Bethany Bennett’s Dukes Do It Better is the 3rd in her Misfits of Mayfair series that brings Lady Emma Hardwick, a single mother with a few dark secrets, together with a Captain Malachi Harlow, who’s got a few secrets of his own and would rather stay out at sea, than be the Duke of Trenton, a role he doesn’t want.

Fate brings them back together after a night together when neither knew the other one’s name, and yet left them yearning for more.

There’s so much to love about this romance!

Emma is determined to be honest with her family and claim her pleasure.
Mal is patient, determined, and supportive. Together, they are the kind of couple you want to be friends with.

Her family and friends/ servants are fantastic, supportive, and loyal, and not the meddlesome, overburdened sort that I can’t quite stand.

There’s a wonderful warmth and charm to the story. The romance between Emma and Mal is flourishing and hot, while the beautifully described settings, especially the coastal ones with quirky goates running about, and the longing diary entries at the beginning of each chapter bring it all beautifully together.

Tropes: Second chances, single mom, But-I-don’t-want-to-be-a-Duke, We’ll-enjoy-each-other-for-a-few-weeks-and-won’t-develop-feelings-for-each-other
Heat Level: 3.5
Overall star rating: 4

The story can be read as a standalone. It was the first book I read by this author. The secondary characters from previous stories appear here though and now I’m intrigued to find out more.

Content Warning: blackmail, unsupportive partner after unplanned pregnancy, fear of child kidnapping, stalking ex-partner, being held at gunpoint

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for granting me the opportunity to read this book ahead of it’s publication date in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just fine for me. I liked Malachi and Emma together as a couple I just feel like there wasn’t enough romance in this book. And I definitely thought I was missing something at the beginning of the book until I found out their first encounter happens off page.

Bethany Bennett is a favorite of mine! I love the first two books in the Misfit of Mayfair series. Emma's story was really good! However, the romance part seemed lacking. I loved seeing Emma grow as a woman, mom and friend. She become confident in herself and makes peace with her parents traits. Overall, her development was fantastic!

The romance starts off with an off page event that shouldn't have been off page. I loved the romance, but it seemed lacking. You can feel the pull between Emma and Malachi, but you miss the beginning. Which leads to missing some of the main romance.

All in all, a great read! I highly recommend Bethany's books!

This is a modern historical romance. Emma, no longer the selfish and reckless girl from the previous book, is now a single mother living in a quaint seaside village. Malachi is the Captain of a warship that hasn't seen action. It begins on ship as he's reading a journal he found on the beach while stashing his treasures for storage in a cave. The journal is a woman's thoughts as she's writing to a future imaginary lover. It brings him thoughts of the blond woman he had a one-night-stand with before sailing (Emma, of course). Mal is notified of his brother's death, making him the Duke. He returns to London becoming aware that his mother has been using a book of secrets, written by his father the spy, to blackmail government officials to bring him home. Emma, meanwhile is in London for the Season, staying with her brother Cal and his wife Phee from book 2. Mal and Emma coincidently meet at the park and their affair continues. Emma is determined to change her ways and always tell the truth. She tells Cal and Phee she's staying at Mal's for the night and brings her birth control with her in her reticule (an example of the "modern" in historical). Cal must find and return his father's book of secrets to the government to save his mother from "disappearing." This involves a mausoleum and an adventure with the guys! Emma has trouble with the good-for-nothing father of her child. While everyone from the past books are being threatened by a mysterious blackmailer. You get to see Lottie and Ethan, Cal and Phee, and two characters I wasn't aware of, Edward and Jane Smith (Now I need to read "Wallflower Code" for their story). Because the plot revolves around references to past books, I think you should read the books in order to really know what's happening. The scene with Emma and Mal confessing skeletons in their closet to each other is too funny. They finally try to outdo each other's scandalous secrets. They both had terrible parents and what they really want is family and connection.

Bethany Bennett's Misfits of Mayfair series was one of the first historical romance series I fell in love with, and Dukes Do It Better is now one of my favorites in the genre. Malachi Harlow, new Duke of Trenton, is hands down the best duke in historical romance- a bit of a pirate, fiercely loving, with a code of honor that may not be standard for a duke but is perfect for the family he, Emma, and her friends and family are creating. Emma, who we knew as a younger character in the previous books, has grown and knows what she wants and who she is after her experiences in previous books and being a single mother. This book is steamy and also very sweet, and Mal's immediate connection to Emma's son Alton is really heartwarming. The best part about series romance is that while sure, you can read it as a standalone (I would really recommend reading the previous books in this series first), you get to follow along with the characters you already loved in the series as well. I can't wait for more from this author!

Since her debut season turned out to be an utter disaster, Lady Emma Hardwick has spent the past few years away from society in her small seaside cottage. Now she’s facing London again along with her young son, entertaining the idea of finding a good man to be a father to him. What she finds is Captain Malachi Harlow, now the Duke of Trenton, a tattooed, dangerous-looking man with whom she had a one night stand several months previously and whom she hasn’t stopped thinking of since.

Mal has no interest in London and is itching to return to his ship. Before he can do that, he has to settle matters with the admiralty that brought him home in the first place. When he reconnects with Emma, he finds he doesn’t mind an extended stay in London so much if it means spending time with her. The more time he spends with Emma, the more he begins to long for something more permanent with her, and that feeling only intensifies when they begin receiving threatening notes from an unknown enemy who wants to destroy them and their friends.

There was so much going on in this story that I’m really not sure where to start. I guess it’s fair to say that I was very skeptical of this one at first simply because of how dreadful Emma was in the previous book. She was utterly self-serving, egocentric, and naïve, with very few redeeming qualities. My dislike of her made me just as nervous as I was keen to read her story since I do tend to enjoy a good redemption story. Emma definitely does show a lot of character growth in this one, but perhaps not as much as she needed. There were still plenty of times that I found her to be utterly insufferable and her behavior toward Mal to be wholly unwarranted.

I liked the fact that due to Emma and Mal’s previous encounter before the beginning of this story, we get on page intimacy early with this setup. I think that was very important here for Emma’s character development as she learned to differentiate love from lust and began to feel comfortable enough to explore her own deeper feelings. This also gave us lots of time to explore that dynamic on page. Unfortunately, despite some newfound maturity and growth, Emma still displays plenty of immature tendencies, most especially that of avoiding honest communication and playing games instead. She is prone to petulant sulking and believing the absolute worst of Mal despite his proving himself to her and her own logic telling her that her theories about him don’t make sense. She talks a good game when it comes to wanting to be honest and not tell lies anymore, only to have much of that go out the window when it comes to Mal. I think she may have had one truly open conversation with him, and it was late in coming and I just wanted more. At the same time, I may never have related so much to a character in terms of fear of opening oneself up to hurt and at times, I felt like Emma could’ve been a younger version of me. I’m pretty sure I’ve said some of the same things she did at some point in my life. I was utterly charmed by Mal’s pouring his heart out to her and I just wish there had been a bit more reciprocation, even if it was delayed. Don’t get me wrong, she had every right to demand an explanation of Mal, she just should’ve given him the opportunity to do so much sooner rather than jumping to conclusions.

Beyond these little annoyances I had with Emma, I loved this story. Mal is pretty close to being the perfect hero himself and after the neglectful childhood he had, his need to be loved and belong was just the thing to absolutely melt me. His utter acceptance of Emma for who she was, and his understanding and forgiveness of her past actions put him a step above the rest. He was teaching Emma just as much about unconditional romantic love as she was teaching him about family and belonging and I loved that. Plus, he has a narwhal tattoo and if that’s not adorable, I’m not sure what is. There’s some mystery and intrigue here, but it definitely takes a backseat for much of the book and I’m glad it was handled fairly quickly in the end. Perhaps my favorite aspect of this story was the bromance between Mal, Ethan, and Cal. Their immediate rapport was just fantastic, and I adored the little family these three couples were able to create, and I especially liked that Mal’s friend Simon and Adelaide were included as well. I’m a sucker for found family and their bond was definitely believable. The final scenes of this book are some of my favorite series ending scenes ever and I couldn’t have thought up a better conclusion for these endearing characters.

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

I found two things about this novel to be interesting right off the bat. To begin with, we are told that Mal and Emma shared one wonderful night of passion together after having met at an assembly. But that is all that is done. We are TOLD. There is no prologue of them at the assembly flirting with one another, no seeing their one night on the page. It was a bold move on the author's part, however without getting that glimpse into that passion, I never really bought the supposed passion between them when they are reunited (literally one of the first things he says to her is that he wants her in his bed again).

It was another bold move to have her be so open about her affair with Mal, to the point where neither her friends, her staff, or her own brother so much as bat an eye over it. I found that to be a bit unrealistic, but at the same time, it meant I didn't have to suffer through any disapproving lectures on the subject either.

Now to be fair, there were moments when I simply adored Mal and Emma together. They had their moments of witty banter, and I feel like Emma grew a lot from the second book to this one. I also loved Mal's relationship with Emma's son and the way he was so protective of him and began to think of him as his own right off the bat. There were also some scenes where the author so perfectly described a scene, that it felt like you were right there with the characters. You could hear the ocean's waves as they slapped against the shore, or you could smell the apple pie Emma made. It was little things like that that really added depth to this story.

However, in my honest opinion, there was just so much going on in the side-plots that it sometimes became confusing (not to mention tedious). First, we have Emma's friends being blackmailed, then we have Mal's mother putting herself in the crosshair of the British government by threatening to expose some of the secrets she had been privy to when Mal's father worked as a spy. We snip off one thread, and then suddenly there is a conflict between Mal and Emma, a conflict that could (and should) have been easily resolved, but instead was drawn out when she decided instead to flee back to her home on the coast. And let's not forget her odious ex-lover who always seems to show up just when and where he's not wanted. I feel like some of this could have been trimmed down (or cut out altogether) to make the story as a whole flow more smoothly.

That being said, I do still believe this book will likely appeal to those who have enjoyed the prior novels in this series, and to those who don't mind a bit more modernization with their regency stories.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This is the third book in the Misfits of Mayfair series and probably my favorite of the three. It tells the story of Lady Emma who returns to society with a young son in tow. Before returning to London she has a one night stand with Malachi, a sea captain, who is revealed to be a Duke when the pair run into each other again. The two decide to have an affair while Emma is in London and Malachi is waiting for his ship to be repaired. There are various sub plots woven into their romances which keep the pair on their toes and of course they interact with the couples from the previous books (Emma is the sister Calvin, the hero from book 2).

I really liked both Malachi and Emma. I liked that Emma fully embraced her status as a merry widow and was free to do as she pleased. I found Malachi to be a very complex hero and enjoyed pealing back the layers of who he was as the book progressed. I do think that there were a few too many subplots, to the point that they became a distraction from the main storyline. I did love the pacing of Emma and Malachi’s story. Their one night stand happened before the book started so we were able to jump right into their relationship without much lead up and it worked. I also enjoyed the epistolary nature of Emma’s journal entries as they added an extra dimension to the story. I am excited to see what Bethany writes next.

Thank you to Forever for the gifted copy and Goodreads and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fine historical romance. For context, I didn't like book one in the series and book two was great. I really liked Emma in book two, but this story was just not for me. I liked all of the characters (and how much we saw the prior characters), but the plot was just lacking for me. I guess I don't like the friends with benefits trope?

I did like how mature and modern this historical felt as Emma and Mal have an affair and their friends are not scandalized and appalled which was refreshing. (But honestly some of the best tension in historicals is the threat of getting caught and being forced to marry so I guess maybe it wasn't as refreshing).

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this one unless you have already read and enjoyed the earlier books in the series.

This is hands down the best of the series. Emma and Mal remain true to themselves and their ideals, but aren’t afraid to discover they, and their goals, have changed. They just both seemed very mature while still acting playful, and it was such a joy to read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Bethany Bennett is one of a handful of new Regency romance authors whose books I'm excited to read. She has an inviting writing style that draws you in and a way with characters. That said, while I liked this book better than the second in the series, it's still not as good as the first. Things are a bit draggy through the first 2/3 of the storyline, the coincidences are too pat, and the villain isn't much of a mystery (while I do appreciate the bit of depth given to another character who seems like he might be the major villain early on).

Most importantly, how do the hero/heroine rate? Mal, a sea captain who has just inherited a dukedom., may be my new book boyfriend. He's one of the most best written heroes I've run across recently. Flawed, yes, but realistically so, down-to-earth, with a sense of humor and a natural sexiness. Unfortunately, there were times I wasn't as crazy about the heroine, Emma, who I thought was the weakest character in the last book. SPOILER AHEAD.........................The tipping point for me was when Emma kept telling herself she's turning a new leaf, she's going to be honest, she's going to be strong for her son, but she leaps to illogical conclusions involving Mal when all she needs to do is pull on her big girl panties and confront him. So you have the Big Misunderstanding that must finally be resolved by the H apologizing and putting his heart on the line.

A few more points of note:
--Simon and Adelaide are two secondary characters who fit in pretty awkwardly with the rest of the action. Not really sure what they're doing here. You never get to know either of them well, but they're together by the end. Will the details of their courtship be fleshed out in another book?
--So many of characters from the previous books are reintroduced that this one doesn't work well as a standalone. Best if you read the other two first.
--I would rate the steam level as 3-4, with lots of spicy references in the mix. This book is open with the sexuality, and at times the female characters seem very modern with their manners. If you're easily offended by sex in Regencies, and super picky about anachronistic language and behavior, this may not be the book for you.

Overall, this entry in the series has more strengths than weaknesses. I wish there had been more focus on Mal and Emma's first meeting and their first night together. It took a bit of time for the plot to find footing, but I enjoyed how everything was wrapped up, and the epilogue was sweet.

I read an advance reader copy of this book, thanks to @BethanyBennett, @ReadForeverPub, and NetGalley. This is my voluntary review. My opinions are my own.

Reviews left on Goodreads, Amazon, and Bookbub.

I absolutely adore Bethany Bennett and have just loved this first series by her. Each and every one of these books in the Misfits of Mayfair series has just worked so well for me! Bennett's writing is compulsively readable, her characters are interesting and understandable, and the plots have been a great backdrop to fuel a budding romance! This third book in the series is the perfect cherry on top of this trilogy, Bennett balances the development of a new relationship with the past couples beautiful while creating a linking plot line that connects them all in an interesting and serendipitous way. This is a must read novel in my eyes that is best read in in order so you can truly grown and understand each of these heroine's and the men they give their hearts to.

Lady Emma is a single mother, with many dark secrets in her past (which you know about through the previous novel), she is also ready to turn over a new leaf and be open and truthful when it comes to the people she loves and trusts with her whole heart. Mal, is a naval captain, who is now land bound with duty to the dukedom he is now in charge of after his brother's death. Mal and Emma have already had a chance meeting and a passionate night spend together in the small coastal town that she and her son reside, but with this chance re-meeting they decide to enter into an affair as they both spend the next few weeks in London.

The chemistry between Emma and Mal leaps off the page, they are both so taken with the other and Bennett really shows this in such a beautiful way through their playfulness with each other and the instinctually trust they opening give. This novel is sweetly sensual and through the exploration of a physical relationship these two are able to deepen their understanding of each other. I really love that Bennett shows the development of their trust through small and domestic moments-a conversation in a kitchen while baking, a moment of play with her son, a parental instinct to protect, all these moments are carefully woven throughout the novel to show us how Mal and Emma operation around and with each other in beautifully balanced way. The comfortability that these two feel with each other is developed through a friendship, through moments of trust and through moments of understanding. While yes, this novel does have a third act conflict, it just shows the fear that sometimes drives poor decisions, but through this conflict they are both given the opportunity to learn how to better communicate and to truly trust and share all their secrets. I love that Emma is a strong and bold woman, who will do anything for her son, and who knows what she wants as needs as a widow. I love that Mal is so loving and gentle with Emma's son, he loves her son like his own and he shows this through how he treats him. This novel not only has beautiful female friendships at its heart, but it really develops a charming camaraderie between all the males as well. The family that all these couple develop together is so endearing and Bennett does a lovely job showing this and creating a perfectly heartwarming end to this trilogy.

I can not recommend this book and this series highly enough! This is definitely a series I will re-read again and again, it has also provided me with a new auto-buy author. I just can not wait to see where Bethany Bennett goes from here, I am so excited and can not wait to read her next novel!

This couple is so perfect for each other! Their rough edges meld together perfectly to make them each whole again. They don't huge each other which is something each Of them needed desperately but rarely received, and Malachi gave Emma a father for her son that he never received, but wanted like any boy would. The story is more complex than this and is done quite well. The moments of heat had me melting into a puddle. Once i recovered i was swept away by the romantic sweetness between them. It was gorgeous in those moments of writing, how you felt the vulnerability of each character as if it was your own heart laid open in that moment, only to be crushed with careless words the next. What am experience her writing is! So glad she put me back together again in the end at the very least. #netgalley #DukesDoItBetter

A pirate captain turned duke, a fake widow and a treasure hunt, what more could you ask for! Love, passion, family and friends, this book has it all. I laughed, I cried, I loved. This is the first of Bethany Bennett’s books for me, I can’t wait to go back and read Lottie & Phee’s stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. The secrets held within Mal’s fathers book were so heart wrenching. The bonds of family are so strong amongst this group that I long to spend more time with them. Bennett’s characters have away of getting under your skin and into your heart. The final chapters held so much heart to be truly beautiful.

I read the first book in this series and it was okay so I skipped the second book. Yikes, I have it in my TBR pile but got to this one first. I should have read book two before this one. In any case, I liked this one better than the first one but to be fair I might not have been in the mood while reading the first book. Will I go back and read the second book? Yes. I thought this was a very nice read.

"Dukes Do It Better" is the third book in the Misfits of Mayfair series and it is such a solid addition to the series! You can also easily read it as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend the other two books as well.

Lady Emma Hardwick has decided to return to London after her first season was one plagued by scandal. She is a young widow, but still plans to return with her young son and find a respectable man to marry. She is determined the man will be nothing like Malachi Harlow, the newly named Duke of Trenton who is a former ship captain. Being the second son, Mal never expected to inherit, so he joined the navy. His long hair and tattoos make him look more like a pirate along with making him dangerous to her peace of mind.

Malachi would rather be at sea than stuck in any London ballroom, but he is stuck there until he can find out why he was forced to return home. He doesn't mind so much as soon as he meets Emma. They soon realise there is more between them than scorching hot chemistry wen they both start to receive notes threatening them with blackmail, It means they must work side-by-side to solve the mystery of who wants to ruin their lives and that means forgiving each other for past hurts.

I just reviewed Dukes Do It Better by Bethany Bennett. #DukesDoItBetter #NetGalley

After a series of bad decisions leaves Lady Emma “widowed” in a sea side town with her young son, when a one-nigh stand leaves her on the precipice of a future she never dreamed possible!

Dukes Do It Better picks up after the previous book and is thouroughly intwined in the secrets that were revealed with in West End Earl. This one feels like a continuation of that book, much more intertwined that the first two in the series.

I really enjoyed how fate seemed to bring these characters, Lady Emma and the Duke of Trenton together.The one-night stand and the further acquaintance and other connections made for a fun ”small world” situation. One night was definitely not enough for these two, they were a steamy pairing and the text reflects it!

Lady Emma is a mother and sometimes the addition o f children in romance can feel like an after thought. This was not the case and Alton was a sweet addition to the story and help carry the pet forward. Some of his scenes were my favourites and his presence was the key to Lady Emma’s rehabilitation for wild child to responsible young lady… who still enjoys a good tryst now and then with the right duke… wink, wink!

Overall, this series of three books really reads as a trilogy and by the end of Duke Do It Better readers will be pleased to see all the characters happy and settled. As this series wraps up, I am excited to see what Bethany Bennett has in store for us next!

Dukes Do It Better by Bethany Bennett was released May 24th, 2022.

Thanks so much to Forever Romance and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me with my review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#DukesDoItBetter #BethanyBennett #pinkcowlandreads

One of my favorite historical romances this year!

"Dukes Do It Better" is the third book in Bethany Bennett's Misfits of Mayfair series. It's the HEA of Emma (little sister to Calvin, Earl of Carlyle) and Capt. Malachi Harlow (the new Duke of Trenton). Thankfully, Emma has grown into a worthy heroine after living as a single mother for several years. You might remember her from "West End Earl" as kind of a horny brat and not very likeable. Well, she's still horny, but for a very hot, nice leading man this time. Malachi is everything you want in a historical romance hero - a handsome, strong, kind alpha male who adores his woman and all her baggage without exception. I could not get enough of the two of them together!

After a one-night stand, Emma & Malachi are surprised to see each other again months later in London. She's visiting her brother; he's been summoned back from sea to take over as the new Duke of Trenton after his brother's untimely demise. What are their obstacles? Malachi must discover what spy secrets his family is using to threaten the government, who the author of the mysterious journal he found and read every day at sea really is, and who is trying to blackmail him. Emma must muster the courage to trust her heart, her son and her darkest secrets to the mysterious and delicious Malachi.

Bennett delivers in her dialogue, character development and open-door bedroom scenes without fail. There's just enough plot/conflict to keep you compulsively turning pages and ignoring your children. I haven't read the first book in the series (I'm saving it for the beach this summer) so I can't claim it's the best in the series.... but this one is going to be hard to top for me.

Beautiful cover. Beautiful story of finding love later in life. Plenty of heart and humor in her characters. I'm making Bethany Bennett books an auto-buy from now on.

There are certain characters that readers cannot possibly love - side characters a reader will text her friends to complain about; bratty, self-indulgent, spoiled characters who don't seem to think about how their actions impact others or the future. Readers just can't love them . . . Until they do. A sign of a great author is their ability to redeem these characters and make readers fall head over heals for them. That's exactly what Bethany Bennett has done with Emma in 'Dukes Do It Better.'

Readers met Emma in an earlier book in the Misfits of Mayfair series. While this is a series of standalones, they're best read in order as they feature a group of misfits who find family with each other and some of the plot points carry through the entire series.

'Dukes Do It Better' features a version of Emma that has grown a lot in the five years since the conclusion of 'West End Earl.' This single mom is not in the market for a relationship, but she is not going to turn down an affair with the dashing Captain Harlow - with whom she has a lot of chemistry.

There's a lot going on in this one from Captain Harlow's family drama, to Emma's re-entry into society and the secrets she guards, and a few mysteries along the way. Bennet weaves several plot points together and delivers an entertaining, heartwarming conclusion to the Misfits of Mayfair series.

4.5 stars

This was an entertaining, well-written historical romance. It was fun, clever and held my interest. I wanted to find out what would happen next. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.