Eliza and the Duke

Happiest release week to the latest novel by one of my favorite authors, Harper St. George. Following last year’s The Stranger I Wed, the Doves of New York series continues with the youngest Dove sister in Eliza and the Duke. Contrary to the title, the “duke” here is actually Simon, a bare-knuckles fighter who’s been trying to fight his way out of poverty. Eliza is an heiress… but only if she marries a man her calculating father approves of. An aristocrat, in other words. Someone so far removed from who Simon is.

What I Liked:

• Highlighting working-class characters. Most of the historical romances I’ve read featured titled and/or wealthy characters finding love, so I’m always happy to see different life circumstances. Simon has grown up as an impoverished orphan, and even now he’s working his way out of debt and trying to buy the freedom of his young niece. He doesn’t have riches, an ancestral home, or even a title to give to Eliza, and this stands in the way of her wealthy father’s biggest stipulation. Is Eliza prepared to give up her inheritance for love? Or can they find another path forward? I loved Simon and getting to see someone who’s worked for everything he has. He’s a character I can relate to so well for his limited opportunities.
• Seeing the lower class side of Victorian London. In addition to Simon’s life and work, we also get to join him and Eliza as they explore Whitechapel at night. I adored this whole section of the book!! We get to see parts of London so rarely on display in historical romances: lower class theaters, streets where people are selling their wares, and also the harsher realities of their hardships. It feels so authentic to Simon’s background.
• Forbidden romance. Eliza is an illegitimate daughter whose only path forward is to marry someone titled so she can get her inheritance. Simon is a working class boxer running away from a hard past, someone Eliza’s dad would never approve of. This is a romance that can never work out… and yet these two are drawn to each other and can’t escape their deepening feelings. I so enjoyed seeing them fall in love and trying to find a future together.
• Setup for a third romance! There are three Dove sisters, and with Eliza and the Duke, two of them have gotten their happily ever afters. But what about Jenny? She has some excellent setup with another character, and I desperately need their story next! With or without Berkley, please let us have Jenny’s HEA!

Final Thoughts

Up until now, my favorite Harper St. George book has been The Devil and the Heiress, but Eliza and the Duke is giving it a run for its money! I absolutely fell in love with Eliza and Simon and was rooting for them despite the odds. This is among Harper St. George’s best books and one romance readers are sure to adore. With a forbidden allure, danger, and a tender but steamy love story at its core, this is a beautiful and memorable romance. Like Simon himself, I’m betting on this book being a winner.

Special thanks to Harper St. George, Berkley, the publicists at Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Eliza and the Duke here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Eliza and the Duke by Harper St. George
Series	The Doves of New York (#2)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Romance
Setting	England
Number of Pages	336
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	June 24, 2025
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

American heiress Eliza Dove was resigned to a polite marriage of convenience…until she spent one wicked night with the Duke.

All hopeless romantic Eliza Dove asked for was one night of adventure. One glorious evening of freedom to explore the dark corners of London with a mysterious stranger before a lifetime trapped in a quiet, respectable marriage of convenience. Except now she wants more. Now she wants him.  

Simon Cavell is no gentleman. Known only as ‘the Duke,’ Whitechapel’s prize boxer is one fight away from achieving his goal: to safeguard his late sister’s only treasure and leave the streets for good. He cannot allow some pretty young heiress to spill his secrets, no matter how tempting she might be. In return for her silence, Simon will give Eliza a taste of the darkness…and hope he doesn’t lose his heart in the process.

But one night together could never be enough. And now Eliza has a new plan—an even more scandalous bargain that will either land the heiress her duke or ruin them both.