Dreaming of a Duke Like You by Sara Bennett is a Regency romance and the start of the Duke of Grantham series (3.5/5 stars)

Dreaming of a Duke Like You by Sara Bennett is a Regency romance and the start of the Duke of Grantham series.

Gabriel Cadieux, once raised in a foundling home, has made a name for himself as the proprietor of a successful gaming hell. Being never welcomed by polite society, he is shocked to learn he is the legitimate heir to a dukedom. He opts to accept the debt-ridden title along with the six rebellious half-sisters he can’t bear to abandon. Vivienne Tremeer has a scandalous past and intends to get the loathsome owner of Cadieux’s club to discharge her brother’s gambling debts. Gabriel offers her a trade: he’ll do so if she helps train his sisters to adhere to polite society.

This was a fun read, and my first from this author. I stayed up way too late across several nights because the story was intriguing. The writing is good, but it didn’t hook me overall as much as I wanted it to. There is a dual point-of-view that alternates between our two leads. The publisher did a great job with this cover, because the characters are exactly as I pictured them in my head.

I did enjoy the chemistry and sexual tension between our two leads that started from their first meeting. Another cute thing I liked was that Gabriel is a romance reader, including one that Vivienne wrote. Side characters are fairly well fleshed out, and I particularly enjoyed Gabriel’s sisters and his two best friends.

If you’re a fan of pining and angst due to scandal (or perceived scandal), this is definitely the book for you. In terms of spice, there are a few kissing scenes and a semi-closed-door “just one night” of sexytiems.

Tropes in this book include: unexpected inheritance, enemies to friends to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine

I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Forever for sending me a free paperback copy, and NetGalley for the digital ARC. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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