Review: Project Duchess (Duke Dynasty #1) by Sabrina Jeffries
Print Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Zebra (June 25, 2019)
From Goodreads.com: A series of stepfathers and a difficult childhood have left Fletcher “Grey” Pryde, 5th Duke of Greycourt, with a guarded heart, enviable wealth, and the undeserved reputation of a rogue. Grey’s focus on expanding his dukedom allows him little time to find a wife. But when his mother is widowed yet again and he meets the charmingly unconventional woman managing his stepfather’s funeral, he’s shocked to discover how much they have in common. Still, Grey isn’t interested in love, no matter how pretty, or delightfully outspoken, the lady . . .
Beatrice Wolfe gave up on romance long ago, and the arrogant Duke of Greycourt with his rakish reputation isn’t exactly changing her mind. Then Grey agrees to assist his grief-stricken mother with her latest “project”: schooling spirited, unfashionable Beatrice for her debut. Now that Beatrice is seeing through Grey’s charms to his wounded heart, she’s having trouble keeping him at arm’s length. But once Grey starts digging into her family’s secrets, she must decide whether her loyalties lie with her family . . . or with the man whose lessons capture her heart . . .
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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Let me start off by saying that I was first introduced to this series when I read the second book first. I vaguely remember this one coming across my Netgalley feed, and for some reason, I wasn't interested in it then. Which was probably a good thing as where I absolutely loved The Bachelor? This one ... not so much.
To begin with, I loathe instalove. You cannot possibly have all the feelings these two have within days of meeting each other. That isn't love, that's lust. And it's not a solid foundation to build upon. So the fact that these two almost immediately started having "feelings" and "impure thoughts" towards the other bugged me. I also found it incredibly hard to believe that as this story progressed, these two would take more and more liberties with each other in spots where either of their families could (and in some cases did) happen upon them. It didn't seem to fit with the story (and especially didn't fit within the time period). To be honest, while I wasn't completely sold on their love story, I did enjoy the secondary characters a lot more.
I also didn't care for the fact that Grey's brother instantly believed that Bea's brother (a disabled Veteran) was the guilty party when he didn't even have proof that a crime had been committed. Honestly, while some of his arguments made sense, for the most part, he came across as paranoid and delusional (especially the way he ran off at the end without proof).
Having read the second story (and having the same gripe), it was annoying to find that this one ended in almost the exact same way with the cliff-hanger. However, despite all of that, I believe this story will appeal to fans of historical romance novels with characters that don't like to conform to society thinks they ought to be. I will read more from this author.
Let me start off by saying that I was first introduced to this series when I read the second book first. I vaguely remember this one coming across my Netgalley feed, and for some reason, I wasn't interested in it then. Which was probably a good thing as where I absolutely loved The Bachelor? This one ... not so much.
To begin with, I loathe instalove. You cannot possibly have all the feelings these two have within days of meeting each other. That isn't love, that's lust. And it's not a solid foundation to build upon. So the fact that these two almost immediately started having "feelings" and "impure thoughts" towards the other bugged me. I also found it incredibly hard to believe that as this story progressed, these two would take more and more liberties with each other in spots where either of their families could (and in some cases did) happen upon them. It didn't seem to fit with the story (and especially didn't fit within the time period). To be honest, while I wasn't completely sold on their love story, I did enjoy the secondary characters a lot more.
I also didn't care for the fact that Grey's brother instantly believed that Bea's brother (a disabled Veteran) was the guilty party when he didn't even have proof that a crime had been committed. Honestly, while some of his arguments made sense, for the most part, he came across as paranoid and delusional (especially the way he ran off at the end without proof).
Having read the second story (and having the same gripe), it was annoying to find that this one ended in almost the exact same way with the cliff-hanger. However, despite all of that, I believe this story will appeal to fans of historical romance novels with characters that don't like to conform to society thinks they ought to be. I will read more from this author.
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Project Duchess is available from Amazon.com
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