This Book SLAYED Me! The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean [Book Review + Giveaway]

I received this book for free from the Publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Don’t want to read the whole review? Click to jump to the Skinny Review.

The Day of the Duchess is such an emotional read. This is perhaps the very first book that I read where I didn’t know if the hero and heroine would end up back together! I mean, THE thing that broke them apart in the first place was so damn devastating that I didn’t know if both of them could even heal enough to forgive each other.

To say that I enjoyed The Day of the Duchess is an understatement. I’m not saying that this is Sarah MacLean’s best work yet but this is one of the most refreshing ones that she has written (possibly after Don’t Judge a Lady by Her Cover).

As you all know, I am a sucker for second chance romance. In fact, it is one of my favorite tropes and The Day of the Duchess is an amazing second chance romance that will really tear your heartstrings.

Lady Seraphina is back in London after a few years away, barges into the House of Lords, during a session and demands for a DIVORCE! GASP! Divorce was taboo during that day and only the bravest of souls could weather the scandal.

The story revolves around Sera and her husband Malcolm, the Duke of Haven. Sera wants a divorce so she can own her own pub and be free while Malcolm refuses to let her go and devices a plan to get her back.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. Malcolm convinces Sera to help him find his replacement Duchess (the suitesses – this is genius, by the way). Sera agrees with the understanding that Malcolm will grant her the divorce. Unfortunately, this is the part where I absolutely did not care for. I know I may be the minority here, but the days spent with the suitesses felt that they dragged too long. Basically, I was done with them. There were a couple that I can see starring in their own spin-off series, but still! I actually discussed this with a few reader groups and as expected, the majority of them disagreed with me, claiming that this was when Sera gave up on their relationship.

In all honesty, I wanted more Sera and Malcolm interaction. When they were actually talking to each other and discussing their current problems and facing the hurt, THEY WERE EXPLOSIVE! I mean, I could feel their chemistry sizzling right off the page! So yeah, I WISH there was more.

The suitesses bit practically had only a few Malcolm appearances! YIKES! And I was understandably peeved.

Again, I am the minority here, so I doubt that the situation would dampen your reading of The Day of the Duchess.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book so much. The hurt and struggles were real and I felt like this situation could indeed happen in real life.

The best part that I DID NOT EXPECT at all was when [spoiler]Malcolm finally gave Sera up and granted her the divorce. It was so dramatic, too! I loved that he bribed half of the Lords to grant him his divorce, with him being the last one to make a decision. His decision to grant Sera the divorce actually won me over![/spoiler] The scene was perfect in every way and I loved that it made Sera really think and evaluate her life, and of course embrace love.

If you haven’t read any Sarah MacLean book, this is the perfect time to start! Definitely, a MUST read!

I finally found the step back image! I’m not sure if I like the pose since Malcolm here looks like he is sniffing something from the crotch area and I can’t help but laugh each time I see it! tee hee

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