Alexis Hall brings his trademark wit and depth of emotion to Regency-era England in A Lady for a Duke, a romance between a transgender woman and her former best friend, the Duke of Gracewood. For two long years Gracewood has thought Viola Carroll dead; everyone believes she lost her life at the Battle of Waterloo. In truth, Viola was nursed back to health by local farmers and seized the opportunity to throw off the constraints of her role as Viscount Marleigh and truly live her life as a woman.
Viola agrees to accompany her sister-in-law, Lady Marleigh, to Gracewood's home in order to help Gracewood's sister make her society debut, even though--or perhaps because--it will force Viola to face her best friend and true love. Though she's heard a bit about Gracewood's condition, Viola is devastated to see him addicted to laudanum and alcohol, poorly managing pain from a severe leg injury and grief over the loss of her. Viola, compelled by an overwhelming mix of guilt and love, brings him back to himself, all the while fearing the day he recognizes her under her makeup and wardrobe.
Fortunately, Hall (Boyfriend Material) doesn't drag out that discovery, but the depth of hurt on both sides is astounding. Hall has a gift for humor but is also skilled at composing passages that evoke the deepest emotions, whether the ache of long-denied love, crushing grief or the relief and soulful joy of being accepted and adored as one's most authentic self. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian and freelance reviewer