The Duke Is But a Dream by Anna Bennett

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.

Reviewed by chymerra on

4 of 5 stars

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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**

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 June, 2019: Finished reading
  • 18 June, 2019: Reviewed