Uncovering his secrets as a journalist is not what he needed but his embrace is just what she needs. Erica Ridley’s historical romance is absolutely delightful.

What a great story. I loved Eve, she's witty, spunky and determined. She's been through a lot that's made her that way. Bastien is a fun, loving and caring man who has had a difficult journey to get to where he is now. I adored their story!

Sebastien might be my favourite hero from Erica Ridley yet.

This story is brimming with passion and sweetness. It was a fast read, I didn't put the book down from start to finish. The perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon (or any kind of weather or time of day, really!)

The Duke's Embrace is a wonderful historical romance with charming characters and a delightful story. I love books by this author.

Even though it is the 7th book in 12 Dukes of Christmas series, it can be read as a standalone. The heroine is very hardworking & independent , the hero is French who wants to go to his country. Bastien & Eve has this amazing chemistry. I highly recommend to read this book

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌠
This is the 7th book in "The 12 Dukes of Christmas" series by the author. The story is set in a picturesque village called Cressmouth, better know as Christmas due to it's perennial Yuletide atmosphere. There are 12 dukes residing in the village & each book of the series is set around the Dukes.

Eve Shelling works as a journalist for the local newspaper called Cressmouth Gazette that is owned by her father. Sebastien le Duc runs his uncle's smithy alongside his elder brother Lucien le Duc.

My thoughts:
This was a light & enjoyable read. It was a bit slow at the start but picked up pace after that. The characters both main & supporting were quite fun & interesting. Only complaint I had about the book was that the MCs fell instantly in love with just one interaction & that's a trope that just doesn't work for me. I wished there was a gradual progression to them falling in love. It was mainly the characters who saved the story for me. Overall I enjoyed reading the book.

Disclaimer: Thanking Netgalley & the author for providing me with an eARC copy of the book in exchange of an honest review. The thoughts expressed in the review are therefore completely my own.

Erica Ridley writes great historical romances and this one is no exception. It's sweet, romantic and amusing. This is a lovely romance to read at Christmas, this is the seventh in the series and I would recommend checking out the other books in this series! But it can also easily be read on it's own.
I loved that Eve was such a hard working, dedicated, young woman even if she's run ragged by her father who she works for. All she wants is to be a journalist.
Also I loved Sebastien le Duc, a hardworking blacksmith who wants to return to France with his brother and not to be the focus of Eve's next front page... he has a few secrets that he doesn't want her to discover.
I thought that they were really interesting characters and I really enjoyed reading about them and getting to see their relationship grow!
Absolutely lovely story and I would highly recommend reading this as a cosy Christmas read!

Another lovely story in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series, The Duke's Embrace is heartwarming and fun to read. It is 7th in the series but can be read on it's own. I have enjoyed reading about Miss Eve Shelling, the local journalist, and Monsieur Sébastien le Duc, the local blacksmith. They both have stories to tell and a great journey to HEA. I recommend this story.

I gave this a 3.5 stars or 7/10. My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

The 12 Dukes of Christmas of which the Duke's Embrace is #7, is a series of stories that are all set in Cressmouth a fictional village or small town. The stories are linked with occasional returning characters in the different stories.

The Duke's Embrace tells the story of Miss Eve Shelling who sets about trying to find out about Monsieur Sebastian le Duc, who on the surface appears to be a pillar of the community, but all is not as it at first appears and Eve is set on discovering the secrets that surround this gentleman. However, fate often works in mysterious ways and as the pair become acquainted fate has other plans for them.

I am really enjoying this series and they are the perfect read to immerse yourself in, to escape the stresses of real life.

This is sweet, romantic and amusing. All Eve wants is to be a journalist, she wants to use her father's paper as a jumping place, but he won't allow it. The Cressmouth Gazette is strictly about Christmas things and Cressmouth. Bastien has spent the last 20 years waiting to go home to France. He and his brother Lucien had to pay off the land lease for their uncle before they could leave, and they had finally done it. All they had left to do was sell their smithy. After Bastien offers a suggestion to Eve that could help her, he asks that she help him sell the smithy. Working on the ad, then a big article, together, they both realize that they have had the wrong idea about each, and that they like each other. Unfortunately her father doesn't like Bastien or Lucien, and a spilled secret becomes a line to cross. This series is so amusing and romantic, every story is well written and has amazing characters.

It just isn't Christmas without at least ONE Dukes of Christmas book! As with the others, short, sweet and a great escape into Regency England.

The only thing keeping this from being a full five stars was the use of the term, with quotation marks "fake news". That booted me RIGHT out of the book and reminded me of the here and now, which is the opposite of what I read fiction books for.

Despite that, the characters were fully fleshed out, the secondary characters who are going to be starring in their own book were also developed and while the story SEEMED to be going in a bad direction, the author deftly prevented it from going where I was worried it was heading. So, excellent read and highly recommended, as with all of the others.

4, it's not Christmas without the Dukes, stars. Note: there is a rather heated naughty scene between two non-married characters, though not explicit, the reader can fill in the gaps, so not 100% clean. Didn't bother me, but I know some readers don't enjoy that and may not be suitable for younger readers.

My thanks to NetGalley and WebMotion for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I enjoyed this historical romance of Miss Eve Shelling and Monsieur Sebastian le Duc. And also all the rest of the characters.

Miss Eve Shelling is a young journalist that works for her father. She wants to write real news not about Christmas stuff that is happening around the village.  She has decided to try to write something different and choose to write about the local blacksmith as her subject of interest.


Sebastian Le Duc is one of the local blacksmith and also a pillar of his community. He dreams are of return to France and restoring the family's name and reclaim their birthright. Now that his uncle owns the property of the smithy they might try to sell it and use the money to help get to France.

This story was fun to read. I enjoyed how caring Sebastian was to Eve.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

what an amazing book!! The author is a master of creating stories and characters. I will definitively be reading books of this author!! Great job.

Eve wanted to be a journalist and to write the kind of stories that her archaic father disapproved of. Her father was a dismissive bitter man. Because of a bad connection Eve made long ago her father wanted to hear nothing she had to say and Eve had reconciled long ago with that fate.

Eve knows of the handsome rake Sébastien le Duc and wants nothing to do with him. Sébastien isn't just a rake. Eve discovers he's a smuggler as well. Will the heart overpower the head? Eve has a good story to share, a truth, but will she do it?

I would give this 3.75 rating. It was a good story with lots of witty banter.

This is book 7 in Erica's series and it was absolutely wonderful. It's got action, drama, humor, romance and a handsome hero. There was never a dull moment for me. Loved it!

This was a fast-paced, swoon-worthy read, that I found I did not want to put down! The story was original and exciting with characters that were realistic and likable. It is everything you could want in a delightful stroll through the pages of a historical romance and more!

The seventh book in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series a well written Christmas story that I was not putting down until I had finished reading. This is journalist Miss Eve Shelling and blacksmith Monsieur Sébastien le Duc's story, a story I enjoyed reading. I now want to read the other books in this series.

Love this series. Eve and Sebastien's story is as adorable as the rest of the series. With its light-hearted tone and great banter, this book is a bright spot to any day. I really enjoy how quick it was to get lost in and read. I finished it in a day.

I always enjoy Erica Ridley's novels which are a lot of fun. This series is a great read when you want to feel festive all year round.

I have yet to find an Erica Ridley book I didn't like. I love the 12 Dukes series, and this was no exception! I just love all of the characters and the plots. Such a great story and series!