The Honor of Duty

By: A. R. Rend

Narrated by: Andrea Parsneau

Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Phillip had spent his life living by his mother’s code of honor. One she had instilled in not just him, but her household staff, her soldiers under her command as a general, and all his siblings.

One that called to the familial bonds and the importance of putting those above all else. Second only to the land and the crown.

If he was being honest with himself, Phillip valued that code of honor. It was something the Curis family was known for. An honorable military family led by a Duchess, Phillip’s grandmother.

That code, the honor of duty, is about to be tested in Phillip.

He and it will be put through the forge of conflict and forced to become either hardened, or terribly brittle.

On the day of his formal marriage agreement, Phillip’s family is called to war.

What would have been a celebration now turns to a swift goodbye as his family rolls into action. Sharpening swords, mending armor, and readying horses to fight for the queen.

Being sent off quickly as there was no time to waste.

Now Phillip will need to adapt to his new in-laws and family members, a mercantile family of great worth but no noble standing. Their marriage to him will rise them up to the lowest strata of the nobility, but still nobility.

At the same time, Phillip will have to navigate through the murky political waters of the new city he’ll now call home. As well as fight to carve out a role for himself that fits his desire.

All while hopefully growing to understand his wife - whom he had only just met. A young woman his own age named Alice.

Cunning and bright, she’s nearly ready to take over the family mercantile business as a whole.

Armed with his intelligence, his uncanny ability to read people, and his stubborn nature, Phillip has to become his own man, and define how his code will fit in his new life.

Regardless of what anyone else wants of him.

Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/harem, and unconventional opinions/beliefs.

©2020 A. R. Rend (P)2021 A. R. Rend

Honestly, better than I was expecting.

As far as I can tell, the bulk of negative reviews seem to stem from a betrayal of expectations, so hopefully a quick breakdown will help. The story takes place in what I'd guess to be an alternate reality, pre-industrial europe. Basically, expected gender roles have been swapped completely. Women in this world are physically larger and stronger than men and do most jobs, while men usually are responsible for taking care of the home.
The main character, after being pushed into a political marriage, hopes to at least be of use to his new family. Being physically weak, his only tools are a sharp, intuitive mind and his apparently freakishly handsome face.
It should be said that there is very little action in this story, The thing is, I found myself more interested in the realtionships between characters anyway. It took an hour or so before I warmed up to anyone, but from then on the story went by in a flash.
Long story short, if you think you'll enjoy a book from this author that barely contains any fighting, you'll probably have fun.

excellent, refreshing

This book was great and a refreshing take in gender roles. I can't wait for the rest of the series.

wishing for more

different take on gender rolls but a good story and enjoyed it making me want more.

it's a setup

First of I'll say that the description is very misleading. This book flips the gender rules of medieval society and filed a guy whose basically the prettiest girl in the land. That being said the story itself is well written and I find no fault in it, this an honest star review.
My major issue is how the book was presented as a medieval harem based around a suave man from a warrior family. This was presented as something geared toward the male demographic, then have an entire story on emasculated men. I'll be returning this book and requesting the summary rewritten as this just isn't for me; but i wish the best for the writer and congratulate them on the book.

Female Romance for the Male Listener

Let's cut to the chase and state the blurb makes zero sense, however the general feel of this book is as if one of the Victorian romantic dramas written for female consumption was written with the woman replaced with a man in a woman's role.

All in all it is quite interesting. The thought of if men were the naturally shorter and weaker of the 2 genders and how that would look in that era is wonderfully depicted within. Now this is mostly a book dealing with the interpersonal relationships the MC has with the women around him, though it does present a wonderful economic backstory to that premise. This book is quite unlike the Author's other titles so if you aren't looking for a book with little to no action stay away from this one.

absolutely loved this

it's a wonderful genderbent political romance drama, obviously taking from previous writing experience, now with a new and interesting perspective from the author that their pseudonyms didn't explore before now.

Wow! Just wow!

I enjoyed this book so much I started telling everyone about it! Get it now!

Awesome

really loved the story and all the girls but i have to say that mim was my favorite and can't wait for the next one

Unusual and well done.

At first I wasn't sure about the premise of this story what with the gender role reversal apparent from the beginning however this was extremely well done and I enjoyed it very much. looking forward to book two.

Unexpected yet amazing ride.

I really love the book. I am a big fan of the Arrand books so came in expecting something similar and got something completely unexpected but something I loved. the reverse gender role also got me thinking quite deeply on a number of things as I often found myself imagining the main character as a woman to be brought back to the story realizing where my mind had gone. a great deal of thought was put into this and I really appreciated it.