Synopsis: New York City socialite and perpetual hot mess Portia Hobbs is tired of disappointing her family, friends, and—most importantly—herself. An apprenticeship with a struggling swordmaker in Scotland is a chance to use her expertise and discover what she’s capable of. Turns out she excels at aggravating her gruff silver fox boss…when she’s not having inappropriate fantasies about his sexy Scottish burr.
Tavish McKenzie doesn’t need a rich, spoiled American telling him how to run his armory…even if she is infuriatingly good at it. Tav tries to rebuff his apprentice, and his attraction to her, but when Portia accidentally discovers that he’s the secret son of a duke, rough-around-the-edges Tav becomes her newest makeover project.
Forging metal into weapons and armor is one thing, but when desire burns out of control and the media spotlight gets too hot to bear, can a commoner turned duke and his posh apprentice find lasting love?
Review: A Duke by Default was so good! I've been itching to read the rest of the Reluctant Royals series. I adored Portia. Don't get me wrong, there were moments when she frustrated me because she grew up rich and had a very privileged way of handling some things, but I appreciated seeing how she handled sobriety. She even says that she isn't an alcoholic, and I like that Alyssa wrote substance abuse into a book without making Portia dependent on alcohol. I loved seeing Portia have conversations with her friends and sister, and get to some deep truths about past pain.
I found myself rooting for Tav, largely because I have an older friend who I'm still hoping good things for. That aside, I loved seeing Portia and Tav navigate the attraction they had for each other. Everything comes to a head when Portia discovers Tav is Scottish royalty. This is where Portia shines because she is a history buff. As much as I don't care for history, I enjoyed learning more about Scotland and Scottish history with Portia. She also shares her knowledge of manners and the high life with Tav which had some good moments. We do get a bit of weapon making in A Duke by Default, but I wish this was coupled with some conversations about weapons and handling them. People in America have such strong opinions about access to guns and the damage that can cause. I just wish we had a bit of that conversation in this book because Portia was able to detach herself from the US.
Fun romance with a kick-ass lead, but the ending was a little abrupt.
4 howls
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