A Duke by Default (Reluctant Royals #2) By: Alyssa Cole

Plot:

New York City socialite and perpetual hot mess Portia Hobbs is tired of disappointing her family, friends, and—most importantly—herself. An apprenticeship with a struggling swordmaker in Scotland is a chance to use her expertise and discover what she’s capable of. Turns out she excels at aggravating her gruff silver fox boss…when she’s not having inappropriate fantasies about his sexy Scottish burr.

Tavish McKenzie doesn’t need a rich, spoiled American telling him how to run his armory…even if she is infuriatingly good at it. Tav tries to rebuff his apprentice—and his attraction to her—but when Portia accidentally discovers that he’s the secret son of a duke, rough-around-the-edges Tav becomes her newest makeover project.  

Forging metal into weapons and armor is one thing, but when desire burns out of control and the media spotlight gets too hot to bear, can a commoner turned duke and his posh apprentice find lasting love?

Review:

I really enjoyed this book. I don’t believe it’s as good as the first, but it was still a solid follow up and has me looking forward to the next.

Portia was flawed, anxious, and filled with self-doubt then super confident. I could understand how and why she felt that way, but it was sometimes confusing, especially since the chapters alternated point of view.

Tavish was holy hell hot. I have a thing for the Scottish accent so boy howdy I appreciated all that was going on with him. He often put his foot in his mouth but didn’t realize until later that he’d bungled things.

There isn’t much sword making in the story, but there’s a fair amount of swordplay. The romance builds for a while, and then feels a little rushed at the end because of it. Still, I really enjoyed the story and the characters that have been created.

4/5