Sabrina Jeffries

From New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries comes a sparkling new series about an oft-widowed mother’s grown children, who blaze through society in their quest for the truth about their fathers . . . and in the process find that love just might conquer all . . . 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 . . . “Anyone who loves romance must read Sabrina Jeffries!” —Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author

Project Duchess

'Anyone who loves romance must read Sabrina Jeffries!' Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author From New York Times bestselling author, and Queen of the sexy Regency romance, Sabrina Jeffries comes a sparkling new series about an oft-widowed mother's grown children, who blaze through society in their quest for the truth about their fathers . . . and in the process find that love just might conquer all . . . For fans of Sarah MacLean, Julia Quinn and Tessa Dare. 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 . . . For more dazzlingly romantic and witty historical romance, don't miss Sabrina's other gorgeous series including The Sinful Suitors, The Hellions of Halstead Hall, The School for Heiresses and The Royal Brotherhood.

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Zebra in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Project Duchess is the first book in Jefferies NEWEST series "Duke Dynasty" and I am such a fan for Sabrina Jeffries and she is pretty much an auto-read author since she was one of my very firsts adult authors to pick up. Now lately I never know if a regency will work for me or not but this book was so delicious in every way and I just didn't want to put it down. There was something so sweet and connecting about this story that I gravitated towards and I have no REGRETS in any way because once again this author has delighted me and I am more than happy with that.
Every time you offer to do whatever I wish, you tempt me, Beatrice. So don't offer unless you mean it
In Project Duchess, our story sets off when our hero has come to his family's estate when he hears that his step father has been killed and rushes home. He has had a great distance from his family and mostly that is due to his own actions and decisions and what happened to him when he was young and sent away from his family. Now having lost the only real father he ever really knew he is devastated and regrets that they weren't able to mend fences before he was killed. When he arrives he meets a cousin of one of his step brothers, Beatrice, who is sassy and smart and doesn't hold back with him and he finds her refreshing and wanting her like a breath of fresh air. Beatrice is in training to have her come out under the guidance of Grey's mother. But there is a murder to solve and Beatrice's brother is their primary suspect. Can he get to the truth without compromising the love that is forming between himself and Beatrice? or will that bride be burned unable to be rebuilt?
What I want is to make love to you. What I want is to show you what it feels like to need someone so desperately that nothing else makes sense, that the mere thought of seeing that person makes one's heart race.
Project Duchess was a stunning story and I was really captivated by the sweet and fun bantering that these two had whenever they were near to each other but at the same time, there is powerful chemistry that is built between them that really stuns you in all the delightful ways. I truly didn't want to let go of what these two had together. The chemistry that slowly forms between them is powerful from their walks in the woods, to Grey teaching her to dance and the slow passion that forms into burning desire was captivating. I honestly found myself caught in these fiery moments between these two. I had forgotten how well that Sabrina Jeffries crafts these steamy moments between a couple and she did it just right for these two.
At last he'd found a woman who could not only know him thoroughly, but could accept him for what he was--a man with flaws and fears, but a man still capable of loving.
The story itself is highly engaging and I was really curious about this murder mystery that is brought into the story and found wonderful balance with the romance itself. It is so intricately placed into the story that we find the ways that these two come together and see what is really going on with her brother Joshua. We also see a delightful connection form between Gwen (Grey's sister) and Joshua and they are book two so I love the little teasers and their book I have a feeling is going to be explosive.

Overall I found Project Duchess to be a truly entertaining and edge of your seat fun....a true pleasure to read and become engaged in!! You can't go wrong with this one here, so grab it up, settle in with a nice cup of tea and embrace this love story bound to curl your toes and leave you with a smile!

From New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries comes a sparkling new series about an oft-widowed mother's grown children, who blaze through society in their quest for the truth about their fathers . . . and in the process find that love just might conquer all . . . 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 . . . "Anyone who loves romance must read Sabrina Jeffries!" --Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author

Jaclyn

Absolutely loved this!!! Huge thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for sending this book my way! This was my first Sabrina Jeffries book and it definitely won’t be my last! I’m very excited to go through her backlist but I’m even more eager for the next book in this enchanting new series. 

So the premise of this one follows a mother who has been widowed three times and all different children and relations. It’s a huge family and everyone’s connected so the family tree in the beginning definitely helped. I had to double check that our hero and heroine weren’t related which was weird but once it’s set up and we get introduced to everyone, the story really gets going. Grey is called back to his family estate due to his stepfathers death and Beatrice is planning the funeral but she’s also related to his half brother which is why her and her brother live on property. As soon as these two meet, they have an instant connection and the banter is so much fun. I love that they have this honesty pack with each other, no matter what. It was so refreshing and I loved how Beatrice never held back anything she had to say. 

Beatrice was so easy to follow and relate too. I loved how strong she was, especially what she had gone through with her awful uncle. I really loved how consent played a huge part because of that and the way Grey handled it was so wonderful. I loved Grey so much and HE SAID ALL THE RIGHT THINGS ALL HE TIME OH MY GOD! He had me swooning during some of his speeches to Beatrice. They were so sweet! Although, he did make me want to shake him a little bit towards the middle/endish and it almost felt a bit repetitive but I really liked how he trusted Beatrice and how they related to each other in a way because of their individual pasts. 

I loved how they hardly had any drama with eachother and when they did, it didn’t last long at all. It was so refreshing to read and I loved how Sabrina Jeffries didn’t just throw in angst, just to have angst. These two just connected and fell in love. It was beautiful to see them learn how to understand their feelings, especially Grey. I liked his relationships with his family including his mother. It did feel like it was a tad rushed but this novel is pretty short and I actually liked that it wasn’t dragged out because it didn’t need to be. It was just perfect. 

I loved how the plot revolves around a murder and I wish we knew the answers but that’s carrying over to the next book and IM SO EXCITED FOR IT!! I’m dying for Joshua and Gwynn’s book!!! Ahhhhhh I love them and ship them already! I loved all the side characters and I’m very excited to see them all live happily ever after! Can’t wait to read more from Sabrina Jeffries!

Amanda J 

Rachel Benton

Project Duchess is the first book in Sabrina Jeffries Duke’s Dynasty series. Fletcher Pryde, Duke of Greycourt, gets an urgent message from his mother informing him of his stepfather’s death. Grey was sent away to live with his Aunt and Uncle when he was younger. Ever since then he has a tense relationship with his parents. So tense that Grey has started calling his stepfather by his given name. There is more to it, but I don’t want to give the whole book away.

Despite the bad feelings, Grey loves his family, and is devastated by the loss of his stepfather. Traveling to his family estate, the first person he encounters is Beatrice Wolfe. Beatrice is the cousin of Grey's younger brother Sheridan. The family dynamics is kind of confusing at first but by the end of the story it's easy to figure out whose who and how they are related. (Grey’s mother had been married multiple times and bore three Dukes). 
There is instant attraction between Grey and Beatrice, but they both have reasons to stay away from each other. It doesn’t help things that Sheridan thinks that Beatrice’s brother killed their stepfather.

This is not my first Sabrina Jeffries, and once again she has yet to disappoint me. I love this story. I liked how the murder mystery was written in this story. At the end of the story we don’t find out who the murderer is. Which is fine with me, I hate when authors write a murder mystery. Because usually two things happen. Either they spend most of the book building up the plot and then there is a really rushed conclusion, ruining the entire plot all together. Or they place the blame on the most predictable character. I’m liking how Sabrina Jeffries is taking her time with this plot and we are going to learn more about the Killer in the next upcoming books in this series. Another thing I love about this book was the pairing of Grey and Beatrice. I liked how the plot focused more on them instead of getting caught up in this murder mystery. I love that both Grey and Beatrice can be their true selves around each other and not have to put on false airs around each other. One of my favorite scenes was when Grey made a truce with Beatrice that they would always be honest with each other. Not only that, but Beatrice would stop apologizing for everything little thing she says and be herself. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait for the next book in this series.

'Anyone who loves romance must read Sabrina Jeffries!' Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author From New York Times bestselling author, and Queen of the sexy Regency romance, Sabrina Jeffries comes a sparkling new series about an oft-widowed mother's grown children, who blaze through society in their quest for the truth about their fathers . . . and in the process find that love just might conquer all . . . For fans of Sarah MacLean, Julia Quinn and Tessa Dare. 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. He has little time for finding a wife, but when his mother is widowed again, fate throws the delightfully unconventional Beatrice Wolfe into his path. Beatrice gave up on romance long ago and, at first, meeting the arrogant Duke of Greycourt does little to change her mind. Then Grey agrees to assist his grief-stricken mother with her latest 'project' - schooling spirited, unfashionable Beatrice for her debut - and Beatrice begins to glimpse the real Grey beneath the charming veneer. 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. 'Bestselling Jeffries brilliantly launches her new Duke Dynasty series with another exemplary Regency-set historical brilliantly sourced from her seemingly endless authorial supply of fascinating characters and compelling storylines' Booklist 'An excellent blend of great characters and witty dialogue make this a delicious first in a new series' Bookpage STARRED REVIEW For more dazzlingly romantic and witty historical romance, don't miss Sabrina's other gorgeous series including The Sinful Suitors, The Hellions of Halstead Hall, The School for Heiresses and The Royal Brotherhood.

Sweeping historical romance at its best!

Ria Potter

A historical murder mystery romance that has a lovely cast of characters. 5 ⭐

Sans

Formulaic, tropey in the worst way, uninspired, and tossed together like a bad salad. Not even 300 pages and I had to force myself to not skim large chunks of it. I just was not captured by anything here. My mind wandered so long and so far while I struggled to read this book. I decided to fold the laundry so that I could have a few minutes away from it. I even put the folded laundry away. That's how unexcited I was about these characters and the plot (what little there was of one at least).

There is no legitimate chemistry between Grey and Beatrice and I lost track of the number of times I rolled my eyes or flat out had to put the book down over the shit they did and said. Grey pops a stiffy every time she's in his general vicinity and it's always for reasons he doesn't want to examine too closely. I never believed that he felt anything genuine for her, just physical attraction. I know the aristocracy are repressed, but COME ON PAL. A little self-reflection and emotional intelligence isn't going to cause you to lose your standing to Society or turn you into a weeping Byronic mess. Just stop thinking with your dick for five seconds. Please.

And Beatrice! Beatrice was so focused on hating Grey for half the book that those swoopy feelings in her gut whenever he was around sounded more like an impending IBS flareup than any kind of romantic attachment. These two ran lukewarm then cold and it was taxing to read. Physical lust is not the same as being emotionally engaged with a person and you can’t change my mind. 

The smutty bits were AWFUL. If I ever have to see the phrase “earthquake in her soul” when describing an orgasm again, the offending book will be buried in my garden as fertilizer and maybe serve a useful purpose. 

Vaguely referenced feelings and motivations that didn’t make sense dragged down what little actual story there was and just didn't inspire me to want to care about these characters. For example, Grey keeps thinking about how bitter he was about Things. Did I care about this and how it shaped him into the man he is? No. No I didn't. Because he did not display any depth of character or redeeming qualities. At all. 

Finally, there was a lot of ~foreshadowing~ about an overarching plot but little of it actually interests me. The only character I'm actually curious about and want to read more of? Joshua Wolfe. We see far too little of him but his page time was the only thing that had me actively engaged with the story. Which is why I’ll read the next book, dammit. Jeffries knew what she was doing when she made him the focus of the next in the series.

In summary, I can’t recommend this to anyone. Save yourself and go find something else to read.

Project Duchess

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