Jeffries' A Duke for Diana (No-spoiler NETGALLEY review)
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So, what the hell is wrong with me? I thought I published this no-spoiler review of A Duke for Diana weeks ago. I can’t even blame that on COVID fog, because I meant to put this up a month ago!
Meet the Harper sisters: Eliza, Diana, and Verity. They’re social pariahs because their mother (who Sabrina Jeffries describes with probably the best line I’ve ever read in a book: “married but courting”) has eloped, abandoning the young ladies and their father. That’s bad enough, but their father is pissed, so he’s pursuing a divorce. That. Is. Not. Done. So these three young ladies are barely received and will probably never marry (Eliza was lucky to marry before the “incident,” but her husband soon scurries away to the military). So yeah, the Harper girls aren’t in a good spot. Well, a chance meeting with an American countess changes all that, and Elegant Occasions is born! Want to throw the hottest party of the Ton? These are your girls!
They are a successful, if incredibly unique, company when their paths cross with Geoffrey Brookhouse, brand new Duke of Grenwood. He’s an engineer, and not a fan of high society, and definitely not that interested in being a Duke. He’s got a shy sister named Rosabel who is 11 years younger than he is, and he also has a major secret. And to protect his sister from the consequences of that secret, he’s got to get her a fancy society marriage to a titled gent. That means a stellar London season, and Elegant Occasions is just the company that can ensure that. Geoffrey is a self-made man, proud and super Type A, and totally clueless about how to be a society swell, which is why he drags his mom and sis to Elegant Occasions at 10 a.m. WITH NO APPOINTMENT, which puts him on a collision course with Diana.
This book was so much fun, and I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the series. The writing was engaging, and I never felt the need to skim or skip ahead. The hero and heroine have just the right amount of friction—no so much that you start rolling your eyes and sighing—that keeps you hoping they’ll wake up and jump on each other. But it’s that good righteous dislike—he calls her Lady Disdain and she calls him His Arrogant Grace . . . but he’s imagining what she can do with her tongue and she’s having dreams of him naked. What did I tell you? They’re GREAT!
All the characters are excellently written and three-dimensional. I actually cared about Diana and her sisters, as well as Geoffrey and his family. There were a few instances where I laughed out loud. This book was awesome, and I am more than ready for the next one featuring Eliza. I enjoyed myself the entire time I was reading the ARC, and then purchased my own copy. This one is an easy 5 star! No wonder Sabrina Jeffries is an auto-purchase for me!
Grab this book! Tell ‘em Squirrel sent ya!
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