A Regency romp with romance and intrigue
4 stars

I am a huge fan of Ms Jeffries’ writing although I’ve only read 2 of her most recent series, Duke Dynasty, of which this is number 4. I assume this is also the last in said series as it’s in this book that we find out the identity of the killer - the mystery that has been running throughout the whole series. The romance in this book stands completely alone although, as I mentioned, the mystery carries on from previous books. I don’t suppose you need to have read the previous books but you may get confused by the large cast of characters and the (unashamedly) confusing way they’re all related to each other!

Sheridan is a strong, silent and stoic character but without the arrogance that we sometimes see in ducal heroes. I liked him and understood him although I was a wee bit peeved with the way he needlessly used his first love as a barrier against Vanessa. I also didn’t like that he probably wouldn’t have approached Vanessa if he hadn’t been investigating the murders. I want him to HAVE to approach her regardless. But he was nicely besotted with her and overcome with lust when they were together - so I mostly forgave him.

Vanessa was a very enjoyable character and one I really got behind. Despite her rather hideous mother, she was still strong and determined and honest to a fault. I loved the fact that she knew what she wanted and worked all the angles to get her happily ever after. It never came across as scheming or manipulation - if anything, Sheridan was more artful than Vanessa was.

As I mentioned, the lust between Sheridan and Vanessa was delightfully apparent. Neither really disguised their attraction to the other - well, once they were wed, anyway - which led to lots of naughty shenanigans that Ms Jeffries always delivers to us in spades. Vanessa is a true innocent - unaware of any aspect of lovemaking - so having Sheridan instruct her was surprisingly sweet while still being fan-yourself while clutching your pearls, steamy.

As always with Sabrina Jeffries, she really grabs you and brings you into the worlds she builds with her writing. We’re transported to Regency London and all the sights, sounds and smells you would expect from the time. I would happily wile away the hours in a Sabrina Jeffries story.

I was satisfied with the conclusion of the mystery of the murders and who the culprit was. It definitely wasn’t edge of your seat, full-on action / adventure / drama stuff - but so far as I could see, I was happy that justice prevailed and we got the baddy/baddies in the end. Anyway - I’m mostly here for the romance anyway…

As always when I pick up a Sabrina Jeffries novel, I know I’ll be entertained and possibly even swoon a little. This book was no exception and she remains one of my favourite historical romance authors. 4 stars.

The Duke of Armitage, Sheridan needs to save his financial situation by marrying a woman with a generous dowry, but he has no intentions of marrying. He wants to uncover the mystery behind his mother’s first husband’s demise. Vanessa has eyes on the Duke, and makes him think she has eyes for another man, a poet, a playwright, Juncker. However, while the Duke appreciates their friendship, this fake courting ruse might end up being much more complicated.

Ha! My first ever regency romance that I’ve read. Like ever. It had all the same vibes as Bridgerton so I was here for it (after binging the series on Netflix). And, while the writing wasn’t exactly my flavor, being a contemporary reader, I laughed a fair amount of times. I couldn’t get Julie Andrews’ voice out of my head! The narration was wonderful, and though I don’t have anything to compare it to, I’d say I enjoyed!

After reading (and loving) all the previous stories in the Duke Dynasty series from Sabrina Jeffries, I could hardly wait to crack this one open. (Thank you, ARC gods!) I was rewarded with a satisfying conclusion to the overarching mystery of who is murdering the Dowager Duchess’s husbands and a sweet love story that sees a closed-off Duke brought to his knees, and a Lady willing to go the extra mile to secure his heart. LOVE.

Sheridan and Vanessa both have their own reasons for engaging in a flirtation. Sheridan wants to get close because Vanessa's mother is a possible suspect in his investigation of the murders of his mother's husbands, dukes all while Vanessa loves him but pretends to use him to make one of suitors jealous. What a comedy of errors especially since the situation soon devolves and they find themselves married to each other.
I have read one of the earlier books in this series and then missed the ones in the middle to pick up at the end and read the finale. I found the tale of a woman who is the mother of three dukes interesting especially since her duke husbands have all died in suspicious circumstances.  Her son's are determined to investigate the facts and get to the bottom of whodunit even as they are finding their own significant others.
Vanessa hides her love for Sheridan under the guise of love for a playwright and solicits Sheridan's help to reel in her suitor. Sheridan has a completely different impression of Vanessa until he comes up close and personal with her on his own quest to interrogate her mother who is one of the suspects in his father's murder.  He fights his attraction for Vanessa due to losing his beloved at a young age. Can they discover how much they love each other and solve the murder mystery?
The villain was completely unexpected, the reason behind the murders completely off the wall different.   The  dowager duchess may be pursuing yet another chance at romance even as her children are birthing grandchildren.  What a great way to bring the series to an end.

I have not read the other books in this series but this was a good book. Sheridan is a Duke as well as his step brothers. They are thinking their fathers may have been murdered rather than just dying of natural causes or an accident. He decides he will court Vanessa to get to her mother to ask her about two of the deaths. Vanessa is in love with Sheridan. He is not in love he thinks. He just wants to uncover what happened. All of the step siblings are looking into what happened.

'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...'
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3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

Undercover Duke is the fourth book in Sabrina Jefferies Duke Dynasty series and is a historical romance with a touch of murder mystery.

I'm always happy to read a added mystery plotline and this one has been building over these four books and I am looking forward to getting some answers and see how things will play out. I liked both main characters and thought that they had a good dynamic together. I loved how Vanessa got herself into a bit of a sticky spot trying to cover her crush and so was made to invent a crush on someone else. Everyone around her has been made aware of it and now she's forced to keep up this façade. It was just silly enough that I found it really charming.

Sheridan really screwed things up by not sharing any details about the mystery his family has been investigating  and Vanessa is obviously hurt when she learns the truth, especially walking in on a big family meeting and learning that everyone knows what is going on except her. And honestly with both of them holding  back on how they were feeling with each other from Sheridan pertending that he didn't have an ulterior motive for spending so much time around Vanessa and Vanessa trying to make Sheridan jealous by also worried that he would consider her a scheming woman and so just continuing in the same vein. I just wish so much time hadn't been dedicated to the putting up false fronts because then once they were honest with one another things felt a bit rushed.

I would recommend reading this book in order within its series and not as a stand-alone. I had read only the second book in the series about a year ago and there were moments when I felt like I was missing something. There mystery is slowly unravelled across the 4 books of the series, so I definitely recommend reading them in order. Give this series a read if you like some mystery with your HR.

I'm wishing Heywood was a bigger part of this series, he felt like a random afterthought through most of the series. I know that he isn't a duke like the rest of his brothers and the series is called Duke Dynasty, but that doesn't make him less a part of the family. I feel like we see the other brothers so much more, even in the books where one or the other was not the main character, but we have only seen little glimpses of Heywood so far throughout the series and so he feels like such an enigma to me. I want to know more about him, so I might go back to read the novella featuring him to read his story.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books, Zebra for sharing an eARC of Undercover Duke with me. This is my honest review.

I’ve finally made it to the end of the Duke Dynasty series by Sabrina Jeffries. I had a gut feeling of who the “bad guy” was, but I couldn’t figure out why or how, so I was excited to see how everything panned out.

In Undercover Duke, we follow the final duke, Sheridan, and Vanessa (who happens to be his step-brother Grey’s cousin… yeah, still confusing). Vanessa has had her eye on Sheridan since they first met, but he’s not interested in marriage. Partially because he’s drowning trying to figure out why he can’t get his estate out of debt and partially for other reasons that come out during the story. He is also so focused on figuring out the deaths in his family that he doesn’t have time for romance. But he needs to question Vanessa’s mother and gets thrown into pretending to be courting Vanessa. Of course, there are sparks that can’t be denied and ultimately lead to the happily ever after.

While I did enjoy the ride of Vanessa and Sheridan’s romance, which was filled will all kinds of twists and turns, I really was looking forward to the end of the series plotline. As I said earlier, I had pretty well figured out who it was, but I had no reason for that guess other than it really couldn’t have been anyone else. It was a satisfying ending as everything was unraveled and revealed.

I honestly did enjoy all the books in this series, and Undercover Duke was a great finale. The whole family made appearances, and the epilogue was a wonderful ending to the series. I would definitely recommend this book… but advise that you start at the beginning for the best impact.

Great ending to this series! Sheridan is cozying up to Vanessa to try and get answers from her mother about his father’s murder. Vanessa has always been attracted to him, but he thinks she is attracted to a playwright, Juncker. He agrees to pretend to court her to help her catch Juncker, but they each secretly hope to end up together.

Good story with a great romance and the mystery of who killed Sheridan’s mother’s husbands is revealed.

Sabrina Jeffries is a master at writing historical romances with mysteries that keep you coming back for more. Looking forward to Juncker’s story!

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

Goodness, I really wanted to like this book as I really enjoyed the previous once (especially Grey's and Gwen's books) but this series has really run its course. Vanessa and Sheridan bored me to tears and I DNF this book at 15%. Truly unfortunate.

Book flour in the series, This one concerns Sheridan, third duke in the family, and progresses the plot device spanning all the books so far, were all of the dowager duchesses’ husbands murdered, and by whom.

Sheridan is struggling with trying to keep his estates afloat and understand the books and he struggles with numbers and reading them correctly. His late father had drilled into him the importance of being able to understand his own affairs rather than entrusting it all to an adviser.

He is also wrestling with his mother and Bonham his man of affairs getting closer, and being tasked with the interrogation of Lady Eustace, aunt to Grey, who enabled a lot of the cruelty he endured as a child, and mother to the spirited and determined Vanessa Pryde. Sheridan has to find a way to spend time with Lady Eustace, so decides to spend time with Vanessa. He is dead set against her professed tender for the playwright Juncker, and even more so when he finds out that Juncker is not quite the playwright he claims to be.

In order to do his duty by his mother, and also to convince Vanessa that Juncker is not the right man for her, he suggests they have a pretend courtship to flush out Juncker feelings for Vanessa. What he doesn’t know, but we found out very quickly, is that Vanessa has invented her tender, to cover up her true feelings towards Sheridan.

Sheridan is convinced Vanessa is frivolous and expensive, and therefore not a suitable duchess for him. He is very much physically attracted to her, but determined not to risk his heart, due to the death of his fiancée from consumption years ago.

Vanessa is just as determined to try and capture his heart, but when they are compromised into marrying she frets her marriage is happening for all the wrong reasons. When she finally finds out he pretended to court her to 8nterrogate her diabolically unpleasant mother, she is upset, and sure that her mother couldn’t be involved. Her intelligence and ability to connect the dots soon put them on the trail of the true mastermind behind the tragic death toll, but will Sheridan realise his feelings and act upon them before it is too late?

We had some nice leads here, Vanessa was a strong woman, who had resigned herself to lack of affection from both her parents, and was determined enough to try and get her heart’s desire. Sheridan was a little less compelling, as he took her at face value to begin with, and didn’t tell her the truth at the right time. But overall a nice read, and a satisfying conclusion to the murder mystery.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own

The fourth book in the series and the conclusion to the ‘Duke Dynasty’ where Sheridan Wolfe, the Duke of Armitage, along with his siblings is trying to solve the mysteries behind the suspicious deaths of their mother’s three husbands. As he has been asked to investigate a troublesome family member, Sheridan baulks as he knows that he will be put into close proximity with Vanessa Pryde. Believing Vanessa to be in love with a London playwright, Sheridan offers to assist her in her romance. Little does he know that Vanessa has always loved Sheridan. So, as they become more involved in with each other’s plans, they find the chemistry between them growing.
This was an enjoyable conclusion to the series, in part, because of the past characters, coming together again, to solve the murders. I also enjoyed the personalities of both Vanessa and Sheridan. Whilst opposites in many things, their friendship and gradual romance makes for an easy read. The detail behind the murders and how each character gives their own perspective, gave this book greater detail.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This final book in the Duke Dynasty series is one of my favorites. I already liked Vanessa from her appearance in earlier books. Sheridan was a little harder to judge in earlier books, but proved himself a real hero when given the opportunity. Known as Saint Sheridan for his stern manner, he revealed a more passionate side on multiple levels that will leave readers swooning.


Despite the lies and subterfuge that brought the couple together, Vanessa and Sheridan were clearly a good match, each complimenting the other. I appreciated that there was no hypocrisy on the part of either character when lies were exposed. It kept the plot moving and the conflict appropriately focused on the matter at hand, which was the continuing story arc of who killed the dukes, including Sheridan's father.


Because this is a complicated plot line and family, I would recommend reading the series in order. If you have been reading the series, you are in for a treat. Plus, all of the fun isn't quite over yet; there is a novella featuring Mr. Junker still to come.

The final book in the saga of a family full of dukes wrapped it up nicely, solving a murder(s) mystery and bringing a lovely romance in the story too boot. One mother, three husbands, and a son, Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, who wants to find out if the men were murdered. To interrogate a suspect, Wolfe is thrown together with her daughter, Vanessa Pryde. They are both attractive and attracted, yet through a few silly misunderstandings, think the other does not like them. She pretends to like a playwright (who isn't). He is brusque. In the hands of a lesser author, the misunderstandings would be annoying; here they are humorous and well-handles. It's wonderful to see a heroine who does not wait on the hero to make a declaration, either. Vanessa wants Sheridan and she is willing to put herself out there, if necessary. A bonus in the book is we get to see the couples who already have their HEA -- and catch up on all their news. It's a wonderful family story, with an actual evil villain, but written so that the author leads you to the conclusion — it's obvious but not overly so, so figuring it out is a great deal of fun. Enjoyed the whole series, and this finale is a doozy. (Received an advance copy on NetGalley; opinions mine).

I love a good series finale! Make it a fake engagement with secrets all over and it’s even better.

Sheridan is a Duke with an estate that’s hemorrhaging money, but he doesn’t want to marry. Vanessa has loved Sheridan, but in the effort to hide her feelings now everyone believes she loves another man.

Sheridan is still investigating who killed his father, the ongoing mystery throughout this series. Vanessa is using jealousy to get Sheridan to notice her as a woman.

There’s danger, romance and so many uncovered secrets. This book was just fun to read.

This is a wonderfully entertaining story with interesting characters, some quite likable, some not. The main focus is on finding who murdered the Dowager Duchess’s three husbands. To that end, Sheridan is to question Lady Eustace about house parties she attended when two of the dukes died. His plan was to pretend to be smitten with her daughter, Vanessa Pryde, who unbeknownst to him, had loved him from afar for a long time. Will he get the answers he needs? Will Vanessa win his heart?

Sheridan and Vanessa make a fantastic couple, even though he is resistant due to hurt over the death of his former fiancé, and he thinks she love someone else. There were familiar characters and some new ones. I love Vanessa’s Uncle Noah (he caught them kissing in the park). As all the clues come together, including a last-minute surprise, the mystery is solved. Great story, awesome characters, and a lovely epilogue to wrap everything up.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

[Portuguese review]
Bom, vou confessar para vocês que esse livro tem pontos positivos e negativos.
Pelo lado positivo, temos a escrita da autora que é descritiva e cativante na medida certa. Temos cenas maravilhosas dessa família, eles estão sempre lutando pelos que amam e demonstrando carinho. Além disso, a resolução do mistério das morte dos Duques teve um desfecho perfeito! Dramático e inesperado, me fez ficar grudada nas páginas.
Por outro lado... o casal não me conquistou. Eu esperava muito mais de Sheridan e Vanessa. Mais personalidade, mais química e principalmente mais honestidade. Desde o começo eles mentem um para o outro. Sheridan se enrola todo ao tentar investigar a mãe de Vanessa sem que ela descubra. Enquanto Vanessa insiste em dizer pra ele que está interessada em outro homem para ver se causa ciúmes. E eles persistem tanto em esconder as coisas um do outro e a não se entregarem ao romance de fato, que eles acabaram perdendo minha atenção. Uma pena.
Mas essa foi a minha percepção apenas, ok? Sempre reforço que cada pessoa tem que ler e descobrir por si qual a opinião sobre a história.
No geral, eu gostei, mas não amei como havia amado os anteriores. É uma boa história, uma boa trama, mas esperava mais do romance em si. Vou sim morrer de saudades dessa família, e pretendo continuar acompanhando os lançamentos da autora!

[English review]
Well, I will confess to you that this book has positive and negative points.
On the positive side, we have the author's writing that is descriptive and captivating in the right measure. We have wonderful scenes of this family, they are always fighting for the ones they love and showing affection. Furthermore, the resolution of the mystery of the Dukes' deaths had a perfect outcome! Dramatic and unexpected, it made me stick to the pages.
On the other hand ... the couple did not win me over. I expected a lot more from Sheridan and Vanessa. More personality, more chemistry and, more importantly, more honesty. From the beginning they lie to each other. Sheridan gets all tangled trying to investigate Vanessa's mother without her finding out. While Vanessa insists on telling him that she is interested in another man, just to see if she makes him jealous. And they persist so much in hiding things from each other and not really indulging in romance that they ended up losing my attention.
But that was just my perception, okay? I always reinforce that each person has to read and find out for themselves what they think about the story.
Overall, I liked it, but I didn't love it as I had loved the previous ones. It's a good story, a good plot, but I expected more from the romance itself. Yes, I will miss this family, and I intend to continue to follow the author's releases!

I love Sabrina Jeffries and I have loved the Duke Dynasty series and this book delivered!

Vanessa is fabulous and smart and good at economizing in ways the ton doesn’t see, which is helpful considering she does her family’s books and knows they NEED to economize! She is also incredibly attracted to Sheridan but when her brother Grey noticed she was interested in someone, she panicked and now the whole world thinks she’s in love with the playwright Mr. Junker.

Sheridan, meanwhile, is investigating the numerous deaths of his mother’s husbands and needs to delicately ask Vanessa’s mom some questions. And he needs to figure out how he’s going to keep his dukedom afloat, considering it is bleeding money.

I really liked Vanessa, who is thriving despite a less than ideal mother. Sheridan frustrated me at first with how closed off he was, how intent he was to never love again. But overall, the story was lovely, and it was fascinating to figure out who the bad guy (or lady, no spoilers) was! And I loved the family, especially all the women!!

Creating families is one of the things Sabrina Jeffries does exceptionally well and that skill is on full display in this book. While quiet, serious Sheridan takes the lead in this final book of the Duke Dynasty series, his siblings - and their spouses - are all nearby to add their own brand of sibling rivalry, teasing, unsolicited advice, and assistance as the one they call "Saint Sheridan" navigates his own not-so-smooth journey to love.

Usually, by the end of a series, I have formed an impression of all the main characters but not so with Sheridan. It was enlightening to watch him emerge from his quiet, all-business demeanor and show us the roiling emotions lurking beneath the surface. There's so much more to him that I had anticipated. And it's especially delicious to watch Vanessa set it all into motion by ruffling his feathers so delightfully. As much as I've enjoyed the heroes in this series, I've enjoyed the heroines more. Each of them is strong, determined, resourceful, and someone I'd love to call my friend and Vanessa is no exception. I adored her, supported her, and wanted to toss her horrible mother off a cliff. She and Sheridan have undeniable chemistry, even if it's reluctant chemistry on one side. But watching that reluctance crumble and then slowly build into something deeper, stronger, and everlasting is the fun of a well-written romance, no?

Another facet of many of Jeffries' series is a well-crafted mystery that runs through all of the books. In this series, the siblings have been working to uncover the truth behind the deaths of their mother's three husbands, men they've come to believe were murdered. Jeffries is a master of twists and turns, keeping me guessing as to the identity of the killer throughout much of the series. I finally landed on the right suspect during Undercover Duke but I had no clue as to the person's motive until it was revealed by the author in an intense, life-or-death scene. I love when an author can accomplish that.

The sweet, funny epilogue wraps everything up with a lovely, sentimental bow that had me laughing, crying, and happy for the time spent with this family. The only character left standing outside this happy circle of romantic bliss is celebrated (fake) playwright, Konrad Juncker. His story will be told in the novella, "When We Finally Kiss Goodnight," as part of the holiday anthology, A Yuletide Kiss, due out this fall. I'm hopeful it will also include a certain lady's companion from Undercover Duke.

While Undercover Duke can certainly be enjoyed on its own, for the full family (and mystery) experience, I recommend reading the books of this series in order: Project Duchess, The Bachelor, Who Wants to Marry a Duke, and Undercover Duke.

4.5 stars

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

Undercover Duke is the fourth book in the series by S.abrina Jeffries. I have only read the third and forth books but it didn't matter I was thoroughly invested in the story about this family. I love the title, it says it all the Duke of Armitage is trying to question Vanessas mom to find out if she had anything to do with the murders of his moms three husbands. Sabrina Jeffries weaves an intricate and comp!ex story that was not confusing in the least. I never felt lost. I was with that family the whole time. I had figured out who it was about halfway but my motive was wrong. All of the characters were amazing not just the H and the h even thorn, which reminds me the dinner party after the p!ay was a great laugh out loud scene. I loved what I read of this series it was so good thank you Sabrina Jeffries for another great read.

This is the fourth book in the Duke Dynasty series, if you have not read the previous books I highly recommend that you do. There is significantly overlap to the other characters and story arc.
The Duke of Armitage has no desire to marry, but when faced with the need to do some undercover work in order to further the investigation into the deaths in the family, he's faced with one option, a pretend courtship. Vanessa Pryde has a plan of her own and when Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, offers her a deal to make someone jealous she jumps at the chance. Because he doesn't know that he is the only one she really wants. But as Vanessa and Sheridan spend more time together the attraction is too much to fight. And they may be having more than a pretend courtship.