'Scarlett Wynn's tragic childhood taught her that life can be cruel to women with little power. So when a local seamstress disappears, Scarlett vows to find out why. Armed with a weapon and her courage, Scarlett scours London for clues—and crosses the unlikely path of Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford, at an unlikely place: an upscale brothel. The Duke is trying to solve a mystery of his own, and Scarlett is sure they can help each other—if she can resist the attraction that draws them together...

As Duke, Ambrose is duty-bound to protect his family name from scandal, no matter the cost. But Scarlett's fearless spirit forces him to look beyond his world of privilege. Scarlett is as intoxicating as she is dangerous, igniting a fire in him like no other. But when the pair learn both mysteries they're trying to solve are tied to a string of missing women, the tangled scheme they uncover may put their lives, and their growing love, in mortal danger—and lead them to search their hearts like never before...'
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2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars.

Duchess If You Dare is the first book in Anabelle Bryant's new series, The Maidens of Mayhem, which is a historical mystery and romance series.

 I really wanted to like this book, but there were many issues that prevented me from being able to. The author seemed really unclear whether she was writing a mystery, a romance, or a blend of the two. Instead of these two aspects of the plot working together to make the story stronger, one was always being brushed under the rug so the author could dedicate a few chapters to the other. What resulted from this was a real sense of disjointed storytelling.

I was intrigued by the mystery to start, but it progressed very slowly. That isn't always a bad thing if it is gradually building, but this was more a series of starts and stops. But still, I was interested enough to stick with it to see how it would turn out.

This series is called The Maidens of Mayhem and so I assume that each book will be about one of the ladies of this supposedy tight-knit group that works together to fight the injustices of society. But...are they really much of a team? They were barely even in the book, there is really only one scene with all four members and it is short. Their purpose and direction as a group is never really made clear. We don't even know anything about two of the members, aside from their names. Does anyone have skills to lend to this group aside from Scarlett?

Overall the book was alright, but I was disappointed. I feel like it had a lot of potential and could have been so much better, but it suffered from a lack of focus. I wouldn't personally recommend it and I don't believe I'll be continuing with the series because we didn't get to know the other characters enough for me to be interested in reading their own stories.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books, Zebra for sharing an eARC of Duchess If You Dare with me.This is my honest review.

Duchess If You Dare is book one in The Maidens of Mayhem series by Anabelle Bryant. It's a historical romance in the 1800's set against the backdrop if a mystery involving missing women from a local brothel.

Scarlett is a kick-butt kind of woman. She's a Robin Hood type character out to avenge the downtrodden and fight against injustice, usually undercover in the night. There were some good (albeit unrealistic) scenes of some of Scarlett's night prowls.

Ambrose is a pompous duke who is trying to save his younger brother's name from scandal.

Scarlett and Ambrose's lives become intertwined as they both begin to work together to solve cases of missing women from a local brothel, one of these women being Scarlett's seamstress, Linie.

This book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a great mystery or a great romance, and it lacked quite a bit in seamlessly integrating the two. I don't think it fleshed out dealing with such tough topics as sex trafficking and sex worker abuse very well. The ending seemed like an afterthought, Linie almost all but forgotten.

I wish this story gripped me and immersed me in this gritty world, but I never felt the connection with any of the characters or fully taken by the mystery.

2.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are freely given.

I wanted to love this book, I really did, and I liked Scarlett a lot. But I found that I could not believe in the relationship between Scarlett and Ambrose – the book did way too good a job of explaining why it couldn't possibly work, and then failed to convince me otherwise. I was also very disappointed by the way the abuse and enslavement of sex workers became simply a prop for the story, without ever giving them any agency.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you Annabelle Bryant & @NetGalley for the copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really cute mystery book. Nothing cliffhangery or nail biting. I knew who the main people in the sex trade scam was early on. This book touches on a topic that I feel most books in the genre historical/romance category don’t touch on-sex trading.
It follows our heroine Scarlett who is part of a group of bad ass women the Maidens of Mayhem who are the female robin-hoods of their time. And of course the Duke (Ambrose.)
It starts with Scarletts seamstress who just vanishes one day-finding out she worked in a brothel-and then the story starts with trying to find this seamstress named Linie.
The story just doesn’t seem completely developed, I feel I knew -just enough- to close out the story. I feel characters could have been explained more. I finished the book not really invested in any of the characters? The romance was great but we never really know what happened at the end. The book did end good with the beginning of the second book. It’s a very light romantic mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
This is the first in a new historical romance series called Maidens of Mayhem. These are a group of ladies who patrol the streets of London in a Robin Hood kind of way and step in to protect the weak and vulnerable of society.
This book follows the character of Scarlett, and I’m guessing that future books will probably follow each of the other Maiden’s of Mayhem. Scarlett begins by trying to find out what has happened to her seamstress who has suddenly disappeared.
In this search she meets the Duke of Aylesford, who is also searching for this lady. They uncover a sex trafficking operation and as this is a romance I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say they fall in love.
To be honest I found the mystery in this story a bit of a let down, I was really hoping to get caught up in the story but it just didn’t happen.
The writing is fine but I found it quite un-nerving how our main characters could go from investigating horrific sex trafficking and abuse of women, to getting all hot and steamy with each other. Surely that would have served as a bit of an ice bucket to any heated desires, even just briefly.
I do like that this author tried to tackle some larger important subjects and had things to say about inequality of sex and class. I’m just on sure it was executed all that effectively. It’s not put me off completely from checking out the next book in the series though.

Fearless Scarlett is one of the Maidens of Mayhem, who rescue women from dire circumstances. Priggish Ambrose is Duke of Aylesford, trying to save his brother from a life of debauchery. They're both investigating the disappearance of a seamstress who works nights at a brothel when they decide to join forces. Ambrose relies on his authority as a duke, but quickly learns that in the slums of London, Scarlett's wits and skills are more powerful weapons. Thrust into each other's company, an attraction grows between them. But with the social disparity between them, and a gang of sex slavers out to kill them, is there any hope for love to prevail?

This was such a fun book. I love Annabelle Bryant's storytelling style. The characters are well-developed, and the story never lags. This is one of those rare romance novels where the heroine doesn't rely on the hero to rescue her. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Duchess If You Dare by Annabelle Bryant is the first book in a new series called Maidens of Mayhem. The novel is about a group of unlikely heroes trying to help other women. The first maiden is Scarlett Wynn. She has lived an usual life that has allowed her to question what has happened to a seamstress. As Scarlett begins her investigation she runs into Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford. He is on his own investigation that was started by his brother’s curiosity.

Both Scarlett and Ambrose do not realize they are investigating a case that intersects. However, Ambrose is definitely a pompous Duke (I can do anything because I am a duke.) and his choices put Scarlett at risk. Of course they fall in love, but she knows that her fate is not marrying a duke - with her bloodlines.

The book is interesting, but not ‘sit on the edge of your seat’ with the mystery and the investigation. I found Scarlett fun, but I think Ambrose was stuck up for too much of the story. The story was not even slightly what I would consider possible, but it was interesting enough to wonder what was going to happen and finish the book. I will probably read the next book in the series as well. Duchess If You Dare by Annabelle Bryant was a different historical romance.

“Is it any wonder women resort to using their bodies, when men won’t allow them to use their minds, their intelligence and ingenuity? I’m my own woman and I do as I please.”

This story shows the truths of life and plausible solutions to these truths. Which we must take heed, especially given the dire situations we currently face. Poverty, hunger, crime and such crises.

An unfortunate thing I encountered with this book is its predictability. There's no what-happens-next element in most of the scenes (and the plot) which is rather disappointing. A trope full of tropes. However Duchess if You Dare doesn't get pulverized by this one drawback. It's worthy of being picked up especially for cozying up during dank days.

Ambrose and Martin, these siblings especially made me LOL so many times whilst I read this story! The author is a master of humor. The way she wrote funny moments did not deviate from how the rest of the book is written...a characteristic lots of historical fictions lack.

The characters are not all likeable. But there's a but! Anabelle Bryant made up for it by gradually developing them through the course of the story. I particularly admire the Maidens of Mayhem very much.

The relationship between Scarlett and Aylesford seemed forced and too sudden in my opinion but taking the age the story is set in makes this understandable.

Witty, funny and altogether an enjoyable read.

Scarlett is a Maiden of Mayhem, a small group of women that help others in need. She discovers that her seamstress is missing and sets off to find her, crossing paths with the Duke of Aylesford. Sparks fly as they work together to find several missing women, who may be victims of sex trafficking in 1817 London.

I thought this book had so much potential when I read the description. However, the writing was stiff and very formal in the first 9 chapters; not the usual writing style of a historical romance. The style changed with chapter 10 and flowed more easily. I found myself skimming through most of the book. I did not find much chemistry between Scarlett and Aylesford, nor did the story hold my attention. I think some parts of the story could have been expanded; there was no commentary from Scarlett when she discovered what happened to her seamstress. I would have liked to have learned more about the Maidens backstory early on. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book in its current iteration.

Scarlett Wynn is one of London's Maidens of Mayhem, a discreet group of women fighting injustices in the city. Ambrose, the Duke of Aylesford, is an uptight and responsible aristocrat. Their paths cross at a brothel when Scarlett begins investigating the disappearance of her seamstress while Ambrose reluctantly looks into his carefree brother's suspicions that something is afoot at the brothel.

I thought the first few chapters of the book were a little rough, but it really picks up once the mystery gets going! There were a lot of exposition dumps in the beginning and I would have preferred some more "show, not tell" when trying to inform us about the characters, because it killed a lot of suspense and curiosity in the first few chapters to just have this information given to us. I was also worried that Scarlett would be all "I'm not like other girls" based on her vibes at the start, but this impression wore off a bit as the story went on (but still not completely dispelled though).

But book got a lot better as the plot develops! I love a good mystery so it was fun seeing Scarlett and Ambrose's investigation and trying to put the pieces together on my own as well. I liked that it took some time and many encounters for the characters to start working together - building up how they were fascinated by each other added more depth to their connection. With a daring heroine and a by-the-book hero tackling a very women-focused issue, this story gave me Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries vibes. I do feel like the mystery could have been wrapped up better though, especially regarding how Scarlett's seamstress was involved (more on this later). I'm a bit indifferent to Scarlett and Ambrose's relationship; I feel like it's fine and works well with the mystery to help drive the plot but overall I guess I didn't really connect with it.

On a more serious note though, I don't like how the book deals with prostitution. While the book places a lot of emphasis on how women are forced into this life, the way that prostitution is portrayed somehow feels very unsympathetic. The reveal of the seamstress's involvement feels very antithetical to the rest of the story and we never get an explanation from her, which was odd considering the whole mystery started with her?? And there was one part where Ambrose describes the prostitutes as women with "easy virtue" and then literally the next paragraph he's talking about how they had no choice... like what? This flip flopping view of prostitutes as both sinful and victims gave me such whiplash and kind of encapsulated how the book dealt with this theme. And for a story focused on prostitution, the women in question are very marginalized; there are almost no interactions between the main characters and a prostitute, which gives us no opportunity to empathize with their struggle and actually understand what is at stake - why couldn't one of those women be a central character in resolving the mystery? This is a topic that can be done well and I think more nuance could have been used.

I think the author is skilled at writing a mystery and giving the reader enough information from the characters' investigation to try and put things together on their own. While I think the mystery as a plot device was effective and really appealed to me, my main issues with this book are the heavy-handed exposition and the handling of prostitution. There's potential here, but there's also many aspects that can be better!
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This was an ARC provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

This book gave me major Bringing Down The Duke vibes (which is a huge compliment). My absolute favorite type of romance is historical romance, particularly England in the 1800s. And this was STEAMY!

The main characters, Scarlett and Ambrose (the Duke of Aylesford) cross paths when they’re both trying to solve a mystery: what has happened to the missing girls from the local brothel? I enjoyed the mystery and investigation alongside the budding romance which made for a well-rounded, enjoyable story.

The strong, independent female falling for the royal, handsome Duke is a bit overplayed in the historical romance genre, but that hasn’t stopped me yet! Lol. I guess I’d consider this one of my favorite tropes.

This book is labeled as “Maidens of Mayhem #1” (The Maidens of Mayhem is Scarlett’s female group of problem-solving, crime-fighting baddies, if you will 😂). So, that means there will likely be a sequel or 2 to come, and I will surely be picking them up!

Angst in the darkening streets of London gives this fresh start to a new series a deliciously enticing and intriguing plot to unwind.

Danger and deceit.
Heart and heat.
Life and love.
Trials and tenderness.

A hardened Duke with duty nipping at his heels and a mischievous lady of the night come together to bring the city of London and its terrors into the light. All the while, they must stop a frightening plot and save those the streets would forget without thought. As the two uncover deadly, devious intentions and plans they find their differences of station may serve to bring them together if only they are willing to take a risk. On hope and moreover, on love.

A story that is compelling, exciting, and romantic. Ambrose and Scarlett are two characters I enjoyed immensely. I’ll most certainly be ready for the second installment.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This had the potential of being a great book; however, it was a good book. It had some plot and character issues. I liked the general premise. I feel it could be a jumping-off point to more substantial future installments in this series.

I tried really hard to relate to and love these characters. I found doing this was difficult. I liked Scarlett; she had a fierce spirit. She is independent and capable. She, along with her friends, participate as unofficial detectives. I enjoyed the idea of Scarlett. However, the reality of her fell a little flat. Her personality didn’t always shine through as much as I would have liked. But when it did, she sparkled. I had a more challenging time relating to Ambrose. I wanted to like him; however, he was too perfect and a little too arrogant. I understand he needed to live up to his title of Duke. He was at times two-dimensional, being the pious perfectionist. He treated Scarlett more of an inconvenience than a love interest. Near the book's conclusion, he took on quite the attitude change, and I liked him better; as the book progressed, he became more life-like.

The plot was grounded and held a lot of potential. There were times where the storyline excelled, and the book was entertaining and exciting. Sometimes it was a little sluggish. I always comment when a book focuses on women’s rights in this era. This book addresses this subject excellently. The women’s rights issues were a solid focal point. I cared less for the class struggles. I didn’t feel that the latter found a resolution. This was a slow burn plot. I like the story to be a little faster-paced.

I felt this book didn’t live up to its full potential. All the elements were there; it just didn’t finish strong. I would have liked a more extended conclusion or an epilogue. I felt the ending was a little rushed. That being said, the book was likable and easy to read. This wasn’t the best step forward in a new series. It did set the stage for other books focusing on the other members of the club. I feel these future books can be excellent if they will build momentum from the first book. Overall, I wanted a little more, but it will not deter me from reading the other books in this series. I feel with a few improvements; the subsequent books could be significant.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Kensington Books. This is my honest, voluntary opinion.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you.

** 3.25 Stars **

Scarlett Wynn, the illegitimate daughter of a London light skirt who was murdered by one of her protectors, grew up to be one of the founding members of The Maidens of Mayhem. She prowls London by night saving the innocent. One of those innocents is her seamstress, Linie. Scarlett requires special clothing for prowling the city and Linie will make her whatever she wants. When Linie goes missing, it turns out that she also worked at a brothel under the name of Daisy. During her investigation, Scarlett learns that several girls have gone missing from that same brothel.

Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford, is very, very correct, uptight, staid, ridged, dignified – you name it. His entire existence is given to the furthering of the family honor – the family name. He would never, ever, do anything that would cause scandal or dishonor to his family or his title. His brother, Martin, on the other hand, is a walking scandal just waiting to undo the family name. When Martin gets embroiled in a to-do at a brothel, the Scarlet Rose, he also gets Ambrose embroiled in it. Martin is sure he heard a woman being abused in the room next to his and he wheedles Ambrose into agreeing to investigate.

Ambrose comes across a woman, hidden in a large black cloak, trying to gain entry into the brothel and assumes she must be a worker. As things progress and they encounter each other again, they realize they are working on the same thing. They agree to share information and work together – but neither seems to do that very well. Their personal attraction also grows, but neither will acknowledge it. As danger dogs both of them, the attraction grows stronger. Can a former street urchin become a duchess?

I think this book suffered from an identity crisis. It couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a mystery or a romance and so it didn’t do either of them very well. I loved the idea of the book from the book blurb, but, for me, it just didn’t deliver. So many things were never clear – especially about the Maidens of Mayhem. They certainly weren’t a group who worked together to do anything. I couldn’t even determine how or why they came together. How did they come to have the various skills they had – shux – what skills did they have? How were they funded? Then, there was the mystery. It just seemed very, very convoluted with people knowing things they should have known or some fact would just come out of the blue – something there had been no hint of before.

My bottom line is that this was an okay read if you can get past all of the ambiguity. I will probably not read the next book in the series because I didn’t become invested in either the organization or the characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love a gritty historical with a badass female character or two and I don't object to a bit of romance. This book, billed as being about a Robin Hood-esque group of female crimefighters in Regency London, seemed like it'd be right up my alley. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This book has much more romance than mystery, and very little evocative feeling of Regency England. I didn't care for Scarlett, and actively disliked her Duke -- although I did rather like his younger brother. Their relationship (insta-love, yuck) didn't ring true.to me and I never did figure out how the Maidens of Mayhem were supposed to work. I finished the book, but confess to lots of skimming. Just not my thing, I suppose.

Sigh. I usually enjoy this sort of trope-y thing but unfortunately, Scarlett and Ambrose just didn't work for me. She's a young woman who is out to find her seamstress; he's a Duke whose brother is responsible for much activity at brothels. They meet, they fall in love, they know they can't marry, something bad happens, and then all is well and there's an HEA. You know this plot, don't you? I wish the characters, especially Scarlett, had been better fleshed out (no pun!). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Will they let society’s expectations run them down ...
I have been very curious about this book, having liked my two previous reads by the author.
And what’s better than a group of amazons fighting for their fellows at a time when they were mistreated and discredited as unworthy.
Scarlett is that kind of woman, jumping straight into a fight because she has to. She with her meager means tries to right some wrong done.
She uses her past as the justifications for her actions and her rejection of the Duke’s suit.
Having been first witness of the weight prostitution put on the soul, and the often dramatic outcome, she battles for them, yet she should also fight to help them find an other path. It is nice to be kind with them, but they should also have the choice of their trade.
When she first encounters the Duke, she has a kind of insta awareness of him. It soon turns to lust and then to more. Yet she keeps repeating to herself, this could go to nothing because of who she is. She might not need saving, but she needs to see past her own beliefs.
Ambrose has lived his whole life in his gilded tower, never really going down, except to scold his brother for his excesses. So he is effectively lost the first time he sets foot in the slums of the city. Only thinking about his pristine reputation, he tiptoes, afraid to attract his peers’ scorn.
Why he is so high handed, making mistake after mistake, he believes he has everything mapped out, his lofty title offering him all the right answers when it much leads him on a merry chase. He is in fact the damsel in distress in this story. Scarlett rescues him from his golden cage, she shows him what truly living is, how to step out of his usual path, that not all is white and black, how he could live in shades of grey.

They are so sweet together but for two persons who fell quite instantly in lust-love, they rant again and again about how they would never be able to be together, never trying to imagine how and if they could make it works. It eats up the pages. It is also what hold them back from progressing in their inquiries, when others lives are at stake.

After what I found dubious is the name of the series made me expect a group working together, but here it is Scarlett against the world. They are four, and we see them all together only one or twice in the whole book, why did they not band together, they would have worked more efficiently and much faster.
Then, about the villains, except for one, there is no comeuppance for their evil deeds, none is to be worried. It is a fiction, I would have loved to see get their right retribution. And last, what of the poor girls trapped in the clutches of ugly schemers.

I much enjoyed them getting to know one another, yet they could have worked their investigation a different way.
3.75 rounded up to 4 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 onscreen detailed foreplays and a long lovemaking scene.

Mystery and Romance combined with some humor!

This was a great and funny read with complex characters. I enjoyed the authors balance of regency romance, mystery and feminine empowerment. Scarlett’s daring feats and her commitment to women’s rights gave us enough background to believe some of the more far fetched notions of her unconventional beliefs.

The pace of the book was slow and at times a bit confusing (the ruby ring etc) if one didn’t expect such a complex murder mystery within a historical romance. Her writing is similar to Georgette Heyer, even though there may be some confusion... you’re still excited enough to read the next page.

Being the first installment in the “Maidens of Mayhem”, it gave us just enough concerning the other ladies to be interested in their narratives.

Overall enjoyable read with unexpected twists and dare I say... a little thrilling!

This was a first read for me by Anabelle. I liked the mystery aspect part of this story. Seemed to read with real life (past) events that happened. Almost like a true crime. This was a nice refresher for me.
Ambrose and Scarlett's class difference relationship sure gets heated. Actually I like this illustrated cover as well.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.