Undone by the Billionaire Duke by Caitlin Crews

 

This is a cheeky book that is entirely self-aware of its own ridiculousness which makes it feel almost like a loving homage and parody of gothic romances, which I actually love. What else to say about a book-- a modern-day book, mind-- where the governess heroine's first encounter with the billionaire duke is with him on horseback and at one point he's actually wearing a tophat for no good reason? Also, sexy library shenanigans and talk about ruin.

Oh, god, I burn, I pine, I perish.

Eleanor is basically a Jane Eyre stand-in. She's a virginal heroine at twenty-seven with no one in the world except for her slightly younger, social-climbing sister, Vivi. This job as ducal governess fell into her lap but doesn't come without strings: Hugo Govesmoor (that NAME) has a reputation for being an evil playboy who chews women up and spits them out like some sort of misogynistic woodchipper.

I will concede that parts of this book feel anachronistic. Especially the dialogue. I didn't mind that though because I felt like it was intentional, and even if it wasn't intentional, it fit the gothic vibe the author was trying to create. What I really liked about this book was the banter, the chemistry between the H and the h, the surprisingly graphic sex scenes, and the emotional depth to this book. The duke's backstory is surprisingly sad and empathetic. Poor man.

I do feel like there was insta-love and for a governess book there weren't that many governing scenes. The flow of time within this novel is also very hard to grasp and doesn't transition well, which can make it difficult to get a feel for how quickly things are progressing. I get that part of that is a limitation of how Harlequin romances are structured but it felt particularly noticeable here. Also, at one point the heroine tells the hero that she's asexual and he's like "no, you were just bored." And that didn't quite sit right with me. It felt like maybe the heroine was demisexual-- or just sheltered and confused? But that's quite a bomb to drop and not defuse, and it could be seen and construed as invalidating/erasure.

Overall, though, I liked this book a lot. I thought it was a fun and cheesy modern reinterpretation of a gothic novel and while I wouldn't stoop to call it a Jane Eyre retelling, it definitely had a lot of the vibes. The first thing I read from this author was a viking romance that was A+. So far, nothing I've read from her has quite matched that book in intensity but this had enough of what I loved about this author in it that I feel pretty sure that she's going to be a fave.

3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars