A Duke by Default: Reluctant Royals

Alyssa Cole

Jul 2018 · Reluctant Royals Book 2 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

An NPR Best Book of the Year - A Bookish Favorite Book of the Year - A Bookpage Best Romance of the Year

Award-winning author Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series continues with a woman on a quest to be the heroine of her own story and the duke in shining armor she rescues along the way…

New York City socialite and perpetual hot mess Portia Hobbs is tired of disappointing her family, friends, and—most importantly—herself. An apprenticeship with a struggling swordmaker in Scotland is a chance to use her expertise and discover what she’s capable of. Turns out she excels at aggravating her gruff silver fox boss…when she’s not having inappropriate fantasies about his sexy Scottish burr.

Tavish McKenzie doesn’t need a rich, spoiled American telling him how to run his armory…even if she is infuriatingly good at it. Tav tries to rebuff his apprentice—and his attraction to her—but when Portia accidentally discovers that he’s the secret son of a duke, rough-around-the-edges Tav becomes her newest makeover project.  

Forging metal into weapons and armor is one thing, but when desire burns out of control and the media spotlight gets too hot to bear, can a commoner turned duke and his posh apprentice find lasting love?

Ratings and reviews

3.5 stars — I struggled with bits of this book, but on the whole it offered me so much. Portia was one of the biggest mix of conflicting traits I’ve ever seen. She had moments where she was spunky AF, and I was all “YEAH!” But then she would get into her head and would reinterpret things…and suddenly I could see how frustrating that was from an outsider perspective. It’s like I got her, but we share similar bad habits/traits and that was hard to watch in someone else. But I seriously loved her delight in learning…I got excited with her. Tavish could be both adorable and infuriating. His inability to communicate seriously frustrated me on more than one occasion. His intentions were good, but man was he ever going about things wrong. But I did love that he really saw Portia, and even though he was terrible at it, he tried to get her to see it too. And I really could understand how crazy things got once the Duke stuff came into play. Portia and Tav’s chemistry was definitely on point once we finally got there. I loved that there was playfulness mixed in with the steam. I will admit, I thought I was going to love Jamie and Cheryl more than I did in the end. I loved them on the surface, but when it came down to it I don’t think they helped…I think they hindered. Honestly, there were a lot of characters that felt very self-involved in this book, from MCs down to secondaries. It was…a frustrating look at what is likely very realistic. The royalty stuff got a bit out there at times, but nothing unusual for royalty books IMO. I loved the deep dive into the world of sword making, and all things historical. I also loved the look at ADHD that this book gave, especially since I could vibe with a lot of the way it presents. I think in the end I had a hard time following the choices characters were making at times, and so it took me out of the book a bit. I’m not saying it was wrong, I just couldn’t connect. But that’s not going to stop me from wanting to go back and read Ledi’s book, and then check out Nya and Johan.

It’s been a while since a contemporary series has me so excited or captivated, but the diversity of characters, smart writing and touch of humor from Alyssa Cole’s pen in the Reluctant Royals series ticks every box. I won’t jump on the issue of diversity here –but I want to read stories that come closer to reflecting my own life and neighborhood, a tapestry of life in all the shades possible. But here – we have Portia’s story. First met in A Princess in Theory, she’s one of Ledi’s best friends, but more than a bit of a lost soul. With looks, wealth and friends –one would think she has it all –but she’s often her own worst enemy. Intelligent and unfocused, she’s got the attention span of a gnat, and this reinforces her parents’ “Good thing she’s pretty, she’ll need caring for” attitude, and her own lack of self-worth. She was free-falling into a series of drunken escapades, half-finished projects and uncounted instances in the walk of shame category. These are two people that are meant to be together. Portia is renewed with the challenges- and there are many – to bringing Bodotria into the 21st century. Insatiably curious with her love of history and mysteries, she does some digging to reveal history, family and claims to a title that the staunchly republican-leaning Tav, with his dismissal of the ‘toffs” and scorn for the protocol and behavior, but mostly the callous disregard they show for those with less. Even as Tav is frustrated (mostly due to his own conflicted feelings and fears of being hurt) by Portia, he can’t help but see her heart, her intentions and her ability to bring and share everything he needs to succeed to him, in ways unexpected. She’s a light in the often-dark recesses of his stress: the burden of supporting the armory, his brother and his girlfriend, be a role-model and helping hand to the poorer kids in the neighborhood, and providing a sense of security and welcome for the kids, he’s taking on responsibilities with his whole being – if one should fail, he’s convinced that HE is the failure. But, there’s Portia, with all of her apologizing and hesitance, willing to take on multiple time-consuming tasks all for the momentary moment of praise, developing in confidence in their friendship and working relationship, the joy and wonder in which she takes in new sights and experiences – and how easily that all goes away when her parents call. Not one for mincing his words, he’s gradually (and occasionally gracelessly) pushing her to grab onto those good moments and use them to push herself forward. A task that her bestie Ledi has been trying to work for ages. But – it all goes spectacularly wrong, Portia runs from Scotland in typical “old Portia” fashion, and all just may be lost. ….. and then – it isn’t. I love this series – it grabs onto some difficult and trying issues and brings most around to a satisfying conclusion that had me smiling (and laughing) frequently. Of course, Portia’s flightiness and lack of attention span is briefly addressed – and being similarly tasked with the ability to pick up something quickly and then being bored easily, the challenges for her are solidly presented and some tricks to manage and manoeuver through the day are clever. Tav is a typical bull-headed alpha, but his heart – one of pure gold – is the key to making him oh so special. Grab this and A Princess in Theory while you wait for the next book – you’ll love the conversations, characters and writing in this series! I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility. See full review at I am, Indeed

So well written and hilarious. Just the right amount of meta.

About the author

Alyssa Cole is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers and romance (historical, contemporary, and sci-fi). Her books have received critical acclaim from Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime or wrangling her many pets.