Michael and Bitsy couldn’t be more different if they tried. All Michael wants to do is stay locked up in his study conducting scientific experiments to try to help people, but his aunt has left her beloved (and very well-behaved) poodle Lancelot in his care while she is away visiting friends. Meanwhile, Bitsy is the diamond of the season, sought after by all the eligible bachelors in London; however, no one can get close enough to court her while her ill-mannered poodle Galahad stands in the way.
After a chaotic encounter in the park, Michael and Bitsy accidentally swap dogs - just in time for Bitsy’s most insistent suitor to hire someone to steal Galahad from her home. But it’s Lancelot who gets taken and, when the swap is revealed, Bitsy insists on helping Michael get him back. It’s an experiment he never wanted to conduct, but one that has some unexpected (and hilariously romantic) results.
A grumpy duke and a sunshine viscount’s daughter. With poodles! This story was so much fun from start to finish. Enoch brings to life a crazy situation that just keeps getting crazier as the story goes on while the characters worm themselves deeper into your heart. Michael, Bitsy, and several other characters (including the poodle stars of the show Lancelot and Galahad) have several different layers to their personalities that are revealed slowly.
The story jumps around with its POV, which can be a bit discombobulating at first, but is kind of enchanting once you get into the groove of it. It allows a look inside several characters minds and gives the reader a deeper understanding of their motivations, thereby allowing the story to really stand out as more than a crazy accidental swap of fate.
And while we’re falling in love with the main characters, we fall into a great hatred of Peter, Bitsy’s insistent suitor who orchestrates the dognapping. It’s easy enough to hate him for his plot, but he really doubles down on everything and just makes you really want to throttle him.
Which makes the ending so. incredibly. satisfying! If there was a better way to end this story, I couldn’t tell you. Whatever the book version of a standing ovation is, insert it here. Enoch deserves every second of it.
EVERY DUKE HAS HIS DAY by Suzanne Enoch is available now and you can pick up a copy for yourself here.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review. If you purchase a copy using my Bookshop affiliate link above, not only will I receive a small commission (which will fuel my coffee and tea addiction and help to keep me up all night reading more books to recommend to you), but you will be supporting indie bookstores as well! If you prefer Amazon, visit my Amazon storefront and click on the list titled "2023 Book Recommendations."
