Bringing Down the Duke

A League of Extraordinary Women, Book 1

By: Evie Dunmore

Narrated by: Elizabeth Jasicki

“Dunmore is my new find in historical romance. Her A League of Extraordinary Women series is extraordinary.”—Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This series balances friendship, politics, history, and romance in just the right mix.”—U.S. Representative Katie Porter

A stunning debut for author Evie Dunmore and her Oxford suffragists in which a fiercely independent vicar's daughter takes on a powerful duke in a fiery love story that threatens to upend the British social order.

England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....

“With her sterling debut, Evie Dunmore dives into a fresh new space in historical romance that hits all the right notes.”—Entertainment Weekly

“There is nothing quite so satisfying as seeing such a man brought to his knees by a beautiful woman with nothing to her name except an inviolable sense of her own self-worth.”—NPR

©2019 Evie Dunmore (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Romances of 2019

"With her smart, well-researched stories and wildly appealing characters, Evie Dunmore has a unique ability to write historical romance for the modern reader. Evie Dunmore is my favorite new historical romance author!"—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author

“Evie Dunmore’s debut is a marvel....A stunning blend of history and romance that will enchant readers.”—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author

“Evie Dunmore's Bringing Down the Duke dazzles and reminds us all why we fell in love with historical romance.”—Julia London, New York Times bestselling author

Wow! What a first book!

This is a great book and even better when you find out this is her first book. The story of what women went through to attend college, push for the vote, the attitude towards women and their minds, and how men controlled women’s life made me appreciate how far we have come. And, in some cases, how far we have not. It also highlights how the aristocracy viewed lower class women. The love story and friendships are lovely and the struggle was real. It was great to have a non-debutante age heroine.

Historical Romance

This book is one that has a lot of historical information, all having to do with women that helped make our lives better. I loved the little truths of history that are thrown into this modern regency romance. Though this book is one that is set in regency times the language is not that of that time period, the language is that of the modern age. The romance is a typical enemies to lovers trope, it happens to have a lot of intresting moments throughout the story that show a woman before her time. The historical aspect of this book was most intriguing. There are things that I learned that made me realize that sometimes the person that we have learned only a little about has more layers that end up giving you a total different look at them then what we had expected. Truths are brought to light in this story that makes me respect the Sufferagettes from days gone by. With the romance side of the story, there are a lot of things that make me want to smack both romantic interests. However, this story is one that has a lot of heated moments with lots of frustrating ones that are thrown in with them. I rate this book at a Mazano Pepper, there is a slow burn and lots of explict moments that heat ones blood. I would put this book at a 4.5 out of 5 stars.


I recommend this book to those who like Historical Romances, ones that don't always follow the rules of the language that was spoken at the time of the novel's setting. 


I hope this helps you find your next Tantalizing Tome!

Great voice for this amazing story!

This book is exactly as advertised. I loved every minute of it, the woman who reads it does a wonderful job portraying all the characters. Definitely worth the credit if you love historical, strong female roll, love story, and a bit of defiance.

Soulmates in the oddest of circumstances

loved this story, Annabelle's character, and Sebastian's! It isn't often I'm on the side of steamy romance in historical novels, but this one was tastefully executed and didn't detract from the significance of the time. I was rooting for these two from the atrium!

Too much stringing out of conflict

Will they marry? Won't they marry? Obvious choices avoided in order to increase the drama are decidedly NOT my cup of tea. The heroine is supposed to be a brilliant academic, but is ultimately foolish. I know the story will resolve, but the ending drags out like a Beethoven coda. Exchanged it because I had to quit within 1 hour of the finish. The narrator is great, by the way.

Love it

This is a great book. I highly recommend it. The heroine is strong and relatable.

Fantastic debut novel!

I’m generally hesitant to fall in love with either Regency or Victorian romances because there is oftentimes nothing more to their plots than a hesitant wallflower and an unbending nobleman whom she refuses for no strong reason.
This is far from the case with Bringing Down the Duke, however! There’s true depth of character found within our hero and heroine, and their turmoils are true to their characters, circumstances, and world events. This combination leads to a great plot where others fall short.
Great work. I look forward to reading more from Evie Dunmore!

Interesting and HOT

This book was everything I love about romance novels! Excited it's a series! The narrator was really great, too!

Just wow

I have been so underwhelmed by romance novels recently, but I could not put this one down and read it in an entire day. Absolutely fabulous. Just absolutely stunningly fabulous.

For all of my period romance novel seekers, THIS ONE IS FOR US 💕

Excellent

I loved it. I loved the characters and their story. I can't wait to listen to more by this author. The narration was excellent also.