A Duke at the Door

Starred review from June 27, 2022
Allen’s delightful third Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde paranormal Regency romance (after A Most Unusual Duke) delivers all the distinctive, well-rounded characters that readers expect while expanding the warmhearted, inclusive world of the series. Tabitha Barrington, 35, spent her marriageable years traveling the world with her scholarly brother, Timothy. Now the pair have landed in England, where they find employment with the Duke of Lowell’s family, Timothy as a tutor and Tabitha as the resident apothecary. Alwyn ap Lewin, Duke of Llewellyn, is a lion shape-shifter who spent years trapped in his animal form as part of a travelling circus. When Prince George consigns the newly human Alwyn to the Lowell estate to recover both his humanity and control over his lion form, Alwyn proves the one patient who challenges Tabitha’s skills. As the pair begin a delicate dance toward love and healing, they run up against several obstacles, among them Tabitha’s non-shifter status and cautious nature: “Her bones were knit together with prudence, their marrow a sober core, her every thought and deed logical and judicious.” The diversity of the cast and casual acceptance of queerness at Lowell Hall are as refreshing as the constant subversion of historical romance tropes. This is Allen’s best yet. Agent: Julie Gwinn, Seymour Agency.

July 1, 2022
A lion Shifter is tamed by a lady apothecary. Georgie, Prince of Wales, is meddling in the lives of his Shifter subjects again. A bear Shifter himself, he's taken a personal interest in the life of Alwyn ap Lewin, Duke of Llewellyn, a Welsh lion Shifter who was trapped in his animal shape for so long that he's forgotten how to use a fork or wear pants. That's why Alwyn is being sent to Lowell Hall, which fans of the Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series will recognize well--it's home to an unusually diverse pack of Shifters and an accepting community of Shifters and humans alike. Here, he's put into the care of one Miss Tabitha Barrington, commissioned by the prince to care for him. She and her brother have been traveling Europe for years, during which time she's become an accomplished apothecary even though society will never recognize her as such. Alwyn thinks he's beyond help, but Tabitha quickly finds subtle ways to support his reintegration that lead them to spending more time together. When their friendship develops into something more, Alwyn realizes that Tabitha is not just his vera amoris; she is his coniunctio, theirs a once-in-a-generation mating capable of producing great things for the Shifter community. Though their relationship is as straightforward as one between a Shifter and a human can be, dangers from the outside world threaten to interfere with their newfound love. The third story in this series is as entertaining and charming as the first two, with the highlights of paranormal and Regency romances well enmeshed. Though the suspense elements of the plot are not as compelling as the rest of the story, they can't detract from the simple pleasure of a Lion Shifter wooing a classic Regency bluestocking. This volume also offers a rare glimpse into gay life during the Regency, including a historically accurate depiction of Parlyaree, a unique English dialect shared by many underclasses of British society. Allen includes enough context clues for a reader to start with this third volume, but those who have read the first two books in the series will be most pleased by this return to Lowell Hall and its unusual community. Allen continues to claim new territory in the world of paranormal Regency.

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