Sophie Reads YA: Sara Bennett

ARC Review: Dalliance with the Duchess (Disgraceful Duchesses #3) by Sara Bennett

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Dalliance with the Duchess
Series: Disgraceful Duchesses #3
Author: Sara Bennett
Published November 29th 2024 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Far from being enemies, Sophia and Nicholas discover they are ideally matched. Can they find a happy ever after?

Ten years after marrying the Duke of Oldney, Sophia is a widow, living quietly without the society intrigue and gossip she once craved. But when the man she hates, Nicholas Blake, asks for her help to save his young friend from Oldney’s vicious friends, Sophia agrees to return to a world she now despises. Nicholas has only ever been her adversary, but as they work closely together, loathing turns to irresistible desire. Could she have been wrong about him?

Nicholas Blake has always found Sophia fascinating, even when they were sworn enemies, but suddenly blazing anger has turned into unstoppable passion. How can he focus on important matters like saving his friend and finding his missing sister, when all he can think about is Sophia?

And now that she has put herself in danger to help him, he must do everything in his power to keep her safe.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Sophia, now Dowager Duchess of Oldney, is ready to rid herself of the pain and suffering she felt under the control of her late husband. Oldney and his friendship group were brutes, and she wants nothing to do with them, so is finding it difficult to help her former enemy, Nicholas Blake. Nicholas needs Sophia to get back in touch with Oldney's set, to help save his friend Gordon from their control. Sophia agrees, but soon questions if everything she once knew was true, and whether she's wasted her time on hating Nicholas, when they could've had passion instead.

Another enjoyable book in the series, and Nicholas and Sophia definitely had a strong enough chemistry to keep their romance going. From the moment they'd met, they'd hated each other - but did they really? After all, there's a fine line between love and hate, and the tryst they shared at Vauxhall would support that. I liked the dynamic between the pair, and the mutual respect they had for each other even when they were denying their true feelings. My favourite part of the entire series is that all three sisters, who were forced into marrying dukes by their mother, managed to find love and happiness in the end, and it made them closer than ever.

Dates Read:
December 7-8, 2024

Rating
3 Stars

3 Stars

ARC Review: Tempting the Duchess (Disgraceful Duchesses #2) by Sara Bennett

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Tempting the Duchess
Series: Disgraceful Duchesses #2
Author: Sara Bennett
Published August 29th 2024 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Together Ellis and Owen burn bright with their unstoppable passion, but will her secret destroy their happiness?

Widowed Ellis Mallory is running for her life when she finds shelter at the home of artist Owen, Lord Lyndhurst. She agrees to sit for him. During the five years of her sham marriage, Ellis longed for a lover to teach her the pleasures of passion. But Owen has rules when it comes to his relations with his models. As Ellis poses for Owen’s brazen drawings, she decides she must be bold if she is to get past his scruples and capture his heart.

Owen once dreamed of being a famous portrait painter, but now he draws saucy pictures of half naked ladies and sells them to his publisher in London. His latest model has left him in the lurch and he is in dire need of someone to sit for him, when Ellis arrives. A beautiful damsel in distress, he is instantly attracted to her, and when she agrees to pose for him he decides not to ask too many questions.

Despite her being a temptation he finds impossible to resist.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Ellis, Dowager Duchess of Breamore, is fleeing for her life. She's just lost her husband, and his cousin Theo is angry that she has inherited most of the property, while he just got the title. Knowing that if she dies without marrying or any children, he'd be able to claim the property, he's out for blood, and Ellis knows it's only a matter of time before he finds her. She finds shelter at the home of Owen, Lord Lyndhurst, an artist in dire need of a model. In return for shelter, Ellis agrees to be his muse, and considering her 5 year marriage was a sham, she's ready to explore her sensual side.

I think I liked this one a little better than the previous book. Ellis knew her mother expected her to make a prestigious match, and when she found her duke, he was willing to marry her for friendship. The duke became really good friends with Ellis, but his relationship with his lover, Elijah, was everything to him. Even so, he made sure that Ellis would be well off when he passed, and everything unentailed was left to her - which also had it's own problems. The heir, Theo, wanted everything belonging to the Breamore estate, and that included Ellis. If he couldn't have her, then he wouldn't let anyone, and he'd get rid of her to make sure he inherited the lot. I appreciated how Elijah and Ellis worked together to get her free, and though Owen was happily living alone in the countryside, he recognised a damsel in distress, and protected her. Owen and Ellis did have a bit of an instalust connection, but they made it work, and soon Owen's alpha male side came out when Theo came knocking. He knew he was falling for her, and he wasn't going to let anyone get to her.

Dates Read:
December 6-7, 2024

Rating
3 Stars

3 Stars

ARC Review: Seducing the Duchess (Disgraceful Duchesses #1) by Sara Bennett

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Seducing the Duchess
Series: Disgraceful Duchesses #1
Author: Sara Bennett
Published May 31st 2024 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Sebastian is seducing the duchess…or is she seducing him?

Catherine, Dowager Duchess of Wellesley, is on her way home to her bleak castle in the North of England, when she becomes trapped in a snowbound inn. The lonely widow of an old husband, her hopes of finding a man who can show her the sort of passion she longs for, are fading. That is until she discovers the gentleman she met ten years ago, and has been dreaming of ever since, is sharing her captivity.

Is this her chance to finally make those dreams come true?

Sebastian, Viscount Albury, is on his way home to his estranged father, a man he has not seen since the tragic death of his mother. What he needs now is a distraction. For years he has lived a rake’s life in London, his heart unhindered by emotion, but when he sees Catherine something changes.

Can he seduce the duchess and walk away?

Trapped together, Catherine and Sebastian, discover more than the passion that binds them. But can they escape the past and make a future together?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Married when she was only 19 to a lord old enough to be her grandfather, widowed Catherine, Dowager Duchess of Wellesley is returning to her cold, unwelcoming castle in the north. The only light in her life is her young son Jack, but her late husband has managed to ruin that even from beyond the grave. Catherine and Jack need to live in the remote castle, or else they lose the title and wealth which comes from the estate. Proving again and again that would do anything for her family, Catherine just wishes for happiness, even if it is fleeting. When the weather takes a turn for the worst, she is snowed in at the sleepy White Rose Inn, with none other than Sebastian, Viscount Albury, a man Catherine remembers dancing with in her debut season, and who has only gotten more handsome as the years have passed. Will they both give into their attraction for the time they have together, and be able to walk away when the snow clears?

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I really appreciated Catherine's struggles and her guilt over trying to find happiness. She was dragged to London with her sisters and forced to marry to save the family. She did so without making a fuss, and even when she's 'free' from her husband, he still is controlling her life. Being with Sebastian was one of the only things she had ever done for herself, and it was both exciting and terrifying to have that ability. Her love for Jack was clear at every turn, and the moments she and Sebastian spent together talking about him, and their families, were really sweet, and helped to cement their relationship.

Dates Read:
November 27-28, 2024

Rating
3 Stars

Dreaming of a Duke Like You

Waiting On Wednesday: Dreaming of a Duke Like You (Duke of Grantham #1) by Sara Bennett

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2023 New Release challenge

ARC Review: Dreaming of a Duke Like You (Duke of Grantham #1) by Sara Bennett

10:00

Dreaming of a Duke Like You
Series: Duke of Grantham #1
Author: Sara Bennett
Published October 10th 2023 by Forever

Goodreads Synopsis
It’s “loathe at first sight” for this gaming hell owner and spinster, but if they play their cards right, they both may win in the end . . .

Raised in a foundling home and now proprietor of a successful club, Gabriel Cadieux hasn’t ever been welcomed by polite society. But when he discovers he’s the legitimate heir to a dukedom, he must make a choice: accept the debt-ridden title and the trappings of the peerage who shunned him or decline and leave his six rebellious half sisters to fend for themselves. As much as he hates the idea, Gabriel can’t abandon his siblings, even if it means making a deal with the most frustrating—and aggravatingly beautiful—woman he’s ever met.

Vivienne Tremeer storms into Cadieux’s club with one thing on her mind: get the loathsome owner to discharge her brother’s gambling debts. So when Gabriel offers her a trade—if she’ll teach his wild sisters the ways of the ton, he’ll clear the notes—she has no choice but to accept. But with her reputation already on a knife’s edge, falling for the duke could cause the scandal of the season.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After discovering that her younger brother has lost a fortune gambling, Vivienne Tremeer storms into Cadieux’s club to force the owner to release him from the debt. She never expects to find herself enthralled by the handsome owner, who happens to be the new Duke of Grantham. Gabriel Cadieux was raised as an orphan in a foundling home, and has fought his way to become an owner of an up and coming gaming hell. He's now comfortable in his wealth, so discovering he is the legitimate heir to a bankrupt dukedom, which comes with 6 - now illegitimate - sisters, Gabriel knows that if he will be able to join haute society, he'll need help. Seeing Vivienne as the perfect tutor for himself and his sisters, he offers to clear the debt, and train Will in working in the hell, as long as she quietly helps them. But Gabriel never expected that he would see Vivienne as anything other than a beautiful hindrance, and definitely not as a potential duchess.

I adore Sara's books, and as soon as I saw that I could download this from NetGalley, I knew I couldn't stop myself immediately reading it. Vivienne and Gabriel were phenomenal heroes, and their romance was perfect for the story. Neither was the usual character, both misfits in the ton, but they loved fiercely, and would do anything to help those they cared about. Gabriel had two friends from his childhood that meant the world to him, and though he had never had true siblings, he couldn't let his sisters be left in ruin. Vivienne was the same - her brother was throwing away everything to bad friends, and she stormed a hell in the night to fight for him - not something the usual society lady would do. I think that was the main reason why Gabriel was so drawn to her, and vice versa. They saw kindred spirits in each other, and their personalities were so complementary. A fantastic start to a new series, and I hope that Vivienne and Gabriel make re-appearances in the following books!

Dates Read:
July 1, 2023

Rating
4 Stars