The Silent Duke (The 1797 Club Book 4)

What a book! I absolutely loved it from beginning to end – and couldn’t put it down until I could see how it all worked out. Do you want a broken heart? If so, just read the Prologue to this excellent book. The unimaginable pain a heartless and mean-spirited parent can cause is just palpable. Then, if you want a smile in your heart – read the rest of the book. It is an excellently written, well-paced, story of life-long friends finding their own happily ever after. It isn’t one of those books where they were in denial of their feelings – no – both knew they deeply loved the other. However, one of them (you guess which one) is stubborn beyond belief and doesn’t feel worthy of the other. Now, for the purists among us (yes, I’m one), the author did use a couple of anachronistic words – for instance, she used the word ‘sex’ to refer to the act rather than the gender. See this Facebook post by Ella Quinn for information on the etymology for ‘sex’.

Ewan Hoffstead was born mute. He was a lovely child, but his father could not accept that his heir was less than perfect and tried to beat, berate and shame him into speaking. Picture a grown man standing above a cowering two-year-old child screaming at him that he was broken and worthless. Imagine the damage that treatment would cause to a young child’s psyche. When Ewan was ten-years-old, his father was going to finally put him in an asylum in order to keep him from inheriting the title. Luckily for Ewan, his aunt and uncle took him from his parents and raised him with love and acceptance. Ewan was actually a very intelligent man, but everyone else seemed to judge him on his lack of speech. Or did they? Maybe it was just his perception that everyone was judging him negatively – but, that poor abused little boy always came to the fore and thought that they did. You’ll just fall hopelessly in love with Ewan when you read this book. He’s sweet, thoughtful, considerate and honorable.

Charlotte Undercross was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl of seven when she helped Ewan through the worst day of his young life. Then, together, they developed a hand-signing language to make it easier for Ewan to communicate with others. It turned out to be much too complicated for others to learn, but Ewan and Charlotte used it all the time. Charlotte loves Ewan with all of her heart and she has told him so and asked him to love her in return. When he refused, she married another.

Charlotte is now a young widow and she’s determined to have one more shot at a life with Ewan. If he still refuses, she’ll have to go back on the marriage mart. Ewan is hosting a Christmas celebration at his estate and several friends and family will attend – Charlotte is among those. Fate intervenes and a winter storm causes rivers to flood and Charlotte’s coach is the last one to make it over the bridge leading to Ewan’s home. That gives Charlotte several days alone with Ewan. Can she convince him to let go of his past and embrace a future with her? We sure hope so. Then, there is the remainder of his hate-filled family to contend with. Will they manage to oust Ewan from his title and cause irreparable harm?

This is a quick and lovely read and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Born mute, Ewan Hoffstead, Duke of Donburrow was abused by his wicked father and wretched younger brothers until his uncle & Aunt the Duke & Duchess of Tyndale swept in to save the day when he was ten. Still, he carries the scars of his past with him, including a terrible belief that perhaps a “person like him” truly doesn’t deserve the title his uncle fought so hard for him to earn.
Recently widowed Charlotte Undercross may be the proper Countess of Portsmith to Society, but when she is around Ewan, she still feels like the enraptured little girl who met him decades before when her brother was best friends with him and his cousin.
A planned trip to spend Christmas with their families at Ewan’s estate reunites the old friends. But when a storm keeps the others from arriving on time, Charlotte decides to stop living in fear and pursue the man she has desired and loved her entire life.
What can I say but that this is one of the best books I’ve read this year – & I read a lot- I’ve loved the three earlier books in the series but this book was on a different level. I laughed & I cried & felt a plethora of emotions whilst reading this engrossing ‘unputt downable‘ book. Ewan had appeared in the previous books so I was aware of his disability. He thinks he’s unworthy after being abused for the first decade of his life, he’s always loved Charlotte & they’ve even devised a sign language that only they can understand, likewise Charlotte has always loved Ewan & now she’s a widow from an arranged marriage she plans on seducing Ewan, even the weather conspires with her. Ewan still believes the worst of himself rather than he’s respected, loved & worthy, Charlotte, his friends & family have a hard journey to changing his mind

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Mute since birth, Ewan Hoffstead tolerated years of abuse from his father and younger brothers until his uncle took over his care himself. The fight he had to undertake three years ago to take his rightful title as Duke of Donburrow upon his father’s death only reinforced his belief that someone as damaged as he is doesn’t deserve happiness.

Charlotte Undercross has loved Ewan since they were children, but his rejection forced her onto the marriage mart. Now the widowed Countess of Portsmouth, she’s determined to try once more for happiness with Ewan and she’ll begin during a family Christmas party at Ewan’s country estate. When a storm prevents the rest of the guests from joining them, leaving Ewan and Charlotte alone, she decides to risk everything and openly seduce the man of her dreams. Ewan can’t resist Charlotte’s allure, but he’s reluctant to give her anything more permanent, believing she’ll one day come to resent him for his disability and the whispers that follow him because of it. His every belief is shattered, however, when a surprise visit from his family poses a threat to him and to his love.

This was an incredibly sweet story. I loved Charlotte’s tenacity even as Ewan pushed her away, though his extensive ruminations on his deficiencies did become a bit repetitive, possibly because I just finished Her Favorite Duke and the hero in that story did much of the same. Thankfully, Ewan came to his senses mostly on his own and began to fight for what he wanted and to believe in his own worthiness. This was a strong story and I loved that they never danced around their feelings, but rather the conflict came from Ewan’s internal struggles, which he had to overcome on his own before he could open himself up to love. Thankfully, he finally woke up and claimed the future he wanted and that was lovely. Ewan and Charlotte were an excellent match and I loved that they complimented each other so well and became each other’s safe haven.

When his own father abused him because of the simple fact that he was mute, Ewan Hoffstead was taken in by his aunt and uncle who taught him how to be a wonderful duke. Along with his friends from The 1797 Club, Ewan became a magnificent Duke of Donburrow, loved by his tenants and friends. Especially, long time friend Charlotte.

Charlotte spent a great deal of her childhood with her brother’s silent friend, Ewan. They even made up their own way of communicating through hand signals. When she finally confessed her love for him, Ewan broke her heart. She went on to marry and become the Countess of Portsmith. The marriage was short-lived, now a widow out of mourning, she is going to try again to win Ewan’s heart.

When Charlotte arrives first for a holiday house party at Ewan’s estate, she barely beats a horrible storm with major flooding. The rest of the party cannot get to the estate and Charlotte is left alone to seduce the man she loves.

The fourth book in The 1797 Club series is just as thrilling and passionate as the other three with it’s own special twist on the friends to lovers troupe. Charlotte never once saw Ewan’s mutism as a hinderance, in fact, I believe that only made him more special to her. Ewan’s feelings for the beguiling Charlotte are evident, but he refuses to see a future between them due to his fear of passing his mutism on to a child. Charlotte has a difficult time convincing Ewan what they have will overcome any obstacle they will face. Men are stubborn and it takes more than a little prodding to get Ewan to see the beautiful future he can have with the woman he loves. Through twists, turns, and vengeful relatives, Ewan and Charlotte find the happily ever after they’ve been craving all their lives.

I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This is my first exposure to this series and the author. I also want to say, this is the first time I’ve actually wanted to reach through a book and choke the villains with my bare hands! I fell in love with both Charlotte and Ewen in the first chapter. Clearly both are in love with each other and yet Charlotte has to fight for a chance of their HEA! It was lovely seeing Ewens family and friends showing their own love and support for him in the story. I will admit I’ll be searching out the previous books in the series and catching up on everyone’s story from the beginning!
I’d like to thank NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!