Review: Big Duke Energy by Emma Hart

Big Duke Energy by Emma Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an arc of this book via the author, all opinions are my own.

This was such a fun book!  I loved the grumpy sunshine dynamic between Ellie and Max!  This follows Ellie, a successful romance writer with writers block, and Max a grumpy duke who wants nothing to do with love.  Ellie decides to escape London in the hopes that a change of scenery will inspire her work in progress.  She rents property on Max's estate where her pain in the neck cat constantly escapes to hang out with his goats.  Max of course wants to protect the wildlife on the estate and is not thrilled that her cat is on the loose, but he and Sir Winston Purrchill eventually work things out and the goats don't mind.  Max is not very welcoming when Ellie first arrives, but his wonderful grandmother loves her.  Esme is a standout character in the book and Emma Hart is known for writing in wonderful grandparent characters.  Esme is hilarious and I want an invite to her book club!  

As Ellie and Max spend time together, mostly looking for Winston the cat, they slowly start to get to know each other.  Max has alot of walls up, especially when it comes to relationships and feelings, and Ellie always sees the good in everything.  They are as opposite as can get, but when Max accidentally finds out he is her muse and he is attracted to her especially after reading some of her work.  There are some moderately spicy scenes in this book once things get going.  This does have a bit of a slow burn feel to it as the book is on the long side.  There is great banter between the characters, but it does take them some time to communicate their feelings and needs to one another.  

This reads as a complete standalone, but there are references to Hart's characters in The Aristocrat Diaries series.  I loved those as well, so if you liked this you will enjoy those as well.  

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