Title: What I Did for a Duke Series: Pennyroyal Green #5
Author: Julie Anne Long
Published: February 22, 2011
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 371
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:For years, he's been an object of fear, fascination...and fantasy. But of all the wicked rumors that shadow the formidable Alexander Moncrieffe, Duke of Falconbridge, the ton knows one thing for certain: only fools dare cross him. And when Ian Eversea does just that, Moncrieffe knows the perfect revenge: he'll seduce Ian's innocent sister, Genevieve—the only Eversea as yet untouched by scandal. First he'll capture her heart...and then he'll break it.
But everything about Genevieve is unexpected: the passion simmering beneath her cool control, the sharp wit tempered by gentleness...And though Genevieve has heard the whispers about the duke's dark past, and knows she trifles with him at her peril, one incendiary kiss tempts her deeper into a world of extraordinary sensuality. Until Genevieve is faced with a fateful choice...is there anything she won't do for a duke?
I’ve come to the conclusion that Julie Anne Long is not the historical romance author for me. What I Did for a Duke is the fifth book of the author’s that I’ve read, of those five, it’s the third that’s been a complete bore. Reading this book was simply tedious. I didn’t feel anything for the characters, wasn’t interested in their romance, or care that they found their happily ever after in the slightest.
Genevieve Eversea and the Duke of Falconbridge were dull. Our first impression of Genevieve is of a woman who’s just had her heart broken and is basically moping around and thinking that her life is ruined. There’s then this truly ridiculous love triangle that was just…ugh. Not a fan of those love triangles. Additionally, the duke here is just boring. He was neither repulsive or endearing; rather, he was some guy who had silly lines but failed to make any sort of impression.
The story between Genevieve and her duke is unremarkable at best. There was no tension or chemistry anywhere in the plot, and the story’s progression was impressive in its sheer unengagingness. There were no factors about this book that stood out as noteworthy or memorable. What I Did for a Duke was just a painful trek through uninspired text. I was heartily disappointed.
Long’s prose just doesn’t do it for me. Her style is pretty straightforward, with no frills or particular uniqueness. It’s almost juvenile in how simplistic it can be and almost clinical in its plainness. I’ve known that about this author for a while, so that’s nothing new. Prose is not Julie Anne Long’s strongpoint.
All that could have been made up for if we’d have had characters worth rooting for, which we certainly did not. Everyone in this book was flat and two-dimensional. Genevieve’s “best friend” is portrayed as a silly woman obsessed with kittens, and we have no idea what about her has so endeared her to Genevieve. Our protagonist herself is so unremarkable I’m having trouble coming up with words to describe her; likewise, the only thing I can say about Genevieve’s love interest is that he was a duke with a “dark, mysterious” past. (Said past was not capitalized on as it could have been, fyi.)
I am completely unimpressed by What I Did for a Duke. This book was just so boring. I’ve stuck around with the Pennyroyal Green crew for far longer than I should have at this point. But I think that if I’ve found three out of five books in the series to be snore-fests, I really do need to call it quits. So here I am, officially calling it quits with Pennyroyal Green.
