The Duke and the Dressmaker

Eva Devon

Sep 2023 · Once Upon a Wallflower Book 2 · Sold by Entangled: Amara

About this ebook

A duke becomes unraveled by love in this delightful historical romance from USA Today bestselling author Eva Devon...

Dressmaker Miss Lily Martin knows too well the sordid dealings of London’s corrupt underbelly. She should have known borrowing from one of the city’s most reviled moneylenders was risky. Horribly so. Now the loan has come due—and there’s nothing standing between Miss Lily and her darling sister’s ruin. Until a dashing American with flashing, defiant eyes intervenes...

Ship captain James Blakefield may be the new Duke of Ashbridge, but he’s only in London for six weeks to secure his estate before returning to America, and far from the watchful eye of the ton. He’ll be damned if he’ll attend another society event where eligible ladies fling themselves at his title. But when he discovers Miss Lily’s desperate predicament, James realizes he might have the perfect arrangement.

By assuming the legal guardianship of Lily’s sister, he can keep them both safe and ensure someone cares for the estate. But it means having Lily under the same roof for the next six weeks. No chaperones. No betrothal. As their undeniable attraction charges the very air between them, both propriety and restraint are threatened. But scandal is the least of their concerns when James’s secret threatens to pull everything apart at the seams...

Each book in the Once Upon a Wallflower series is STANDALONE:
* The Beast and The Bookseller
* The Duke and the Dressmaker
* The Rake and the Rose

Ratings and reviews

Wonderful Cinderella-esque romance! James is a very reluctant duke who is willing to leave his Boston roots to claim the title only to the extent that it can put him in a position to make changes that will benefit his shipping company. As a very distant relative, he has no history with the previous duke's granddaughters, who were disowned when their mother married a man her father couldn't accept. However, since one of those daughters is still underage, James is obligated to find her in order to fulfill his duties as her guardian. Lily, the eldest of the two sisters, has fiercely protected her younger sister for years, and has done everything she could to keep herself and her sister safe and fed. She has absolutely no interest in anything the new duke could offer them, figuring that the new duke wouldn't be any different than the last one and therefore can't be trusted. I loved the way the author showed us both in his words and his actions that James is an entirely different kind of duke. His fresh ideas may not be accepted by his aristocratic peers, but he DGAF. His feelings for Lily were born of respect for all she's accomplished, despite the obstacles, and he slowly wins her over to trusting him. This would be a solid 5 star read for me if it weren't for more than a few too many plot inconsistencies. Trying to keep track of just how many years from point A to point B, or how something that would be nearly impossible to do in less than 24 hours with today's technology was somehow still accomplished literally overnight in the late 1700s/early 1800s. Ignoring those issues, however, I really enjoyed the story and felt all the feelings with Lily and James. There was one particularly triumphant scene that nearly made me stand up and cheer. Their HEA was beautifully done, a mix of both her dreams and his. I love this author's writing style and look forward to reading more in this delightful series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed James and Lily's romance. I liked the storyline a lot. It captured and held my interest well. There is a very obvious attraction and connection between the main characters which made them easy to root for. I also really liked that they each had some emotional baggage. Overall, a very good book and a solid entry for this entertaining series.

About the author

USA Today bestseller Eva Devon was raised on literary fiction, but quite accidentally and thankfully, she was introduced to romance one Christmas by Johanna Lindsey's Mallory novella The Present and a romance addict was born. Now, she loves to write her own roguish dukes, alpha males, and the heroines who tame them.
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