
Dukes Do It Better
Author: Bethany Bennett
Series: Misfits of Mayfair, book 3
Publisher: Forever (May 24, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback, 328 pages
Romance, Adult Historical Romance (Regency)
Goodreads
Summary
After a debut season plagued by scandal, Lady Emma Hardwick is ready to return to London, now with her young son in tow, and make a match. She’s looking for someone respectable. Someone wholly unlike Malachi Harlow, the new Duke of Trenton and former ship captain, whose long hair and tattoos make him decidedly dangerous to her peace of mind.
Malachi would rather be at sea than in a London ballroom. But until he can sort out why the admiralty brought him home, he has to stay landbound. That becomes less of a hardship when he meets the beguiling Lady Emma, whose dimples and easy laughter capture his imagination. When they start receiving threatening notes, they realize that there’s more to their connection than chemistry, and they’ll have to work together to figure out why someone wants to ruin their lives.

Review
I didn’t love this third installment of the Misfits of Mayfair series as much as I loved the first two – but I REALLY loved the first two!
Our heroine of this book, Emma, was a secondary character in book two (West End Earl) and she was really unlikeable. I enjoyed getting to read her story and watch her grow and evolve. I don’t love romances with a single parent (it’s just not my trope of choice), and the relationships between Emma and her lover and Emma as a mother and how those two interact is a major focus of this book.
There are a lot of plotlines going on in this book, and sometimes it feels like a little too much. Still, the banter and chemistry between Emma and Mal is delicious (and the interactions between Mal and Emma’s son are ADORABLE). I’m definitely looking forward to what Bethany Bennett comes out with next!!
This is the third book in the Misfits of Mayfair series, and I strongly encourage potential readers to read the series in order. There are major spoilers for the first two books, the previous main characters play pivotal roles in this book, and there’s an underlying plotline that runs through all three books. So please start with book one, Any Rogue Will Do!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are unbiased and my own.