#Book Review#One Duke Down by Anna Bennett #Rogues to Lovers Series #Romance @St.Martin's

From the blurb:

The next delightful novel in Anna Bennett's Rogues to Lovers series!
A FISHERMAN’S DAUGHTER
Miss Poppy Summers is determined to keep her family’s fishing business afloat. Her poor widowed father has fallen ill, and her foolhardy brother has moved to London, leaving her precious little time to pursue her own dreams. The very last thing Poppy needs to find tangled in her nets is a dangerously attractive man with a head wound—who claims he’s a duke.

AND A DUKE OUT OF WATER
Andrew Keane is the Duke of Hawking, but he’s having the devil of a time convincing his fiery-haired rescuer of that fact. The truth is, someone in Bellehaven Bay wants to kill him, and he intends to find out who—if he can persuade Poppy to help him. She’s wary of Keane’s scheme but can’t refuse the generous sum he offers in exchange for food and shelter while he recovers. It’s a business arrangement, she reasons…nothing more.

ARE ABOUT TO MAKE WAVES
As Keane and Poppy work together to solve the puzzle of his attacker, unexpected feelings blossom between them. But Poppy’s past gives her every reason to mistrust someone like Keane, and when all the facts come to light, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Torn between the world she’s always known and the one she’s always dreamed of, she’ll need to trust Keane for a chance at her fairytale ending.

Publisher: St.Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 24, 2023

Purchase Link

My thoughts:
A gorgeous romance with a strong, passionate heroine, thoughtful and caring hero, lots of adventures and a mystery to solve- what more can a reader ask? There are also a few hot, swoonworthy, steamy scenes, just to warn you in case you decide to listen to the audiobook version in a public place.

Poppy Summers is a fisherman's daughter, hard-working and loyal to her ailing father, her brother who has been drinking and gambling too much, and of course, her friends- Hazel and Kitty. Imagine her surprise when she finds an unconsious man tangled in one of her fishing nets! Poppy tries to help the poor soul by bandaging his head wound and moving him further away from the sea, all the time ignoring his attempts to pass for a duke. She does make a few discrete inquiries later and it turns out Keane was telling the truth- he is the Duke of Hawking! All Keane knows someone tried to murder him and throw his unconscous body in the sea, so he comes up with a brilliant plan to hide away on Poppy's beach for a few days and do a bit of sleuthing in the meantime to find the attacker. Poppy could do with the money the duke offers for staying in her humble beach shack, but more importantly Keane offers an opportunity for an adventure.

I was amazed how well Poppy took to her new role of an amateur sleuth and how good she was! Keane and Poppy make up a wonderful couple- they complement each other, listen and learn from each other which is a perfect recipe for a happy relationship. There's a lot more to Poppy's life story and it isn't particularly easy for an aristocrat to gain her trust. Needless to say, this is exactly what makes their story even sweeter and more swoonworthy.

Recommended to anyone who likes fun, entertaining historical romance with low-angst and a bit of spice. Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

About the author:
Anna Bennett is the award-winning author of the Debutante Diaries and Wayward Wallflowers series. Her dream of writing romance began during a semester in London, where she fell in love with the city, its history, and its pubs. Now Anna's living happily-ever-after in Maryland with her family, who try valiantly not to roll their eyes whenever she quotes Jane Austen.