and as individuals—makes for an incredibly compelling story. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. The way the individual characters develop and deal with the various challenges facing them was entirely believable.

But when I found out that "A Lady for A Duke" casts a trans woman as the main character, I was absolutely mind blown. When they arrive, Gracewood is depressed, drunk, and doesn’t realize he already knows Viola, so she agrees when Lady Marleigh suggests she try to help him get better. Her brother inherited the viscountcy and invited Viola to live in his household as a companion to his wife. The side plots intervening in the central storyline had the most fabulous banter and made me fall even more in love with the story overall.

This story is going to stay with me for a long time, and I want many more books like this, with fearless trans protagonists getting the happily ever afters they so deserve.I love how Hall navigates their shared past when Viola could not live as herself, carrying the affection and positive memories from that time and integrating it into their romance.

Gracewood’s development as a character is incredibly powerful: healing from his father’s harsh parenting, changing his relationship to the lineage of power he descends from, and relearning how to be a man outside of the strict gender roles he was taught. There are so many times when Gracewood has to adjust what he thinks of as his "role" or "responsibility" just because he's a man.Viola is terrified to travel, not only because Gracewood thinks his best friend is dead, but also because he’s never known her as a woman. In fact, after recovering from her wounds, she made the bold decision to walk away from her inheritance and her title and into a new life: She was finally free to live as a woman.

Striving to somehow bring him back to his former self, Viola is drawn closer to her former friend, and desires she could never name before are brought to the surface. The heat level wasn't on a very spicy level, but good God, when they eventually got together, it was so incredibly romantic - so affectionate and open and kind, but still so passionate. He has excruciating physical pain from a leg injury sustained at Waterloo, but it’s his mental state that is the most perilous. It really bothered me that when Viola personally witnesses Gracewood’s laudanum addiction and suicidality, she responds by starting to sneak out of the house because staying will increase the risk of Gracewood recognizing her. Viola and Justin have barely any drama—which was good for the health of their relationship—but it did lead to a lack of opportunity for newness in their dialogue and interactions.After being presumed dead at Waterloo, Lady Viola Caroll decided to let the world go on thinking that and begin to live for herself.