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A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall is a book that I've seen recommended a few times, so when Libro.fm had a sale, I picked up the audiobook. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I listened to it twice in one week. I loved it so much. A historical romance set in 1818 England follows Viola Carol, a lady's paid companion for her sister-in-law. During the Battle of Waterloo, she was presumed dead, leaving behind her best friend the Duke of Gracewood. She took refuge and remade herself as Viola Carol to live her truth as a woman, giving up her inheritance to her brother- and sister-in-law.

Her sister-in-law insists on returning to Gracewood's manor after a letter from Gracewood's sister relays concerning news about Gracewood spiralling into depression and abusing alcohol and drugs as he continues to mourn the loss of his best friend.

Viola is afraid he'll identify her, blowing apart her newfound sense of self that she covets to the point of isolation. What ensues is a beautiful romance from the perspectives of both Gracewood and Viola. It's in the third person and swaps between perspectives at any moment. If written badly, head hopping can be disconcerting; however, in A Lady for a Duke it's easy to follow.

Gracewood is consumed by grief and haunted by his past. Both the war and his abusive upbringing at the hands of his father have left indelible marks on his body and his soul. Viola, not realising that Gracewood was suffering so harshly from her supposed death, is racked with guilt. As they get to know each other, Viola as her true self, and Gracewood seeing her as the woman she is, they spiral closer to each other. It's inevitable that Gracewood will find out who she used to be, and must come to terms with that new reality.

I was super worried that Viola would be publicly outed, but thankfully that didn't happen. Instead, Hall grazes against tropes and then redefines them. It's technically not a second-chance romance, since they weren't romantically involved before the war, but it feels like a second chance. It's not exactly friends to lovers, because in the present there's always romantic tension between them, and Gracewood doesn't know that Viola was once his friend, but again it feels like it.

I can't fully describe why this book was beautiful. The characters, while flawed and consistently limiting their own growth through stubbornness or fear, are genuinely kind and full of passion. Societal pressures and expectations play a starring role while they navigate a world that actively works against their happiness and desire to be with each other. I think it's their genuine love for each other, the way they see the other person, that makes my heart melt. We all want to be seen and loved the way they love each other.

While heartwarming and romantic, the book has a very satisfying sex scene. It's spicy, but I'd say not the most explicit scene I've ever read. Fanfiction has inescapably warped my spice-level indicator beyond repair.

This book is for anyone who enjoys period romances that delve into societal strictures with characters who forge their own path despite the obstacles. If you like queer romances with transgender characters who aren't put through the ringer for the sake of pain porn, then this is for you. The audiobook version is fantastic. Each character had a distinct voice. And the humor in this book had me laughing out loud. Hall deftly creates eccentric characters through hilarious dialogue.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall is my top romance book of the year. And I won't shut up about it.

/rae