Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Once Upon a Duke
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
7 posts | 8 read | 3 to read
Beware romantic spirits from Christmas past... Due to the terms of an estranged relative's will, the Duke of Silkridge must revisit the cold, unforgiving mountains where he lost everything he once loved. As soon as he rights his family legacy, he'll return to London where he belongs. He definitely won't rekindle the forbidden spark crackling between him and the irresistible spitfire he'd left behind... Noelle Pratchett is immune to charming rakehells like the arrogant duke. He stole her heart, stole her first kiss, and then stole away one night never to return. Now he's backand so are all the old feelings. Noelle knows he won't stay. But how can she maintain her icy shields when every heated glance melts her to her core? The 12 Dukes of Christmas is a laugh-out-loud historical romance series of heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
DGRachel
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
post image
Mehso-so

This was a low heat HR with charming side characters and a quaint Christmas village setting. Unfortunately, none of the characters beyond the main couple are well-developed, and so much of this 220 pages story was repetitive. If I had to read one more word about how Benjamin couldn‘t be with Noelle because she wasn‘t a suitable bride for a Duke and he must sacrifice his heart to do his duty to England and Parliament, I would have screamed.

blurb
xicanti
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
post image

I figure I can squeeze at least a couple of Christmas romances in before the big day. Last night and this morning I read KJ Charles‘s MASTERS IN THIS HALL, which isn‘t in the Litsy database yet, and tonight I‘ll dig into ONCE UPON A DUKE by Erica Ridley. The first three chapters were charming.

blurb
galueth28
post image

Made 4767 points this week 👍most of these points due to the word Chistmas in the tagged book 😋

#teamgamesleighers #wintergames2021 @StayCurious

StayCurious great job! 2y
6 likes1 comment
review
galueth28
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
post image
Pickpick

Finally read a holiday romance 😊 It was very cute and a very satisfying resolution, which I didn't thought was going to happen for a while there.

25 points for #teamgamesleighers, plus how many words for #WGWordSearch

blurb
julesG
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
post image

I know I'm not a native speaker of English. I know I make pronunciation mistakes. BUT why do audiobook narrators, who are (in most cases) native speakers, get away with pronunciation mistakes? Are there no audiobook editors?

Today's word that pulled me out of the story: the blackguard [pronounced here: the black guard]

Is it just me who's annoyed with something like this?

Palimpsest I started listening to The House of Mirth and the narrator pronounced a word, I think egotism, (it started with ego) as eggo…Then I wondered if it is pronounced differently in British English as I speak American English. Then I thought I probably couldn‘t do as good a job, but generally a narrator should pronounce correctly. As for 2nd languages, I‘m trying to learn 3 & am not confident with any! U.S. is bad at instilling other languages as kids. 2y
LibrarianRyan I agree. I have the same problems, especially with self published books, that used an online platform to get a independent audio recording. Some are really good, but so many are sooooo bad. It especially sucks because, especially on ticktok, audiobooks are considered a “side hustle“. Big money, little time. 2y
See All 10 Comments
julesG @Palimpsest Maybe the narrator was hungry? 😜 2y
julesG @LibrarianRyan So annoying! 2y
Susanita I feel your pain! This was such an interesting story, but I had to deduct a star because the narrator made so many pronunciation mistakes. Not to mention her voice seemed a little juvenile for such a sweeping tale. 2y
Hooked_on_books This drives me crazy! When I started listening to audiobooks, I just assumed they would pronounce things correctly, since that‘s as it should be. Then I listened to a book with Philadelphia‘s river, the Schuylkill, and they butchered it! It‘s not an easy word if you don‘t know it, but it‘s pretty easy to figure out by asking someone from Philly. So, yep, you‘re not alone. 2y
TheSpineView I hate grammar errors. To me it's like nails on a chalk board! 😬 2y
CarolynM I don't know about other countries, but in Australia at the moment there seems to be a feeling that "alternate" pronunciation of some words are acceptable. "Extraordinary" is an example and it strikes me that "Blackguard" would probably be another. I'm with you, though, I hate it. 2y
Oryx Blackguard is such a good word 😄 But I suspect a lot of non readers will not realise how it is spelt. Audio errors annoy me too. They happen a surprising amount. And then I doubt my pronunciation! Like, have I been wrong my whole life... Maybe an editor realizes, but it's too expensive to fix? 2y
48 likes10 comments
review
julesG
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
post image
Pickpick

I really liked this story. At times it was a bit too Christmas-y for me.

Both MCs work towards their HEA in a believable way. There's lots of witty banter and the additional cast of characters are quirky.

A wonderful read for a cozy autumn evening.

Release day is October 8th.

blurb
julesG
Once Upon a Duke | Erica Ridley
post image

Went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Turned around from the tap and had to laugh so hard about the cats peeping around the jamb. They'd been hiding all evening.

I just had to take a picture, even if it's not the best one.

Good night Littens. I'm off to bed for just one more chapter of this ARC. 😂😂😂

#catsoflitsy

robinb Awww, they‘re sweet! ❤️❤️ 5y
TheBookAddict 😆👍🏽💕💕💕 5y
JoScho Lol I almost didn‘t see the black one! 5y
julesG @JoScho Black cat on black carpet in the dark. He's a breathing tripping hazard. 😉 5y
74 likes4 comments