Unwrapping a Guest Review by Connie Fischer of THE DUKE IS BUT A DREAM, a Debutante Diaries novel by Anna Bennett

Greetings my darling readers, I know I’ve been remiss in providing you reviews of good reads this past year and I apologize. Life has a hold on me which does not allow me much reading time. I have tried to make up for that in publishing my own good reads for you and I hope you’ve given them a try. So to make up for my neglect, I will be offering up guest reviews for you enjoy. I hope to be back reviewing for you soon but in the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy my dear friend, Connie Fischer’s reviews to guide you to good reads. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

I present to you a guest review of THE DUKE IS BUT A DREAM, a Debutant Diaries novel by Anna Bennett, published July 30, 2019.

Blurb for THE DUKE IS BUT A DREAM:

Once upon a time three young ladies vowed to record their first London seasons…and to fill in the gaps of their finishing school educations. Thus began The Debutante Diaries—and London will never be the same…

She’s a secret sensation.

Miss Lily Hartley is the anonymous mastermind behind the ton’s latest obsession: The Debutante’s Revenge, a tell-all advice column for young ladies. To keep her identity hidden, Lily delivers her columns disguised as a boy—which is well and good, until she lands in the middle of tavern brawl. As luck would have it, a devastatingly handsome duke sweeps in to rescue her.

He has no idea who she is.

Eric Nash, Duke of Stonebridge, discovers there’s a beautiful woman hiding beneath a lad’s cap, and, before long, he’s falling for the delightfully clever stranger recuperating in his house. He vows to help her find her home, even though he’s reluctant to part with her. There’s only one problem…

Neither does she.

Lily has no idea who she is. She could be a duchess or maid. Betrothed or married. There’s only one thing she does know—that her attraction to Nash is more than skin-deep, and it grows stronger every day. While Lily and Nash search to find her true identity, they just might lose their hearts to each other...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Connie’s Review:

Miss Lily Hartley and her sister, Fiona Gray, the Countess of Ravenport, write a column along with sketches drawn by Fiona, It is posted in the London Hearsay and is entitled “The Debutante’s Revenge.” As Fiona is a newlywed, her husband wants to take her on a trip. That would leave Lily at home with just the servants but that is fine with her. To maintain total anonymity, Lily dresses as a boy when she delivers the column to the newspaper.

Eric Nash, the Duke of Stonebridge, lives with his younger sister, Delilah. He remains saddened at the death of his twin sister, Emily, and his father.

Today, Eric is in a pub nursing an ale when a young boy comes inside to escape the rain. When several rough men try to take the boy’s bag from him, Eric steps in and fights them off. In the fray, the young boy is knocked to the ground hitting his head and knocking him unconscious. When his hat falls off, it’s very apparent that this is a young woman and not a boy. Eric takes the young woman home with him. There, he enlists Delilah's help as he calls for a doctor. When the young woman awakens, she doesn’t remember who she is.

As she heals from her head wound, she and Delilah become friends and they decide to name her Caroline. Eric puts an ad in the paper trying to find out if someone is missing her.

As they wait for someone to “claim” her, Nash and Caroline spark an attraction that cannot be denied.

This story is a mix of wise and mature, and totally immature. The advice written to debutantes is well written and quite clever, but it doesn’t seem to come from the sometimes silly Caroline/Lily. The plot is good but both the hero and heroine needed to slow down their impulses.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

THE DUKE IS BUT A DREAM, a Debutante Diaries novel by Anna Bennett, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, available now in ebook, print, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.