#BookReview; The Duke’s Family For Christmas by Sarah Mallory. @SarahMRomance @MillsandBoon @HarlequinBooks #TheDukesFamilyForChristmas

I am delighted to be sharing my review of; The Duke’s Family For Christmas by Sarah Mallory. Thank you Sarah for my advanced reader copy, which I voluntarily and honestly reviewed.

The Duke’s Family for Christmas

A heartwarming Regency romance

He has until Christmas Eve

…To make them a family!

Determined to claim the son his late wife kept secret from him, Leo, Duke of Tain, is working in disguise as his tutor. Until Miss Lily Wrayford, the child’s fiercely protective guardian, discovers Leo’s true identity…and gives him until Christmas to prove she can trust him! All Leo wants is to be a good father, but might this brave, captivating woman be the final missing piece of his family?

Released on 27th October 2022.

Review

Glittering in seasonal romance!

I really, really love the cover for this one, I think it works perfectly with the story even though I would have liked Lily’s cloak to be red like the one she wears when they all go out looking for festive greenery, but hey, that’s just me.

The Duke’s Family For Christmas tells the sweet second chance story of a man whose choices in life have drastic consequences, his life is taken out of his hands and when he becomes the Duke he finds things out that shock him to the very core. In the back blurb, it says that his late wife kept his son secret from him, and in essence, Alice did but there is far more to that side of the story than it appears one which is full of hurt and heartache.

I really liked Leo! We went on quite a journey, I fell for him at the start when he was supposed to be someone he wasn’t, my adoration of him wained slightly with his brusque arrogant manner but he soon wooed me into submission after all he is a decent chap. One who takes his responsibilities of being a Duke and a father seriously. He wants to do what is right for his son, but I do think that to gain what he desires to bring little Toby into the fold of his family he goes about things all wrong. he causes a lot of hurts in his actions and then a lot of mistakes follow on all sides which end in both Leo and Lily making a pact, a fully signed binding contract!

Lily is lovely! I honestly cannot think of another way to describe her, she is passionate, dedicated, determined, sweet-natured and a little unassuming. I loved how devoted she is to that little boy, she has practically raised Toby as her own and is heartbroken when she learns of Leo’s betrayal – my heart broke for her especially when she takes drastic action to keep Toby with her.

Leo….ah, Leo!! He took me on a trek with my emotions, I loved him, I disliked him, I warmed to him and then fell in love with him. A lot like how he made Lily feel. The more his past and his complex relationship with his family are revealed the more I understand him.

I did really like this story, I liked the direction the story was heading as I read, but I do think that it ended rather abruptly and would have preferred a more profound ending, a little more (I’m not sure what the more should have been, I just know that it needed more). Leo and Lily’s relationship progressed slowly and naturally throughout, they went from friends to enemies to tempting lovers and then boom within the blink of an eye we have a Christmas Eve love. I just think a little more would have worked better for Lily and Leo.

Despite my personal thoughts on a certain part (which I have already talked about) I did thoroughly enjoy this one, I liked the way the story flowed, the journey the characters went on, I loved the sizzling ‘bedroom’ scenes….phew, Leo is scorching hot when he is on full seduction mode, I’m a withering wreck after the crumpet scene.

Yes, you read that right; a crumpet scene! 😉

The cast of characters is so varied and each person brings life to the story; from the villagers, the people we meet at the coaching inns, and the residents in Yorkshire. The Dowager Duchess (loved the Duchess, she is a kind and intelligent woman who sees far more than she lets on) Leo’s brother (who I really didn’t like, I felt like hissing at him, talk about a bad un’) right to Toby, goodness this little boy melted my icy cold heart. What an absolute cutie!

Overall, an utterly heart-warming, wonderfully warm seasonal will-they-won’t-they romance. A must for the colder nights to come, fall into the Christmas season without even putting the tree up.

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