Olive is strong and confident and comfortable with her life. Elijah wants to step out from under his father's thumb. The connection between the two is immediate and not necessarily for good things. The past plays a large part in their story, and they have to make the choice on whether or not it plays a large part in their future.

I know this is a novella and part of a 12 part series, but I really needed more from the plot. When considering the context, 12 days is enough time in a historical romance to fully flesh out the characters and the romance. Everything, other than the characters' pasts, was surface level; the conflict was surface, the relationship was surface, the father's reasoning for the arrangement was surface. It just wasn't enough.

Ten Days with a Duke was a delight to read. This is the 11th book in a 12 book series, and I am sorry to see it end. Cressmouth, or Christmas as the locals call the town is the home of Harper Farm. The horses are so famous, even the Prince Regent has tried to purchase the prized stallion.

I enjoyed the interaction between the two main characters. Olive Harper wants nothing to do with Elijah Weston. She remembers how he humiliated her when they were younger. He is in love with her and has been since they were kids, Some twist and turns that you will have to read the book to see what happens.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an early copy.

Solid low angst romp! The hero was noble and nerdy, the heroine is a bad all who just knew herself super well. There were meddling fathers (one evil, one just bossy), a lifelong feud and a lifelong love, medical miracles, sassy animal sidekicks, and just truly such a wonderful world that Ridley has created. It felt warm and cozy and great and romantic. No closed door or anything either, which is nice for such a sweet book.

This was a very fun, light-hearted book. I am really enjoying the "Cressmouth" duke series. I really liked the strong female protagonist. She was very hurt and the fact that she was willing to give our hero a second chance was commendable. The twist at the end was fun. At Christmas even the bad guy can be redeemed!

So cute! At first I wasn’t really feeling it but as I read on the characters chemistry was just to much to resist. Their romance was just too cute that it made me forget what I knew was gonna happen towards the end. The final book is coming soon and I am so excited. This has been a fun series and I’m so happy I have been able to read them

I highly recommend escaping reality for a bit with Erica Ridley’s holiday series, 12 Dukes of Christmas. The newest installment was cute and kept me guessing. TEN DAYS WITH A DUKE is less about the Christmas Holiday and more about the stories central Characters.

The main trope of this book is enemies to lovers…though it seems they will never get together and nefarious forces are behind the scenes plotting. Despite all this there is some serious steam that I LOVED!

Olive is about to completely take over her Father’s horse farm. The horses are just as important characters in the book and so much fun! He is worried about his daughter and tries to arrange a marriage for her. Olive’s father is deaf and I loved the inclusion of sign language in the novel!

The marriage plot is where Eli comes in. Son of the Harper Family’s enemy and has hurt Harper in the past. Eli is a botanist with a mission to use plants for women’s health.

I can’t recommend getting to know Olive and Eli enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Erica Ridley for the chance to read an advance copy.
#Erica Ridley #12Dukes #NetGalley #TenDayswithaDuke

I've enjoyed the different situations in this series. I would have thought that it would be repetitive and slightly boring by now, but it never is. This latest had a slight twist that I enjoyed since I didn't expect it. Wished a village like this really existed.

I can always count on Erica Ridley for charming, heartwarming, low-angst novels. And this one is perfect for the holidays!

Olive is determined to stay unmarried and run her father's horse farm. Her father has other ideas. He arranges a marriage between her and the son of his former best friend in hopes of healing the rift between the families. But he doesn't tell Olive this until Eli is about to show up on their doorstep. And her father threatens to withhold his shares in the farm from her if she doesn't comply.

Eli is terrified of horses, His interest is in Olive, not the farm. He's had a crush on her since they were teenagers. But he humiliated her then, and she still hasn't forgiven him. Can he win her heart despite the past and the machinations of their fathers?

Ridley excels at characterization, and that's certainly true here. Olive and Eli are adorable separately and together. They're perfect complements for each other, and it's easy to envision what their future together will look like. The stakes are high in this story, and there's plenty of action to hold the interest. But it's also a joyful thing to see how these two characters bring out the best in each other.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

Really enjoyed this one. I loved the dynamic between Olive and Elijah. The story worked really well, and was very emotionally gripping.

What a delightful story with the Duke theme! Eli and Olive are an interesting couple. They are pawns in the revenge game of their fathers. The idea of using their estates as the prize is rather sick and wrong. Certainly the strengths and interests of their grown children are not part of their game. And Duke! I like that Duke is name and not a title. Erica Ridley does bring humor and emotions into her story. Love it!

Who is the Duke this time? Does not take long to meet him and to see who someone might be afraid. Love the feud and how it is solved. Great main characters, interesting side characters and a fun plot.

I enjoyed this historical romance of Olive Harper's and Elijah Weston. Plus all the rest of the characters.

Olive Harper's father has been feuding with the Weston family for decades. So when their son show up and want to marry her. She not sure about this because he has humiliated her in the past. Plus she also doesn't want to give up the horse farm to him.

Elijah Weston is a scholar and botanist and he doesn't want the horse farm. His father has came up with a plan to get back at the Harper's that includes him.

This was a sweet romance and a very adorable read. At times it was also funny.

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

The latest in the series by Erica Ridley about the village of Christmas. As always, a short read, which is just as well as it was hard to put it down. Although part of a series it could be read on its own, although probably better to have read the preceding titles. A lovely romance.

This is Olive and Eli’s story. Their fathers were best friends until something happened and they became enemies. Eli and Olive met as children and he embarrasses her. Her father wants them to marry to end the feud. She is not so willing. She wants him to prove himself. There are many twists and turns in their relationship. It was another great Erica Ridley book.

Sheesh, what did he ever do to her?

He needs to get out from his father's thumb.

Ugh, I would have punched a kid like that.

Oh boy. Nightshade would be bad.

What if he learns how to tell her in sign language?

Huh. Surprise twist. His father is still a butthead, though.

Whenever I'm in a rut, I always pick up historical romance. I love how funny characters can be, the often conniving plot lines, and, always, the HEA. Ten Days with a Duke had all of the things I love in the genre and didn't fail me.

Olive Harper is a renowned horse trainer – the best there is, thank you very much, and she has the horses and the high demand from all over the country to prove it. Sure, she's a spinster by society's standards but when you've got prize horses, who needs a husband? Not Olive. She certainly doesn't want or need a husband that "owns" her OR her family's farm, and she absolutely doesn't want to marry the son of her father's worst enemy. Elijah "Eli" Weston might be a handsome and burly botanist now, but he's the same boy who humiliated Olive and ruined her Season all those years ago. She hasn't forgotten and she certainly won't forgive him, even if it'll repair the feud between their fathers.

I really enjoyed Olive and Eli's characters. I loved how strong-willed Olive was, how she proved society and standards wrong by being the best horse trainer in the country, by being enough all by herself without the aid of a husband. I loved that she refused to compromise her beliefs or morals, but still managed to be a decent human being to a person she despised (she's a better person than me). And for all of Olives sharp edges, I really enjoyed Eli as a counterpart. He was a nerdy, burly botanist that loved plants and had a genuine drive to help people, to live up to "do no harm" even though others had no issues harming him. And I enjoyed that every decision or move that Eli made was always prompted first by Olive's decisions. He was led by Olive, not himself.

Overall, the plot was fairly simple, didn't have many surprises, and I found myself disappointed that in the lack of plot and storyline development. The Harpers and Westons have been feuding for decades, but in the end there's hardly any information about why, there's no information as to what drives this feud or how it's kept alive over the years, and in the end it resolves sort of...questionably. As in, you're left with more questions than when you started.

Despite my grievance with the plot and the desire for more background development, I found the characters to be really enjoyable and dub 3.5 stars to this historical romance that left me with the good feels in the end. A strong heroine and a romantic hero– what more could you ask for?

Such a cute period romance! I liked the twist and i read it in one sitting. I loved the strong female lead and wasn’t a damsel in distress. Will definitely tell others to read this book!

Oh no! After Ten Days with a Duke, there is only one more Duke to go in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series. Having read the whole series, I do feel that part 11 was a bit more 'dark' than the other parts. The feud between Olivia's father and Elijah's father is intense and it has resulted in a great dislike of Elijah by Olivia. And although they will have their happy ever after (it is still the happy romances from Erica Ridley of course), the road in this story is a bit more longwinded than the previous parts.
Not withstanding, I do enjoyed another story in the happy town of Cressmouth. And now awaiting the last part in the series: Forever your Duke, where the Duke of Nottingvale finally gets a happy ending as well! Yay! Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

I have enjoyed this series so much but each book can be read as a stand alone book. Olive Harper and her father have a horse ranch and well known for the work she does with the horses. Elijah Weston who has a father who was once Olive's dad's best friend comes from a horse ranch outside London and is the most famous. Elijah comes to offer marriage but can Olive trust him? She gives him twelve days to prove himself. Elijah is not interested in the ranch. He is a Botanist who has no interest in horses. Can they find their way to each other around the fathers and to true love?

Maybe someone else will be in the mood for this kind of light entertainment, but this one could not hold my interest. I got to maybe the fourth day out of the ten, and I just didn't care anymore. The characters were not interesting. I dislike it when the H falls in love immediately due to the heroine's looks without knowing anything of her personality other than she is determined and skilled in training horses. There were probably lots of plain ladies who were knowledgeable about horses, and I'll bet he wouldn't be instantly smitten with them. I simply did not find anything new or distinctive or even interesting about these characters or the storyline. It left me with the "been there, done that" ennui. It wasn't badly written, just not drawing me into the story enough that I cared about what happened. I didn't, so I did not finish the book. I can recommend only if one has never read a romance before and has time to burn while waiting somewhere for something.