If Finding Gene Kelly made Torie Jean an instant favorite author, then Dukes and Dekes cemented that status. I did not think it was possible for me to love this more than her debut, and yet Dukes and Dekes outshone FGK in every possible way.

Told in dual-POV, Dukes and Dekes follows Aulie, who runs a Jane Austen reenactment faire, and Jack, a notorious hockey player. It’s friends to lovers, brothers best friend, he falls first—and oh my gosh Jack is so completely head over heels for Aulie I am completely obsessed with it. Also, there’s a troublemaking goat named Gio who I am completely in love with.

While this is a romance that is sugary sweet and will make you giddy with love, it also delves into harder, emotional topics. Both Aulie and Jack are dealing with grief over the loss(es) of their loved ones (all prior to the start of the book). You can really feel the care and emotion that Torie poured into these portrayals. Jack and Aulie grieve and process their grief in very different ways, but both portrayals are equally and authentically explored.

My favorite part of the book (surprising no one) was the chronic illness/disability representation. Like in Finding Gene Kelly, the FMC of this book has endometriosis. Unlike in FGK, Aulie does not start off the book with a diagnosis. The experience of going through the process of getting a diagnosis, going from undiagnosed to diagnosed is so singular and isolating, and yet it is an aspect of chronic illness that I think is underrepresented in media. I cannot express how powerfully Aulie’s story resonated with me. I don’t have endo, but so many facets of Aulie’s experiences are universal to being a woman (or anyone perceived as such) trying to find answers for chronic pain and chronic illness. When I reached the point of the story where Aulie is finally, finally taken seriously in her pain I quite literally started sobbing. I actually had to set the book down because I couldn’t see the pages. I was wrecked by how seen I felt in that moment and how impactful and healing it was to read. I think a solid 1/3 of that chapter is highlighted in my ARC, and I can’t wait until the book is out so I can start sharing quotes. Torie, through Aulie, so perfectly portrays all of the emotions that you go through in that situation—the relief, the fear, the doubt, the confusion, the anger, and so many more that I couldn’t put a name to if I tried. I found myself so overwhelmingly angry at every doctor who had dismissed Aulie—and every doctor who dismissed me—and every doctor who has dismissed any patient—while simultaneously overcome with how completely seen I felt by Aulie in that moment, and many preceding and after. Chronic illness and chronic pain is often so lonely, but reading books like this one lend a lot of comfort in showing you that you are not alone.

This scene was, of course, not the only place where Aulie’s chronic illness is portrayed. It’s there from the very first chapter to the very last. It touches every aspect of the story and every aspect of Aulie’s character. It’s woven in masterfully and every mention of it, from a single sentence to multiple pages, resonates in a way that is so raw and genuine. This is the kind of representation that you can only get from #ownvoices authors. That said, Torie Jean’s ability to portray the realities of chronic illness is beyond even that. She is one of the—if not the—best authors out there at doing so. And I think that’s because she’s such a skilled and talented writer as a whole. The level of detail in the writing of this book made me feel as if I was right there in every moment with Jack and Aulie. I was falling in love right alongside them. I felt so connected to them as characters and everything they were going through, emotionally, but I also felt as if I was physically there. I could vividly picture their small town in New Hampshire and the faire and Gio the goat. I was transported, and it’s rare for a book to do that to me as completely as Dukes and Dekes did.

I cannot wait until everyone can read this book, because I know it will be a new favorite for so many (as it is for me). I also know that this book and this representation has the potential to change people’s lives. And I can’t wait to see that happen.

Spice level: 1.5/5
CW (as provided by author in the book): heavy discussions of grief and mourning as a central theme; family member whose death was a result of battling cancer; accurate endometriosis rep including chronic pain, on page vomiting, blacking out, on page narcotics use post surgery), medical gaslighting (including a rough pelvic exam); incorrect internal dialogue as a direct result of ableism and gaslighting; emergency surgery; sexual content including two open door sex scenes