{A Love is All Around Review} Joy to the Duke by @DarcyBurke

Joy to the Duke by Darcy Burke
on November 12th, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Holiday, Romance
Pages: 150
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon, Amazon Australia, Available with KU Subscription, Kobo, iBooks
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Denied the woman of his dreams by his father’s meddling, Calder Stafford, has spent the last decade proving himself to be self-sufficient, austere, and utterly uninterested in joy. Now that he is the Duke of Hartwell, he’ll enact his revenge by abolishing the holiday traditions his father loved so well. His sisters will not sway him and neither will the woman—newly returned to town—who was stolen from him.

Returning to Hartwell to care for her mother, widow Felicity Garland is delighted to be back home, especially for the holidays. However, the jolly festivities she expects are nowhere to be found. When she goes to the source of the problem—the duke—she’s astonished to see how much the young man she once loved has hardened. It’s up to her to break through the impenetrable fortress around his heart—not just to save Christmas, but to save him.

I received Joy to the Duke for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Have you ever wondered if a Scrooge-type character could be redeemed? The answer is yes and Darcy Burke has been the one to do it!

For the third installment of the Love is All Around series, Burke focuses on the Duke of Hartwell, Calder Stafford. He is the older brother of the ladies featured in the first two books of the series, Bianca and Poppy. When Calder’s father told him the woman he loved took a bribe to leave town and stay away, he was completely devastated. He almost lost himself in the vices of women, gambling, and alcohol. When his father cut him off, Calder turned his finances around but hardened his heart to love.

Widow Felicity Garland has returned to Hartwell after ten long years. Her family suddenly left town back then and she hadn’t returned since. After her father’s death, her mother moved back. When her mother becomes ill, Felicity comes home to care for her. When she and Calder meet face to face after all those years, things do not go smoothly. Calder is cold and seemingly heartless. Felicity is shocked to hear some of the things he has and hasn’t done since becoming the duke. She takes charge of her life and love when she makes it her mission to find the Calder she loves.

From the onset, Burke makes us aware of the pain Calder has suffered at the hands of his father. It’s not until later on in the story that we find out how cruel the old duke really was. Once Felicity barges into his life again, he has no idea how to handle his emotions. His determination to keep the love and anguish at bay slowly begins to crumble as he gets a taste of what could be. With some helpful words from Bianca and Poppy, a forever friend of a dog, Isis, and the duke’s faithful staff, Felicity finds the man she’s dreamed of since she was eighteen.

Joy to the Duke is an amazing story of love and redemption. It is the perfect way to bring this holiday series to a close with a happily after for all the Stafford siblings. Another plus is that this is a well-rounded story that can be read in just a few short hours. Spend an afternoon curled up with this fabulous read from Darcy Burke.