I have been a fan of Anabelle Bryant since reading her first book; with each new book, I have become quite the avid fan! Duchess If You Dare, Book 1 in The Maidens of Mayhem Series, did not disappoint! This book has an interesting and strong female character in Scarlett and an equally interesting and intriguing male character in Ambrose -- a different kind of heroine and a not your usual Duke! Ms. Bryant also tackles a topic that was often dismissed in this time period, and she handles it with compassion and sensitivity. She also has a gift for taking ordinary moments in the lives of her characters and turning them into extraordinary moments! I sometimes felt I was there in the pages observing private, intimate scenes and conversations. I thoroughly enjoyed Duchess If You Dare and am looking forward to the next book of adventures, mystery, intrigue, unlikely partners and romance!

The concept of this book was so wonderful and exciting. The only problem was that everything was a little underwhelming. I entered this book with expectations of what it would be. There were different parts I liked and didn't like but overall it wasn't that bad. The characters are great and pretty fun, but it ultimately ended up disappointing me.

Duchess If You Dare⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Anabelle Bryant

This is the first in the Maiden of Mayhem a group of vigilante young women fighting for justice. Scarlett was a skilled fighter since she grew up in the slums of London. She was approached by the Maidens to join their group and consents.

When her seamstress disappeared she begins to search for her. At this point, she meets Ambrose Cross, the fourth Duke of Aylesford, he has become involved because of his brother Martin.

Ms Bryant makes every written scene a picture in your mind and you just fall into her stories. She is a champion at weaving plots and subplots. She ignites the electricity in her characters by looks, seemingly innocent touches and fulfilled romance. She is a wonderful author.

I received an ARC of "Duchess If You Dare" by Annabelle Bryant from Netgalley. Scarlett Wynn and Ambrose Cross, fourth Duke of Aylesford, are both out looking for the same person, a young lady who has gone missing. Sparks fly at their first encounter and fate seems to bring them to the same place no matter the time or day. They know nothing can come of their mutual attraction as Ambrose is a Duke and must do what is expected of him, and marrying a common young lady, not of noble birth is not an option. An interesting story of following one's heart or brain.

Scarlett is no stranger to danger. She often wears pants under her skirts and carries knives to protect herself as she travels in the worst parts of London. Ambrose, a duke, gets dragged by his brother into solving a mystery. He and Scarlett become an unlikely team investigating what has been happening to missing prostitutes. What neither planned for was for them to develop feelings for each other. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my honest review.

I don’t know if I’ve read a romance this year that’s been hotter than Scarlett and Ambrose’s. When the human rights crusaderess and the Duke encounter each other, reluctant sparks fly, and the two realize that the other is exactly what they need. As women disappear and Scarlett relentlessly acts to bring good into the slums of London, her love story with Ambrose lights the way,

Immediately the reader is attracted to Ambrose Cross, Duke of Aylesford, distinguished, imposing, powerful, and a hero that will steal your heart.

But to this reader, Scarlett Wynn is my favorite, a heroine like none other. She is a strong, street smart and skilled fighter who has spent her life surviving in the slums of London while also championing those women less fortunate who are preyed upon by the thugs of the streets as well as the rich nobs of London. Her interest is sparked when a seamstress friend goes missing, along with other girls employed by a brothel, The Scarlet Rose.

While lurking in the shadows on her search for information, Scarlett’s path crosses with that of the Duke of Aylesford, who due to his younger brother’s actions, has also become involved with the mystery surrounding the brothel. As things progress, the two join forces, and it’s not long until an attraction forms, and feelings develop. Not only will they struggle with the evil forces they battle in their search, but also the sharp differences between their worlds, his structured by society and hers of little consequence and in the shadows.

Wonderfully written, it’s so easy to envision every scene, every situation, every struggle and triumph. The delivery is so smooth and flowing, the story captivates the reader, making it difficult to break away. Filled with mystery, tension, romance and love this writer weaves an awesome story you don’t want to miss.

I received an ARC for my honest opinion. Let me say that I absolutely loved Ambrose and Scarlett! Touching and fiery love, great storylines, and many interesting characters I hope to see more of in The Maidens of Mayhem Series.

This book was a wild ride! I loved the historical aspect of it, and the characters really spoke to me. I think this book was a perfect romance combined with some intrigue, and I don’t think anyone will be disappointed by picking it up!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a sucker for historical romance. Scarlett is a feisty young woman how has had a traumatic childhood and learned how to take care of herself at a young age. She is fiercely independent almost immediately to her detriment. The story begins with a mystery and carries it throughout as we get bits and pieces of clues. I will say that there were not enough clues for the reader to figure it out on their own. While we get an inkling of pretty much all the people involved, the actual mystery was not what I was expecting. The reveal of all the details was a bit lackluster and I would've loved to have seen a scene where Scarlett confronts Linnie.

Ambrose is your classic duke. Completely bound and frozen by his sense of duty that has been ingrained in him since birth. I enjoyed the chapters from his point of view, though I felt like he was constantly offending Scarlett in the same way over and over without learning from his mistakes. I think that was intentional on the author's part as it demonstrates his upbringing being so ingrained in him, but it definitely angered me each time he confessed his desire to protect her. She doesn't want protection but she will probably take a partner.

It is a romance so there is smut. It is well written except for the repeated use of unerring accuracy to describe how Ambrose always found her mouth. It took a while to get to the ultimate sex scene but it was definitely well worth the wait. The author paints a steamy picture which was much appreciated.

I definitely intend to pick up the rest of this series as it comes out. Notwithstanding some minor typos in the kindle version, it was a great read.

I enjoyed this story and liked the strong heroine and the intrigue, however it lagged in a few places and the investigation at times didn’t ring completely true. The story leaves some unanswered questions, especially about the other ladies in the group, but that makes me just want to see where the series goes.

Duchess if you dare by Anna Belle Bryant

Scarlett Wynn has had a very tragic young life having experienced /seen the worst of the underbelly of life. As a young woman she is now a ‘Maiden of Mayhem’ trying to right some of life’s wrongdoings. Whilst saving a stranger from death only to discover he is the Duke of Aylesford. When looking for clues about a missing, her path crosses with the duke who is trying to save the family name from scandal caused by his brother and a mystery he is also trying to solve .

Fast moving story showing both best and worst of all societies and broaching it’s very darkest side. Extremely well written many twists and turns. Fabulous read.

It's wonderful to find a strong female lead character. This is what we have in Scarlett. She is determined and physically capable and not interested in men.. till she meets Ambrose, the Duke. I never write spoilers. Just know there is a great plot, with action and worry, and love.

Not your classic historical romance and this is not bad at all. This story is fastpaced and full of action. However, love and romance are the driving forces of the characters' actions. I loved the main couple and I really liked the premise of this book. The female MC is not your usual regency heroine and this is so refreshing. She is daring, dangerous and really brave. It's fun to follow her while she realizes that falling in love is not as bad as she thought.
I will definitely follow the rest of the maidens in this series.

I received an ARC by NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

An intriguing tale about a missing seamstress no one misses and the hunt to find her before a body is found on the Thames. The Duke of Aylesford and Ms. Scarlett undertake the search, separately and together, investigating, asking questions of the wrong persons, until one is kidnapped and the other threatened with death, but, in the end, happiness will out and Ms Scarlett will dare to Duchess—or won’t she?

Very sweet romance with a bit of mystery. Well written quick read, with a strong female lead who is not your normal heroine.

Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Calling all Stalking Jack the Ripper and Bringing Down the Duke fans! We have hit the jackpot. This books is jam packed with mystery/suspense and a strong, independent heroine and her group of mystery solving partners. The plot keeps you entertained right up to the last page. We follow our main heroine as she tries to solve the mystery of her seamstress disappearance. The characters, I found to be relatable even though they are based in a time period far different from my own. The location, is one of my favorite places to read about: London, England.

This book will keep you guessing and swooning through the whole adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“Duchess If You Dare” is the first installment in a new historical romance series (Maidens of Mayhem) by Anabelle Bryant, which will follow a group of young women in Regency-era London as they fight to bring justice to marginalized members of society. The first book follows Scarlett Wynn and the Duke of Aylesford as they try to unravel a mystery at a local brothel. The main characters, their individual motivations, the romance, and even the “mystery” are fairly typical of the genre, but none of it was very compelling to me. Scarlett and Aylesford have an “insta-love” romance which was not believable, and they both have complete changes in core motivations by halfway through the book. My biggest issue with this book was that the Maidens of Mayhem group was never properly explained; it felt like there should have been a prequel (or at least a prologue) showing how the women came together to form the group and explain their motivations.

Overall, this was a quick read and certainly involved more physical drama/danger and fight scenes than a typical historical romance; if that’s your thing, then this is worth a look.

Ambrose comes across as a goody two-shoes, and honestly, I would rather throw him into the River Thames than imagine him as the hero. Scarlett is very uptight as well. The story suffers from lots of telling, not showing. Dialogue is serving more to educate/lecture the reader, than to propel the plot forward. The book ostensibly takes place during the Regency period as well, however, the time does not seem fully anchored in the novel.

I was excited by the opening scenes. Scarlett, our heroine, was fighting off some unknown assailant. She’s quick, she’s agile, and she’s good at wielding knives. She wears a cape and her dress is tailored such that the skirt comes off easily, leaving her in trousers to give chase across rooftops and down alleyways. I was even more excited to learn that Scarlett is one of four Maidens of Mayhem, a group of independent and strong women led by Lady Julia who offered up her house as a gathering/hangout place. Charlie’s Angels in Regency London!!!

“Their relationship was an odd one.” This sentence from the book refers to Scarlett and Ambrose and it pretty much sums up the story for me. The story is a combination of a mystery and a romance. Unfortunately, this mixture did not turn out well here. It is as if the story started out wanting to be a mystery, then along the way it got side-tracked and turned into a romance and maybe even an erotica at one point. Then it remembered its original goal and turned back into a mystery. The resulting outcome is an amateurish mystery and unconvincing happily-ever-after.

I would have liked to see more character development. Scarlett, she’s illegitimate, daughter of a whore. Got it. No need to describe this aspect repeatedly throughout the book. Instead, how did she become an expert that throwing knives? Ambrose, he’s a duke and handsome and hot. Got it. But the constant reminders of his title and physique make him less hot and not duke worthy. I wonder what are Ambrose’s hobbies, etc.? Strangely, I like his younger brother, Martin, better.

This was great, so different in your rags to riches kinda way. I enjoyed the characters personalities and I could easily have read a couple hundred more pages. The side characters were also well written and have me hoping for their stories to come.