This was the first I've read by Anna Bennett and judging from this I will read more of her work. Easy read. Entertaining story with a happy ever after ending. While the trope of a young lady secretly writing a book or for a newspaper is not new, this was done very nicely with a quote from Lily's column heading each chapter.
A bit was predictable - both Lily's sister as well as her parents have left town and the reader can easily guess what role that situation may play. Good dialog and well paced.

This was my first book to read by Anna Bennett and I found it to be charming, I really enjoyed it. I’ve seen from some other reviews that the readers were critical on that Lily/Caroline had such a change of personality after her injury. Being a nurse, I have actually seen this personality change happen in people hitting a certain section of their head which damages the part of the brain controlling personalities, inhibitions and emotions. It is real and it is dramatic. I enjoyed the storyline and found the characters very well written. Although the duke was a bit too dreamy to be realistic for me. Loved the Debutante's Revenge pieces!
One thing that did turn me off was the use of profane language at times which I thought was unnecessary. I also had a hard time with some of the editing, perhaps it was just the e-book copy, but much of the time there was no separation of thoughts or scenes. One sentence just rolled right into the other yet there should have been a paragraph or page break. Often times it was hard to follow due to this. But overall I would recommend it for a quick and easy romantic read and I’m excited to read more by Ms. Bennett. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Enjoyed the book. The story is well written, interesting and entertaining. Lily who has lost her memory and has fallen in love with Nash, the Duke who rescued her, but before anything can come of it she must recall her life. There is drama in the book regarding Nash’s younger sister that adds to the story. As in most romance stories there is a HEA but a lot happens first. I would recommend this book as a great read.

This is the first book I've read by Anna Bennett and I loved it! There was a lot of adventure, great characters, secrets and love. This is the 2nd book in The Debutante Diaries series. I haven't read the first book in the series yet but that didn't detract from this book. I have the first book now and I'm looking forward to reading it and I can't wait to read how some of the other characters find love in the future.

I confess I was granted this ARC some days ago but more pressing reads stolen its place in my reading list.
And worst, I even have the previous book in the series and it was forgotten somewhere on my shelves.
Lily with her sister and friend decided to improve in their own way the life of the ton’s debutantes with their wicked column. I liked her boldness, and strength. She is clever and has a level head.

« She wasn’t about to give up her spot among the potted palms for a man who thought women were mere ornaments. »

Nash is a good man, despite his guilt, he thinks only to protect his remaining sister even if his way to show it is quite over the top. And because of past experience, he has decided, Love is surrendering its sanity.

« In his mind, love always led to pain, devotion to disaster. And he didn’t have room in his heart for those messy, unpredictable emotions. Didn’t have room for her. »

I liked the side characters, I was just a bit upset at Nash’s sister, she knows how wounded he was from their family’s history and she repeats the storyline, it was trivial and hurtful.
The book sucked me in, the main characters were very lovable until at some stage of the story , it felt like something was missing.
I enjoyed reading Lily and Nash’s journey but he didn’t appear to behave like a duke, sure if I count well, he is only 23, but I thought a Duke would have acted more “duke-like”.
Plus their week-trip alone was not right, no inn would have accepted them so easily, did I missed something in the story?
In all, it was a lovely story and Mrs Anna Bennet has joined my list of to-read-authors.
4.5 stars
I was provided an advance copy by Netgalley and St Martin’s Press, but I purchased my own copy and I voluntarily give my true and unbiased opinion.

This delightful and well-crafted romance uses amnesia as the key plot device, and it works. The three central characters are realistically portrayed, and the circumstances that ensure that no one is searching for Lily make sense. The difficulties in the relationship between Nash and Delilah ring true, and even the “reveal” about Lily’s birth is believable. While there may be a loose end or two, and secondary characters are less distinctly drawn, this one is a winner!

The Duke is But a Dream is an enjoyable read. Good writing flow and likable characters. I liked the chemistry between the two main characters as well as the relationships between all the female characters. It has an amnesia plot line which I haven’t read in a while. Kept me interested through the end.

I love Anna Bennett books, while she is still a new author. I really enjoyed this book. The story is about how three friends decided to write The Debutante’s Revenge. Miss Lily Hartley is the mastermind behind the column and Lily delivers her columns disguised as a chimney sweep. Until the Duke of Stonebridge has to rescue her. She hit her head and now does not remember. Eric Nash, who is the Duke of Stonebridge and discovers a beautiful woman hiding in chimney sweep’s clothing and now Nash has to take care of her since she can't remember. I enjoyed the plot it was a new compared to other amnesia storylines. I really love Eric.

I've never read a book by Anna Bennett before, and this was a delightful way to discover a new author - thanks netgalley! When Lily hits her head in a tavern brawl, she loses her memory and is rescued by Nash (the Duke). He and his sister nurture Lily, and she brings some life to their fairly isolated existence. What I liked best about this was watching Lily and Nash's relationship grow. They communicated well, and they were realistic. I also really liked Nash's younger sister, who was sweet and naive, but no pushover. The excerpts from Lily's newpaper column at the beginning of each chapter were really good too - they told a lot about her character and attitudes, and were actually pretty good advice :)

Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for the review copy.

I've been a fan of Anna Bennett's books since I read I DARED A DUKE back in 2017. Although I don't think it's my favourite of Bennett's books, I really enjoyed THE DUKE IS NOT A DREAM! Very cute romance although I did think the plot was a bit slow.

This book was my introduction to the writing of Ms. Bennett. Overall, I can say that this book was well written, but boring at times. I struggled to get through the first third of it. It did pick up after that. I really liked the female characters in the novel especially Lily and Delilah. I thought Nash was a little one dimensional. It was hard to get into the story and the plot seemed to drag at times. While this may not be the best book I have read recently, I would be willing to read this author again.

When the Duke of Stonebridge, Eric Nash, steps into a tavern brawl to rescue a young lad, he never expects it to take a tragic turn when the boy hits his head. The young lad is not a boy, but a lovely young woman and she's unconscious. He feels responsible for the accident and brings her to his townhouse and calls for the doctor. When she awakes the next day, her memory is gone. Now Nash has a problem. How can he send her away without any memory, and more importantly, why can't he seem to stop thinking about her?

I enjoy Ms. Bennett's writing because she writes fully developed characters. The amnesia plot line was interesting, but there a few things that made me cringe. First, bringing a young woman into his home would have scandalized the ton and his sister's reputation would have also suffered if anyone found out. Second, I found Lily's behavior to flaunt every rule there was for a young lady a bit surprising. I like a feisty independent spirit, but Lily took that a step further without any concern for her own reputation. She certainly could have sent the newspaper columns to the editor by footman instead of dressing up as a lad and delivering them herself. I read a lot of Regency Romances and while this story doesn't state exactly state when it took place, I found I had to suspend belief at some of the things that happen in the story.

Lily has a secret,but has lost her memory. Nash is a duke that takes her in and helps her. The characters are wonderful and mesh well together. The series so far is great. Secrets and mischief make this book fun to read.

Simply stunning. I absolutely loved this book! The title alone made me swoon.

I found so many delightful twists and turns during Lily’s episode of amnesia. The Duke Is But a Dream has mystery, romance, historical fiction, humor, all wrapped up with that wonderful regency grandeur.

Nash, The Duke of Stonebridge’s evolution is charming and believable. Lily (Caroline during her amnesia) is fun and feisty whilst being relatable. The secondary characters added depth and feel to the storytelling. I absolutely loved this read and am eager for more by Anna Bennett.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

"The Duke Is But a Dream" by Anna Bennett

I was given an ARC for my honest review.

This was a fun book to read and had may adventures for you to follow.
I liked this story well enough., it will be a nice summer read by the pool or at the beach. The characters are enjoyable. IF, you like historical romances then I think you will like this book, there is enough plot development to keep you engaged. Happy reading.

"The Duke Is But a Dream" by Anna Bennett
What fun read this has been. So many adventures in such a short time-frame.. I was so lucky to receive an ARC of this story from the publisher and to have this opportunity to share my honest review with you. Yes, I loved this story. I did skip over some of the more explicit scenes, because that is what I do to increase my enjoyment of a story. This story is a worthy read, in my humble unbiased opinion.. IF, you enjoy Regency Romance stories and one that has a enough twists and turns to keep you turning pages to keep up with what happens next. I do hope you enjoy your time with this cast of characters as much as I did. Happy Reading !!

After really enjoying the first book in this series I was looking forward to reading this one but I ended up disappointed. The feeling between Lily and Nash come out of thin air. I did not feel any real attraction or connection between them. Lily's character and so much of the plot is way more modern than appropriate for the period. Some modern leanings are fine but this book took it beyond suspension of disbelief for me. Lots of drama, but little of what keeps me reading romance. I am hoping I like the next book better.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall a nice book to read quickly. The plot was different from most I've read in this genre so that was a nice change. I did like Lily/Caroline's independence, but she seemed to lose that around Nash quite often. The best was her friendship with Delilah.

I received a ARC of the book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

I don't like the amnesia plotline. It's very rare it's ever done well. However this is a personal opinion I have about the trope. The author did an ok job of it in this book. If you like the trope you will love this book. I did enjoy the meet cute in the tavern. It was adorablish.

Overall, the book is extremely hot. I would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical romance. Nash is a depressed Duke and our girl helps bring him out of that depression.

The book was good but it disnot won my heart.
It jad enough romance and plot to keep me going but I still missed that magic some books have in them. This one was just a good read and not memorable read.