Steamy historical romance
This book started like a pleasant tune that continued to build to a fantastic crescendo. Appropriate enough for the Red Duchess who the reader will know as Susannah Fletcher, 21yo young woman who wants a life much different than the life prescribed by the ton and her mother. She happens to meet Rafe Winters who is 31yo and the owner/operator of the Wolf’s Den, a risqué gentleman’s club. In order to pursue a dream, Rafe will need to bring a little class to his Den. When he catches Susannah playing his pianoforte, he has an idea! The problem occurs because The Duke of Huntington has looked for the perfect Duchess and he sees her in Susannah. Both men want her, but only one will succeed.
This was such a good book that I read as often as time allowed. I was thinking about it when I couldn’t read it. For me that is a sign of a good book. If you like angsty, passionate storytelling where the underdog doesn’t feel worthy but just might win in the end, you must read this book. Loved the cover too. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Entangled/NetGalley.

The Duchess and the Wolf is delicious. It’s a bit Little Red Riding Hood meets the Big Bad Wolf, but they fall in love. She’s the society heiress, almost engaged to a duke, and always trying to please her mother. He’s the “Wolf of Mayfair,” raised on the streets, where he pickpocketed and stole until he was able to begin building his own empire. When they meet at his establishment, the Wolf’s Den, during a masquerade, it turns out they each have something the other one needs. She can bring respectability to his club by drawing in the ton with her piano performances, helping him to gain the approval needed for a property purchase. She performs anonymously as the “Red Duchess,” complete with cloak, in exchange for the money she needs to escape the stifling expectations of her family and the ton and to explore Europe.

I adored watching Rafe and Susannah falling in love; smiling at Lord and Lady Henry’s excesses and antics; seeing Susannah support herself and make her own decisions; learning how Rafe treats his employees and about his found family relationship with Jacks; and experiencing the chemistry between the Wolf and the Duchess.

This one is highly consumable.

I received an advance copy from Entangled and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Duchess and the wolf by Lydia Drake is such a wonderful read. I am over the moon after receiving the advanced copy. The whole book are just so sweet.

This book have a little bit of suspense, angst, sweet romance, high sexual tension, hot spicy scenes, heart breaking moments and tears. I'll definitely be waiting for more books from Lydia Drake and I'm looking forward to read the next story perhaps about Jacks.

This was a bit different than the vast majority of historical romance that I read since the heroine does NOT want to marry a Duke which in historical romance is almost unheard of for the most part. Our heroine wants to earn some money to allow her to run off and travel the world and since she is an extraordinary pianist, she can make significant money with that talent but since she is part of high society, she must do it in disguise. It is in this situation that she meets our hero who is a bit of a rogue (well more than a bit) and a romance occurs while she is being courted by an actual Duke who for a change is NOT a bad guy.

Bottom Line: Good story, drags a bit in the middle but has a 5 Star ending so I am giving it 4 Stars

This book was different and fun. This time it's not about the duke getting the girl or the girl wanting the duke. The lady falls for the gruff businessman who has fought to get where he is. I like grumpy book boyfriends so it was easy to like Rafe. Susannah was easy to like as well. I found the book a little slow as it neared the middle but quickly picked up after their first time together.

While attending a ball with her friend, Susannah Fletcher meets Rafe Winters, the owner of the Wolf's Den, Mayfair's most notorious club, when he catches her playing the pianoforte. He's not too happy to find her on his stage but he decides to seize the opportunity and asks her to perform at his club for a month.

She refuses the offer at first but the offer of five thousand pounds means she could secure her independence. So they come up with a compromise, she can perform under an alias and masked. Rafe knows Susannah is too good for him but that doesn't seem to stop him from wanting her.

Susannah gets to see a different side of Rafe which leaves her wanting to spend more time with him. And with one kiss she is ready to risk it all for him.

Thank you so much to the author and Entangled Publishing for this ARC to review.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Reminds me of my first historical romance by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Love independent women that are out of the norm. The Wolf is wonderful, so was the Duke of Huntington, both were wonderfully described. Will enjoy reading the remaining books .

This was the perfect steamy historical romance! It had me entertained the whole way through, When Susannah wants to escape her life as a future Duchess in a love-less marriage, she finds her way to the Wolf's Den and straight into the grip of the Wolf of Mayfair, Rafe, a rakeish business owner, raised on the streets. Following a deal in which Susannah would see a big enough payout she could ditch her future husband to see the world, the two of them are stuck together each night. As they grow respect for each other, they also grow love and their chemistry and banter is absolutely perfect!

Loved this read. Now I need to go back and read the first book about Julia and then preorder the upcoming novel as well. I enjoy diving into the worlds that authors create for us and Lydia Drake did not disappoint. I recommend you read Rafe & Susannah's story, it surprised me a few times. If you enjoy regency novels give this series a try.

I loved this storyline! The heroine is perfection in society; beautiful, well bred , and about to marry a Duke! But Susannah longs for a different life of travel, adventure and to play her music on stage. The Duke does not offer this, but Rafe Winters does! Rafe rose up from gutter snipe to club owner of the Wolf’s Den. He gives her a job entertaining patrons with her music while disguised as the Red Duchess. As their two worlds collide and they fall madly in love, how can Susannah give up the life she has always known, as well as her family, for the man she now loves. She cannot have both! A most enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Amara for the free eARC. This is my honest opinion.

This is a fast-paced cute regency romance about Susannah and Rafe. Susannah dreams of performing in concert halls, Rafe dreams of being accepted by the Ton. They meet under unsual circumstances and strike a deal that helps both of them. Then it becomes a whole other type of deal.

This is fun, it reminds me of Gaelen Foley's Knight family regency series about strong females and interesting men. In particular Lady of Desire. If you like regency romances with plenty of spice, then this should hit that sweet spot.

4 out of 5 stars, and 3 out of 5 🌶 for the spice level.

I truly enjoyed this book. The fact that Zan had wanted to steer away from tradition and just marry for title and money was great. She wanted much more and was talented. I love the interactions between her and Rafe. His description was so dark, mysterious and his style was classy and expensive, I wanted to be part of the Wolf Den. The scenes between them both had me blushing.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Their passion was hot and fiery. The love they had for one another was developed beautifully. I loved that it has a “one year later” at the end and gave me more of their happy ending.

The Duchess and the Wolf is a historical romance novel set in Regency England. It tells the story of Susannah, a young debutante who has everything a lady could want: beauty, intelligence, talent, and a large dowry. However, she longs for more than the dull and predictable life her mother has planned for her.

Rafe is a mysterious and handsome gentleman who has a dark past. He is known as the Wolf of London, a notorious gambler and seducer who has a reputation for breaking hearts. When he meets Susannah, he is instantly captivated by her and offers her a chance to join his club.

Overall, it is a captivating and thrilling read that will keep you hooked until the end. The author creates a vivid and realistic setting that transports you to the Regency era. The characters are well-developed and complex, with flaws and strengths that make them relatable and sympathetic. The chemistry between Susannah and Rafe is sizzling and intense, and their relationship is full of challenges and growth. The writing style is smooth and elegant, with witty dialogue and descriptive prose. If you are looking for a historical romance novel that combines drama, humor, and steamy scenes, then you will love it.

Overall, I ended up liking this story. We follow Susannah, a debutante soon to be engaged to one of the most powerful Dukes in the land who also happens to be a good friend of hers. After her exuberant best friend Annabelle drags her to a masked ball at a gentleman's club and then disappears into the crowd, Susannah begins playing the painoforte she stumbles across in an almost empty concert hall room. Who would interrupt her playing but the owner of the club Rafe, an extremely tall and buff man trying to impress an important man whose house he wants to buy and convert into a hotel? One thing leads to another and Susannah is enlisted to be the Red Duchess, a mysterious pianist who plays in a vibrant red cloak and a mask. Being found out would be her ruin, but she definitely wouldn't mind being ruined by Rafe.
The set up of this story was very interesting and I liked how their relationship progressed for most of the book. Things got a little dicey towards the third act because they were both being ridiculous, but it works out in the end. I appreciated the author's exploration of a difficult mother-daughter relationship and the nuance of it. I also loved the easy sibling-esque relationship between Rafe and Jacks, who is one of the best characters. I loved her and I need her to find a wife asap (no it is not explicitly stated that she's sapphic but I can headcanon what I want lol). My favorite characters though were definitely Annabelle and her husband Henry. I need their story so bad; they are so wild.
I went to check the author's backlist, but she seems to have only written one previous book that I could find Cinderella and the Duke, which is actually Susannah's stepsister's story even though these are not in the same series according to Goodreads. That is something that I found not necessarily confusing, but kind of strange. We are plopped in the world and I could definitely tell that there were other stories that had happened because they would be vaguely referenced by Susannah. Referencing her sister's story makes sense and I will go back and read that just to see what I missed. But I also felt like I was missing context for Annabelle and Henry and the governess to Julia (the sister)'s children (one being a ward of her husband who is like 13 and the other being their child who is like maybe 1?). There was also a reference to some kind of group that I can only assume was maybe mentioned in the Cinderella book, but I honestly don't know. I didn't realize that the series were interconnected. It also seems like the two series might be intertwined in some way? Cinderella and the Duke is book 1 of Renegade Dukes and Duchess and the Wolf is book 1 of Debutantes of London but book 2 of Renegade Dukes, Governess and the Duke, sounds like it might be about the governess of the sister but I feel like you would need to have the context of this book before getting to that book? It was a little strange when I was looking all of that up after reading this book.
Anyway, I think if you like Historical Romances with interesting set ups, this book definitely has a more unique set up. I had a good time reading it and I will be checking out the other book currently out.

Susannah has been brought up in Society. She has what every debutant strives for, a duke whose attention is all hers. Her mother is thrilled. Susannah, not so much. She is a talented pianist and has dreams of touring the world and playing packed concert halls. On a scandalous adventure with her best friend, she meets Rafe, the Wolf of Mayfair, at his club. He and Susannah enter a business proposition. She plays for a month in the club, and he pays her enough money for the freedom to pursue her dream. Will they accomplish their goals? Will things change when they realize they have fallen in love? This an entertaining story with likable characters (well, everyone except Susannah’s mother), humor, a bit of angst and drama, snarky banter, an almost duel, a fairy tale romance, and a happy ending for the Red Duchess and the Wolf.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was steamy, fun and held my attention. I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

It was my first book by that author, and I really enjoyed the writing. Rafe was a very interesting character and it was so easy to fall for him even though he was trying so hard to seem unlovable. I did like the fact that Susannah, even though she seemed fragile, was so strong and fighting for what she wanted, risking everything. It’s not that often that the action of an historical romance is mainly in a club so it was really interesting to see our heroine be so bold.

The Little Red Riding Hood inspiration was nice, you have the red duchess with her cloak, the big bad wolf (that you obviously root for) and even the "hunter" so this is the type of details that I do enjoy a lot in retellings like that.

I’d say the first half of the book went better than the second part for me. I find it really hard to enjoy the "almost love at first sight" books cause it always stretches at one point.. and I find myself less interested in the end. Also, I really really had trouble with how Susannah treated Huntington. If at least he was a bad guy, but no... he is absolutely wonderful and he was totally played and used in a really inconsiderate way. Even after all that, he’s still ready to protect Susannah... I’m sorry but she does not deserve it (I said what I said). So yeah, this made me angry with our FMC for a big part of the book. And when I'm mad I can be very petty. And I was a little annoyed at how both our MCs were going straight to assuming the worst at every step near the end.You love each other so perhaps trust each other before assuming the worst? I have nearly no patience with stuff like that so it’s definitely a "me" problem hahaha. I'm sorry!

Thanks to the author and Entangled Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Rafe Winters was a club owner a womanizer and an angry man and on the only night of the year where the women of society were allowed in his club called The Wolves Den he would meet Lady Suzanne Fletcher to say they got off on the wrong foot would be an understatement but when she returns to try and become the clubs musical act due to her dreams of wanting adventure and something besides the “normal“ life her mother has prepared for her and that includes marrying someone Suzanne would prefer not even to know. She would play as the red Duchess but as her love for the music turned in to her love for Rafe Winters he would have to face bigger tragedies then people finding out he has a real lady playing in his club All he’s ever wanted was respect but before it’s over all he’ll want is her. There were a lot of things I really liked about this story especially the end with the whole Samson and Delilah twist but a big pet peeve of mine is when stories are not historically accurate and I found some of this was a big stretch of the truth but not so much it ruined the plot as far as great romances go I can honestly say I couldn’t wait for her and him to see each other again at the end so it definitely gives you everything a romance lover would want in a romance any historical accuracy isn’t that big of a deal because it isn’t glaring things it’s just slight things that probably most people wouldn’t even notice so I would definitely recommend this book it really is a great read and an awesome romance. I want to thank entangled publishing and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I liked Susannah and Rafe's romance. I thought this storyline had a nice air of freshness to it. I liked both of the characters but will admit I liked Rafe more. I could appreciate that they each had their own agenda and I enjoyed seeing their story unfold and their relationship evolve. Quite fun.

Susannah is a charming, proper young lady who is soon to be betrothed to a duke, and all she really wants to play music in public and see the world. The Duchess and the Wolf is, in the simplest terms, the story of how she dares to break the mold of what is expected of a young lady of London Society. But Susannah is so much more than people think, and so is this book.

This one hits so many of my favorite tropes. Opposites attract. Hero who is grumpy and sarcastic to hide kindness and a heart of gold. A woman who knows exactly what she wants and goes against the mold to achieve her dreams. The banter between Susannah and Rafe is perfect when they’re at odds and flirty fun when they stop denying their attraction. They’re very different, but bring out the best in each other, each challenging the other to be bolder, braver, and better than they ever thought they could be.

I thought Susannah’s turn performing as the Red Duchess to help them both achieve their dreams was fun and courted just the right amount of scandal, as does their burgeoning romance. And the pacing is really solid through the first two-thirds of the book where these plotlines shine. But there’s over 30% of the novel left when the leads declare their love, and while there’s definitely still many loose ends to be wrapped up, the pacing felt a little off from then until the end. Still, this was a fun read, with some truly wild supporting characters and plenty of swoony moments between Susannah and Rafe, and the many plots do wrap up in a very satisfying way.

What a sexy, romantic story. The love affair between Susannah and Rafe is taboo in the time period it is written yet explosive and beautiful. They each have to deal with their own issues before they can end up with a HEA. Rafe is a self made man, once pickpocket/ thief, who is an up and coming gambling hell owner. Susannah is a part of the aristocracy and is rumored to be soon engaged to a Duke. Things do not go well for Susannah when she realizes she feels nothing for the man everyone is expecting her to spend her life with and she is wildly attracted to the man who has hired her to play the pianoforte at his gambling hell. I couldn't put the book down until I knew if she would choose her happiness over doing the right thing as expected by her family and society. A great read and I will be looking for the next installment from this author.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Entangled and I am voluntarily leaving a review.