Synopsis:
The thrilling second book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s amazing new high concept series, The Scandalous Ladies of London, which chronicles the lives of a group of affluent ladies reigning over glittering, Regency-era London, vying for position in the hierarchy of the ton.
They are the young wives, widows, and daughters of London’s wealthiest families. The drama is big, the money runs deep, and the shade is real. Life is different in the ton.
“I liked my husband well enough … but I like him even better dead.”
It’s been a year since her wretched cad of a husband died and Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, is finally her own woman. Flitting from party to party, freedom is sweet and life should be perfect. Until the new duke surfaces.
Nothing like the haughty noblemen who populate the ton, Rhain, the newly minted Duke of Dedham, is a big brawny Welshman with an accent that makes Valencia’s knees go weak as he boldly moves into her home with his six wild unwed sisters. The rude and humorless usurper thinks her vain and spoiled. But with a pittance to her name, Valencia needs his support to remain in London and enjoy all the pleasures her new position as a merry widow has to offer.
So, a bargain is struck. Valencia will usher his sisters into Good Society and see them happily betrothed. In return, he’ll give her the financial security and independence she craves. But the more time they spend beneath the same roof, the more she realizes it’s not safety she wants but the dangerously seductive Rhain. Valencia has vowed never to risk marriage again. And yet how can she resist the tempting man when he might be the greatest adventure of her life?
Rating: 5-stars
Review:
The Duchess by Sophie Jordan is mesmerizing! It the characters have so much chemistry it’s crazy. Yet, they keep it at bay not sure if they are enemies or friends. The heroine has a past of trauma and trouble that come to haunt her during her new time with the new Duke. She is completely at his mercy; however, he defends her at every turn and helps her cause. He is mad on her behalf when she is cheated out of her rightly sums and he keeps evil men away from her. Little do they both know that the enemy currently is a lot closer to them both then they realize. It’s heartbreaking at first, hilarious, fun, and engaging throughout the rest of the book. Sophie Jordan made me fall for her characters and made me never want to leave the Dedham. The romance, the danger, the independent and fierce characters made this novel stand out from the rest of historical fiction novels.
The AR Critique 