Book Review/Blog Tour #turnthepagetours #TTPT #TDSC #thedukessecretcinderella #evadevon #entangledamara #netgalley #ARCreader #historicalromance
I will always gravitate toward a fairy tale retelling, and Eva Devon has taken her Forever a Wallflower series and used classic works of literature to inspire her stories. The Duke's Secret Cinderella is the third book in this series and it draws its inspirations not only from the Cinderella fairy tale, but also the Cinderella inspired movie Ever After. I found the parallels between Devon's work and Ever After to be an absolute delightful way to re-explore this tale, while also giving the main heroine a bit more agency throughout the novel. Devon's writing is charming and accessible, the plotting is beautifully paced and the characters are fully fleshed out and realized. I was easily swept up into the romance and charm of this novel and found this telling to have a nice effortless approach with some nice changes and tweaks to give it a freshness.
Devon has a way of crafting a heroine who is smart, independent and capable on her own, and a hero who loves her for her without any over exhausting alpha tendencies. This retelling is beautifully crafted around tropes that are tried and true, and with some subtle tweaks to the characters, the reader is given a slight shift to the story which gives it a breath of newness. I really delighted in the set up of this novel which is very much inspired by Ever After, it is a really charming way to have the hero and heroine encounter each other and start to develop a current of interest. Devon weaves this tale with a mastery of understanding of this story, and the characters she is developing. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is immediate and only grows and develops with each interaction. Devon also does a beautiful job using physical intimacy to grow the hero and heroine's understanding and trust of each other. This book has the perfect amount of steam to really highlight the foundation these two are building. While this romance starts out with a little white lie, and for some it might carry on too long, I think it does provide a perfect small tension for the reader to put them in a place of caution as the romance is blooming. I really loved our hero and heroine together, I found this romance to be overall light and low on angst, and a really lovely unfolding of a relationship between two people who are given the opportunity to learn about each other and develop a deep understanding of the core of the other person.
I would so highly recommend this novel! Eva Devon is a true master at her craft and if you have not had the opportunity to read one of her works I would highly recommend doing so! This novel is a delightful place to start, as well as any other books in this series, which can all be read as standalones, and have all been absolutely charming and wonderful reads.
Thank you so much to Entangled:Amara and Turning the Pages Tours for a physical copy of this novel, as well as NetGalley for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: The Duke’s Secret Cinderella
AUTHOR: Eva Devon
PUBLISHER: Entangled – Amara
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2023
GENRES: Adult Romance, retelling BUY LINKS:
Bookshop:
https://bookshop.org/a/25463/9781649372413
SYNOPSIS:
Charlotte Browne could just kick herself. What on earth possessed her to tell the Duke of Rockford that she is a lady? But something about the duke's handsomeness and kind intelligence makes Charlotte blurt out the teeniest, tiniest falsehood. Now it's too late to admit she's just plain Charlotte of no particular importance—with cinder-stained hands, a wretched stepfather, and no prospects for marriage...
Rafe Dorchester, Duke of Rockford, has done what every self-respecting duke must do—avoid marriage at all costs. But the only thing stronger than the duke is his mother. When she lays down the highest ultimatum, he'll need to find a duchess. Immediately. Only, when he calls on a potential bride, he instead finds the pert, fresh-faced Lady Charlotte. Rafe was warned to never mix the business of marriage with pleasure, but when it comes to her...oh, business would be a splendid pleasure.
One passionate, illicit kiss sends Charlotte fleeing, leaving only a delicate blue ribbon behind. For Rafe can never discover her secret, or it will ruin her beloved sister's chance at marriage. But the duke knows that when you've found the one person that ignites you, body and soul, nothing can keep you away.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Author’s website: evadevonromance.com
Author’s instagram: instagram.com/evadevonauthor
Author’s twitter: N/A