I was left dumbfounded by this book. After I finished it, I tried to decide what I think about the whole thing. The thing is.... I still don't know 😅
There were many parts that I hated, and many parts I truly liked.
The first thing I liked was the writing style. It kept me hooked to the book, and engrossed in the story. The intimate scenes were also decent. They weren't the best out there, but they were definitely better than most. My advice would be to stop writing sexual tension when one character is being humiliated by the other. Dina was a proud and strong woman, so her bowing down to Aetius's insults just because she was turned on didn't make any sense.
Which leads us to my next favorite point; Dina. Dina's character was so well written and really well fleshed out. She suffered a lot from her family dynamics, however, as she started catching feelings, she didn't let her trauma do the running of her choices. Her character development was one of the best out there.
Moving on to the parts I didn't like:
Firstly, I think the length of chapters should've been longer. In the first few chapters, the chapters' ending came abruptly, and what made it worse was how long the snippets at the beginning of each chapter.
I would be immersed in the story, and suddenly I'm reading about a couple from a folklore myth, which really isn't for everyone, the same way some genres aren't my go to.
Another thing I wasn't a fan of was, some parts felt overly educational. I get that the author wanted to show her love and knowledge of the culture, and prove that the FMC was proud of her heritage, however, there was no balance.
Lastly, Aetius was an a**hole. I didn't like his character, I tried to cut him some slack due to his trauma, but he just wasn't trying. He kept choosing the easy way and close himself up. Dina kept proving her love and devotion, and she expressed many times how she needs reassurance from him, and he still didn't go out of his way to show her clearly that he loved her until the very end!!
Honestly, Dina deserves better.
Overall, I have a love-hate relationship with the book.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Really loved this book!

It’s original, fresh and fun!

I really like how strong the heroine is in this story. The plot moves quickly and keeps the reader engaged.

If you love Regency romance, this one is not to be missed!

Dina wants to marry for love. She does NOT want to marry Aetius, the man her father arranges for her to marry. So many men have wanted to marry her to acquire her dowry of a prize winning horse, Aetius included. He wants to acquire a horse capable of winning the Triple Crown even if he has to marry to get it. I was looking forward to something different, with a bi-racial heroine of Indian descent but I had a hard time staying interested in the horse storyline.

This book was just outstanding. I just had so much fun reading this story. I’m really excited to see what’s next from this author.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first multicultural romance I have read in this genre and it has whet my appetite. I found Dina's struggle to find her place in society very interesting and Aetius' abandonment issues were well articulated.

The romance itself seemed to move slowly at first and, in the end, was wrapped up very quickly. Still, an enjoyable book.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review review. I just wasn’t in love with this. It was a slow read it was hard for me to finish. The story just moved super slow.

First I want to thank @netgalley and @entangled_publishing for allowing to read a copy of this ARC for free for my review.
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Betting On a Duke’s heart is a sweet historical romance between Miss Dina Campbell and the Duke of Saxton, Aetius White. This historical romance is rocky from the beginning as Dina does not want to get married as she is a very strong independent woman. The Duke also does not want to get married; however, Dina’s dowery was one he couldn’t refuse. A sure bet for the Triple Crown: Rochko. As Dina, the daughter of a horsemen, does not want to be betrothed to ANOTHER horsemen. This in turn becomes a game of wits. These two are very competitive which makes their competitions funny to read.
. Overall, this was a cute story. I liked both characters but they also both drove me crazy! This was written back and forth in both Dina’s and Aetius’s perspective and they are both so dumb and stubborn sometimes. More than once I wanted to pull my hair out or my eyeballs hurt from rolling them. I just felt like the book took much long and unnecessarily than it needed to be because once you thought one of them wised up… the other character messed it up. 🤪 Anyways, it was a cute book. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

I really enjoyed Sing's debut book! I loved that Dina made Aetius fight for her hand in marriage. She wasn't going to settle for anything less than love. If she didn't ever get married, then she didn't. She would not settle. Make sure to pick this novel up!

I loved this book! The unique setting and characters were a breath of fresh air for the historical romance genre. Dina has quickly become one of my all-time favorite HR heroines. Looking forward to more from Royaline Sing!

This was good! I loved the characters and were completely invested in their story lines. I totally recommend it!

Great diversity, too many horse references. I got disinterested very quickly in the story due to that fact.

While I enjoyed this book it didn't stand out from the crowd. The characters were likeable but again they didn't inspire my imagination. Overall I would recommend this book. It's a fun read if you're stuck got something to read.

For a debut author this is a great offering. I have no doubt Ms Sing will grow to be a phenomenal author.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When Royaline Sing reached out and asked if I’d read her debut historical romance—Betting On A Duke’s Heart--I was happy to oblige. Set in England in the late 1800s, our heroine, Dina, is not your typical English debutante.

After watching her mother come in second place to her father’s obsession with horses, Dina is determined that if she marries, it will be for love. In the meantime, she is perfectly happy to pursue her secret passion, translating Hindu myths into English for publication. Her father, determined to see her wed, offers their racehorse Rochko as her dowry. Aetius, the duke of Saxton, is determined to own the prize-winning horse, and if he must take a wife to get it, so be it.

Dina is committed to refusing him. Aetius isn’t used to being refused. They set a wager to determine their future, but when it comes to love, all bets are off.

What set this debut apart is the unique Indian, or South Asian, influence. Dina’s Indian heritage and her childhood in India shape her in important and formative ways. Sing’s focus on the shifting tides of British imperialism at the end of the nineteenth century brings another layer of historical significance to the novel--placing the story and her heroine in a truly pivotal moment in British history.

If this is her debut effort, I can’t wait to read whatever Sing writes next!

Dina Campbell doesn’t much care if she ever marries at all, but she won’t do so for anything less than a love match and certainly not to a man as horse mad as her father. But her father isn’t getting any younger and he’s determined to see her settled, especially with her half-Indian heritage causing a bit of a stir in some high society circles. Her father sets one of his best racehorses as her dowry, drawing a multitude of suitors and lessening her chances of finding true love.

When her father accepts Aetius White, the Duke of Saxton, Dina is unimpressed, but she can’t deny her attraction to him. She decides to challenge him with several nearly impossible tasks, for which he has equally tough answering challenges for her. If she winds, she can cry off and keep her independence, but if she fails, Aetius gets her and the horse he’s after. She’s up for the challenge, she just has to keep her pesky attraction for the duke at bay.

I want to start by saying this was a solid debut story from a promising new author. There were parts I really enjoyed but also elements that were just frustrating. This book was just very long and many parts of it didn’t really fit or advance the romance, so they slowed the pacing and got a bit tedious. Some of the conversations between Aetius and Dina were convoluted and hard to follow and there were several times I wasn’t really sure what was actually happening. For me, the romance took too long to develop and though I love horses more than most, they did receive rather too much attention here, especially given how disproportionate it was in relation to the love story. When there is a literal on page steamy scene between the horses before the MCs have one or in an attempt to somehow set the mood for the MCs, that signals a plotting/pacing issue to me and it was definitely a scene I could’ve happily done without.

Aetius’ issues, while somewhat understandable, went on for too long and just wound up making him seem petty and immature, especially given that he acknowledged these descriptors himself. He made it clear he really just wanted the horse all too often and that remained true for far too long. Yes, he has abandonment issues and for good reason, but then he turned around and hurt others in the same way, which made him unlikable for me.

I never fully grasped where exactly Dina and Aetius were going with the whole bet and the concept fell flat for me. Some of the conversations between Dina and Aetius, as well as their inner monologues, got really repetitive and could’ve used a heavy paring down. I’m not a fan of the miscommunication/misunderstanding trope either and that abounded here, as well as lasting entirely too long. After such a painfully slow burn, I wanted more steam and sweetness than we got, not to mention my unfulfilled longing for real communication. I also hated how both Aetius and Dina handled things in the final third of the book, but most especially Aetius. These two took steps forward only to then take massive leaps back and that sealed my frustration with the overly convoluted plot and solidified my dislike of Aetius. Sure, he groveled prettily in the end, but it was too little too late for me.

Also, while I enjoyed the insertion of traditional Indian cultural elements, it felt like too much was being covered, especially elements that had nothing to do with the romance and it just became too drawn out and had me skimming. There were also several instances of wrong word usage and some stilted prose that had the same effect as I began merely scanning the page without even realizing it. Dina’s secret was held out for too long --again communication is what I wanted to see, and it just didn’t happen. The brief references to the Indian Independence Movement came too late to really fit into the story and, while interesting, it was just another distraction from the romance, particularly when combined with the various other superfluous elements here. Along those lines, the threatening note/sabotage storyline was yet another unnecessary plot point and a bit of a distraction for me. It didn’t do anything to advance the love story and just felt random given its rapid resolution, rather than being developed to its full potential.

All in all, this is a solid debut with a refreshing setting in the late Victorian era, but it needed to be sharper and with a tighter plot. Nevertheless, I look forward to the development of this author’s storytelling prowess.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Aetius is a duke in search of a bride and a champion racehorse in this Victorian England romance. If he can get both at once, all the better. Dina’s dowry includes such a horse, but she’s not inclined to marry. Instead, she wants to focus on her true passion, translating ancient tales from Sanskrit and publishing them. She’s tempted by the duke, but will he accept a wife with her own ideas? The more Aetius gets to know Dina, the more he realizes he has to have her on any terms.

This was an interesting premise, but the characters were flat and the plot was meandering. The whole book should’ve been about 25% shorter, which would’ve eliminated some of the many, many misunderstandings between the central couple. I kept yelling “just TALK to each other!!” every time one overheard a conversation and came to the wrong conclusion. Story lines kept appearing and disappearing without real resolution. At one point, Dina makes a big deal that the duke doesn’t even know her first name. Later he uses it in conversation, but neither of them acknowledges that this should’ve been a significant moment.

Also, in a novel where Dina’s Indian heritage is such an important part of her identity, the author should’ve known better than to have her heroine publicly perform an “Arabian” dance in an attempt to scandalize the hero. Way to other a whole culture.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I never got around to reading this book. Royaline Sing was a new to me authors in historical romance and I loved the synopsis on the back of the book, but I just didn't like her writing style. Since, I still have to rate it I will give her four stars because I am sure it was a great book, but it just wasn't for me.

I thought this was really enjoyable, especially for a debut novel. I loved that the heroine is biracial and that that is woven into the book in a really thoughtful and real way, as is the featuring of Indian mythology.

The development of the relationship between Dina and Aetius was fun to watch, and the push and pull between them is really well done.

Some of the dialogue and writing was a bit stilted at times, but overall I quite liked it.

This is a fun spin on the traditional 'romance with a duke' but it is Dina who really stole my heart. I loved watching her keep Aetius on his toes. She never backed down and was true to herself while making him prove that he deserved her. This was also one of the few historicals I've read with a POC main character and I wish there were more! There are some really wonderful details in this book and Sing has a lyrical writing style. I also enjoyed reading about Dina's translation project, her life in India, and the cultural traditions she holds on to despite facing some disapproval from stuffy British society. n terms of the romance, Aetius was a bit single-minded at first but he grew to appreciate and love her as a whole person and not a means to an end.

Betting on a Duke’s Heart by by Royaline Sing
#BettingonaDukesHeart #RoyalineSing
@royalinesing @entangled_publishing


A wonderful debut by a South Asian author writing a biracial heroine (half English & half Indian) in a historical romance. The book is peppered with Indian culture along with Hindu mythology blended within the story.

We have opposites-attract, enemies-to-lovers romance between the two main characters, Aetius and Dina. The storyline is reminiscent of older historical romances, that use a subject, as an anchor for plot line. In this book it’s all about horses, which I found quite fascinating.
The heroine gives the reader a brief translated passage at the beginning of each chapter. Which gives this book some really inventive dynamics. I loved the wonderful added culture and heritage that adds depth to story.
It’s a slow burn romance with lots angst, and chemistry.

For the most part I enjoyed Betting on a Dukes heart.
Sinq is able to create a regency romance that feels familiar and packed with our favourite tropes while at the same time feels fresh.
Why can’t all books have this kind of diversity? The heroine Dina is part Indian and her heritage is embraced and explored fully in this novel, through the food and her love of Hindu mythology. She is wonderfully independent while loyal to the people that matter most.
Aetius plays the perfect damaged hero with a good heart, I enjoyed seeing the enemies to lovers push and pull, his layers slowly peeled back as Dina steals his heart.

Some of the dialogue fell short for me, I found myself re reading paragraphs because I couldn’t grasp where parts were going.
And the damn horses, I usually love a novel which explores a hobby, especially one I am not familiar with, but the horses in this felt a little too much.

Thanks NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.