The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries book review

Sabrina Jeffries is one of those authors whose books I really enjoy. I follow her on social media and pretty much buy all her books or request an ARC. I like the new Duke Dynasty series and enjoyed the first book Project Duchess and was excited to read the Bachelor. I read some criticism that this particular book was not directly about a duke and not true to the Duke Dynasty idea, but Lady Gwyn is the daughter of a duke and as we all know women did not have equal opportunity back then. I feel that this story balances the story of women through fiction and allows for the opportunity to imagine what things could have been like if women had more equality and opportunity in the past. So, I like that!

I would agree that the family tree in this series is quite complicated and those relationships come up in the story, but it does not distract the reader from the story. I don’t feel like I have to understand the complexity of all the ties to enjoy the story. For those readers really into genealogy, the family tree is all worked out at the beginning of the book.

Major Joshua Wolfe is our male protagonist and I loved his character. He was definitely not perfect and not particularly sociable, but I think that would be expected of a soldier who was injured in a battle. Wolfe is a second son and he wasn’t set in inherit much of anything, he chose a life in the military. When we meet him in the story, he is working as a gamekeeper on the Duke of Thornstock’s property and recovering from war. He comes to Gwyn’s rescue at the beginning of the story. As Wolfe marches Gwyn back to her brother’s, she tries to poke through his defenses and it’s charming. He doesn’t give in, but he does show a little bit of vulnerability. I think it sets the tone of their relationship through the rest of the book.

Lady Gwyn is being blackmailed in this story. She does not want her twin brother to find out and she certainly does not want Major Wolfe to find out. She tries to sneak around, but her brother has a bit of an alpha personality and knows that something is up with his sister and he wants to protect her. He asks Wolfe to escort her to the city and stay with her during her outings and balls. He is reluctant because his attraction to her is not appropriate, but he also has his reasons for wanting to go to London. So he goes and fear not, dear reader, things get exciting and interesting. The author writes a sexy archery scene that leads to more hot and steamy interludes. I love the seduction, the mystery, the unlikely chemistry between the two main characters and the happily ever after. If you are looking for a historical escape, this book is for you.