The Duke Alone

The McQuoids of Mayfair

By: Christi Caldwell

Narrated by: Timothy Campbell

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

For an abandoned lady and a reclusive duke, the winter season brings a swirl of romance—and danger—in a bracing novel by USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell.

Lady Myrtle McQuoid has always felt a little forgotten, and this season is no exception. When her boisterous family vacates their London townhouse for the country, Myrtle finds she’s been left behind. But she just needs to stay warm, keep her belly full, and distract herself until her relatives realize their mistake and turn back to collect her. Surely that won’t take long.

Brooding widower Val Bancroft, the Duke of Aragon, has shut himself off from the world. He craves blessed solitude—a loyal dog, a silent house, and his own company are all he requires. Certainly not the nonstop chattering of the joyful, opinionated young woman next door.

But with a potential threat lurking in the winter shadows, Myrtle may need to pluck up the nerve to approach the reclusive duke. And Val is not one to turn his back on a vulnerable lady.

Amid the silent nights of London, beneath a blanket of snow, could the light of a new, warm love be kindling?

©2022 Christi Caldwell Incorporated. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Critic reviews

“Caldwell’s chaste, emotional romance will charm readers looking for a Christmas story that mixes melancholy with joy.”—Library Journal

“Caldwell’s humor, which often toes the line into farce, lightens the gloom of loneliness around the characters, and she hits every beat of the romance formula with charm and clever pacing. Sheer fun for readers who adore Pride and Prejudice, Christmas, and dogs.”—Historical Novels Review

Good Story.

Kept my interest throughout. I particularly loved the narrator. Heartwarming & interesting from beginning to end.
I would definitely recommend this one.

Super cute love story

Not a huge fan of the singing but the rest was great. I love the ending!!

Fun Listen

Imagine a Historical Romance with a hit of “home alone”… That is the flavour of this one…

Good storyline

I really enjoyed the storyline and how the adventures panned out. I would recommend it to anyone!

Rated

I wish I knew the intimacy before I put this so everyone could hear it. 😒🤦🏼‍♀️

The Duke and the Chatterbox

When her family leaves London for the country for the Christmastide season, Lady Myrtle McQuoid finds herself left behind. It seems they just forgot about her. She hopes it won’t be long before they realize she is not with them and return for her. What to do until then? Val Bancroft, Duke of Aragon, wishes to be left alone with his grief and guilt. Silly rumors say he killed not only his wife, but his servants, and probably a couple of innocent animals. Myrtle doesn’t believe it, so, with time on her hands, she decides to meet him and check it out. It takes a while for Val to warm up to the chatterbox from next door, but she is hard to resist. Could the sprite be what he needs to restart his life? Could the duke be Myrtle’s Prince Charming underneath his gruff exterior? This is a cute grumpy/sunshine holiday story. There is a sullen duke, an ancient loyal butler, a loving brother, a huge dog, an irresistible chatterbox, and a spectacular ending. As always, Timothy Campbell does an excellent narration.

Christmas home alone

A fun premise, but the heroine was very young and immature. It sometimes felt a little creepy that she was so child- like and innocent . Also, the heroine ( Myrtle) needed a bit more character development, or at least as much as we had for Val.

Don’t heed the negative reviews.

This was a beautiful story, a wholesome story. The story was so wonderful that I listened to it in one day. I couldn’t stop. I’m going to have to listen to this again in the future.. probably many times. It was almost medicinal to my soul.. for those of us who have faced trauma in life. The reader was phenomenal, probably the best I’ve heard so far. I loved it. Thank you Christi.

Not as Good as I Expected!

It was very boring. One of those stories with a very promising premise yet fails to deliver when it comes to content. I found the banter to be lackluster and the Christmas carols to be unnecessary if not cheesy. TBH it felt like a snoozefest 🥱
The narrator's performance was very good though. Can't penalize him for reading a boring story.

It was OK

A cute love story. But both main characters were a tab but annoying. If it wasn’t for the story teller, I would have given up on the book completely. It’s not a must read but defined something for when you are bored.