Another favorite by a great author. The plot of the story was very well written. The author really draws the reader in as you read. I cannot wait for another story.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

When Scarlett Wynn's friend disappears one night, she investigates, and soon finds herself infiltrating an upscale brothel, looking for more information. While there, she comes across Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford, who is trying to solve his own mystery. It soon becomes clear that both Scarlett and Ambrose are trying to find the same person, and by working together, and using their own backgrounds and social connections, they will get ahead so much quicker than if they join forces. While delving into the seedy underworld of London, they uncover a sex trafficking plot, which may be their downfall, once and for all.

I really liked this book, but my main bug bear was that The Maidens of Mayhem - the group of women who worked to help others in London - aren't actually a big part of the story. I think we should've see a lot more of them for a series named after the group, but perhaps we will in future books. Once I got over that, I felt that both Scarlet and Ambrose had their positives, and their negatives. They did care about their loved ones, and wanted to help others - and were definitely invested in solving the mystery and stopping the trafficking from continuing. But, they were also a bit placid, and lacklustre. I wanted more from them, especially Scarlett, as her backstory is alluded to again and again, but isn't delved into too much. She was fiercely independent, and I loved that aspect of her - how she didn't need to be rescued, but was rather the rescuer. I will be continuing the series - probably - but hope that we see improvements.

This is the first book I've read by Anabelle Bryant and I was intrigued by the summary and love the cover. With that said, I enjoyed this book...just not as much as I wanted to. I was absolutely interested in the story of these character's paths continuing to cross and eventually finding themselves not only working toward the same goal of figuring out what happened to a missing seamstress, but also attracted to each other despite their social stations, Where I struggled was with the characters - Scarlett and Ambrose. There wasn't anything really that drew me into their personal stories. I also wished there was more content around Scarlett's 'Maidens of Mayhem'. We really only get a few sparse interactions and they weren't really that involved in the story.

All of that said, I did enjoy this one and I'll definitely be picking up the next one if only to get to know the Maidens of Mayhem further as I was intrigued by each character introduced and would like to know their stories.

Another day, another historical romance that leaves me feeling underwhelmed due to a lacking execution. After a promising start with both the heroine and the hero investigating the disappearance of some prostitutes, as soon as the main characters get together the mystery plot is almost forgotten and the plot starts to drag endlessly.

Both the hero and heroine inner monologues are repetitive AF, dwelling on and on about how they are from different worlds and they can never be together. We also have a good dose of miscommunication and not sharing with each other whatever facts they discover during their investigations despite the fact that they are after the same goal. The third act conflict is pretty ridiculous IMO and never properly explained, with the resolution to the mystery almost an afterthought (Scarlett’s lack of interest about Linnie’s fate is baffling seeing it was her disappearance that started the whole plot). And I also don’t get Ambrose’s obsession with protecting Scarlett when in fact is she who saves his ass from getting kicked more than once and I think Scarlett’s final decision goes against everything we’ve been told about her.

This is the first book in the Maidens of Mayhem series and I’m not sure I’ll come back for the next book.

This book is a thriller historical romance with a mystery in the background. The story takes place in the darker parts of an early 19th century London, which is unusual in regency romance. Our heroine is a simple commoner from a plain and poor background where fighting for survival is a necessity. Our hero is a duke and therefore on top of the society that a bit accidentally falls into this mystery and ends up seeing a different side of London. I would say this book pretty much adhere to formula as other thriller historical romance that I have read and got what I expected. Some mystery but the main focus being the development romance between the main characters. It was a pretty steamy read and I did enjoy the chemistry between the characters. Me personally usually like a nice epilogue and I was not a big fan of this epilogue. In my opinion it could have been better and given us a nicer view into their life going forward and we did not get it.

It was overall a nice read that I got what I wanted and expected from it. I think this book will fit people who likes their historical romance with some thriller elements or like their historical romance away from the usual 19th century ball settings.

It has been a rough year and a new Anabelle Bryant series was just the thing I needed to get me out of the doldrums. Ambrose and Scarlett were such an interesting and clever couple. I couldn’t help comparing them to the PBS Miss Scarlett and the Duke series. But these two characters proved to be so much more than the PBS characters. Both were so resourceful, strong, and determined. And the attraction between these two was positively off the charts.
Ambrose and Scarlett came from two very different worlds. That culture clash makes for all sorts of wonderful conflict. Ambrose lived in a world of lineage and reputation. He’d been trained his entire life to protect his family from scandal. Responsibility of his title and heritage composed the core of his being. Scarlett had survived on her own most of her life. In her life she’d seen little proof of love and deep emotion. She’d witnessed first-hand the price her mother paid for love. And she’d learned at an early age what many women endured for food and shelter. She’d dedicated her life to righting the wrongs of London. When these two characters meet, it’s as if their paths were fated to intersect. Their effect on each other was undeniable. As was the change they made in each other. Ambrose realized he had allowed his world to be microcosmic. He began to examine his own life and privilege. Scarlet made him aware of the insecurities and challenges of those who lived lives so unlike his own. Especially women. He wanted to do more. Be more. “She brought out qualities in him he didn’t know he possessed, or at the most, they’d been long forgotten, buried under duty and obligation.” Because of Scarlett, Ambrose learned to embrace life rather than just march through it. For Scarlett, Ambrose somehow brought her peace. Love didn’t make her weak but empowered her. Love didn’t clip her wings and cage her but lifted her up so she could fly higher. I loved the metamorphosis of these two characters. It was gradual and believable, and a true pleasure to watch.
I’m so excited for more of this series. Anabelle Bryant writes intense drama with banter, passion, and characters who capture you with their humanity. I love that she doesn’t follow a mold but creates such different characters and scenarios. There was a real breathless quality to this story and the mystery they were trying to unravel. This story is filled with passion, danger, and secrets. Readers will be captivated from the start.

The storyline could be a little more exciting. Scarlett Wynn is an orphan. She needed to pick up her order from the seamstress. But when she arrived she noticed Linie had not spent the night at home. She would go see the modiste in the morning and see if she could find her. Upon getting ready to leave she met Sally, who lived across the hall from Linie. She told, Scarlett about Linie's other job and she was surprised.
Ambrose Cross, Fourth Duke of Aylesford, had a lot of responsibilities, including his brother. He was always asking for more money. He enjoyed gambling, womanizing, and drinking, which was usually the reason for being broke all the time. The duke hated to say no but he was hoping he would see changes in him. Martin dragged him into a mess when the duke got called to a brothel to get his brother.
This was an alright tale of murder, burning, gambling, weapons galore, and who knows what else.
Girls have been disappearing from the brothel and they are never seen again. I liked the characters especially the main characters and the Maiden of Mayhem. But you don't get that much interaction with them. They are supposed to be her best friends.
There is a sexy scene or two. so that might be a problem for some. I enjoyed chasing around the villains and the good guys. I do recommend it for a light read.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

So much potential, fell so flat. I was really excited about this book in the beginning but somewhere near the middle everything was starting to get dull, repetitive and I lost interest. There is some insta-love. I didn’t feel much for the romance or writing. Characters were kind of bland too. A plot that grabbed my interest in the beginning but fell so flat by the middle. I’m not even sure how wrapped up the plot actually was in the end. I wanted to really get onboard with these Maidens but my expectations were set too high.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Synopsis: After coming across some trouble during her normal routine. Scarlett wants to know what is going on. She has an uneasy feeling about her tailor who has not been seen in several days. In this Cinderella meets Wonder Woman novel, Scarlett faces a disturbing past as well as dealing with people who are out to get her. All the while meeting someone that she could fall passionately in love with if only they were allowed.

Thought: I really enjoyed how Scarlett is such a strong and passionate woman. She does not let anything stand in her way and she stands up for what she believes in. I enjoyed that she wanted to make things right and using her past to guide her to make things better for others and show them that there are other options. I also felt empathy for Scarlett when she felt unworthy of love and what she truly deserves. I enjoyed this book although it did feel like one half of the story was based on crime and what was happening and the second half more about love. I wish it would have been more of both throughout. But I think the author did a great job wrapping it all up in the end and I enjoyed the ending.

Many are the nights Scarlett Wynn roams the darker parts of London aiding victims of violence. The illegitimate daughter of a prostitute, she is one of the Maidens of Mayhem, pledged to help those less fortunate. When her friend Linie disappears, clues lead to the brothel, The Scarlett Rose. Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford, is constantly having to clean up after his younger brother. On this particular night he also ends up at The Scarlett Rose. A brief meeting in the vestibule, leads them on the same path investigating missing girls that worked there. Danger stalks them as they ask more and more questions. It isn't long before the villains strike back. Only then will Scarlett and Ambrose realize that with love, society be damned. It's nice to see a woman's influence on a man use to getting his way simply because he is a Duke. I was a little bit deflated the way the loose ends were tied up and why name the heroine the same name as the brothel??? There is a nice epilogue and interesting dynamics between the characters. I have no objections to reading more about the Maidens of Mayhem.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

When one of Scarlett's friends, Linie, disappears, she doesn't doubt a second before going to investigate what happened to her, even if this puts her in danger. On the other hand, Ambrose is trying to get his brother to stop wasting his life on alcohol and women but he has to go to his rescue for the last time. What he is not expecting at all is for his brother's friend, Daisy, is missing so Ambrose feels the obligation to discover what is doing women in the brothel disappear.

Ambrose and Scarlett realize they have the same objective, that Linie and Daisy were the same person, and that they were falling in love with each other.

I loved the beginning of the story, it was full of action and badass Scarlett, who could beat every man that threatened her, settling the tone to how females fight against injustices of the time (it was repeated maybe too many times). Unfortunately, I got the impression that her speech gets weaker through the book like if being your own woman and being able to do things on your own is not compatible with being with a man.

There were lots of events that happened in my opinion just for the sake of the book, for example, The Maidens of Mayhem, which only appear for a short period of time now and then when Scarlett needs her, as a way for the story to continues. I would have appreciated the main story to be more centered on action and less in the love story because sometimes it seems to be the only thing that mattered and I think there were lots of other events more important than their feelings for each other, feelings that appear from nowhere because they don't really get to know anything from the other and fall madly in love in a period of time of a week.

This was a good book that I enjoyed a lot, but I feel like the objective of the author and the meanings of this book would have had and make it special, disappeared until becoming another historical romance.

This was an enjoyable book to read, for the mystery and the interactions between the two lead characters. A lot of such interaction was highly improbable (how was this "poor" heroine so refined in speech and manner if she was raised in such a poverty-filled environment and the duke would hardly have been running around with her and doing what he did without more of a background for knowing and doing as much as he did -- combined spy/investigator knowledge), but we can suspend belief to go along with the story. So for a light, satisfying mystery/romance it provided what it intended, for me. #NetGalley #DuchessIfYouDare

I was completely sold by the idea of a group of women, the Maidens of Mayhem, who traveled through London to help other women out of danger. The book began with Scarlett demonstrating what an awesome fighter she is. She is the street savvy woman who joined with others to work against the poverty of London streets.

Ambrose, The Duke of Aylesford, happens across the problem of disappearing women because of his reckless younger brother. As they both investigate, Scarlett and Ambrose come together and are immediately attracted to each other. This is a steamy romance.

I wished there were more scenes with and deeper background for the other women in the Maidens of Mayhem. For me, this ring of women is the key part of the book, and I would love to see it explored in more depth in the rest of the series. Scarlett was such a great, strong, female protagonist.

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Kensington Books for giving me this book through NetGalley!

I love a period piece and a good enemies to lovers. I have so many enemies to lovers in my TBR that I feel like I should change the name of my blog 😂

But I loved how badass of a character Scarlett was. She was so strong and didn’t need a man. That was the main conflict with her and Ambrose. She didn’t want to belong to someone.

Ambrose was a pretty good character. He was obviously conflicted, but it did come across as him thinking the was better than Scarlett.

I feel like there wasn’t a lot of build up to the big reveal and then all of the sudden the problems seems kind of gone.

But overall this was a cute book and if you liked Bridgerton, I think you would enjoy this book ♥️

After a tough childhood with a single mother, Scarlett Wynn knows the world can be harsh and unforgiving, especially for women. When her seamstress disappears without a trace, Scarlett is determined to learn what happened to her. Her pursuit leads Scarlett to cross paths with the Duke of Aylesford at a high-class brothel of all places. The duke is also trying to get to the bottom of a mystery, one apparently linked to Scarlett’s own investigation so she decides they can help each other. She just has to keep her attraction to him tamped down.

Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford, has always known his duty to the title and has striven to avoid any scandal and maintain a pristine reputation. Scarlett’s determination and drive force him to look beyond his sheltered world and see things differently. He’s instantly drawn to her in a way he’s never felt before, though he knows he can’t have her in the way he wants. When the mystery Ambrose and Scarlett are looking into turns out to be linked to several missing women, they begin getting closer to the truth and into danger themselves. Their connection rapidly grows to something deeper, and with their lives in peril, they soon realize the need to realign their priorities.

This story started off so strong and the setup and plotline have so much potential. Somehow though, the pace was very slow, and it took a lot of effort to keep myself interested at times. The connection between Ambrose and Scarlett is fairly instantaneous, which is fine, but I never really felt that spark of chemistry. This could be due to the fact that both their inner monologues were almost constantly stuck on enumerations of why they could never truly be together. That got old and repetitive very quickly. The character development never really panned out here, especially for Scarlett and the other Maidens of Mayhem. We only got one scene with the ladies all together, which is likely because they each have stories occurring concurrent to this one. Still, I never really understood their goal and we didn’t get any info about how they got started or how they operate now. I just wanted more background about them as a whole and especially about Scarlett. We know she has this terrible past and her mother’s experiences have let her to distrust men, but we know almost nothing about how she got where she is, how she learned her skills, or really anything. Perhaps this is meant to add to the mystery, but I wanted more.

As for the mystery itself, things progressed at a paradoxically slow pace with Ambrose and Scarlett preoccupied with their attraction but also with keeping each other at arm’s length. This just culminated in a couple of rather cringy love scenes which were further undermined by each character’s virtually identical and tediously repetitive inner thoughts on how they had only one night to be together. Even when the mystery was solved, they weren’t there, but instead learned the final details from another character and the whole mystery just fizzled out without any real justice or a clean resolution. Especially for a heavy topic like human trafficking, I wanted more of a wrap-up. Even after they each realized their hearts and that they wanted to be together no matter their class disparity, Scarlett went back to her old fears, her resolution to follow her heart, made only a few pages previously, went out the window, and she went back to pondering about martyring herself by leaving so Ambrose’s reputation would be preserved. Give me a break. This angst was unnecessary and could’ve been derived from the mystery resolution instead if it was that important.

Overall, this story was solid enough, but I don’t think it lived up to its potential. I’d still recommend this as a historical mystery, but I likely won’t read it again. That said, I like this concept and am intrigued to see where the series goes with the next book and hope that provides more details on the Maidens.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars - Intrigue, a sexy duke, and a fierce woman who had to handle her knives as well as she does the minuet, what’s not to love?!

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Coming off my Bridgerton high, I think I decided to request all books with the words duke or dutchess in the title, and I thought the cover and the description sounded good with this one. It wasn't my cup of tea though, not really. It was a bit off with the situations the two main characters found themselves in. I thought it was completely predictable and not super interesting. I liked the brothel setting and plot, but I don't think it was well thought out or well-written. I agree with one reviewer: The sex workers in the book were either depicted as victims or villains, and the heroine was above it all. I'm going to predict that I probably won't request or finish the rest of this series, but if you are looking for something kind of mindless to read, if you've just finished something heavy, this would be a good book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this ARC for an honest review.

Thank you to Kensington for providing me with this ARC for review via NetGalley.

I have loved the trend of curious, independent and strong women in historical romances, and Scarlett is a prime example. When Scarlet’s friend goes missing she goes and tried to find her herself which leads to the chance encounter with the Ambrose Cross. They butt heads trying to solve the mystery of the missing friend and the banter is really cute.

Love this regency romance, it has substance, grit and heartfelt love. This "duty-bound" Duke has certainly met his match. I was intrigued based on the blurb but this ended up being way more than I had imagined. Scarlett is a gem, bold, resilient and smart with a selfless compassionate nature. She shakes up the Duke's privileged world and touches his heart in a way he never imagined. It's risqué business, their attraction but their combined expertise make them a great team for the intricacies of the mystery of the unprivileged. I think the maiden and mayhem concept was achieved, anymore mayhem would have been excess. First time reading a book by this author, definitely won't be the last. I am hooked, this was so good I read it twice.

This book was an enjoyable historical romance. Scarlett, one of the Maidens of Mayhem, finds herself a complicated case concerning some disappearing prostitutes. When a duke stumbles across her path in the process, she never dreams that he will be of help to her or that she will fall in love with him. As the two try to decipher who is responsible for these missing girls, they need to be careful with who they trust. I loved the characters, although each character could have used a little bit more development.