She is self-righteous and quick to judge, and has a MUCH higher opinion of herself than is warranted. I enjoyed this romantic historical fiction so much that I am impatiently waiting for the next in this series! It always really annoys me when the attraction between two people is wholly centered on lust and sex, because it seems like a really fraught foundation for a relationship, and because I just get really annoyed when characters think with their genitals all the time.

Pretty much every encounter between the two leads mentioned "feminine warmth" and "masculine hardness", so I had strained my eyes from rolling them so hard before I was very far into the book. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for. I wasn’t even reading the book for the feminist tones, like many people were, and I could see how flimsy the premise was. Evie wrote The League of Extraordinary Women inspired by the magical scenery of Oxford and her passion for romance, women pioneers, and all things Victorian.Evie Dunmore shows us how far women have come, how women fought for what we consider normal and rightfully ours. As for this book being fresh and unique…well, when I first started reading it, I thought that was exactly what I was getting from the story because historical romance novels with suffragist heroines are rare.

There was so much tension between them, the impossibility of their love made this story heartwrenching.

Dunmore has penned a winner, written with flair and suavity, presenting a smooth and evocative prose.

Full of witty banter, rich historical detail, and a fantastic group of female friends, the first installment in Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women series starts with fireworks as Annabelle and Montgomery try to find a path to happiness despite past mistakes and their vastly different places in society.It's the perfect companion and back story to this romance, as it mirrors the value Annabelle places on her independence and her reluctance to hand over any powers to a man. I wouldn't say I was bored, but I didn't feel the need to rewind the audio if I zoned out for a second, either. And I'm ecstatic to see that not only are we guaranteed more from this debut author, but we're getting more from this series and set of characters. I'm going to be clamouring for more A League of Extraordinary Women books and likely seriously regretting my decision to read this early because now the wait will feel even longer than just a year. I was entertained because I felt like the novel was pulling from books by Austen, the Brontë sisters, etc.

I know very little about the tropes of the genre, but I can guess that nothing in this book would be considered terribly egregious to the average romance reader (please correct me if I'm wrong), but personally, I struggled.

During the last 16 years, his life has been devoted to duty and, at the age of 35, he has become the most powerful duke in England; even the scandal of a divorce failed to mar his reputation. But it is equally important that we remember the women of colour who are too often erased from history for their contribution to women’s rights.