I read the first of the series, but it can also be read as a standalone.
I loved the first book and the second did not disappoint as well. Lovely characters and a heartwarming romance make this a perfect read for readers of romance.

Bennett gives her readers a fabulous read with Lily and Nash's story. This was one of the best stories with amnesia and mistaken identity that I have read. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Smart, entertaining historical

The Duke is but a Dream the second book in Anna Bennett’s Debutante’s Diaries series was an enjoyable read which can be read as a stand alone. The chemistry between Lily/Caroline and Nash the Duke of Stonebridge was memorable. The twist and turns the plot took really kept my interest to the very end. I thought the secondary characters added greatly to my enjoyment of the book and look forward to the next book book in the series.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

This was so much better than the first one!! I absolutely loved Nash and Lily!! I really enjoy the amnesia trope so I had high hopes going into this one. I also loved that Lily was a writer and I really appreciated how dedicated she was and how strong. I loved her relationship with Nash and all the steamy scenes had me fanning myself. SO MUCH CHEMISTRY! And Nash is SO SO SWOONY! I loved him and I loved how sweet he was to Lily!! He is such a good guy and of course he has that bit of broodiness to him but that just made me love him even more.. I really enjoyed their development as the novel progressed. The ending made my heart melt! It was a bit predictable and it felt like something I had read before actually but I still had a huge smile on my face and it left me with all the butterflies. This is such a fun beach read to get swept away in! Thank you to the publisher for sending this book my way! Definitely pick this up if you’re in the mood for something light, romantic, and swoon worthy!

I enjoyed this version of the lost memory trope. I find that normally in the romance genre it is the man who looses his memory, placing the woman in a caregiver role.

I enjoyed the story, even though I've read other novels with the same trope. I did like the characters and found them accessible. The sex scenes were not overly described, but were just enough. I would recommend this to the historical romance reader.

A solid 3 for me...
This one is a tried and true plotline. Boy meets girl, girl gets amnesia, boy and girl fall in love after much dragging of the heels. The characters felt a little one dimensional, and sometimes their actions completely defy logic (Lily/Caroline is recovering from a concussion and amnesia, but she tries to lure the hero into a scandalous embrace as quickly as possible). Still, a nice way to spend a few afternoons if you want some light reading.

What an absolute wonderful read.. This was such a heart wrenching love story, without giving away an spoilers, our main lady has some major hurdles to live and feel her way through. But, the one thing she never strays from is her love for him. The dashing grumpy Lord who rescue's her in so many ways.. I really enjoyed the book and I will be looking for ward to the others in this series

This is my first book by this author and she writes very well. I really enjoyed the premise of Lily losing her memory and Nash taking her in. It’s a great setup to bring them together. Personally I’m not a fan of the bodice ripping moments of romance novels and there’s quite a lot of that here. I feel like the author rushed the physical intimacy instead of allowing the romance to build between the characters. My favorite part of regency novels is more Austen like great dialogue and characters but I felt that was lacking here. I prefer regency novels more like those by Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. This novel was missing the charm and humor and smoldering characters that makes those novels stand out. I thought the novel slowed down towards the end after the author put up too many plot contrivances to keep them apart. I also found myself missing more of the description and interaction with the Ton that can make regency novels so entertaining. I’ve also read better versions of debutant writes secret newsletter than this one. Overall it was a fine read but not great.

Suspend disbelief!
If this had nothing to do with a duke, it might work. He is over protective of his sister so it made no sense that he would allow her to meet and associate with a random stranger dressed inappropriately. His constant biblical profanity was out of time or was it? The time period is hazy. So many things happen that are against the rules (and the characters don't really care).
The heroine, besides being an author of a salacious column, is also adopted and an heiress. Read that again.
The amnesia was mostly believable and so was the violence in the bar. The circumstances leading to her being by herself so she could be at the duke's house for over a week were well done.

If you don't care about historical accuracy in behavior or speech, this is entertaining with a hea.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.

I requested this book to read and review The Duke is But a Dream by Anna Bennett. This is the first book I have read by this author. But cant wait to read more of her stories. I loved the time period for this. It's gives you an idea of what women went through. But also shows the reader that women were still trying to empower women in any time period. I love the characters Nash, Caroline/Lilly and Delilah. And there was other but you will have to read this book to find out the rest! This has romance, mystery, history and some self help in it. This book is a great read for any adult reader. Once you get started you won't want to put it down!!

This book contains several of my favorites—a heroine who is an author/journalist, a grumpy, redeemable hero, and lots of plot development through female friendships and sisterhood. It contains some genuine crazy-sauce elements, like a mysterious origin story, not one, but TWO trips to Gretna Greene, and amnesia! Unfortunately, it also contains one of my least favorite tropes. Nash “can’t possibly love anyone,” least of all Lily, because he’s emotionally stunted (like every other English male in the peerage during the Romance Novel Era).

I say Romance Novel Era, because it’s not exactly clear which historical time period this is set in. If that’s something that annoys you, this might not be a book for you. However, the characters are beautifully developed, the relationship is built in a believable, genuine way, and I am really looking forward to the other characters’ books.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

The Duke is But a Dream is a fun, if slightly cheesy, story and quick read. Excellently written and hopelessly romantic. I would recommend this to readers who have read Regency Romance before, aren't afraid of a little steamy writing, and are looking for something to lose themselves in for an afternoon.

I was given this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a review.

DNF I wanted to like this story as I had others by the same author, but I found the "insta" chemistry very unbelievable. It drives me crazy that an author wants us to believe that a woman with amnesia (in regency times no less) will be throwing herself at her host with little to no concern about how she ended up this way. I can suspend belief while reading, but this kind of storyline makes me nuts!

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.

What a great story! I enjoyed this so much I had to check to see what else I have by Anna Bennett on my TBR and what I had already read by her. I've read a couple by her already and loved them as well. Her writing flows easily and her characters are so lovable.

I loved watching Lily (Caroline) bring Nash out of his shell. I don't want to say too much, just know they are wonderful together :)

When I was offered The Duke Is But a Dream, I didn't have to think for very long. I mean, look at the cover: sometimes I would wish I was born one hundred years ago, to experience being a debutante and coming out. Of course, it would e exciting, but also difficult to cope with all the hidden rules and expectations. Fortunately there is the 'Debutante's Revenge', a weekly column in the newspaper, to guide you through all the steps. Since the advises can be somewhat scandalous, the author of the column is kept secret. To ensure her anonymity, Lily Hartwell dresses up like a messenger boy to deliver her column to the paper. When she gets caught up in a bar fight after delivering her column, she bumps her head and loses her memory.
Eric Nash, Duke of Stonebridge, witnessed three burly men harassing a young messenger boy and decided to intervene. Only to discover that it is a beautiful young woman, without a memory of who she is and why she is dressed as a boy. Feeling guilty, Nash decides to take the woman home, to tend to her injuries. Since she can't remember her won name, they agree to call her Caroline for the time being. Caroline is frustrated, not to be able to recall who she is. She could be a maid, a governess or a duchess. But as long as she doesn't remember, she can't do anything than talking to Nash's sister Delilah and trying to figure out who she is. She also can't help to feel attracted to the grumpy duke, who ensures her he isn't capable of love. But maybe she has a beau or even a husband at home, so it is difficult. Nash is sure, he isn't capable of love any more. Not since the death of Emily and the guilt he is carrying over what happended. But he can't keep his mind of the beautiful, headstrong and frustrating woman in his house. Caroline can't help, but feel a strong connection to the column of the unknown author and Delilah is convinced she might be the author. Nahs is growing more frustrated with the column every week, because his sister takes the bold advises more to heart than his warnings about men on the marriage mart. Afraid he will lose Delilah, his last living relative, he tries to keep her safe by restricting her to the house. But when Delilah flees, Nahs needs help to find her. Can he trust Caroline to help him? Find out for yourselves in this wonderful read. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

This was an interesting story. Although it felt a bit more modern than a historical romance set during the Regency period, I still really enjoyed the premise of this book. It was cute and very sexy. Definitely kept me reading until the very end.

*I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book*

I absolutely loved this book, I haven't read book 1 in this series but I bet I would enjoy it as much as I did this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. It was well written and the characters were described well.

I received this ARC for an honest review. I normally say I dislike historical romance novels, but Anna Bennett proved me wrong. I really enjoyed this book. Bennett stayed true to the times, but she showed how some women could be strong. This story is about Lily. Lily secretly writes “The Debutant’s Revenge” for Hearsay’s paper. It is articles about how women should enjoy pleasures of life and love. When Lily’s family and friends go on holiday, she decides to be a little reckless. To hide her identity, she dresses like a young lad to deliver her articles after she decided to visit a tavern. Three men saw her/him as an easy target to rob, but a gentleman(Nash) she noticed earlier came to her rescue. He got into a fight with the three men. When he threw one away from him, he accidentally threw the man into Lily making her hit her head on a table. Nash took Lily home when he realized the lad was really a woman. When Lily woke up, she didn’t remember who she was. What happens next? You NEED to read this book to find out.