I received a copy from NetGalley; this is my honest review.
-I loved, loved, loved the repartee between Meg and Lucien, be it French or English (I know both). And in between all that, you had Uncle Jasper giving his opinions.
-Crushing to see that they both want the same but not in the same country.
-Fun, quick read with many emotions connecting the whole story.
-LOL moment: "I am Lucien le Duc of the Christmas dukes. Perhaps you've heard of us?"
-All's well that ends well. Someone thought of a great solution.
-I'm not sure why the author decided to give us a bonus epilogue of about 3 pages. Why not just add it to the book?

I thought that was really good story!

I thought it was a real page turner and a really nice romantic story that was genuinely heart-warming in places. It has well developed characters that work well together. It followed on directly from book 7 which I also really enjoyed and I am looking forward to catch up with the rest of the series.

The plot was well developed and the author has a nice writing style which I enjoyed too. The flow for the story was good too. It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!!

What you have in this book is a kick-butt heroine that is before her time, and some seriously quick falling in love by a man that recognizes how amazing she is. Meg is outspoken, a bit outlandish, and totally ok with who she is. She's in unapologetically herself.. Add to it Lucien, who is stoic and reserved, and a bit shocked by Meg, and you get a fun, quick, easy-to-read, easy-to-fall-in-love-with story.

This is one of those books that you can read in one sitting. It goes by quickly, and you just have fun with it. It was a satisfying revisit with the other DeLuc siblings, and it is a great gift to Erica Ridley's readers to see Lucien fall in love.

This instalment of the Dukes of Christmas stories follows Lucien and Meg, whom we have met in other books in the series. This one was very fun and it was nice to see Lucien receive his HEA. Meg was super funny and cute. It was a really quick and fun read, I would recommend reading it without much expectation of any historical accuracy though. Usually that kind of thing bugs me, but for some reason it doesn't bug me with this series.

Far from the best from Erica Ridley; the story feels sketchy, rushed and under developed. Historical detail is incidental unless relevant to plot and hugely inaccurate; frequently preventing the reader from connecting with the characters. If you suspend viewing the book as historical it’s a light, fluffy, formulaic romance with which to while away a couple of hours reading.

This was ridiculous, as in ridiculously hilarious, ridiculously cute, and ridiculously smooshy. I loved it. I appreciated it that it wasn't too Christmas-y as well.

Also, I'm normally not this person, but can I say Erica Ridley's covers are so on point? This was is especially perfect.

Lucien Le Duc is a blacksmith who was originally from France.
He desires to return home to his home country as soon as possible.
He desires to recover what was taken from him including his title and land.
Margaret Church- known as Meg- lives on a dairy farm in her cousins spare room.
When she learns that Lucien Le Duc is in need of English tutoring services, she volunteers.
Lucien is determined that he will not remain in England.
Meg is determined to get Lucien into her bed.
Who will win? You shall have to read the book to find out.
I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Margaret “Meg” Church is content living in Cressmouth with her cousin and his wife. She loves helping her cousin on his farm and helping her friend, Eve, with her newspaper. Meg has long harbored a crush on Eve's new husband's brother, Lucien, so when she learns he is moving back to France, she is devastated. Meg must take a chance before it's too late.

Lucien means to return to France to reclaim all that his family lost. He's just waiting for news that the King will grant him an audience to discuss all that entails. Meanwhile, Lucien's family is pushing for him to learn English. Now that his siblings have both started families in England, Lucien finds it necessary. That is where Meg enters the picture. Meg generously offers to teach him English, as well as a few other things. How can he say no?!

Author Erica Ridley's latest installment in THE 12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS series continues with THE DUKE'S DESIRE. I did enjoy this read, but it was very hard for me to decide between giving it a 3.5 star rating or 4. In the end, I went with a 3.5 star rating. Don't get me wrong... I love Erica Ridley and this series is beautifully written, but THE DUKE'S DESIRE just didn't quite meet my expectations. I understand Meg is brash and free-thinking, but she just appeared to be too cavalier with her sex life for a woman of her time. I also felt that some of the better parts of the novel were shortened or lacking. I definitely felt the chemistry between Lucien and Meg, but the love seemed more one-sided to me (on Lucien's side). I did get the follow-up of the LE DUC CHRISTMAS, and I'm sure it will not disappoint. It will be nice to see how the characters and their families have grown.

This is exciting - my first ARC! Thanks Erica and NetGalley.

I requested this one because I've read the first 4 books in the series (she's releasing 4 every Christmas season, finishing the 12 next year) and fell in love with the world Erica Ridley has created. The town of Cressmouth's claim to fame is that they celebrate Christmas all year round and many sexy "dukes" in it.

The duke in this one is Lucien le Duc, eldest of the le Duc siblings who had to flee France during the revolution. His siblings settled and Napoleon defeated, he dreams of returning to claim his family's lands and position. The woman who claims him is Meg Church, who will end up surprising him in multiple ways.

I'll admit I wasn't interested in the le Duc's after reading the first 4 but right away Meg is a breath of fresh air, a woman who is comfortable in her sexuality and doesn't want to marry. (Sounds familiar!) She doesn't turn shy or missish around the object of her desire but is upfront about what she wants. She's also incredibly perceptive at seeing beneath the surface of Lucien's aloofness, which masks an incredibly loyal and caring man. They are both wonderful people who don't beat around the bush and are upfront with each other throughout the book, which is why I love this series so very much.

They are sexy and funny and witty and so much fun to spend time with. Again, I love that the story isn't dragged out with maximum angst, just with worldviews that clash and resolve by the end. Both characters learn to confront their own prejudices and to find a new way to live in the world together and that's my favourite kind of story. If it's yours, you owe it to yourself to read this.

This is part of a Duke's series and is a short read that centres on the relationship between a feisty, sexually aware and cheeky spinster called Meg Church. Meg has had a strong physical attraction to Lucien le Duc for many years but hasn't acted on or voiced her attraction. Well, in this book she certainly doesn't hold back! She's an incredibly confident woman who isn't holding back when implying what she's after. After the two come together to teach Luc English, things speed along very quickly.
This book is all about the two getting together and fulfilling their personal wishes. It does exactly what's implied on the cover and you get feisty, sassy banter with lots of innuendo and a happy ever after.
Recommended read for people who enjoy historical romance reads.

I always read her books as soon as I get hold of them, and then wait anxiously for the next in the series. Now this is book 8 of the 12 Dukes of Christmas. Annoyingly the remainder of the series are available on Amazon but didn’t some out in NetGalley before Xmas.
How did she count the 12 dukes, well she included the le Duc brothers and this is the story of Luc, the last one in the village to marry or even have a serious relationship. Why? Well he was focused on going home - to France - and getting the family lands, and possibly even a title, back as the Revolution was over. He also therefore refused to speak English. And had developed a rather bad speaking accent and poor vocabulary as a result.
We have another of our feisty and unconventional heroines involved in this story - Meg. Meg was far from an innocent, although her preferred method of birth control was sponges soaked in vinegar and douches. These actually date back a long way - ancient Egyptians also used sponges with either vinegar or lemons in the belief that the acidity will kill sperm. What she didn’t know was that using vinegar could lead to the deterioration of normal vaginal flora, and can irritate the vaginal mucus. Both eventualities heighten the risk of developing infections. However, she was right to some extent, as vinegar can kill sperm, but the sponge would need to be kept inside for quite some time to ensure that no sperm are left in the vagina.
So Meg sets out to seduce Luc before he returns to France, as she has had a crush n him forever.
As always with these series, when an author says ‘I’m going to write 12 books in a very short length of time, the books are short novellas with little character or story development, and this only gets shorter as the series continues. Nonetheless, if you’ve read the previous books, you know the characters involved and the setting so it doesn’t matter so much. And Erica still has a good style of writing and I really liked her making fun of the way 19th century writers wrote torrid sex scenes...

Meg was born in England, the granddaughter of French farmers. Her family is gone now and she is left with nothing. But she loves the small town she lives in, where it is Christmas time every day of the year.

Lucien's parents were French aristocrats that were hung in the town square during the revolution. He lives in the same small town as Meg but he has always wanted to go back to France. He wants to reclaim the home that he was force to flee from, along with his little brother and sister. He finally has that opportunity. He can't wait to leave.

Meg helps Lucien improve his English. The attraction between the two grows. But will Lucien still want Meg when he finds out the whole story of her background?

It's a simple, sweet story that'll pull at your heartstrings.

Loved reading the engaging and amazing romance story. Meg has had a crush on the Lucien le Duc and when she finds out he wants to learn to speak English before he leaves for France in a few weeks, Meg immediately volunteers her services. As time draws nearer to Lucien's time to leave, Meg wishes they had more time together. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read love story.
I reviewed a copy of the book through NetGalley.

Lucien le Duc along with his siblings had to flee France as children to escape the revolution. He’s been awaiting the chance to return to his homeland claim back his family's title and lands. He can’t wait to get back to France and away from the English language that exhaust him, he can barely communicate with them. Meg Church a scandalous spinster has fancied Lucien for years but never had the opportunity to do anything about it. She accidently bumps into Luc and starts trying to seduce him. Meg discovers he could do with English language lessons and decides it’s the perfect way to get close to him. Meg is determined to help Luc and entice him into her bed and he’s just as determined to return to France. Luc comes to realize that being with Meg he can embracing both countries without betraying his homeland. An excellent story and one I voluntarily wrote a review.

It was nice to see Lucien and Meg finally get their HEA. I was a little surprised by Meg’s admission of IMO mild promiscuity. I understand that she’s not of the upper classes and thus doesn’t value virginity as a debutante would. Yet, she seemed much bolder and open about her carnality than I expected. That aside, I enjoyed this read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this book! I love Lucien and Meg, I think they are my favorite couple in this series so far. Meg has no filter and that has just made her more enjoyable and I can’t help laughing out loud with everything that comes out of her mouth! Lucien is just a sweet cinnamon roll even though he would never admit it lol. I’m so glad I enjoyed this one, after not liking Bastien and Eve’s book I was worried about this one but I had nothing to worry about because this was fantastic

Lucien le Duc, former blacksmith in the town of Cressmouth, is eager to return home to France after years of hiding away due to the French revolution. Meg Church is happily free of her miserable childhood in France and loves the freedom that her spinster life offers. She’s admired Luc from afar, and he’s avoided everyone English since day one.

This entry in the Dukes of Christmas series offers the organic romance I’ve been looking for in these stories. The book is still fast-paced, but the passage of time allows us to experience Meg and Luc’s friendship⁠—and love⁠—as the two grow closer together. There’s still plenty of humor (Meg especially is outrageously hilarious) despite the fact that both characters have high personal burdens to overcome.

Meg and Luc grew up in the shadows of their respective family histories. They need to figure out what they’re willing to risk to hold onto—or shed—those pasts.

Meg and Lucien are great together, even though it was a long journey for them to admit their feelings to each other. I loved the story line and that they found their HEA.

After reading about Lucien in two previous novellas in this series, I enjoyed finally getting to read Lucien’s story. There was a lot of sexual innuendos and tension between Lucien and Meg but not much actual description when they finally got together. Lucien was a very lovable character who cared about his family and held onto his dream of going home despite falling in love.

Pleasant and amusing historical that is a bit suspend your disbelief at times. The village of Cressmouth celebrates Christmas all year, and they have twelve ‘dukes’ of Christmas to advertise their village amusements to the tourists that flock to the castle and the village.

Lucien Le Duc, is one of these dukes. He is working as the village blacksmith along with his brother Bastien, now happily married to Eve. Forced to flee his aristocratic heritage and estates in France when his parents were killed in the French Revolution- Lucien has refused to learn English properly, and is desperate to return to France and try are regain his estate and title, and go back to the aristocracy where he feels he belongs.

Meg Church, proud spinster of the parish loves Cressmouth, and living with her cousin and husband, her parents were farmers in France who joined the revolution, and died for their efforts. She struggled to make her way to her English family, and works hard to be happy, although she feels like she doesn’t have any true connections. She is funny and witty and fond of a salacious innuendo or two. She is attracted to Lucien, but knows that he want to return to France.

They fall into spending lots of time together as she helps him to improve his English, and they are more and more attracted to each other, although they both know this is only temporary. Meg also knows that Lucien would be horrified if he knew her background. How can they find their way to their HEA

The touches of humour and emotional connections between all the characters made for a lovely fun read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book via Netgalley, and all opinions are my own.

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