This book was sizzling! I don’t normally read rom coms so if I do it’s not very I come for practical plots but rather to lose myself and to be swept impossibly off my feet which I was with this book.

Sophia, the Dowager Duchess ofOldney is approached by Her husband’s old enemy Nickolas for help with a friend. We watch the transformation of Sophia and the relationship develop between them. I enjoyed the characters in this story, but the plot was a bit predictable and there was a definite happily ever after.

Thank you, Net Galley. Nicholas is asking the Duchess for help with her husband's friends to find out what they are up to as the are a rotten group. Her husband was also but he died a little over a year ago. They have an attraction to each other. Nicholas's sister has been missing for ten years, and he is looking for her. She doesn't want to be mixed up with them again, but she'll help until she finds out what they are up to. Can they find love?

Sophia and Nicholas have lives that are intertwined with family and friends.
Sophia’s husband, the Duke, ran in a circle of difficult and cruel men.
Now that he is dead, she can regain her own principles and life.
Nicholas is a fixer and he helps people with their problems but he cannot solve his own issue of finding his sister after 10 years.
He asks Sophia to go back to the Duke’s circle to help a young friend who has gotten in too deep in their gambling.
Their relationship develops but is fraught with twists and turns leading to dangerous decisions.
Ongoing action makes reading easy.
Enjoyable series.

What I like liked about this book was the solid writing style and a fab hero. Nicholas is a great guy. He's committed to standing up for justice. He's committed to finding his family, and just amd overall good dude.

The heroine was weak and a coward, though. She walks through life pretending that the evil that her dead husband and his cronies committed were just something she could ignore for 10 whole years. She's obsessively hates the hero despite having met him a handful of times and has never spoken to him before.

Okay then, so suddenly this long-term hate just disappears, and there's a love story. Oh, and Sophia suddenly has a conscience!!!

I could have liked this book if the heroine was a little bit more relatable.

#netgalley #DalliancewiththeDuchess

Tropes: enemies to lovers; class difference; MC's must solve a mystery
Steam level: 3-4
Part of a series, but works as a standalone.

3.5 stars I ultimately did not round up. The writing style is solid, the plot has potential, and there is a decent twist toward the end. However, I wouldn't read this again, primarily due to the cold and aloof MFC. She does have a character arc, but it takes a while. I found her dislike of the MMC tedious and it felt fabricated. There was no explanation as to why she considered him her nemesis; he was the enemy of her late husband but her late husband was a nasty guy whose behavior she abhorred. I guess MMC made her feel guilty about the fact that she never stood up for the women her husband and his buddies bullied?

I will probably read the next book in the series, but this is an example of a book that relies too heavily on the lust/hate vibe for me. However, if that's your trope, and if you're in the mood for plenty of steam, this might be the book for you.

What a great book! I like that this time, the woman is the duchess and the man is the commoner instead of the other way around, like in so many books. Sophia is a dowager duchess, having married an elderly, dominant duke. She had learned early on to hide her feelings, and now that her husband is dead, she slowly lets her guard down in favor of her true self. But after suppressing her emotions for so long, it’s hard to know who you really are. This is beautifully described in the book. I like it when there are so many layers in a book. The characters are clever, smart, strong and really draw you in.
Besides these real, honest characters there is a mystery; Nicholas has been searching for his sister for ten years. He feels hunted and compelled to find his sister and can't stop searching. This too, adds another layer.
The entire book is beautifully written. The one minor comment one might have, is that Nicholas and Sophia are supposed to hate each other, but you don’t get why. Maybe that is explained in previous books? After reading this book, I’m curious about Sophia’s other sisters, their love stories, so I’m going to look into those. But this book can be read as a standalone, and I can definitely recommend it!
I would’ve preferred a little less spice but I’m glad the story did have depth to it. The story has great pace and is captivating from beginning to end. Everything is brought together perfectly. The epilogue is a fitting ending to the book. I will definitely keep author Sara Bennett in mind for future reads.
Thank you Dragonblade Publishing, Netgalley and Sara Bennett for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Scoundrels, Scandals, Sensational Story:
This is my favorite kind of romance story.
Super magnetic characters Sophia and Nicolas that had a love hate relationship, yet they couldn't keep their hands off
each other from the spellbinding beginning.
This story is short, sizzling, sensually seductive, stimulating, saucy with lots of sparks, and a serendipitous spectacular HEA.
💖Mature Advisory🔥🔥

For this review, I am going to deviate from my usual book review format because the book was painful to read. A year after her husband's death, the Duchess Sophia of Oldney is approached by her husband's nemesis, Nicholas Blake, for help. His friend has fallen into the old company the Duke of Oldney kept.

Unfortunately, the plot is flat. The only time it turns is when Nicholas's friend Gordon reveals that he is not blinded by Chatham and his crowd but has motives of his own. But the plot fizzles out quickly after that.
Right from the first few pages the novel turns phonographic and lust is kept at the forefront of the novel.
The ending is tedious as if the author got bored with the book.

I would rate Dalliance with the Duchess by Sara Bennett 1 out of 5.

When widowed Sophia is approached by Nicholas for help she is loath to say yes. Since he did help her with her sister, she agrees to help him get his friend away from her deceased husband’s cruel friends. Neither of them anticipates the attraction that flares up between them. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

If you love spice, Regency romance, and a quick read, then look no further. This book has all three. It is sweet and well done.

I was approved for an eArc of this book through NetGalley, not realizing it was the 3rd in a series. But I found each book can be read as a stand alone, although a few things were mentioned that probably took place in the other books.

The FMC was well done, being a good mix of determination and vulnerability. And of course we all love a MMC who is a secret cinnamon roll for his girl.

I'll definitely be checking out the other books in this series when I need sweet, short books in between heavier reads!