BLOG TOUR: Duchess If You Dare

"Do you fear he will clip your wings and cage you? A good man will lift you up so you can fly higher. Remember that before you chastise yourself for allowing yourself to be open to love."

London, 1817. As a Maiden of Mayhem, Scarlett runs in the dangerous parts of town. She wields a weapon, wears trousers under her skirts, and fights for women who have been wronged by society. When a friend comes up missing and all clues point to the Scarlet Rose brothel, Scarlett will stop at nothing to solve the case, even if it includes going toe to toe with Ambrose, the Duke of Aylesford. The Duke is a rule follower to the core, trying to keep his family fortune afloat with his privileged brother squanders is away. Following clues of his own, Ambrose has a feeling something's amiss at the brothel. The pair want to solve the mystery and discover who the man with the ruby ring is, but they are following very different methods. determined not to work together. But as the two start to unravel the mystery, their lives may soon be in mortal danger.

There was so much to love about the action and intrigue of this book! It gave me serious Bringing Down the Duke vibes and I loved both main characters. Duchess If You Dare isn't one noted. There are several interesting plot twists that I did not see coming. The mystery runs deeper than the reader is led to believe in the beginning. No character is what they seem. It will leave you questioning every character until the very end, as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fall into place. It was hard to narrow down everything I loved about this book!

“Damn the fact she was female and society charged a persons worth on gender rather than merit and intelligence.”

Scarlett

There is no other way to put this - Scarlett is a complete badass. Even though she's an orphan and has had to fight tooth and nail for everything she has, she doesn't let this jade her toward humanity. She gives zero F's about societal expectations for women. She wears pants under her skirts, she wields a knife and she will fight you. It was extremely refreshing to see a main character in the 1800s that stood up for herself at every turn. Pushing the boundaries of relationships, Scarlett is the strong one, the one doing the saving, and she doesn’t need to be taken care of. Scarlett doesn't need a man to save her or need a relationship to validate her place in life. I loved how multi-faceted her character was portrayed. Scarlett's hard, yet soft, intelligent, witty, and has grace under pressure.

Scarlett had grace, but was strong. She was fierce and brave, yet soft and caring.

“Your edges have been polished smooth by years of wealth and advantage, a result evidenced by the life you lead. Our differences are far greater than our similarities...we may reside in the same city, but we don't live in the same worlds."

Class Divisions

One theme I find often when reading historical fiction romance is a class division between the main characters. Duchess If You Dare explores this theme. Scarlett comes from a less than ideal background. Her mother was a mistress, which led to her untimely death at the hands of one of her men and leaving Scarlett as an orphan in the process. Even though Scarlett's good deeds brought her enough money to be comfortable, this still doesn't give her a title or a pedigree that would merit her relationship with a duke.

Ambrose is the fourth Duke of Aylesford and is totally unaware of the world outside of his title and his money. Too often women are attracted to what he has rather than who he is. He's not sure if Scarlett is like every other woman, only wanting him for his title and money. It's Scarlett who helps Ambrose see what a privileged life he's led and how he can use his position for change for the better.

“She wouldn’t allow herself to notice this powerful attraction or yield to its carnal command."

Slow Burn Enemies to Lovers

I love a good enemies to lovers trope, but I especially love it when it's paired with a slow burn romance. Scarlett and Ambrose keep finding themselves in tight, dark spots together while escaping danger and investigating their respective mysteries. Their chemistry is undeniable and clearly electric. Because the pair are so different, their opposites attract energy bled through the pages. It was refreshing to see Scarlett's boundary pushing attitude in juxtaposition to Ambrose's rule following nature, which led to further steam. And I completely enamored how the many, many layers of clothing just added to the foreplay and desire building between the two.

Historical References

One of the reasons why I love reading historical fiction is for the historical aspect. The clothes, the setting, and the issues of that time period. Duchess If You Dare accurately depicts the lives of the poor and destitute of London in the 1800s. Many times, London is romanticized as this mystical and regal city where anything is possible. The stark truth, especially during this time period, is that the wealth was held by the top 1% of the population, many of them nobility, and the rest of the population struggled to make ends meet. While there were pockets of London that were posh and luxurious, most of the city was dark, dirty, and crime-riddled. The author did an amazing job showing the worst pockets of the city and allowing the reader to be immersed in how out of place Ambrose was traveling to Scarlett's side of the city. The poor truly had the dirtiest jobs with the least amount of pay, just to make a small fraction of what the wealthy had.

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Publish Date: March 30, 2021