Name: The Making of a Duchess
ISBN: 9781402238659

Shana Galen

Julien Harcourt finds no objections to marrying the young woman his mother has chosen for him, Sarah Smith, but she has ulterior motives for marrying Julien, as she has been sent to spy on him and prove that he is a traitor.

The Making of a Duchess

Lover of Romance 

Julien, at age thirteen, was changed forever when french revolutionaries and peasants stormed his family's home, killed his brothers and father, and with his mother along his side, barely escaping with their very lives. Now in England, Julien has rebuilt his family's fortune and wealth, enough to make sure his mother is taken care of the rest of her life. But there is another reason, he believes that at least one of his brothers, Armand, is still alive and being held somewhere in France, and he must find a way to get there, even with a war going on. In the midst of making his plans, a family friend of her mothers has sent her daughter to be courted by Julien and even to have him marry her. Julien, doesn't have much belief or faith in love, even though his parents deeply cared for each other. But out of respect for his mother, he agrees, only Lady Serafina is not what he ever expected. Sarah Smith, has been enlisted, not by her own choice, to be a spy within three days. She is told she must find as much information on the Duc de Valere as possible since he is suspected of being a traitor and a spy due to his recent visits to France. However, she never thought Julien would be so irresistible or this task would be more challenging than she ever imagined. Because she is starting to fall in love with this man, suspected traitor, but one who she feels herself losing her heart to.
The Making of the Duchess is the first in the series...which doesn't happen very often. Most oftentimes I read a series out of order, but I decided to read this one in order. After recently reading from this author I was just about jumping up and down in my seat, excited to read this. It was a whole different style of story than others that I have read from this author. For one, its plot has a more serious tone to it. There were only a few times I laughed, when I usually I am just cracking myself up in her books. For those of you who have read this one, you know what I am talking about. I was expecting a story that would just be so full of witty humor and silly yet fun scenes...boy was I wrong. Don't get me wrong....I did love this one, and I would recommend it to anyone that loves a good spy romance. However you need to expect it to be more serious, not as carefree. Let me lay out some of the few things that I just loved about The Making Of A Duchess. First, I loved the fast and smooth flow of the plot and story. It was like floating on a river, so smooth and steady. It had its breakneck pace, that is common with this author, that keeps a reader fully enthralled. I also loved the depth of each character, there was so much personality and spirit that I was endeared to them from the beginning. There were many surprises at various times throughout the book, that it keeps you shaking with anticipation. I also loved the mystery and intrigue element to the plot, that had me guessing and I ended shocked at certain times. I loved the way the story is so beautiful woven in detail and the imagery is so vivid I felt like I was there in the story, and I was flipping through the pages as fast as I could read them. Another winner for this author!!! A story that will have you from the first page. I just dare you to put it down. LOL I can hardly wait to read Armand's story. :)

Elizabeth Clement

I enjoyed this book. I did feel like the first half was better than the second half, because I felt like the resolution was written a bit abruptly (almost as though Galen was trying to keep everything below a certain word count). Having said that, I thought this was a really fun read, and I'm planning on reading the next two in the series. There was a great plot twist towards the end, and I'm really interested to see how the story continues.