Her Night With the Duke by Diana Quincy

 Ok. So. Yes, I like the occasional romance novel.  I do. I'll even admit to appreciating the occasional R+ rated scene. However, I don't generally go for reading smut just for the sake of smut. I want a good story. I want the ... ahem... physical exertians... to mean something more than just physical gratification. One of the romance series where that has always been true is the "Bridgerton" series. It's a historical romance series and there is more going on there then just a wrapper for smut. I like both the books and the Netflix adaptations. However, when my TBR.co recommender sites Bridgerton as a reference for recommending something that looks entirely like a regency romance series, I worry a bit. 

In all honesty, this was a little too far off in the romance novel angle for me. My reviewer recommended this to me saying that it was remniscent of the relationship between Anthony and Kate (Netflix version). The Bridgerton novel is really just an adaptation off of "Taming of the Shrew" which makes it a lot of fun. However, that's not really what Her Night with the Duke was really doing. It's a much different narrative. 

Taming of the Shrew is really about gender relations within a marriage and it was really just the same lesson as Chaucer had in "A Knight's Tale." The central idea for both of these stories is that women want control over their own destinies. They want choice. (Remarkable that they got it in Medieval England but somehow Trump misses the point...isn't it) 

Her Night with the Duke actually goes a step futher and suggests that women want the ability to shift for themselves in society. Delilah, the main character, is a writer and a business person in her own right. Romance is nothing but a distraction. 

Delilah is also only half caucasian which adds an element to be sure. However, I really think the stronger point has to do with the idea of woman been the intellectual and commercial equals to men. 

Ultimately, this was a good read. Not my cup of tea, maybe, but ultimately a good story. The first 30 pages are entirely blush worthy, but if you get past them, there's some excellent character development and a good story. It's a good story but it could do with a little less sex.