Trigger Warnings
This book contains:
• Blackmail
• Human trafficking and slavery
• Attempted murder
Characters
Scarlett is a young woman who’s lucky enough to be independent and without need of a male to provide for her. She has a knack for investigating and has developed keen fighting skills to keep her safe while she’s a member of the Maidens of Mayhem.
Ambrose on the other hand is a Duke constantly bailing his younger brother out of various trouble to protect the family name. Only this time it seems to have landed him in deeper water than normal.
Storyline
Scarlett and Ambrose are both chasing information about people they care for. While doing so they keep crossing paths until they finally give in and decide to work together since they seem to have a common goal.
Over the course of the book, they’re challenged in way they weren’t expecting, and through it all strive to come out as better people for it.
Overall Thoughts
I loved how empowering this book was for women, even if it wasn’t quite historically accurate, it was still a great read. The adventure throughout, the small instances of romance, the thought provoking comments and the overall emotionally charged story.
There’s more to this series and I’m hoping I’ll be able to come back to it in the future because it was a great read in the regency times that just hits the nail of action and romance so well!

Really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book and loved the idea of the Maidens of Mayhem. I also love a protective hero so well done Ambrose! I also am a huge fan of feminist themes in histpricals but this seemed a bit too 9bvious and deliberate and I would have loved that theme to be woven in a bit more subtly.

So... Another historical romance, another miss.

It took me awhile to get to reviewing this book, and I had to go check out the blurb and other reviews to remember what happened. Which says it all.

The blurb hooks you in no doubt, which is why I wanted to read this book in the first place. But the execution could have been better.

What's a miss is that Scarlet was an interesting character without a doubt. But her romance with the Duke was bland. I understand that the underlying mystery needs solving, but a little more romance world have worked wonders.

3 stars for the attempt of not using the same old drivel plotlines that we see in the historical genre for sure. Could have been better, is all I'm saying.

***ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

I did enjoy the premise of the story, but I think it could've been handled better and its execution didn't manage to get me hooked for the next book. Besides, I requested this looking for the historical romance, like it was tagged as, and I personally found the romantic content in the book kind of bland.

Anabelle Bryant stirs a pot spiced with passion, intrigue, wit and adventure in the first title of her enchanting new series, The Maidens of Mayhem: Duchess If You Dare.

Scarlett Wynn is a woman on a mission. Scarlett had learned at a very young age that life could be cruel – especially for women who had little power. Determined to do whatever it takes to protect women unable to fight back and defend themselves, Scarlett is more likely to be seen skulking in the shadows of the Seven Dials rather than dancing an elegant quadrille in a ballroom. A woman who can more than handle herself and fight her way out of many a tight spot, when a local seamstress disappears, Scarlett is determined to move mountains to find her and punish those who might have harmed her. Armed and full of courage and determination, Scarlett begins to scour London for clues and ends up in an upscale brothel where she finds herself up against the most dangerous and daring of enemies: everlasting love in the dazzling form of Ambrose, Duke of Aylesford…

Ambrose might be a privileged member of the Ton, but that doesn’t seem that his life is a decadent whirl of parties and balls. Ambrose has the weight of the world on his shoulders trying to keep the dukedom profitable – and trying to keep his brother Martin on the straight and narrow. While the former is a constant challenge, the latter seems to be a losing battle with Martin once again coming to him asking him for money after he loses a fortune at the gaming tables yet again! After severely reducing Martin’s allowance, Ambrose had hoped that his brother might have learned his lesson, however, he quickly realizes that that might not be the case – which is why he finds himself at a brothel where he wants to ascertain at all costs that his family’s good name is untarnished. Ambrose is a sensible and practical kind of man who is not usually easily distracted – until he finds himself crossing swords with the beguiling Scarlett Wynn.

Scarlett is unlike any other woman he has ever met before and he finds himself immediately intrigued by this bold, daring and intoxicating woman. Ambrose should be focusing on solving the mystery he has found himself embroiled in, but with Scarlett constantly on his mind that proves easier said than done! But when it turns out that their respective missions could be linked, they find themselves joining forces in their quest for truth and justice. Yet, spending so much time together might just force them to admit that they’ve fallen head over heels in love with one another.

Is a future for Scarlett and Ambrose possible? Or will dangerous enemies intent on vengeance end up tearing them asunder…forever?

Duchess If You Dare is an enchanting and intriguing historical romance written with such style and flair that each page is sprinkled with magic and verve. Anabelle Bryant infuses her story with danger, desire, jeopardy and passion and has created a historical romance that will keep readers on the edge of their seats eagerly turning the pages desperate to find out what happens next.

Scarlett and Ambrose are two terrific leads it is hard not to fall in love with. The chemistry between them sizzles and sparkles, their repartee is witty and charming and their love story is poignant, sexy and positively swoon-worthy!

Duchess If You Dare heralds the start of a terrific new series from Anabelle Bryant and I cannot wait to see what The Maidens of Mayhem will get up to next!

Annabelle Bryant gives the reader Duchess If You Dare, the first story of the Maidens of Mayhem, an over the top romp into nineteenth century upper class and criminal class intermingling along with a romance between a duke and one of the maidens of mayhem. Great reading.

*I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley and the publishers.*

This book is a lot better in theory than it is in practice. I really like what it was trying to do: an opposites-attract mystery romance between a feminist vigilante commoner and an uptight duke who didn't know much beyond the nobility while they investigate a sex trafficking ring. The author wanted to explore issues with how women were treated at that time, privileges of the aristocracy and mistreatment of sex workers, to the point where crimes against them are ignored by official police. All issues still relevant today. Unfortunately, the execution came across overdone and heavy-handed; tell rather than show. Furthermore, the treatment of sex workers was also iffy. I get that it would've reflected attitudes toward them at the time, but one moment Scarlett is sympathizing with the poverty and lack of other options that drove women to sex work, then at the end they're talking about "women of easy virtue." While this does reflect a difference in attitude between the main characters, I do wonder if a sensitivity reader was employed to give insight.

The 'Maidens of Mayhem' is another cool idea that isn't well explained. I had so many questions! How did they originate? Who trained them to fight like that? Are they all trained, or is it just Scarlett? Because the level she's at definitely isn't self-taught. How are they funded? There must be a healthy source of funding, because Scarlett keeps giving out coins for information and ditching her overskirts in an alleyway, and anyone with the vaguest idea of fashion in that era knows that clothing was extremely expensive and not something you'd just randomly throw away unless you could really afford it. This really should've been better explained and explored. Furthermore, the connection between the Maidens was quite weak as well, the reader barely gets to know the other Maidens aside from Julia, and there wasn't much of a connection between Scarlett and the other two. I found this very surprising because it's ostensibly the first in a series so I would expect to see more of the other characters so I would want to read a book about them, but I don't. And then the preview from the next book doesn't even start off with one of the Maidens we've been introduced to! It's beyond confusing. I really hope this is better developed in the next book.

The romance aspect starts off quite slowly, but not in a delicious slow-burn kind of way, more like it seems the story is taking a while to get going. It was nice enough, but I didn't really feel that much of a connection between the two leads, it was just so-so. I did like that they learned from each others' perspective and helped each other during the investigation.

Overall, it did have me reading to find out what happened, and the romance and mystery were enjoyable enough that I'm rounding it up to 3 stars. But there's A LOT that could be improved, and I'm not so impressed that I want to read the next one.

DNF @40%
I picked up this book at least a dozen times hoping each time to get hooked. It never happened. I liked the cover and premise of the book but found the characters lacking spark, the brothel and sex workers story confusing, and nothing really great about the writing. I hope others might enjoy this more than I did.
Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book.

I am not a big fan of historical romance but this one was an interesting start of the series and can't wait to read the next one. Strong heroine gets her happily ever after.
Scarlett knows how to survive in cruel back streets of London. She protects herself and willing to rescue anybody female in danger. She belongs to Maidens of Mayhem. When she finds out her seamstress goes missing, she is determined to solve the mystery. She is willing to work together as long as they would equally work with her.
Ambrose is abound by duty as a duke and serve his country in best way he can. Until his misbehaving brother gets into trouble at brothel and meets mysterious women who moves in the shadow. His brother is trouble maker for sure but he can't just leave his brother and mystery surrounding missing women.
Scarlett and Ambrose decided to work together to solve the problem. Scarlett knows world isn't kind to people without money and she doubt Duke would understand but they do work pretty well together and along the way they fall for each other.
Ambrose is bound to his duty and Scarlett knows her place in the world and it won't be easy if they want beyond solving the mystery, will they willing to risk everything for each other?
It was good start to the series and I can't wait for the next Mayhem.
Thanks to Netgalley and Zebra for ARC.

The book is okay, I feel like it had a lot of potential and could have been so much better, but it suffered from a lack of focus. Although I didn't enjoy this book, I think there's definite potential in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Duchess If You Dare, the lives of Ambrose, Duke of Aynesford, and Scarlett, a woman who’s only known the streets, collide to create a love story you’ll want to read.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I thought the idea of both Ambrose and Scarlett working to solve the same mystery, which brought them together, was an excellent meet-cute. Bryant did a lovely job setting up the mystery, and pulling readers in through that. For that reason, I thought the plot was well done.

Pacing, on the other hand, felt a little bit off to me at times. It was fast at the beginning, pulling you in quickly. Near the middle-end, however, I found that the story started to slow down, moving from focusing on the mystery and more toward their relationship. While that doesn’t necessarily bother me, I felt like the mystery of the missing women went from being more forefront to not really of importance. Personally, I would’ve liked to see more of that.

When it came to the characters, I found most of them to be relatively forgettable. The bad guys didn’t feel all that bad, and the supporting characters felt kind of flat. I personally would’ve liked to see more of Martin or the other Maidens of Mayhem. However, both Scarlett and Ambrose were very well developed. While I liked their characters, I felt their relationship irked me in moments. The idea of both of them being so reluctant right up to the very end, while knowing there was no need for it, caused me to lose interest slightly.

In the end, I did enjoy the read, and would recommend it to others who enjoy mystery and romance (heavier on the romance) within a period setting.

I loved this book!

An amazing heroine that takes care of herself and depends on no one and is perfectly happy. We need to see more of that! I loved to see it, Scarlett was an amazing character. She saved the man for goodness sake, it can't get any better than that!!

I'm very interested in what other books the author has in store because this book definitely grabbed my attention!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the earc in return for an honest review.

I initially really liked the premise of this book, especially the idea of the Maidens of Mayhem, Scarlett's group of vigilante women who patrol the streets keeping order and ensuring the vulnerable are protected. I was intrigued by Ambrose's role as the dutiful oldest son contrasted with his reckless younger brother Martin, who was actually my favorite character.

However, the circumstances that brought Scarlett and Ambrose together felt a little far-fetched, and I honestly did not feel the chemistry between them. The author also had Scarlett regularly spout ideas regarding the unfair treatment of women in society in a clear attempt to be feminist, but it was too on-the-nose for me. I also thought the discussion around sex work could have been handled more delicately. Lastly, I was disappointed when Ambrose started becoming protective and territorial of Scarlet at a ball after he initially respected her vigilante, trouser-wearing ways and had not been emasculated in the slightest when she came to his rescue.

I did enjoy some of the side characters and thought the premise of this story had a lot of promise, but sadly it was not a winner for me.

Thank you to Kensington Books/Zebra via Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What an adventure!!!

They say you should not judge a book by its cover but honestly as soon as I saw this book cover I knew that I would enjoy this book and it did not disappoint.

Set in London in the regency era, Scarlett and the Maidens of Mayhem, fight to rid the city of injustices in whatever form.

When Linie, Scarlett's seamstress goes missing she immediately suspects something amiss. The case takes her to a brothel which, for Scarlett brings back painful memories. Meanwhile Ambrose, the Duke of Aylesford, in having to deal with his reckless brother Martin's wildness ends up at he establishment. But things take a turn......

As Scarlett's and Aylesford's paths lead them towards the same mysterious circumstances they become bound together by duty and a sizzling attraction.

Scarlett possessed a strength that was rarely seen in women of tha era. Although this was a work of fiction and meant to be entertaining I could not help being drawn to the important topics. The Duke had me swooning from the very beginning and his attraction to Scarlett had me at the edge of my seat literally.

This story was written with everyone in mind. A true masterpiece.

I cannot wait to see what is next.

Well done!!!!

Duchess If You Dare by Anabelle Bryant is the First book in The Maidens of Mayhem Series. This is the story of Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford and Scarlett Wynn.
Scarlett had to learn from an early age to take care of herself. This has also taught her to always have protection and to know how to use it. So Scarlett is not the usual young miss. This has lead her to start The Maidens of Mayhem to go out help the innocent who can't sometimes help themselves. When her friend Linie/ Seamstress goes missing she of course set off to find out what has happen to her. This has put her on the path to meeting Ambrose who is the most uptight and strict follower of the town. But Ambrose has a brother named Martin who is the total opposite and keeps getting into trouble. When Ambrose and Scarlett keep seeming to be looking for the same thing they end up team up which of course is the start to their story. Loved this book and always enjoy Ms. Bryant's writing.

You know when you go into a book expecting one thing, but it surprises you in a good way, and turns out to be something completely different? That's exactly how I felt about Duchess if you dare.

Duchess If You Dare has action, mystery, romance and a good few racy scenes to really get your heart pumping.

The novel follows Scarlett, a maiden of mayhem who looks out for women who were often overlooked by the law and society. Her path crosses in an unlikely fashion with Ambrose, the Duke of Aylesford, who is pulled into looking into the disappearance of a prostitute by his feckless brother Martin.

I loved the character of Scarlett, she's strong, independent and doesn't conform to the rules of polite society. Love interest Ambrose is weighed down by the expectations of being a Duke, but he shows his fiercely protective side when it comes to Scarlett.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the other Maidens of Mayhem and I felt the mystery aspect could have been a bit stronger, but of course that's just my opinion.

Duchess if you dare is a rip roaring adventure with plenty of action, intrigue and a bit of steaminess too.

This story is ok. It has a little bit of mystery, and little bit of character development. It is not one of my all time favorites but it is definitely a cute story

I do love historical romance and Duchess If You Dare is a wonderful one. The story moves at a great pace with plenty of danger, romance and a little bit of mystery within the pages. There was also a real sense of adventure that showed throughout and made me eager to turn those pages. Then add in a romance and this made the story even more engaging!

What can I say about Scarlett and Ambrose? Well they made such a fabulous pairing! Even though they came from different worlds there was such a strong connection between the pair. Scarlett was such a strong, vibrant character. I really enjoyed the sparks that flew with every interaction between them. Ambrose made for a great hero, slightly brooding at first but as the story progressed you saw more layers to his personality revealed. I couldn’t help but hope for a happy ever after for them.

Duchess If You Dare is a wonderful romance with challenges and danger at every corner. Creating a strong start to a new series and I can’t wait to see what The Maidens of Mayhem get up to next!

This book was an interesting one. I really enjoyed the book and will be recommending this to my friends who are into historical fiction with romance and a mystery.

The name of this series made me really curious, I've enjoyed it, the author expertly depicted the less shining part of London but I expected more mayhem from these ladies.

Scarlett Wynn joined a group of women who watch and protect the most defenseless and try to fight the abuses of the powerful. When her seamstress goes missing she begins to look for her getting involved into something very dangerous, fortunately she also finds the unexpected help of the Duke of Aylesford. Ambrose Cross, fourth Duke of Aylesford, has to save once again his younger brother but this time things are pretty shady so he decides to investigate some more, but he is too flashy on the bad streets of London so he finds an ally in an intriguing woman. Will they solve this mysterious disappearance or will they get hurt trying?

I liked the mystery plot even if at the end it feels rushed. I'm not too convinced about the romance between the two main characters because I see a too big economic and social gap between them, but in the end I'm still a sucker for romance so I want to believe in their happily ever after.

Duchess If You Dare was easy to read and overall a nice one.