Review of "Passion's Duty" by Lizzie Jenks

Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

We were pleasantly surprised by this book!
With a title like Passion's Duty, we were bracing ourselves for some of the over-the-top erotic fiction that's come our way over the years. However, this was something very different: it's layered, grounded, and far more emotionally and historically textured than we expected.

Instead of giving us empty steam and melodrama, Lizzie Jenks gives us a romantic historical novel with real substance under the surface. Yes, there is attraction here. Yes, there is yearning. But this book is much more interested in class, duty, survival, gender expectations, colonial tension, and the painful gap between what people want and what their world will allow them to have.

Set in 1755 in the Mohawk Valley, Passion's Duty drops us into a frontier world that feels unstable from the very beginning. There is political tension in the air, danger in the woods, and the constant sense that one bad decision could change everything. That backdrop gives the romance real weight. This is not a love story floating in a vacuum. It is a love story pressed up against war, land disputes, cultural tension, and social hierarchy.

One of the things we appreciated most is that the romance is not treated like a gimmick. James Carroll and Faith Richmond are not just thrown together because the plot demands it. Their connection grows out of contrast, curiosity, admiration, and frustration. James is ambitious, capable, and shaped by hardship. Most of all, the romance in this book feels EARNED. These two characters aren't just thrown together and conveniently find time to rail each other 20 times a day without needing to work, shower, eat, or sleep (like in some other steamy romance books). In fact, the sex in this book is far and in between. We think the first major sex scene is about half way or 2/3rds of the way through. And what's amazing is how this book builds toward this point. It's not rushed. It's not forced. And it's actually satisfying. It's the perfect mix between edgy and erotic vs tactful and restrained.

There's romance. There's attraction. There are urges. Oh, boy, there's a lot of focus on the urges that both core characters (and other characters) have for each other. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It builds tension—dramatic tension, sexual tension, angst—that is so good for a book of this nature. People love to read about characters overcoming challenges, not just being given everything they want easily. So, when protagonists are insta-rich or insta-in-love, it really diminishes that. Thankfully, this book avoids that common pitfall.

It's often said that friction makes fire, and that's part of what makes this book work. It's never easy for either character. There's so much in the way: the circumstances, the war, societal pressures, pressures from Faith's dad, pressure from the characters coming from very different backgrounds, etc.

And a lot of the reason this book works is that these characters are actually likable. Faith Richmond is already one of our favorite characters of the year! There's just something about her. She reminds us of a mix of our favorite female protagonists from classic novels: Jane & Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice or Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair (yes, we know the era is different and that Faith is far more sincere than Sharp was). These women dealt with a lot of the same issues, mainly societal pressures in a patriarchal, male-dominated world. But it's a changing world, and they're among the most clever and intelligent people in it.

Faith is attractive—gorgeous even—but also intelligent, well-read, emotionally perceptive, and far more aware than many of the people trying to control her future. She is not just some decorative historical romance heroine standing around waiting to be chosen. She pays attention. She reads people well. She understands the trap she is in, even when she does not yet fully know how to escape it. That gives her a quiet strength we really admired.

And what's great is that James, the main male protagonist, sees and admires that too. It's always nice when the protagonist we're supposed to be rooting for sees things the way that the readers does. It makes them likable and relatable.

He doesn't just see someone who is outwardly beautiful, but someone who is "unusually pretty and smart" (one of our favorite lines). In his mind, he thinks of her as a "smart woman."

What we especially liked is that Faith is not written as modern in a lazy, anachronistic way. She still feels like a woman of her time, with all the restraint, propriety, and caution that comes with that. But beneath that polished exterior is a sharp mind, a real emotional life, and a growing resistance to the idea that her entire existence should be reduced to duty, obedience, and usefulness to men with more legal power than she has. That makes her compelling.

She also has chemistry with James because she is not overwhelmed by him in some silly, helpless way. Yes, she is attracted to him. Yes, she feels the pull. But she still feels like a person in those scenes, not a prop. There is mutual curiosity there, mutual admiration, and a real sense that each recognizes something in the other that the world around them does not fully value.

And that is part of what makes Faith such a strong character. She is romantic without being flimsy, feminine without being shallow, and constrained without being dull. She has grace, but she also has backbone. She has longing, but she also has intelligence. In a genre where heroines can sometimes blur together, Faith Richmond stands out.

And James is a highlight too. This is going to sound a bit weird, but he's kinda in the Sacagawea-to-Lewis-and-Clark role. James has some of that frontier-guide quality, almost like the indispensable practical figures of early American history who knew how to survive and navigate a dangerous landscape better than the supposedly important people around them. So, while Faith is book smart, James knows the land and the environment.

In fact, this brings up some of the little moments from this book that—while small—make this book seem like an adventure or expedition. Well, it kinda is. The characters encounter a skunk in a rather humorous scene. They also encounter a snake.

This is some Oregon Trail stuff!

That little frontier-survival element gives the book a fun extra dimension. It is not just drawing-room longing and stolen glances. There are moments where the wilderness itself feels like an active part of the story, reminding us that these characters are living in a world that is still raw, unpredictable, and not fully tamed. The skunk scene adds humor and charm. The snake encounter adds danger and tension. Together, these moments help make the setting feel lived in rather than decorative.

Going back to James... he's a mix of toughness and vulnerability that meshes well with Faith. He is practical, observant, and clearly hungry for a better life, but there is also a tenderness to him that helps the romance land.

We also liked that this book has more on its mind than just getting the two leads together. There are interesting undercurrents here about power and powerlessness. James, though a man, is still constrained by class, poverty, and his background. Faith, though more privileged on paper, is hemmed in by gender and family duty in ways that are deeply frustrating. That tension gives the book a stronger thematic backbone than a lot of romance novels in this lane.

Another strength is the atmosphere. The setting has texture. The woods, the manor, the sense of the frontier, the political unease, all of it helps create a world that feels lived in. We would not say this is the most dazzlingly lyrical book we have ever read, but it is immersive in a way that matters. It knows what kind of story it wants to be, and it commits to that identity.

We also want to give some credit to the historical dimension. This does not read like a modern romance wearing a tricorne hat for decoration. There is a real effort here to wrestle with the social and legal realities of the era, especially when it comes to marriage, property, class, and women's limited autonomy. That helps the conflicts feel earned.

This is going to sound weird, but another highlight (oddly enough) is Faith's dad, Colonel Richmond. Even though he's in the wrong for much of the book (and arguably one of its main antagonists), he's also morbidly entertaining and likable in that he's always grumpy, cranky, impatient, short-tempered, and crabby.

What helps is that he is not just a flat obstacle inserted to make Faith miserable. We get enough of him to understand where he is coming from, even if we do not agree with him. There is history there, disappointment there, pride there, and a very particular kind of patriarchal frustration that feels rooted in the world of the book. Faith even thinks of herself as "the son he never had," which tells you a lot in very few words. It suggests that he values her, but in this warped, tragic way where he can only fully appreciate her by imagining her as something else. That adds a surprising bit of texture to him.

So while Colonel Richmond is often controlling, arrogant, and deeply frustrating, he also feels human. He is not just a villain. He is a stubborn, deeply flawed father shaped by his time, his ego, and his expectations, and that makes him a much better character than if he were simply cruel for the sake of plot.

This is a solid book if you're looking for a historical fiction romance novel!

Check it out on Amazon!