Joy to the Duke was my favorite book in the trilogy. I loved Felicity. She was confident and fearless. I wasn't sure how Darcy Burke was going to make the Duke likable but she succeeded!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the third and final book in Darcy Burke’s new Love is All Around holiday Regency romance series about three siblings. While all of the stories interconnect, each book focuses on one couple and can be enjoyed on its own. This was the most Christmassy of the three, and I really liked how it incorporated elements of A Christmas Carol.

Poppy and Bianca’s brother Calder, the Duke of Hartwell, was portrayed so disagreeably (such a Scrooge) in the previous books that I wondered how Ms. Burke would redeem him. She handled his redemption via “ghosts” of the past, present, and future with aplomb. Calder and Felicity were both portrayed as likable characters, and I was rooting for their second chance romance to succeed.

While this book deals with some dark themes (parental death, child abuse, poverty), it also includes some laughs and the love of a very good dog.

This is a fun holiday romance. I recommend it to anyone who won’t be offended by the inclusion of mild profanity and a couple of explicit sex scenes.

I received an ARC of this book from the author and volunteered to provide an honest review.

Joy to the Duke is the third and final installment of the Love is All Around series by Burke. Featuring Calder and Felicity, readers are treated to a Christmas Carol sort of tale centering on the couple’s second chance romance and redemption. While I did enjoy the ghosts of Christmas past and future inclusion in the storyline, ultimately my lower rating comes down to my inability to connect with the characters.

Felicity lacked dimension while Calder, with a more complicated history driving his actions, was a bit confounding with his blanket approach to life contrary to his father’s wishes. I enjoyed Calder’s chapters more, but I am still wasn’t convinced that there was true passion between the two. Their dialogue, in particular, tended to be stilted.

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me which is a shame because I love a lot of Burke’s other work. It is a shame that my lack of connection to the characters significantly impacted the enjoyability of this book for me. I suspect with a bit more length and time for character growth for both hero and heroine would have helped my investment. I will definitely continue to read Burke’s work, but I will definitely put Calder and Felicity’s romance on the no-go pile for this romance reader.

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