Review: The Duke Is But a Dream by Anna Bennett

St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 2019

⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

It is a truth universally acknowledged that quiet, content children will immediately clamor for attention the moment a mom tries to do anything requiring concentration. I apologize in advance if this review seems at all scattered.

The Duke Is But a Dream is the second book in Anna Bennett’s Debutante Diaries series and I liked it. There are lots of classic tropes at play (maybe too many?) so a romance fan is bound to find something to like in this book. There is a sister duo secretly writing a society column. There is a spunky heroine, Lily, who sneaks out dressed as a boy. There is amnesia. There’s a family secret. And there’s a stuffy duke, Nash, who claims he doesn’t believe in romantic love.

I really liked Lily. But I struggled with Nash. Ordinarily I LOOOVE a stuffy hero because beneath all of that there’s actually passion and strong emotions. But Nash lets Lily go way too easily for me. In fact, his brotherly feelings for his sister were more moving and impressive to me than his romantic feelings for Lily. And don’t get me wrong, I love strong family relationships in my romance. But that’s not really why I’m reading the book…

But overall this is a solid romance. It has a lot of good reviews. I think a lot of historical romance fans will enjoy it.

The Duke Is But a Dream releases at the end of the month on July 30th. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s for the chance to read an advanced copy!

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

Happy Romance Reading!