Book Review: Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries

Undercover Duke (Duke Dynasty #4) by Sabrina Jeffries

Pages: 352
Publish date: May 25th 2021
Publisher: Zebra
ISBN: 9781420148589
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Along with his stepsiblings, Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is determined to finally solve the mysteries behind the suspicious deaths of their mother’s three husbands. Tasked with investigating a possible suspect, Sheridan finds himself in dangerous proximity to her captivating daughter, Vanessa Pryde. But still haunted by a tragically lost love, the duke is resolved to resist the attraction—and avoid any “scheming” husband-hunters. Besides, lovely Miss Pryde seems utterly smitten with a roguish London playwright…

Vanessa thinks a little scheming may be in order—for it’s Sheridan she truly has her sights, and her heart, set on. Her theatrical flirtation is intended only to break through his business-like demeanor and guarded emotions. And as Sheridan’s jealousy becomes aroused, the two soon find themselves propelled into a scheme of an altogether different kind, involving a pretend engagement, a secret inquiry—and a perhaps not-so-secret leap into true love…

Undercover Duke:

I received an e-arc of Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries from Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings.

If you don’t know already, I love reading Sabrina Jeffries books – I think she has become one of my favourite historical romance authors. This is the third series of her’s that I am making my way through and just loving it. You can check out my reviews on the rest of this series here and here. As well as my other Sabrina Jeffires posts.

Undercover Duke follows Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, as he and his family try and figure out, once and for all who has been killing their mother’s husbands and their own fathers. Now tasked with getting information out of one of the suspects Sheridan needs to get in her daughter’s good books. But it’s much more complicated than that. And as Sheridan and Vanessa become closer, things start to heat up. But they both have their burdens, but will they allow themselves to overcome them?

Photo by Liam McGarry on Unsplash

I adored this book. I couldn’t put it down and I was only a few chapters in. It’s not hard for me to read a Sabrina Jeffries book in one or two sittings. And the only reason this took me a little longer was that work has been crazy. Undercover Duke is filled with high stakes, a tense mystery and a romance that is addicting and a perfect slow burn.

I already enjoyed Sheridan from the previous books in this series, and Undercover Duke made me love him even more. He is charming and made me smile throughout the book. Throughout the book, the reader can see that Sheridan does care a lot about his family and wants to find out what happened to them. But he also didn’t expect to like Vanessa as much as he did. I liked that we get to see him grow throughout the novel and not only come to understand himself, but Vanessa as well.

Vanessa was a fantastic addition to Undercover Duke. I adored her so much. She was sassy and knew what she wanted. She played Sheridan in a way and I loved it. We also get to see her grow throughout the novel. At the start she is shy, but as the novel goes on and she and Sheridan get to know each other a little more, she pushes him. She is also very sneaky and I loved it! So much.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

I also really enjoyed the romance in Undercover Duke. What started as a fake courting – turned into something way more. I loved that they both used each other for other purposes, but they both fell hard and fast for one another. While Vanessa has liked Sheridan for some time, Sheridan has his own demons that he has to deal with. I do wish that this was explored more. I felt that once we were told about it – it wasn’t really talked about much again.

One of my favourite tropes, especially in historical romance is fake courting/marriage of convenience. And it worked just so well here. Everyone could see that Sheridan and Vanessa were falling for one another. But both of them were obvious to one another’s feelings. I also liked that it was a mix of sweet and sexy. It was a great combination of being soft, but then the heat can be turned up.

Now to the mystery element of not only this book but the series. While Undercover Duke isn’t as intense as the previous ones in the series, the ending had some high stakes. And I loved it. While I did guess little bits of the mystery, I still really enjoyed it. I always say, I necessarily don’t believe a book is bad if you guess what is going to happen. It means that the author left enough clues that you were able to figure out what is going to happen.

Photo by Diogo Nunes on Unsplash

Overall, I adored Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries. I think it was a fantastic addition to the series and just fit perfectly. Sheridan and Vanessa were fantastic together. I adored their banter, tension and just wanted to keep on reading. The romance was a nice slow burn and warmed my heart. If you are looking for a new historical romance series with a little mystery and some high stakes then pick up this series for sure. Not only does it have great characters, fantastic romances but it’s such a fun series to read.

And there we go! Have you read Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries yet? Have you read any of this series? What do you think of them? Have you read anything else from Sabrina? What is a recent historical romance that you have loved? Let’s Chat!