SPORTOCHICK’S MUSINGS: The dramatic beginning leads to an exciting storyline.

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Hazardous to a Duke’s Heart
Lords of Hazard #1
by Sabrina Jeffries

Pub Date Apr 29 2025
Kensington Publishing

DESCRIPTION

For readers of Regency romance by Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, and Madeline Hunter, New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries debuts a brand new series in trade paperback in which a lord, detained in France during the Napoleonic war, returns home to find he’s inherited a dukedom and vows to make a match for his deceased mentor’s daughter.

Intriguing twists and sparkling wit entwine in this stunning new historical romance from the New York Times bestselling Sabrina Jeffries, as a once-exiled patriot returns home to a changed world. . .

Napoleon’s war has ended, and English captives detained for years in a French fortress are finally released. Returning to a London he no longer recognizes, and facing astonishing changes in his own family, Lord Jonathan Leighton learns he has inherited a dukedom. But the new nobleman carries the guilt of having wronged his late mentor. Now, he vows to fulfill his promise to find a suitable match for the man’s daughter, Victoria—even if it takes offering a nonexistent dowry to spark her interest in matrimony . . .

Sharp-witted Victoria would just as soon sculpt the Greek god who has come to take charge of her future. In fact, she has her sights set on founding a school for women artists. As Jonathan matches wits with the talented beauty, revelations from his past—and their connection to her father’s demise—threaten to unveil both of their closely held secrets and thrust them into a danger they can only escape together.

REVIEW

Author Sabrina Jefferies does another great job in her new book “Hazardous to a Duke’s Heart” first in a new series, called Lords of Hazard. The author sets up the story in the prologue in Bitche Prison, France, April 1814. The reader gets to know Lord Jonathan Layton, who is the main character in this story and the prisoners who are his friends, the Earl of Heathbrook, Captain Wuentin Scovell, and mentor, Dr. Morris. The beginning of the story takes place during Napoleon’s war while they are in prison.

The dramatic beginning leads to an exciting storyline with Jon a new duke trying desperately to redeem himself by getting Dr. Morris’s daughter, Victoria, married and in a financially secure life. Meanwhile, her sharp wit, intelligence, desire to control her life while protecting her secret creates a fun story of her and Jon clashing over everything.

These two characters are thoroughly entertaining and will keep readers attention to the very end.

The lesson I learned from this book is that protecting someone special takes sacrifice and love. Sometimes there won’t be a happy ending if you don’t allow it. This book is about hoping and receiving more than one thought possible.

I give it 5 STARS.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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