Duke the Hall

By: E.J. Russell

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

A yuletide wedding brings tidings of comfort, joy…and peril.

Eighteen months ago, Tarik Jaso, Duke of Arles, would have been thrilled if Sander Fiala, Duke of Roses, sank beneath the waves along with his stupid boat.

That was then.

Now, Tarik can’t wait to head out on a private sail with Sander—a sail that will culminate in a highly public, politically significant wedding. Their union will be the first one between North and South Abarran royalty in centuries. If all goes to plan, it will usher in a new era of peace and cooperation between their countries.

But as the big day approaches, their meticulous arrangements begin to fall apart. Can Sander and Tarik weather the storm of political opposition, familial objection, and outright betrayal to reach the altar at last?

Duke the Hall is a 41,000-word M/M superhero rom-com featuring two dukes determined to tie the knot, relatives both helpful and annoying, spiteful thunderstorms, superhero sabotage, and hints that things are not all they seem.

Note: Duke the Hall is not a stand-alone story. It’s the sequel to Duking It Out and as such contains spoilers for the earlier book.

©2020 E.J. Russell (P)2023 E.J. Russell

Great continuation of the story!

I really enjoyed it. The only thing I would love to see, is the continuation of the whole series in audible.

Very funny

Kirt Graves always does a great job . Interesting story and fun twists and crazy stuff

Frustrating sequel

Unfortunately, the author has recreated Sander and Tarik as much as evolved the characters from the first book. There, they were written as complete characters, at times weak and strong, confident and insecure. Here, they feel one-dimensional, especially Sander.

To create interpersonal tension, Sander is rendered a quavering, fragile, insecure flower, ready to collapse from adversity. Tariq remains more rounded, but he’s the foil—a steady shoulder onto which Sander can collapse, the man who will explain everything and make it alright for quivering Sander, except when Sander is wildly overreacting to and misinterpreting Tarik’s dark humor. “Tarik’s late to tea, maybe he doesn’t love me and we should cancel the wedding!” “Some of our family doesn’t want us to get married, what if they’re right?” Gah! The author tries to write a backstory to explain all the insecure whining but fragile Sander here bears no real resemblance to the multidimensional Sander in the first book.

It’s an exhausted trope—a homophobic stereotype, really—to present gay men as fragile, insecure, and indecisive but that’s how Sander is written here.