Review - - No Ordinary Duchess

No Ordinary Duchess

by Elizabeth Hoyt

The Greycourt Series - Book 3

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: December 10, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

Cold and brooding, Julian Greycourt, the heir to the Windemere dukedom, has always known that his uncle the duke was responsible for his mother’s death. Now he’s determined to exact revenge against his uncle—if he can find the proof. But Julian hides a secret so explosive it will destroy him if it’s ever revealed, and the duke is watching. The last thing he needs is a distractingly sensual woman whose very presence threatens to destroy his plans.
 
Sunny and cheerful, Lady Elspeth de Moray doesn’t know why her brother and Julian fell out all those years ago, but she can’t let the autocratic man get in the way of her mission: to retrieve an ancient family text that she believes is in one of the Windemere libraries. Locating the tome, however, proves trickier than she anticipated, and at each turn, she’s thrown together with the maddingly mysterious Julian. And the temptation to give in to her family’s greatest enemy grows stronger with each intriguing encounter…

PJ's Thoughts:

I've been reading Elizabeth Hoyt since her debut. One of the many facets of her writing that continues to bring me back to her books is her characters. In No Ordinary Duchess, the newest installment in her Greycourt series, both hero Julian and heroine Elspeth are standouts in Hoyt's long list of unforgettable lead characters. 

There are few authors who write complex, emotionally tortured heroes as well as Hoyt. Do I love him? Despise him? Maybe both? In Julian's case, there were points where I wanted to wash my hands of him, others where my heart broke for him. He holds himself apart from family and friends (for reasons) yet strives to protect those he loves with every fiber of his being. He believes his past actions are villainous and unforgiveable and that present actions mark him as unnatural, unable to forgive himself for either. As I said: complex.

Elspeth is one of my favorite Hoyt heroines, a straight-talking young woman with an unconventional upbringing that sets her apart from a typical London miss. Everything about her feels authentic: her determination to complete her quest, her insatiable curiosity, her unapologetic exploration of sensual desires with Julian (Hoyt always brings the spice), and her refusal to accept defeat, especially at the hands of the true villain of this story. She's a force and I adored her. 

The wise women storyline that runs through this series is one I could take or leave. It really doesn't add that much to the books for me other than as a plot device to explain the unexpected skills and knowledge the female leads possess. I'm not that interested in what will happen to the group. What I am interested in is Elspeth brother, Ran, former best friend of Julian and current recluse. The history there is fraught, fascinating, and overflowing with angst. I really hope Hoyt has a story planned for him. I am aching for it.