The Duke Is But a Dream (Debutante Diaries)

by Anna Bennett

Miss Lily Hartley is mastermind behind the ton's obsession: the Debutante's Revenge, an advice column to young ladies. She dresses as a boy to deliver her columns to the newspaper - until a near accident leaves her in the streets. With the Duke of Ravenport coming to her rescue.

Eric Knight, Duke of Ravenport, runs to save a lad from a street accident - only to realise the lad is a woman. A woman who, in the accident, has forgotten her name. Lily is to stay at his estate as Eric finds her family - but he's quickly falling in love with her.

Lily knows her name, but she can't tell the Duke she's the writer behind the column. So she'll fake her memory loss until she can figure out a plan. But love has other ideas.

• ISBN13: 9781250199485
• Publish Date: 30 July 2019
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: St Martin's Press
• Imprint: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781250199485

Reviews

[chymerra]

I am not a huge fan of the amnesia/unlovable person troupes. I don’t see the appeal in falling in love with someone who has amnesia. When they recover their memory, they could be someone different. Like it was pointed out to Nash, Caroline/Lily could be a scullery maid. I also don’t like the unlovable person troupe. It rubs me the wrong way. So, when I saw that The Duke is But a Dream contained both, I sighed and mentally set myself up for a disappointment.

I am happy to report; this book didn’t disappoint me. The author did a fantastic job of building up the troupes and then shattering what I thought of them.

I liked Lily/Caroline. She was sweet but impulsive. That impulsiveness got her into trouble, and it continued throughout the book. I did feel awful that she had amnesia. I couldn’t imagine not remembering who I was or my family. I liked how she handled Delilah, Nash, and their issues too.

I wasn’t fond of Nash. His backstory took a while to come out. Meanwhile, he was keeping Delilah from meeting people (and suitors). When his backstory was revealed, I felt awful for him. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I thought he would have gotten better after the reveal, but he didn’t.

The romance angle of the book was a bit hard for me to swallow. Mainly because I didn’t like the “hard to love” and “amnesia” troupe. But the author did a great job of building up Nash and Lily/Caroline’s relationship. By the end of the book, their relationship felt natural.

That incredible sexual tension leads to some fantastic sex scenes. Lily/Caroline was progressive for a young lady of that era. She enjoyed sex and doing sexual things.

The end of The Duke is But a Dream was typical. Lily/Caroline and Nash got their HEA. But, I do wish that there was an epilogue that was set in the future.

I would give The Duke is But a Dream an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Duke is But a Dream I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

[Lindsey Gray]

Lily is the younger sister of Fiona, the heroine from book one of the Debutant Diaries. Fiona and her now husband, Gray, fought off a blackmailer with a secret about Lily’s birth mother. Lily has known from a young age she was adopted, but never knew who her real mother is.

In the second installment of this series, we find Lily in a bit of a jam. She is the authoress of the Debutante Diaries in a local newspaper. When she delivers her latest column to the paper disguised as a chimney sweep, she shelters in a rough pub when caught in a storm. After an ale and some Shepard’s Pie, she attempts to leave but gets accosted by some louts.

Enter Eric Nash, the Duke of Stonebridge. He attempts to save the lad, but discovers she’s not a lad at all after she knocks herself out when she smacks her head on a table. No one knows who she is so Nash takes her home. When she awakens, she has no memory of who she is.

I am a sucker for an amnesia story. Every author’s take is different. I love how Bennett deals with things that are familiar to Lily. She gets a tingly feeling in the back of her brain. I would describe it as having a word or phrase on the tip of your tongue that you just can’t get out.

While Lily is living with a dashing duke, she also finds a life-long friend in Nash’s sister, Delilah. While Nash and Lily are slowly exploring intimacy, Lily finds another sister in Delilah. After Nash and Delilah lost Nash’s twin sister and their father five years earlier, Lily is a bright ray of sunshine in their dark live. I love how in helping Lily heal her memory, she also helps to heal a family that has experienced such a devastating loss.

Now that the Hartley sisters have found love, hopefully it is time for their friend, Sophie, to find her happily ever after. I would also love a story for Delilah! She hit some rough bumps in this story and she deserves a handsome rogue of her own.

I received The Duke Is But a Dream for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.