Tag: cinderella retelling

Thank you so much to Turn the Page Tours and Entangled Publishing for giving me an ARC of The Duke’s Secret Cinderella by Eva Devon and letting me participate in this tour! This is my first historical romance in recent memory – honestly I don’t know if I have ever truly read a historical romance before this – and it was a nice one to start with.

Ask anyone who knows me and I will spend way too much time devouring Cinderella stories. Like, they can be terrible versions of the Cinderella fairytale and I will still read/watch it. I don’t know why, must be one of my guilty pleasures. Probably because there is something comforting about the story: you know that she will end up happy but because she earned it and he loves her for who she is, not just because she is pretty. Well, that is how it usually is or at least how it should be. This version of Cinderella did a great job of doing those two things though so I was pleased.

I don’t want to give too much away, since it is a retelling of a fairytale, but I can say that I really enjoyed the twists on some of the common tropes. Charlotte’s (aka Cinderella) stepsister was amazing and her step-father & step-BROTHER were horrid. Rafe was not a vapid prince (or Duke in this case) but rather someone who liked to learn and see that he was missing things that he couldn’t easily see due to his station in life. Charlotte was a strong character in her own right, and had realistic flaws. While it was a historical book, it didn’t feel overly “historical” if that makes sense – like I didn’t constantly feel like I had to remind myself that I was reading a period piece, and the conversations all flowed even with the specific wording of the time period. This is an easy-to-read book, but it is a solid book – like it can easily be read in a few hours if you have the time to just sit down and read, but you also can sit with and digest the characters and scenes.

This was a fun first read of one of Eva Devon’s books for me and I think I might need to go pick up another. It looks like this is part of a series so now I am curious as to what the rest of the series contains!

Thank you so much again Turn the Page Tours (https://turnthepagetours.com/the-dukes-secret-cinderella/) & Entangled Publishing (https://www.entangledpublishing.com/)! See below the picture for more info about the book including a synopsis and a link to buy!

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.