Alix Nichols – A Duchess with a Secret

Today, USA Today best-selling author Alix Nichols is guesting. She’s talking about her latest release, A Duchess with a Secret, book nine in The Montevor Royals Saga, a contemporary romance. Be sure to read my review. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway.

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Why Alix Can’t Stop Writing Enemies-to-Lovers:

There’s something irresistible about two people who start off on completely the wrong foot. The tension. The sharp words. The reluctant respect that slowly creeps in when they’re forced to see each other clearly.

I’ve always been drawn to enemies-to-lovers (aka Elizabeth-and-Darcy) because it gives me the most satisfying kind of slow burn to fireworks.

What I love most is watching characters challenge each other in ways no one else can. They push buttons, expose blind spots, and force each other to grow, often while fighting it every step of the way. The banter is fun to write, but what really hooks me is the moment the walls start to crack.

That shift from “yin versus yang” to “my yin needs your yang”, from “I can’t stand you” to “I don’t know how to be without you” is what really does it for me. Few other tropes hit quite like that.

In A Duchess with a Secret, Eva and Alex give me exactly that delicious friction.

They come into each other’s lives carrying assumptions, old wounds, and very different ideas about what’s right. Neither of them is looking for common ground. And yet, the more time they’re forced to spend together, the harder it becomes to keep their distance. Their journey from distrust to something much deeper is full of sparks, stubbornness, and quiet moments of understanding that hit harder because of where they started.

I think what keeps pulling me back to this trope is the hope it offers. These characters don’t fall in love despite their differences — they fall because of them. The very things that once pushed them apart become the reasons they can’t stay away.

If you love watching two people go from clashing to choosing each other, I think you’ll enjoy spending time with Eva and Alex.

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Title: A Duchess with a Secret
Series: The Montevor Royals Saga, book nine
Author: Alix Nichols
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 227 pages
Release Date: May 31, 2026

For sixteen years, they’ve hated each other…
and craved each other.

Widowed and betrayed, Eva Castellane will do anything to protect her daughter’s inheritance.
Standing in her way?
Alex Castellane—her late husband’s steely, magnetic half brother.
The man poised to take it all.
Her worst enemy.
Her forbidden temptation.

Stuck together in the family castle, their legal fight spirals into war…
until a common threat forces a reluctant alliance.
Desire blurs the lines.
Chemistry sizzles.
Rules get broken.

But as the verdict nears, one slip could unravel Eva’s explosive secret…

A Duchess with a Secret stands alone within the Montevor Royals Saga. It is a spicy contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance with forced proximity, family secrets, and a hard-won HEA.

Goodreads | Amazon

The air outside the basement at Mount Evor Secret Service feels colder than it did inside. It isn’t exactly chilly; just crisp enough to bite, which I welcome wholeheartedly. It clears my head.

“I’m going to walk to the hotel,” Eva says. “I need air.”

“I was about to say the same.”

She shoots me a look. “Please don’t. I don’t want to start thinking we have things in common.”

“What about the duchy?” I taunt.

“Of all the things we don’t have in common,” she quips, “the duchy is the one we don’t have in common the most.”

I smile despite myself. The pretty shell has some humor.

“May I walk beside you?” I ask.

“If you must,” she says after a beat. “But don’t think I’m warming to you.”

“Understood.”

We fall into step, heading toward the hotel located in the city’s historic center. She keeps her arms folded tight across her chest like a shield.

“I want you to know I will fight you with everything I’ve got. Dirty. No-holds-barred,” she warns. “My lawyer, Pauline, is very good at her job.”

I glance over. “So, this is your idea of small talk?”

“If you’d prefer silence…”

“No, this is delightful.”

We keep walking. Pombrio glows in the late-September dusk. The limestone facades catch the last golden rays and appear to be lit from within. Lined with old trees starting to turn, cobbled streets stretch ahead, winding gently. Cafés hum with end-of-day energy, clinking glasses, and low laughter. A faint whiff of woodsmoke rides the breeze.

I’d enjoy this stroll more if Eva weren’t so close. Her presence is magnetic and annoying in equal measures. Her perfume doesn’t help. It has none of the sugary sweetness most ladies favor. Instead, it’s seductive in a sharp, provocative way that’s so much her.

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I loved the blurb, so I signed up to read and review this book for the tour. What I didn’t pay close enough attention to was what was below the blurb: it’s a contemporary romance! LOL. Anyhoo, seeing the cover, it’s definitely what’s usually used for historical romance. Yes, I got fooled. But there are no regrets.

First off, I enjoyed the two main characters. Eva is hiding more than just a single secret; she’s hiding quite a few. I really liked how these clues were dribbled out through the novel instead of being dumped into a backstory. That’s my absolute favourite way to hear the truth revealed. She’s a mom and very protective of her fourteen-year-old daughter.

Then there is Alex. He’s what every romance hero should be: charming, handsome, and possessing a tender heart; he has no problem showing. You easily root for him from the very beginning. But because the book is titled “enemies to lovers,” I will admit I wanted him to be a bit more of a rogue.

I also adored Millie, Eva’s daughter. She may be a sick girl, but she’s got lots of fight in her. Maybe she’ll get her own novel once she grows up? She is certainly deserving of one. There is no cookie-cutter child inserted into the narrative here; Millie’s character completely jumps off the pages.

The chemistry is red hot between Eva and Alex. Even though they are sitting across the table, with Eva about to lose the duchy and her daughter ready to be robbed of her title, the sparks fly.

However, two mysteries are happening at once. I will admit that for such a short story, this was a bit much. Because Alex and Eva spent so much time digging into them, we never really get to see this “enemies to lovers” dynamic fully play out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the mysteries, but the novel hovered more in the romantic suspense area than contemporary romance.

With that quibble aside, it’s a great read. The author is an excellent writer and gives strong, realistic voices to Eva and Alex. It’s a great addition to the series, but you also don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy it. I jumped straight into this one. So do yourself a favour and get a copy.

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Alix Nichols is a caffeine addict, a longtime fan of Mr. Darcy. She pens sexy romantic comedies and romantasy. Her books have been described as “pure pleasure” (Kirkus Reviews) that “keep fans of romance hanging off the edge of their seat” (Romantic Times).

At the age of six, she released her first book. It featured highly creative spelling on a dozen pages stitched together and bound in velvet paper.

Decades later, she lives in France and still writes. Her spelling has improved (somewhat), she has become a Kindle Scout winner, Chanticleer First Place winner, USA Today bestseller, Book Riot’s Top 100 Must-Read International Romance author, and Amazon All-Star for being one of the 100 most-read authors in Kindle Unlimited.

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