Every Duke Has His Day

Every Duke Has His Day
Suzanne Enoch
320 pages
Griffin

From Goodreads: Michael Blumley, Duke of Loriton (age 28), is viewed as an eccentric by his peers in the ton. He does his duty, of course, but his interest—and talent—lies in the science of electricity. He has no interest in what the frivolities of Society. When his favorite aunt, Mary, Lady Harris, leaves her precious, well-behaved black poodle, Lancelot in his care while she travels his life takes an interesting turn.

Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering (age 19), third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all—and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. To everyone else, however, Galahad is a demon dog. So much so that Peter Cordray, one of Bitsy’s most insistent beaux and a particular victim of Galahad’s bad manners and sharp teeth, has hired a petty thief (Jimmy Bly) to steal the dog, clearing the way for his suit.

When the two dogs and their “people” meet in the park, chaos ensues and unknowingly results in a dog swap. Which means Lancelot is kidnapped instead of Galahad! But when both dogs go missing in an ever thickening dognapping plot, Michael and Elizabeth end up coming together to scour London, recover Lancelot and Galahad all while falling in love.

What a charming novel! I do love a good Regency romance occasionally, though sometimes they tend to blend together after a while. Every Duke Gets His Day is a traditional, no-spice regency romance but it was so different than others I've read recently! While it follows a grumpy-sunshine trope, one I don't personally read often, the characters were so distinctively different in other ways. Aside from their age difference (practically ten years), they couldn't be more different in personality. Bitsy is sunshine-y all the time and brings joy to any event she attends, but Michael does come off grumpy and gruff since he considers any and all social graces a waste of time and would rather hide away in his lab than go to a ball. It was great to see them learn from each other as the book went on.

What really sets this novel apart, however, is the presence of dogs. Were they very popular pets in Regency England? I have no idea but I wouldn't have thought so based on their lack of existence in every other Regency romance I've come across. One time a heroine had a little kitten, but that's the extent to which I've seen pets in this genre. Meanwhile, the people of the ton in this book have so many dogs that it's a lucrative career for people to steal them and offer them back at ransom. Bitsy herself had been subjected to the crime before the book began, and then again after the book started. Several of her friends have been victims of dog-nappings as well! I'd better do a little research on the subject.

The longer the couple spends time with each other in the book, the more charming it becomes. Normally a little spice helps carry the plot, but I think there were only two kisses in the whole book and the plot did not suffer. Instead, I found myself reading far past my bedtime and regretting it the next day. Dang it, adult responsibilities. This book was four stars for me and I highly recommend it to romance lovers, particularly those who also love dogs. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. As always, opinions are my own.