Dreaming of a Duke Like You

Bennett (the Aphrodite’s Club series) launches a new series with this zippy Regency romance. Vivienne Tremeer, the ill-reputed daughter of a baronet, pleads with gambling hall owner Gabriel Cadieux to forgive her wayward 18-year-old brother’s debt, but she is unsuccessful. Gabriel reconsiders, however, after learning that he is the heir to a dukedom and, in this unexpected new role, must take up guardianship over six rambunctious half-sisters. Neither Gabriel nor his siblings knows how to behave in polite society, and with his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Grantham, insisting he restore the family’s honor, Gabriel turns to Vivienne for lessons in navigating upper-crust circles. In exchange, he’ll wipe her brother’s debt clean and take him under his wing as his apprentice. Dancing practice and watercolor lessons prove the perfect conduit for the blossoming love between the well-suited protagonists—but Gabriel’s grandmother insists his future bride have a sterling reputation, and Vivienne doesn’t fit the bill. Though the third act’s grand romantic gesture does not feel quite as grand nor as romantic as readers might hope, it’s impossible not to fall in love with these lovable misfits—especially Gabriel’s audacious sisters, who steal the show. This spells good things for the series to come. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (Oct.)