I really enjoyed this book. What I did not appreciate is the inability to access the extended epilogue. There has to be an easier way!

The Duke’s Undying Devotion does soul mates so well. Josephine and Michael meet while they are young, and it’s pretty much insta-love; they simply connect with one another. And it’s not just a physical attraction. They share their thoughts and feelings and just fit together like two puzzle pieces. So when Josephine elopes with a pasha of the Ottoman Empire, Michael is brutally hurt by her rejection. Except Josephine didn’t quite elope….

This book title is apt, as Michael is pretty much perfect. He responds to Josephine’s many moods with aplomb. He feels terrible over the decisions he made in the wake of Josephine’s departure, but that’s an understandable imperfection in light of the brevity and intensity of his “summer love” with her. That he returns to that fault rather obsessively shows you how little he does wrong in The Duke’s Undying Devotion. Josephine is the more complex character, dealing with a long-term abusive situation that she had no way to escape. Her wariness and her self-doubt are beautifully balanced by her inherently loving nature, especially towards her nephew.

This book was firing on all cylinders for me until the ending. Then something happens that made no sense to me either in terms of character or plot, and it seemed thrown in because Glen thought there needed to be fourth-act danger. It was unnecessary considering Josie’s struggles with what was the right thing to do in her situation, and it smacked of melodrama to me. The resolution of that also raised a bunch of questions in my mind as to how the protagonists bore no consequences from the actions they took. Unfortunately, I had to take a star off for this.

I really like Glen’s writing, and the way she built up Michael and Josephine was wonderful. I just wish that last twist didn’t happen.

The Duke’s Undying Devotion” by Lavinia Glen is book 3 in the “Forged Alliances” series and it is an incredible addition to the overall storyline!

The FMC is Lady Josephine. A flashback starts the book, and we learn that she had been promised to the eldest son of a neighbor twelve years ago. She met the younger son just before the engagement was announced, assuming the man she met is her intended. They have brilliant chemistry and Josephine tries to talk her parents out of the betrothal to the older son. Her parents get very angry and refuse, claiming she’s ruined. Her brother makes an unthinkable and cruel arrangement and trades her to a foreign royal in exchange for his gambling debts to be cleared. Twelve years later, Josephine has been summoned to England to become guardian of her brothers young son. She has an astounding amount of PTSD and is basically shattered from being prisoner in a harem. She knows society will never accept her. Very quickly, she learns that the child’s other guardian is the current Duke of Aycliffe, the younger son, Michael.

The MMC is Michael, younger son to the Duke of Aycliffe. He was crushed when Josephine left, he felt cruelly betrayed. When he was called to war, he fought like a man with a death wish, knowing his one chance at love was gone. Now she’s returned. She’s even more beautiful than he remembers. He is enchanted. Finding out that she’s the other guardian of her brother’s son, he knows full well she can’t be trusted, but his heart just aches for her. To have the best chance to win guardianship when others decide to contest it, the two decide to enter into a fake engagement. He’s serious, but she fights hard against it, certain she will never be good enough for him. He’s a really fantastic, deeply sensitive man and you really hope Josephine lets him in!!

There’s literally SO MUCH MORE to this story. And the spice is SO SATISFYING. This is going to be one of my very favorite romances for a long time, I was deeply affected by this couple, the wholly accurate mental illness representation and their hard fought second chance love story.

Lady Josephine is going to a house party where she will meet the duke heir that she is promised to marry. The man she meets in the garden she thought was her intended but is the younger brother Michael.

Michael and Josie fall in love, but her mother says she ruined and sends her back to London. So, when Josephine elopes with a pasha of the Ottoman Empire, Michael is brutally hurt by her rejection. Except Josephine didn’t quite elope…. Her brother sold her to pay off his gambling debts.

Josephine has returned 12 years later, just so she can be the guardian to her brother young son as he is dying. She has returned with all the mental and physical abuse she has endure. She soon learns that Michael is the other guardian for her brother son.

As you read this story you can see all the anguish and heartbreak, they both have gone through. This story moves you the love, then betrayal and once again finding love together.

I received a complimentary advanced copy from the author, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Readability: 📖📖📖📖

Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋

Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔

Tension: ⚡⚡⚡

Romance: 💞💞💞💞

Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋

Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑

Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Humor: A touch

Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine

More character focused or plot focused? character

How did the speed of the story feel? medium

When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, 5% (chapter 2 of 39)

Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the mains

Epilogue: Yes, about a year later

Should I read in order?

I wouldn’t say it’s totally necessary, but the prior heroines do make appearances and have page time – they befriend this heroine. And some of their plot points are touched on so to get fully immersed the whole series would be great!

Basic plot:

Josephine needs the help of a man from her past that despises her.

Give this a try if you want:

- Victorian romance - 1866

- forbidden love – heroine is engaged to hero’s brother

- hero has a love for inventions and engineering

- heroine loves to make perfumes

- former soldier hero

- second chance

- fake(ish) engagement

- mid to higher steam - 4 full scenes

Ages:

- heroine is 21, hero is 23 for the first quarter of the book, then a jump 12 years ahead (so about 33/35)

My thoughts:

I went into this one without reading the synopsis and I’m glad I did because I tend to be really judgmental about second chance romance! But I liked that in this one we get the whole beginning story and set up of their relationship. This helped me actually care about them getting back together and working it out haha.

I felt the heartbreak in this one and adored how the hero fell so hard for the heroine, and his utter anguish when he realized he had judged her wrong. And how protective and gentle he was with her was so, so sweet.

A perfect title for this emotionally charged and beautifully written novel, betrayal and unwavering devotion intertwine to create a love story that lingers long after the last page. Twelve years ago, Michael sacrificed his honor and fractured family bonds for the love of Lady Josephine, only to suffer the ultimate betrayal when her brother informs him she eloped with another man. Now Josephine has returned, scarred by her harrowing past as a captive in a foreign harem, but determined to protect her infant nephew at all costs. Fate forces her to reunite with Michael, the man she never stopped loving, rekindling old flames amidst the ruins of their shared heartbreak.

The author masterfully captures every pang of longing and each raw moment of betrayal. I felt the depth of Michael and Josephine's emotional journey. Their reluctant partnership unfolds with tender honesty, layered with intense chemistry, heart-wrenching confessions, and the slow burn of a love too powerful to be extinguished by time or tragedy. Michael is my kind of man—honorable, sexy, caring, and devoted. I can’t imagine all that Josephine endured, but her strength and resilience was amazing.

Beyond the emotional depth, the story is rich with twists, family betrayal, a not-so-fake engagement, dangerous rescues, protecting her nephew, and supportive friends, this story is an exquisite blend of angst and passion. The vivid portrayal of Josephine’s healing process and Michael’s unwavering support makes their romance one not easily forgotten.

An intensely beautiful second chance story, complex characters, and emotional resonance make it unforgettable. Lavinia Glen has crafted a tale that’s as devastatingly sad as it is breathtakingly beautiful. This marvelous pairing of Michael and Josephine showcases the transformative power of love, proving that even the deepest wounds can heal when hearts find their way back to each other. This story will not only captivate you but leave you yearning for more.

I received a complimentary advanced copy from the author, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

One of the things I love about Ms Glen’s storytelling is that she lets her main characters ease into the main story. Here we see a young Josephine and Michael falling in secret love over a week at what is supposed to be her betrothal house party to the older brother she has never met. This week ends in a scorching coming together where the next morning they are definitely telling thier parents that they are in love and want to marry and will elope if necessary. Well, you know what they say about best laid plans…… The main story picks up 12 years later after Josephine is ransomed back from a pasha’s harem. Why I really loved was that Ms Glen made sure that Michael knew right away that it wasn’t Josephine’s fault that she disappeared without any explanation and so we don’t have to spend most of the book with him being a jerk to her. On the contrary, as the title suggests he is the exact opposite.

In the middle of this we have a custody battle for her nephew that brings these 2 soul mates together under one roof. In her previous books Ms Glen has show that she can write some really steamy love scenes and after the first one way at the beginning of the book I was starting to wonder when we would get some more. But the waiting was worth it when these 2 come back together at about 68% and wowza it was worth the wait. The angst in this book was reasonable and I understood Josephine’s reluctance and Micheal is so wonderful and patient. Truly fits the title of the book.

This novel covered a lot of dark issues - kidnapping, abuse, rape, PTSD, harems, family betrayal, and love at first sight. This was a second chance romance with many twists. It was a very original plot with character tie in from previous novels. The characters were well developed. The heroine was frustrating. The relationship between Michael and Josephine was so open and honest, but she made too many decisions while withholding information. Her attempts to not hurt him just continued to hurt him while she only provided part of the reasoning. Once she opened up to him and his mother, she finally got the family she always wanted. I enjoyed the book and I was happy to see them finally get their HEA after 12 years apart.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Very poignant tale of love loss and finding each other again. Really enjoyed this book by Lavinia Glen. Recommend it