Project Duchess (Duke Dynasty) Mass Market Paperback – June 25, 2019

When Fletcher “Grey” Pryde, Duke of Greycourt’s cousin Vanessa comes to visit him he learns two things, one his aunt is still intent on him marrying Vanessa, much to his and Vanessa’s disgust and two his mother has been widowed yet again. At his mothers’ request, he immediately leaves London and heads out to Armitage Hall.Beatrice Wolfe, is cousin to Sheridan Wolfe, the new Duke of Armitage. She is at the hall helping with the funeral arrangements for her uncle Maurice when Grey arrives and immediately sets her temper off. For his part, Grey is intrigued by the plain speaking Beatrice and would love to argue with her, but he needs to see his mother and get some answers from Sheridan. Beatrice and her brother Joshua live in the dower house, they were orphaned when Beatrice was only 10 and they were taken in by her grandparents, soon after Joshua joined the army and only returned a few years ago, injured and much changed. Beatrice had tried to be helpful to her aunt Lydia (Grey’s mom) and the duchess has decided that Beatrice needs a season and Beatrice hopes to find a husband and finally some security in her life. She is surprised by her reaction to Grey, but is cautious, she has heard rumors of his debauched life and knows better than to pine after a man so far above her in station.His mother is overcome with grief and very happy to see Grey, she wasn’t sure he would come as he has ignored his family in the months since they returned to England from Prussia. His step-father was an ambassador in Prussia and only returned to London when his brother “Armie” died and he inherited the duchy. His mother was married three times and had five children, three of her sons are dukes – Grey, the Duke of Greycourt is her eldest, Marlowe is the Duke of Thornstock and Sheridan is now the Duke of Armitage, she also has a daughter Gwyn (Marlowe’s twin) and Heywood (Sheridan’s younger brother) – with the exception of Heywood who is in the military, they are all at Armitage for the funeral. Grey is happy to see his siblings, but is guarded, he left Prussia when he was only ten to go live with his aunt and uncle in England and the experience left him changed, he doesn’t want love, as it has only ever caused him pain and as much as he would like to embrace his family, his past holds him back. He soon learns that Sheridan doesn’t believe Maurice’s death was an accident and thinks that Beatrice’s brother Joshua killed not only him, but possibly Armie as well. He wants Grey to investigate Joshua, but Grey argues that he would probably get more answers from Beatrice – especially since their mother is grooming her and Gwyn for a debut, Grey says he would get more information helping their mother prepare the girls as he is familiar with the London season.I really enjoyed this story, yes, there are a lot of characters and yes, there is a lot going on, but it is really well done and even with the multitude of characters, it stays on point and Beatrice and Grey are definitely forefront in the story. I loved watching them fall in love and slowly overcome the hurts of their past and learn to trust each other, even when things are not what they seem. The book is filled with witty dialogue, secrets, heartache, steamy love scenes, mystery and a very hard won HEA. The book nicely sets up the series with hints of the other siblings backstories as well as the ongoing mystery of Maurice’s death. I am happy to recommend this book and am eagerly awaiting the next story!!*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

I’ve had Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries on my to-read list since it was released. When I was asked to review book four, Undercover Duke, I knew I needed to start at the beginning, and I’m glad I did. While the book stands alone, the books in the series are all strongly connected with an overarching plot but also with the characters. So, I strongly suggest reading the books in order.This series revolves around a family. The matriarch of the family, Lydia, was married three times. Each man ultimately ended up a duke. She has five children, three of which have inherited the duke title. And now, the series follows each of these children as they find their true love. Book one, Project Duchess, is the story of Fletcher, the Duke of Greycount (aka Grey), and Beatrice.First, the premise of this series pulled me in. You have these five step-siblings, three of whom are dukes. They’re a close family, and they get even closer as they dive into the mysteries surrounding the deaths of each of their fathers and as they find love and start their own families.Project Duchess kicks off the series, introduces the whole family and how everyone fits in the equation, and sets the stage for the mystery.Grey and Beatrice are interesting characters. Both have pain in their past that makes them wary. But there’s this spark between them that they have a heck of a time ignoring. The romance is a slow burn and developed well as Ms. Jeffries had to take the time to get these two characters to trust each other enough to fall in love. And boy, there are plenty of reasons for them both not to trust the other. I can’t say that either character is unique, but I didn’t care. They worked together, and I was cheering them on.My only real complaint is the mystery part of the book. I know it’s not the focus, but I feel that it could have been developed more to add a little more meat to the story. I understand that it’s going to be carried over into future books in the series. But I felt that it was just rather thrown into this series as a way to add conflict between Grey and Beatrice and wasn’t explored past that. Other than this, I was sucked into the story.Project Duchess was a solid first book in a series. I always know I can count on an enjoyable read when I pick up a book by Sabrina Jeffries, and this one was no exception. I can’t wait to read more in the Duke Dynasty series! The Bachelor is up next on my eReader, as I’m curious to visit more with this interesting family. Fans of historical romance should not miss this series.

This was throughly entertaining and I couldn't set it aside! I absolutely love the writing style ofSabrina Jeffries. It's both sensational and provocative. She creates these diverting characters that you're dying to see come together and once they do, the explosions begin!I read the last book in this series first, so I felt like I already had a broad picture of them and their motivations. This was just the frosty icing upon the cake. This Regency Romance gave a thrilling romance as it also dove into some very traumatic events. There are relatable issues at play here making these characters so very human.I can't wait to read the next book in this must read series. Regency England is just so captivating and makes for the most swoony romance.

I have read from this author in the past and I find her earlier books to be more captivating. I find that this book was a bit predictable. The conversation between characters was blunt and lacked expression.The book was cool to read but not really what I’m into when I consider emotion, deep story, connection and things of the sort. Is this a book I would recommend? No.I will say Joshua has more character building than even the main characters!Maybe future books within this series will offer more back story and relation between characters.