The Duke's Embrace: 12 Dukes of Christmas, Book 7

Written by Erica Ridley

Narrated by Rosie Akerman

A hidden identities, enemies-to-lovers, feel good romp from a New York Times bestselling author:

Unpaid and under-appreciated journalist Miss Eve Shelling never goes anywhere without a trusty notebook and her overprotective Duenna—who happens to be a bullmastiff. Eve learned the hard way that men are not to be trusted. She’s definitely not falling head-over-heels for the deceptively charming subject of her front-page column.

Local blacksmith Monsieur Sébastien le Duc is the pillar of his community—when he’s not pillaging elsewhere. He’s a rakish dandy with a heart of stolen gold and two teeny tiny secrets. One happens to be a wee international smuggling operation. The other involves losing his heart to an ambitious journalist determined to expose the truth at any cost…

The 12 Dukes of Christmas is a series of heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spotify Audiobooks
• Release date: Dec 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798368970820

Erica Ridley

Erica Ridley is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of witty, feel-good historical romance novels. When not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found riding camels in Africa, zip-lining through rainforests in Costa Rica, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of Budapest.

Reviews for The Duke's Embrace

[Emily Lassiter Branch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was the second book I've read in this particular series, and while I enjoyed both well enough, I felt myself wanting "more", and I suspect this is a case of "It's not the book, it's me". Novellas are just too short - there isn't enough time for me to get invested in the story and the characters. I liked the characters but wanted to know more about them. The story was good - there was a bit of intrigue that created issues for the two main characters - but again things were resolved a bit too quickly. I'm realizing that this is a series I'd enjoy more if I binged the books over a short period of time - there's overlap between characters and reading it almost as one big long book would probably be more satisfying for me than spacing them out. And I enjoyed the two I've read enough to keep them on my TBR list to do just that - read (or listen to) two or three at a time. I did listen to the audio version, and enjoyed Rosie Ackerman's narration.
Thanks to Netgalley and Spotify Audiobooks for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

[Andrea Author · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Eve, an unpaid journalist at her father’s paper, doesn’t trust men. When writing about charming local blacksmith Sébastien, she begins to fall for him. But what secrets is he holding?

I love the clever and ambitious heroine in this adorable book. It’s a light-hearted Christmas novella that’s a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.