The Bachelor

January 13, 2020
Jeffries’s lackluster second Duke Dynasty Regency romance (after Project Duchess) follows Lady Gwyn Drake, whose youthful indiscretion has blighted much of her adult life. Gwyn is set to make her London debut at the improbable age of 30 when her former flame, the odious Lionel Malet, uses their past relationship to blackmail her. Imprudent Gwyn responds to his threats by confronting him with a gun that she admittedly has “no clue” how to use and has to be rescued by dour war hero Joshua Wolfe, a relative by marriage who is working on Gwyn’s brother’s estate as he recovers from injuries. Wolfe is attracted to Gwyn despite his better judgment and agrees to accompany her to London as her bodyguard at her brother’s insistence. Their inevitable romance encounters very few obstacles, and Malet’s continuing, misguided attempts at coercion, espionage, and rape are easily quashed. Readers new to the series will find it difficult to keep track of the tangled branches of the Drake family tree, and, despite Jeffries’s lively narration, the characters’ banter is oddly wooden. This one’s a disappointment. Agent: Pam Ahearn, Ahearn Agency.

January 15, 2020
A war veteran and a woman who has suffered a personal betrayal are thrown together during her debut London season in 1809. Gwyn Drake is a 30-year-old heiress who's been avoiding marriage because of a past liaison that threatens to cloud her future prospects. When her brother asks their cousin by marriage, estate gamekeeper Maj. Joshua Wolfe, to be her bodyguard in London, she worries about keeping her secrets from both and avoiding infamy. Seriously wounded and left with a disability after a naval battle, Joshua just wants to serve his country again, but being forced to spend time with Gwyn is tempting him to risk intimacy and marriage. The novel is concerned with representing veterans' issues, notably PTSD, and with highlighting the unfair and unequal consequences, physical and emotional, that women face in sexual relationships, especially with predatory men. Gwyn's wariness also comes from her wealth (and Joshua's lack thereof) while his stems from his leg impairment and scarring. Though the themes are worthwhile, the romance is uneven in tone, with sudden bouts of passion between the couple interspersed with arguments, doubts, and dishonesty. Most of the episodes, whether in parks, ballrooms, or London streets, feel wooden, never quite allowing readers to identify with the feelings of the characters. The villain does double duty as both Gwyn's ex and the major's professional antagonist but feels like a plot device without substance. A related subplot about espionage is an unnecessary addition meant to pad out the story's drama. The novel also relies a little too much on the reader's prior knowledge of the family--it is the second in Jeffries' Duke Dynasty series (Project Duchess, 2019, etc.)--and some details require a rereading to register. Standard Regency fare with a cast of gentry who are fairly indistinguishable from many such characters.

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February 1, 2020

Lady Gwyn Drake may pretend not to notice the handsome family estate gameskeeper, Maj. Joshua Wolfe, but she's outraged when her twin brother appoints him her bodyguard for the Season. He doesn't seem to like her, and Gwyn was hoping to spend that time figuring out how to get rid of a previous lover threatening to divulge their past. For Joshua's part, Gwyn is untouchable; the chemistry between them is a curse. As the couple travels to London, the blackmail Gwyn faces becomes more serious. When the War Office sends Joshua on a new assignment to locate a spy in London, he and Gwyn discover they can work well together despite society's views. VERDICT Jeffries ("Sinful Suitors" series) explores the cultural mores of early Regency London to weave a tale of blackmail, spies, and a Season debut. Joshua is a fascinating hero, the only untitled male among the series' rather gentried family and always aware of the fact. There is an overarching series mystery developing, but readers yet to pick up the previous title, Project Duchess, shouldn't be deterred.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2020
Paying off Lionel Malet, the scoundrel who is blackmailing Lady Gwyn Drake about a secret from her past, would be so much easier if Gwyn didn't have Joshua Wolfe dogging her every footstep. Unfortunately, ever since Lionel unsuccessfully tried to kidnap her, Gwyn's brother insists that Joshua act as her bodyguard while Gwyn is in London for her society debut. Now Gwyn must figure out two things, how to ditch Joshua long enough to give the odious Lionel his money, and how to find a way to permanently erase Joshua's bone-melting kisses from her memory. The Bachelor, the second entrancing book in Jeffries' Duke Dynasty series (Project Duchess, 2019), beautifully showcases the author's gift for creating vividly etched characters (including a well-matched pair of protagonists) and then expertly placing them within a tautly constructed plot spiced with danger and plenty of red-hot sensuality.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)