Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love that Dina is biracial and that the book discusses what that is like for the character. The Indian mythology that is woven through the story is great. And, of course, a duke. I really like Dina and Aetius banter and chemistry. Their relationship is complicated, but sweet (and steamy). I do wish that this story had been shorter. I think Dina and Aetius back and forth "I like you; I don't like you" goes on for too long, and the third act drama was a bit infuriating (I really dislike miscommunication tropes). Again, enjoyed the book, it's a fun read and the steamy bits are great. I look forward to more from this author.

The plot of this book sounded very interesting to me and I was looking forward to reading it. Right away I felt that something was off, we are thrown into the opening scene with the Duke and Dina without much build up or explanation. The story revolved more around horses than romance. This book wasn't for me.

There is nothing I love more than an enemies-to-lovers romance. I love the battles of wits, the tension, and the chemistry and slow burn as the couple finally realizes that despite all their efforts, they’re perfect together. Betting on a Duke’s Heart had all the best elements of a great enemies-to-lovers historical romance.

Right away, I connected with Dina, who was smart, witty, and relatable. Aetius took me a bit longer to warm up to, which makes perfect sense in a story like this! The heroine needs to have a reason to hate him until she (and we) slowly peel away his layers and see him for the kind, ultimately good, but damaged person that he is. In this case, Aetius was totally horse-obsessed and sometimes couldn’t see beyond that. But his reasons for being so, stemming from his troubling past, all made perfect sense.

It was so much fun to ride along with Dina and Aetius on this journey of discovering themselves and each other. The side characters were great fun, and Dina’s secret occupation and Aetius’s horses added interesting, fresh new elements to the story. Overall, I’d absolutely recommend this!

This story started with an Indian myth. There is a part of the myth prior to each chapter. The heroine is a half British half Indian woman born to father who was a horse race gambler. Her mother was of Indian royalty and died young, so the heroine was raised by her father for the most part. Her father is attempting to marry her off by offering a two out of 3 race winner of the Triple Crown horse as her dowry. What people do not realize is that the horse was given to her by a sheikh. And the people who do know this assumes she slept with the sheikh. The hero is her 30th suitor who her dad expects her to marry to the point that the ceremony and papers have already been taken care of. She is able to talk to the Duke and they agree to get to know each other and then she will make a final decision, but the duke (the hero) considers it a done deal.
This book uses a tried and true story line, but keeps it all fresh with the characters and supporting story lines and plots. I enjoyed reading this book once I got past the first section and the story really started. The whole dancing at his birthday party really didn't appeal to me, because it portrayed the heroine as more spoiled than opinionated. I felt it was negative, but the story picked up after that. I even paged through the story to read parts that I liked.
This book has it all, action, adventure, exotic flair, evil people, heroic love... I enjoyed reading it and give it 4.5 stars with a recommendation to read.

I really enjoyed this book but it was not the can’t-put-it-down read I expected. The story was a bit like a venn diagram. Not quite one, not quite two but overlapping somewhere in the middle. The beginning was all romance, somewhere in the middle we get the sense that maybe there will be a mystery blackmail situation, and the end was sort of about that (but then also about wrapping up the romance tacked onto the end). Because of that it ended up feeling loooonnggg.

BUT some of the details were so worth it. I loved all the Indian culture and stories that were embedded into the story and really part of the heroine’s character. But the main issues of this story are (mis)communication—that is of course typical of the genre but it gets tedious after a while. These two miscommunicated all over this book! I did like the hero and the heroine’s characters in spite of their misunderstandings. It was a sweet story, perhaps a bit heavy in the instalust, but with strong characters who are likable and interesting enough to keep any reader involved.

This was first time author from me but it certainly won’t be the last! I really enjoyed this book! I loved the diversity of our characters! Dina is such a strong heroine who won’t settle for anything but love if she is to marry. I loved that Dina’s parents are 2 different cultures so we get to enjoy things from both! I loved all the Indian heritage, clothing, and food! Aetius, Duke of Saxton doesn’t want love just a convenient marriage. He wants Dina’s prized horse, which is her dowry. But these two are going to push each other & show each other that love for them! They had amazing chemistry! I seriously couldn’t get enough of these two! I also enjoyed seeing a Ferris wheel and cars being shown in this as it is not common in most historical romances I’ve read! I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

Front let me just say that I read this book while I was sick. So did my illness affect my enjoyment of this historical? Did it add to my confusion at times that I would have to read and re-read some areas as I couldn’t understand them? I really don’t know. All I can say is I struggled to read this.

It seemed to me that both parties were attracted to each other but it was like each wanted to get or make over the other person. I even had to set this aside and read other books and kept coming back to it as I rarely never finish reading a book. There is always something that will make a book change the direction and make the struggle at times worth it. It will make me really see the struggle that the author put the characters through.

This story is told in a dual POV format. That normally helps me to fully understand the characters but not in this case. I was confused at several points. Once Dina said that she enjoyed the outdoors and her mother taught her how to fly on the banyan tree roots. Then she says that her mother ignored her and only looked forward to her father’s return.

Again while I struggled with this book in confusion and not connecting to the characters, that may have been me being ill, not the author’s work.

I really enjoyed the strength in the heroine and her feminist tendencies. I'm not a huge horse lover or opposites attract kind of person, but the story was good, and I appreciated how RS wove Dina's Indian heritage in it. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

It was pretty decent.
It was an okay start for me but I did start to enjoy it, then I didn't, and then I did
I love what the author added about horses, biracial heroine, and other things.
I will read from this author again.
Rating 3.5/5

A huge thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC of this debut novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful debut historical romance. I loved the representation, and Dina and Aetius were the perfect match. While I enjoyed the unique backgrounds of the characters and their slow burn development of their relationship, there were several reasons I couldn't quite give the book 4 stars.

1. The dialogue was a bit clunky at times - especially during the intimate scenes.
2. The heroine capitulated too quickly - I would have loved to have seen more encounters between them before she realized her feelings were more than lust.
3. The scene in the hayloft was awkward to me.
4. I found myself skimming over a lot of the descriptions, and sometimes the sentences were just too long.

These observations aside, it was still a lovely debut and I look forward to reading more by this author.

3.5 Stars.

This was a slow burning book, it took until almost half way in for the book to really get going and pick up speed. It was a good first novel, but was too long and some chapters with their backstories/hobbies could have easilly been edited out without harming the story.

Aetius White, the Duke of Saxton, is hell bent on acquiring Triple Crown–winning horse to fulfill this father's dream. He doesn't care that means marriage to Miss Dina Campbell. The problem is she doesn't want to marry except love. Even then she can't become a duchess due to everything that would be required would stop her from her translating business. She resents him for just wanting the horse and making her feel unwanted. But she will accept him if he wins her competition. But as the competition heats up, it becomes more about being near each other and less about winning.

It's such a wonderful historical novel. But then, I suppose I just love diving back in time and read about people's misadventures. Aetius and Dina are great characters and I enjoyed the chemistry between the two. There were a few parts that felt dragged but overall, it's an interesting historical fiction and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Determined to own the best horse to win the Triple Crown, Aetius, Duke of Saxton, has decided to marry Miss Dina Campbell. Her dowry is a highly prized horse by the name of Rochko. Dina is no ordinary miss. Half British and half Indian, she is not going to make it easy for Aetius to get Rochko. She will only marry a man who will love her and keep her first over any horse, horses or racing. He is a duke who is afraid to open his heart again. How does he get the lady and the horse? Very entertaining Victorian romp. Laughing one page and crying the next!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

3 Super Debut Stars!

So this was chalk full of surprises, many of which were genuinely delightful. For one thing, I really enjoyed both Dina and Aeitus individually as main characters. I liked that in amidst their outer confidence and well matched wits were squishy nuanced inner shells. While they both really, desperately, want to be loved they go about avoiding it out of fear in two entirely different ways; and while their childhood traumas manifested similarly, the way that formative damage is expressed is also completely different. It made their interactions dynamic and the subtext of their behavior really intriguing to follow as they stumbled around in love. They were both independently solid, well-characterized protagonists that I wanted to root for. I liked the instant, albeit confused, connection they shared and the various hoops they each had to jump through over the course of their relationship. So suffice it to say, the general intention and execution of this story was prime stuff and I wholeheartedly intend to return to Royaline Sing to see what she has to offer next.

I think one thing that particularly stood out was the expression of Indian culture. This is often done as a sort of pastiche that borders on offensive (this, coming from the white Canadian woman so I mean.... how do south Asians feel?) and this never felt that way. We need more representation like this. But this alone isn’t the only thing that makes me curious about her future work, it’s the the fact that she seems to be a planner in her writing, and it all bodes well.

The gripes I had were not overly numerous, though my GoodReads updates certainly attests to the greatest issue I had—which was that it took me forever to get into. Forever. Days. And that never happens. I would say I waffle on 1 in 20 books... To be objective I look to my last few weeks and it could be that I was in an intensive Russian language course, writing a 60-page prospectus for my PhD and working on articles and all the deadlines landed near each other. But even then, I think there were elements of the first 20% of Betting on a Duke’s Heart that were a little disconnected from the intended arc of the story. There were moments where I wasn’t sure quite what Dine and the Duke were talking about, or what their motivations were and this was exacerbated by Sing’s otherwise wonderful entertaining fast-paced prose (sort of in the style of Mia Vincy or Tessa Dare). But, then, once things started to amp up at the 30% mark I was blasting through the pages. Until I hit around the 70% mark and it lost it’s momentum, and I will admit I was a little disappointed with the choices made by Atticus and Dina. They felt a little divergent from the character descriptions and the trajectory of their love story in the second third of the book. But then, it all comes to a very nice conclusion and there were little hints throughout setting up future series (maybe? Or is that just me being hopeful?).

And I am super hopeful! I think that Sing shows a lot of promise with a unique perspective, fun stories, and.... thank the Historical Romance Gods.... NOT taking place during the Regency Period.

Can’t ask for much more, ya know?

Highly recommend giving this fresh writer a go if you like yourself a bi-racial oppositional, unique heroine, a broody, emotionally damaged duke, horses, and angst!

Thanks to Entangled Publishing LLC via NetGalley for this ARC. I read and reviewed this of my own volition and all opinions are honest and my own.

Aetius White, the Duke of Saxton, is on a hunt for a horse. Actually, for THE horse. To save his father’s dream he is determined to do anything to acquire the animal even if it means marrying a young lady who infuriates him but stirs his blood at the same time.
What Dina wants from a husband should be simple – to put her above the horses and to be her soulmate. The arrogant Duke will not do and she is determined to make him see how wrong they are for each other, but his attractiveness doesn’t help her determination.

The writing was good, stiff at times, but solid nonetheless. What was lacking was romance. I think that the author should’ve worked more on developing the characters and their relationship, than on all the details about the horses. That was okay as a background, but it took too much of the story.
The story starts without introducing us to the status quo, we are just dropped in the middle of it and we get to know the background on the way. I think it would be better if there was a prologue or a first chapter that offered a more detailed introduction to at least one of the main characters. This way I didn’t feel connected to them or the story from the beginning but rather got into it after a while.
The hero irritated me by only thinking about the horse. I would’ve liked it better if he was taken by the heroine immediately, but didn’t want to show it. This way, he was so cold and preoccupied with his own goal and she seemed immature with her behavior towards him, even though I understood her motives. Basically, they lacked chemistry – there was so much opportunity in the first 10-15% of the story to connect them somehow and create more chemistry, but in my opinion, those opportunities were not used as the characters concentrated more on discussing the future of the horse and not really bantering.
All the horse references by the hero when thinking of the heroine made me cringe and I’m generally not a fan of a heroine doing unreasonable things to get the hero's attention, however justified her motive may be. It just ends up seeming immature.
I loved all the details from the heroine’s travels and experiencing different cultures, that was a nice touch. The quotes at the beginning of the chapters were interesting and I liked them as an addition to the main story. I also loved that Dina is of mixed heritage and how she values it, not being ashamed or hiding it.
All in all, this was an okay read, I understood that this is a debut novel and I see the potential in this author as a historical romance writer and will definitely follow to see what she’ll write in the future!

Oh, horses and dukes.

Dina is 24, is mad for travels and translations. Her father has promised her hand (and a horse) to Aetius, a duke.
Aetius, at best, is a dunder-head. He assumes Dina wants to marry him, a duke. It was very frustrating.
Dina is determined to put him off, another horse mad man, chasing a dream. She hopes to be first, not second after a horse, or a dog.
Let the games begin.

Aetius and Dina are a nice couple considering their own predilections in this debut novel. This is a rather long and rambling story. It is maybe too long in that there are too many chapters.
I would have preferred a shorter version of this book.
Royaline Sing did a remarkable job with her debut novel.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Betting on a Duke's heart felt like an homage to older historical romances, in some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse. (I wouldn't go so far as to say it was reminiscent of old skool romance, though at one point I did put in my notes "Fuck him. He doesn't deserve a happily ever after," because he was being a giant, ducal ASSHOLE. Which is, generally, how I feel about old skool heroes.)

I really liked Dina; she was fiercely loyal to her friends, had an amazing vocation she was passionate about, and she never once questioned her own worth. I loved that she embraced both sides of her heritage so wholly, both Indian and English, and never tried to drown out one or the other. Dina was proud of who she was and where she'd come from, and I love that we get to see more of that representation, written by a South Asian woman, in a time and place that has been painted all too white by history.

I liked Aetius too, when he wasn't be an emotionally stunted a-hole. The truth is, Aeitus wanted love and companionship too much, but is terrified of getting hurt and doesn't handle it well. Half the time I wanted to hug him and the other half I wanted to slap him. The banter between Dina and Aetius was very entertaining (though there were a few times I got a little lost over who was saying what) and there were definitely a few intimate moments that were...surprising. In a very good way. 😏

I think in the end, the biggest issue was that the story tried to do too much. So much of the main conflict is internal--Aetius has serious abandonment issues and Dina keeps secrets from him because she thinks he won't accept her if he knows them. Then there's an external conflict thrown in there about half way, and it really wasn't necessary. It didn't do anything for the story. There were also aspects of each character that got a bit repetitive, as if the same interactions and conversations were happening over and over again. Overall, I think another round with an editor would have made a world of difference and helped in places where the story felt a little plot-heavy or disjointed.

Despite these negatives, by about 70% of the way through, I was completely invested in discovering how Aetius was going get out of the hole he'd dug himself into and provide Dina with the happily ever after she deserved. The ending was very satisfying, and yes, I forgave Aetius for being a complete and utter tool. Overall, Betting on a Duke's Heart is an impressive debut, and I look forward to seeing more from Royaline!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A story with great cultural information. Aetus is a Duke on a mission. He wants the horse but is surprised by the lady that comes with it. Dina is determined to thwart all offers of marriage. She is holding out for love or she will keep her independence. The story is emotional at time, but also will make you chuckle at some of the characters antics. The big lesson is letting go of fears and learning to trust so that your heart can be open to love.

Such a beautiful story. I love the growth that you see from main characters, both individually and together. So sweet! As the debut novel Royaline Sing, it was well done. I could do with the story being less verbose and allow the story to flow organically but overall such a sweet story.

I received this as an ARC and this is my honest review. #BettingOnADukesHeart #NetGalley