Emily E.K. Murdoch

The Montague Lancaster, Duke of Caelfall, has returned from the war in France with a damaged thigh that causes him great pain, both psychically and physically. So he is in no mood when Sarah Lockwood shows up at his door, thinking she's found a poetry professor whose opinion she seeks. Nonetheless, the two soon find themselves spending a good bit of time together, as Montague teaches Sarah to fence (though she insists on calling a foil a sword, which drives poor Montague straight up a wall) in order that she might compose adventure poetry that portrays a duel accurately.

Sarah chafes at the strictures society places on her as a woman; she hasn't been educated as highly as she'd like (she never heard the story of Homer's Iliad, for instance). At the ripe old age of 21, she is dangerously close to being proclaimed a spinster -- but she has no particular interest in finding a husband, and is so shy that she finds balls, teas and other social gatherings much more trouble than they're worth. She especially resents that, though she lives in Oxford, she is not allowed on the campus of any of the great university's colleges -- at least, not until she signs up to take fencing lessons. Montague seems to have many of the same ideas about women, but then he starts feeling impressed with the woman, and not just her striking beauty.

These two strong-minded individuals were always bound to find things to admire in one another, and, of course, on the way to their HEA, they do. Sarah is far freer to move about than she would likely have been during England's Regency, when this book is set, and it's highly unlikely that she would have been as free to express sexual desire, much less to slake that desire, without sacrificing her standing in society or losing the regard of a duke. But what does it matter? It's much more fun to watch these two flirt -- and more.

I read this book in a single sitting, more or less -- I tried to retire for the night, but it was so stuck in my head that I rose from my bed and finished it. It was just too much fun to set aside. And now I want to read all of Emily Murdoch's other books in the "Dukes in Danger" series.… (more)

This isn’t the first book by the author that I’ve read.

The last one was The Impoverished Dowry, which was also courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher!

She’s a prolific writer with close to 90 titles under her belt! Don’t Judge a Due by His Cover is her first book in the Dukes in Danger series. It’s 242 pages long and came out today! This book, like all her others (I think) is available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers, and available for purchase for $0.99 as an ebook. The next book in the series, Strike While the Duke is Hot, is available for preorder as well and will be out on the 24th of March!

Weirdly enough, despite all the stupid things our heroine does in the book I enjoyed reading it. Yes, of course, as a member of the ton you wouldn’t be ashamed of who you are. She doesn’t register for one moment when Lawrence comes over dressed up and able to understand Latin and use the 4 different spoons that he may be hiding something. She’s a bit too caught up in her own feelings and head to understand that. She also accepts every possible explanation he gives her and honestly reminds me a lot of some people who saw massive red flags and were like that’s just pretty.

Which leads to my biggest concern in the book; there was just far too much rebellion, and stupid rebellion, to be believable. You’ve attended one boxing match with your brother, but how are you able to, as a woman in those times, sneak out this much and never be caught or seen? How is there absolutely no danger until that one last time when we need a scene for reconciliation? How does Julia think that Lawrence is punching a man and not telling her why because her brother told him to stay away from her and Lawrence thinks this is the best strategy? Lastly, perhaps this was explained but for the life of me I cannot remember why John Mortimor killed Lawrence’s brother and why he’s a traitor to the crown. There was also no active search on Lawrence’s part to find the man, unless you count boxing. One would imagine that they’d be some other search going on, trying to build up a network or friends to find the man, but no.

That being said, I liked Lawrence who was doing his best to cover up his identity (while slipping up with her) and also boxing and adapting to the new circumstances. I enjoyed reading his point of view. I was a bit worried about how Julia’s mom wasn’t able to recognise him; he is a duke and she surely must’ve scoped him out as a potential for Julia.… (more)

Don’t Judge a Duke by His Cover by Emily E.K. Murdoch
Dukes in Danger 1

Hoydenish young woman of the ton meets Duke masquerading as a boxer while working undercover to catch a treasonous murderer…should be interesting and filled with intrigue but…sadly…not.

Julia Dryden pushes her brother to take her to a boxing ring in a questionable area of town, distracts one of the boxers to the point he is knocked out, and she feels compelled to check to see if she is okay. She tells her brother to leave her and go home…and he does. I kept reading to see what would happen, see if she would have a chaperone, see if she did anything ladylike at all and…again…suspended belief to keep skimming the story.

The romance between Lawrence the boxing duke undercover and Julia the independent naïve hoyden who ran free through London was SLOW. The mystery and search for the traitor was more a matter of waiting for the man to appear, and the class issues were overcome by some with greater ease than probable.

This is a romance with a happy ending that did not draw me in, make me feel invested, or care about the outcome…and that made me sad.

I think that some will enjoy this story, but it did not work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars… (more)