In a time when regency reads and strong women are colliding in a big way in order for a book to stand out it needs strong characters, a fast moving and fun plot, and generally a good sense of humor. Unfortunately, Duchess if you Dare missed the mark on all accounts.

We certainly had our strong female lead, which is becoming its own trope in the romance readers world, but this felt disingenuous. I find that in regency-times, what makes a strong female lead even stronger is a strong male lead silently plodding along beside her and our Duke was a bit lacking.

Try as I might this rests on my ever increasing pile of DNF’s.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

It was okay but i am not really into historical romance however i do really love the setting and the dialogue even tho it is clunky sometimes but yeah whatevs

This story of Scarlett and Ambrose has a slow start, but eventually builds into an intriguing mystery and tantalizing romance between a most unlikely pair. Scarlett, as a member of the Maidens of Mayhem, is used to getting into and out of trouble for the sake of others. For Ambrose, this is a completely new experience, both getting into trouble and realizing he needs a woman's help to remain safe and solve the problem at hand. He is willing to embrace the opportunity, however, for a chance to spend more time with Scarlett. And so begins their unusual partnership as they try to determine what has been happening to women who have disappeared from one of London's brothels.

Scarlett and Ambrose are exceedingly likable once you get past the early pages. I found Scarlett's constant insistence that her value be reaffirmed and her ongoing lamentations about the role of women in society to be a bit tedious. I understand it was central to the theme, but it was still overdone in my opinion. I prefer to read a story, not a feminist treatise. But the book does come with a wonderful HEA that is worth getting to and the solution to the mystery was not quite what I expected, which is always a good thing.

All in all, it's an enjoyable read.

Duchess if You Dare was 90% romance and 10% mystery. The storyline needed a more of a balance. The reason Ambrose gets involved in the mystery is laughable at best. Scarlett doesn’t do much detective work into finding the missing seamstress. The climax was rushed and tiresome. This just wasn’t the book for me.

Duchess If You Dare by Anabelle Bryant is a historical romance, the first in a new series titled The Maidens of Mayhem.

Our main heroine, Scarlett, is a commoner and street wise young woman who is one fourth of a team of women leading the cause of protecting the innocent and demanding justice for those who can't demand it themselves. Scarlett is the bastard of a kept woman who was murdered when Scarlett was just a child. She has grown up protecting herself and fighting for protection of others. When a seamstress she is acquainted with goes missing Scarlett takes it upon herself to find out what happened leading her to dive down a rabbit's hole of mystery and danger.

Ambrose, Duke of Aylesbury has always done what's right and expected of the title. He's very of the mindset that he's the duke and he can do whatever he pleases and states it several times in fact. His brother, Martin, often drags him into trouble with countless debts and shenanigans that Ambrose must get him out of. It's one of these encounters that brings Ambrose to meet Scarlett and the two team up to solve a mystery.

I thought the overall plot of the book was great one I haven't seen before in a historical romance. The characters were great and I thought Martin was hilarious...he was probably my favorite character in fact. Ambrose and Scarlett's romance was believable and I thought they had great chemistry even with them constantly being stubborn thinking they couldn't love one another. One last thing that I really liked was the mystery, it kept me reading so much later than anticipated just to find out who the villain was.

As I said before the plot was really unique and I did like it but I did find it a little far fetched. I don't think people of the ton would bother themselves at all with missing girls. At points it felt the story was stalling and slow but towards the last 40% or so it picked up and things were moving fast. One thing I really did not care for happens at the very end involving the Maidens of Mayhem and seemed so out of character for Scarlett.

Overall I would say this is a quick read and it will satisfy a historical romance itch in a pinch but I probably will not continue the series.

Thank you so much to Kensington Books Zebra for sending me a copy via Netgalley to review in exchange for an honest review.

Duchess If You Dare by Anabelle Bryant
The story centers around a mysterious case of disappearing girls from a brothel, Scarlett who is her own woman since she could understand the world has an acquaintance who is a prostitute but she disappeared and the Duke Ambrose is also interested in this case because his brother asked him for this favor .. and hence begin the chase.. both of these people have the same goal but different skills
I have to say, the first half of the book was interesting enough for me to continue with the story, there was intrigue and a mystery and the interactions between Scarlett and Ambrose were intense specially with Scarlett's feisty personality, but the second half was just a very dragged and long sex scene .. until the end.. the relationship between Ambrose and Scarlett is literally built on lust, and there was no room for them to talk since they were so busy having confused feelings and what-not
I'm so glad that I finished it fairly fast, the story was good and interesting but I had a huge issue with the relationship between Scarlett and Ambrose

This book was received as an ARC from Kensington Books - Zebra in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved modern reimagined classic tales. This had a Robin Hood twist on it and it makes me happier that it is a female heroine with a male dominant dilemma. The story and attraction between Scarlett and the Duke was intense and felt very real. As the reader, you felt their struggle and feel their compassion towards one another and with the situation they have been put in. I am all for a fatal romantic story and this one was so intense that it left my stomach doing backflips and my heart pumping extremely fast.

We will consider adding this title to our Historical Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This book was different and unique but I didn't see that right away. In fact at first I wasn't even sure I was going to like it. I thought it was going to be another story about a dissolute, no direction, But after awhile it turned into something more. The verbal sparring between the two was often funny.
I liked how the couple got things figured out and it ended with a H.E.A. That was something that I wondered how it was going to happen. It was ingenious.

This is an awesome beginning to a new series by Anabelle Bryant. The Maidens of Mayhem make London, A better place to live.
Scarlett and Ambrose make delightful adversaries and even better lovers in this romantic story.
Anabelle Bryant tells a excellent story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow! Thoroughly enjoyed meeting Scarlett, in this first story about the "Maidens of Mayhem" set in historical London.

Yes, "Duchess if you Dare" is a historical romance, but what starts out as a quiet, albeit potentially risky walk through parts of London in the early hours of the morning, soon leads to one with danger and excitement when Scarlett comes to the rescue of Ambrose, the Duke of Aylesford.

Scarlett is no simpering miss but a confident woman who uses her skills and experience to help others, regardless of class, gender or circumstance. It's not long before Aylesford realises the impact of meeting Scarlett. Despite their differences they soon become partners of sort, chasing after the same goal.

I found myself staying up to finish reading the later chapters of Scarlett and Aylesford's story, wanting to find out what happens next between them and their many "will they, or won't they ..." moments arising due to the their own prejudices, personal circumstances and constraints from society.

I think it's safe to say that I eagerly await for the second Maidens of Mayhem story!

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the eARC, and to Annabelle Bryant for introducing us to the Maidens of Mayhem! Off to find other books by Annabelle Bryant whilst waiting for the next in the series.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Really wanted to like this one because it was so different, but I could have used a little more old fashioned romance

The premise of the book is good. I like adventure, forbidden romance, and historical fiction with strong women! However, this book didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s not that it’s bad per se, rather I had wanted more out of it. Scarlett is fiercely independent after growing up on her own in a poor part of London. But you don’t really feel like you know her to sympathize with her. And this was a problem that I found throughout the novel. There’s a lot of say and not a lot of show. Between the growing attraction between Scarlett and Ambrose to Scarlett’s past to Ambrose’s life. I just found the book to be lacking any substantial detail and I wanted more. Additionally, the continuous repetition of the characters could have been cut down more to make the read smoother and more enjoyable.

The plot was really interesting throwing in the abduction mystery aspect and the events around it were fun to read. It was quick paced and the dual view points kept everything moving beautifully. I found myself quickly getting through the novel solely because the plot was interesting, which makes the mystery aspect stand out more. If you take this book as a mystery novel with heavy influences of romance then I think you're going to enjoy it more than the other way around

Things that I liked about the novel:

Plot: Like I stated before, the plot is the strongest part of this book. The twists and turns it takes to solve the disappearance are entertaining! I rather enjoy mystery novels so I found this to be a good read. It plays with similar mystery tropes and kept me guessing the whole way through. I actually was shocked at the outcome in the end. Solid plot!

Marcus: Yes he's a secondary character, but he's who really gets the ball rolling with Ambrose. His relationship with Ambrose was a highlight of the novel. I enjoyed his compelling character arc and desperately want one of the next novels in this series to be about him. I want more!

Things I disliked about the novel:

Character Development: This is typically what makes or breaks a novel for me and unfortunately this broke this novel. I felt like Scarlett and Ambrose were rather flat characters. They had their set characteristics and while the book said that they changed you don't experience it. Additionally, I wanted more from their backstory. I get Scarlett has a tragic background, but make me feel it. Tell me more! How did she survive, learn to throw knives, what else does she do? I need to know! And how did Ambrose get to how he was? Tell me about his parents and upbringing! (Also, how in the world is he that ignorant of the world--this would have been great to build on!!). I don't even understand the Maidens of Mayhem part of the novel even, nothing is really said about it.

Romance: The romance in the novel felt incredibly forced. It was like all of a sudden they went from not working together to wanting to rip the clothes off of each other. There was little build to the relationship. What I imagine is the "build" acts more like a build to their partnership rather than anything romantic. I would have liked more conversation between Scarlett and Ambrose to create a mutual respect and attraction.

Long Story Short:

Do I recommend Duchess If You Dare? Yeah, I do. It's not going to be my first recommendation for a historical romance, but it does make my list of entertaining books. I do doubt that I would ever read this book again. Likewise, I will probably read the rest of the series as it comes out solely because I want to know about the other maidens of mayhem because there's not much about them in this book. Also I want to see if Martin makes a comeback because his story arc was my fave.

I received a complimentary copy of #DuchessIfYouDare from #NetGalley with Kensington Books for an honest and fair review. All thoughts are that of my own. Thank you #NetGalley and Kensington Books for a wonderful read!

This book was different than what I was expecting. I mena I didn't hate but this was historical and in those times if you a member of the ton you didn't marry commoners, especially a Duke it just wasn't something that was done o accepted yet here it was not only accepted it seemed to be normal, so I found it weird and i guess it bugged me, there was things like that, yes there were things that I enjoyed but maybe I was nitpicking but it bugged me..

Scarlett is sorta a rebel against society due to the face of her past life and seeing the loved one be a victim of that society. When she so happen to come across a missing seamstress that brings her to a brothel. She wanted no more than bring justice to women in are forced into that lifestyle. That is where she meets the Duke where he reluctantly facing the same mystery as he is. I LOVE the sizzle and Chemistry between Scarlett and Ambrose. The only few things I have to say is that background story of Scarlett and how she became who she is. And more from the group of the Maidens of Mayhem. How do they come about? Hopefully more background will be explained in the next books. I was hoping for a wee bit more action considering what she trained herself to do. It was more of the fact she asked a lot of questions and sneaked into places. The ending, the conclusion was a bit short for me. Without giving any spoilers away, I wished there was more action to the end and I little more details on what happened to certain characters. But never less, I look forward to reading more from the series and reading more about the ladies in the Maidens of Mayhem.

This book was precisely what this bookworm needed. A phenomenal, witty, exciting, daring and exhilarating romance story with tremendous clout, in the form of a group of exceptionally intelligent, capable and all around kick - ass heroines. Not just one fierce and independent female protagonist but many, who patrol the streets of regency london fighting crime and helping the less fortunate. This is the kind of historical romance we all need going into 2021.

This was such a wonderfully imagined and executed story that not only managed to lure me in, tempt, entice and enthral, it also delivered everything it promised beautifully with a delicious dose of female empowerment.

Our hero too was an absolute delight. He was supportive, sweet, intelligent but not arrogant or overbearing. It spoke volumes about the kind of heroine and hero we were presented with, as their meet cute involved HER delivering a swift and badass rescue of HIM.

This is a truly compelling, funny, entertaining, sweet and sassy read. In truth it was just about as perfect a read as I could have asked for.

The key characters and the side players all bring something to the game. The writing is engaging and enjoyable, particularly the dialogue and bantering between characters. It was a magical feat of literary work for me and I feel so much appreciation for having been given the chance to read it.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

I loved the blurb for this book. The thought of a group of women stalking the streets of London as vigilantes is interesting.
The beginning of the book was great. The heroine is racing across rooftops with someone behind her. The exchange is great too.
However, the introduction to the hero felt very familiar. That is not always a bad thing but I admit to skimming some.
I really liked Scarlett. Ambrose wasn’t bad but he is not particularly memorable.
The mystery was fine but not terribly compelling. It was not a bad book but it was less than I’d hoped for.

I enjoyed the depth and mystery of this story. Scarlett is a force with her knifes, fighting and pants attire. She is determined to make a difference dispirit her past. Ambrose has a sense of rightness that collided with Scarlett investigation into her seamstresses disappearances.
They can't deny their differences and the feelings between each other.

Really enjoyed this book from start to finish.

Thank you to Kensington Books for providing me this arc via Netgalley!

First of all, I have to adress this beautiful cover. Romance covers, both contemporary and historical, were always a big no for me, but the new designs that have been showing up the last few years are absolutely gorgeous and have been drawing me more towards the genre.
In regards to the book itself, it is not life changing, but it was fun and entertaining, so if that's what you're looking for, go for it!
I did like the little twist at the end and will probably be reading the next books in this series - I can't resist a regency hero called Sebastian.

This only wasn't a 4 star read because of a quote near the end that, in my opinion, questioned the entirety of the heroine's character and personality.

Anabelle Bryant is on my must read list! Scarlett and Ambrose are no exception. When they discover they are both seeking answers to the same mystery, they decide that working together is better than working alone. However, when Scarlett is put in danger, Ambrose soon learns that he has lost his heart as well.

This is a mix of romance thrown in with a mystery.

In Regency England, the heroine is trying to find out what happened to her seamstress who disappeared. The hero, the Duke, has to help his younger brother out of trouble. The heroine and the hero meet by chance because they have a common quest - to find out what happened at the house of ill repute.

Content warning: Some violence, Steamy scenes.

Note: I received a free digital copy from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.