I truly adored this novel. It has a melancholic and tragic appeal that I enjoy, but often, authors sacrifice character intelligence for that effect, which detracts from the reading experience. I find it frustrating when the main characters' (MCs) or love interests' (MLs) incompetence causes their downfall, without any prior effort or growth.
In contrast, the protagonist here is proactive yet grounded within her limits. She openly expresses her emotions, which stands out against the typical reclusive and anti-social archetypes. It's a breath of fresh air.
My one concern is that I hope the author won't make the ML's redemption too facile. At the current stage, it seems difficult to justify how they could atone for their past actions. Another pet peeve of mine is when authors set up a complicated situation for the ML but then offer an easy escape from their consequences. Redemption should be earned, not handed over on a silver platter just because they are the ML. A permanent separation, with the Duke acknowledging his mistakes, would be satisfactory. If not, I'd prefer it if they genuinely apologized and sought forgiveness for years, because I believe healing such deep trauma requires more than a superficial apology.