4.5 stars

WELSH IS THE NEW SCOTTISH

This was great! After feeling a little lukewarm with the first book in the series, I loved The Duchess. This series definitely has more of a group feeling than Sophie Jordan's other books, with narrators who are not the main characters poking in once in a while, but I loved Valencia and Rhain. Valencia is a newly widowed Duchess after an unhappy and abusive marriage. Rhain is the new Duke with a rowdy group of sisters who need introduction into polite society. Watching their relationship grow—and boil over—was a lot of fun. Rhain is a gruff Welshman which juxtaposes perfectly with high society Valencia. I'll definitely keep reading!

I loved the trope and storyline of this book and normally a huge fan of Sophie Jordan but felt like this one missed the mark just a little. I loved Valencia and felt she was pretty well developed and wanted almost from the start to cheer her on to her HEA. Rhaine was probably much more interesting but felt that he wasn’t developed to full potential. There was quite a bit from his viewpoint towards the beginning of the book but limited as it moved through the story. I enjoyed the read but it seemed to fizzle right at the climatic end and then it did just that. It ended. It seemed rushed so I felt like maybe even 50 m0re -ages would have made this book sigh worthy.

I love the strength that Valencia has developed after years of abuse from her late husband. His sudden death gave her a new lease on life and she couldn’t wait to explore the new found freedom. Love from the most unexpected person is on the horizon. The story is beautifully written and the storyline is one that I loved to read. It’s very entertaining and who wouldn’t fall in love with Rhain. A great story and read.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, has spent most of her adult life waiting--waiting to see if her husband was in a good mood that day, waiting for the slap that usually came if he was displeased, waiting, waiting, waiting. All that ended with the death of the duke. Valencia could finally take a breath and not have to look over her shoulder every minute of the day. All that changed, however, when the new Duke of Dedham, Rhain, and his six unmarried sisters invaded the ducal townhouse. Valencia's days of waiting are over, but now she's been banished to the dower house in Yorkshire until an offer from the duke keeps her in London.

Rhain did not want to be duke. He preferred his life in Wales, but he would not deny his sisters' chances for a good match so they all went to London. Seeing Valencia in the ducal townhouse sends him into a tailspin. There's something about her that calls to him, but he refuses to act on it. He proposes a deal--Valencia help launch his sisters into Society and he'll give her enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life. Can these two come to a mutual understanding, or will the tension between them spill over into something more?

This was a slow-burn romance, and I usually like them, but this one took way too long. There were too many flashbacks to her time with the previous duke and not enough time devoted to her and Rhain. Most of the book is taken up with Rhain's sisters and not so much interaction between H and h. There is a twist in the story at the last 10% that seemed a little far-fetched. I thought the villain was someone else, and that would have made much more sense to me. I do enjoy Ms. Jordan's writing and will probably read the next book in the series.

I didn't read the previous books in this series but I assume it is an interconnected series of romance standalones. I didn't feel like I was missing anything, but I'm sure I missed some nods to previous books, and I'm okay with that!

Valencia and Rhain enter an agreement to help his six unwed sisters into society, while Valencia will maintain the independence she has craved for so long. However, with close proximity, the tension builds and they inevitably fall for each other!

I both read the e-book and listened to the audiobook via Libro FM's ALC program, and the narrator did a great job in bringing this story to life. I had a fun time with Valencia and Rhain's story, and I would go back to read the rest of the books.

A Regency romance between widowed Duchess Valencia and the Duke of Dedham runs a bit slow for me, but still witty and entertaining. A fun easy read.

Rhain and Valencia were 2 characters whose story I thoroughly enjoyed reading! Definitely recommend this book!

"The thrilling second book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's amazing new high concept series, The Scandalous Ladies of London, which chronicles the lives of a group of affluent ladies reigning over glittering, Regency-era London, vying for position in the hierarchy of the ton. They are the young wives, widows, and daughters of London's wealthiest families. The drama is big, the money runs deep, and the shade is real. Life is different in the ton.

"I liked my husband well enough...but I like him even better dead."

It's been a year since her wretched cad of a husband died and Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, is finally her own woman. Flitting from party to party, freedom is sweet and life should be perfect. Until the new duke surfaces.

Nothing like the haughty noblemen who populate the ton, Rhain, the newly minted Duke of Dedham, is a big brawny Welshman with an accent that makes Valencia's knees go weak as he boldly moves into her home with his six wild unwed sisters. The rude and humorless usurper thinks her vain and spoiled. But with a pittance to her name, Valencia needs his support to remain in London and enjoy all the pleasures her new position as a merry widow has to offer.

So a bargain is struck. Valencia will usher his sisters into Good Society and see them happily betrothed. In return, he'll give her the financial security and independence she craves. But the more time they spend beneath the same roof, the more she realizes it's not safety she wants but the dangerously seductive Rhain. Valencia has vowed never to risk marriage again. And yet how can she resist the tempting man when he might be the greatest adventure of her life?"

Ah, to be a merry widow when a Welshman calls.

Sophie Jordan's The Duchess was a delight. An enemies to lovers story is told in a plot that i haven't read before.

This is such a wonderful series!
Valencia, the dowager duchess of Dedham awakes one morning to find the newly minted Duke Rain and his mother, and six sisters have arrived. She does not want to go to the dower house so the duke makes an arrangement with her that she can stay if she helps launch his sisters into society and the marriage mart.
I liked the chemistry between Rain and Valencia and the sisters added a lot of humor to the story.
I look forward to the next book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed this ARC and these are my opinions.

This series continues to grab my attention and not let go!

I love how this series so far has followed female main characters, that have had horrible terrible marriages, and finally are getting their chance at a true HEA.

Definitely a slower burn on the romance end, and the ending felt a tad rushed, but overall I’m invested in this series!

Fast paced, and an air of suspense, this book is unputdownable. I am eager to see where the author takes us in the next book of the series.

I've really enjoyed Sophie Jordan's book and thought this is a fantastic premise, but this one didn't work well for me, and I think it was due to the pacing. We spend a lot of time in the set up, and by the time the new Duke and the old Duchess come to their agreement, the book was already halfway over. We don't get to know any of his sisters (or their names). Then we skim through time and they secretly love each other, but I didn't really feel the connection between them. There just didn't seem to be a lot of time for them to really get to know each other.

This is an entertaining, well-written, steamy, historical romance novel. It has a likable female protagonist, an engaging and caring male protagonist, sizzling chemistry, supportive friends, a secret, intrigue, and an unexpected and satisfying ending. I especially like that the characters are both in their thirties. This is an excellent addition to Ms. Jordan's "The Scandalous Ladies of London" series, and it can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone, but it is even better when it is read in order. I am looking forward to reading the next entry in this series with great anticipation. Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager, Ms. Sophie Jordan, and NetGalley, who kindly provided me with an ARC of this wonderful novel. This is my honest opinion.

Unexceptional as a romance and as erotica.

I read an advance reader copy of The Duchess from Netgalley.

Like The Countess, the pacing was just all over the place in this one. It felt like it was trying to be multiple books at the same time without much attention paid to any one plot line. There's so much that's set up that once it is time for pay off, nothing really seems to happen. I really liked the initial premise of this: Valencia has to usher the new Duke, Rhain's, sisters through the London marriage mart and find them all husbands in exchange for the funds to live her life freely. But then so little of the plot is actually dedicated to that goal, which I could have been fine with had the time been used instead for developing Rhain and Valencia but there wasn't much there either.

I liked the set up for what seems to be the next book in the series, following Hazel, but I hope that the pacing issues can be improved in that.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Publishing: March 26, 2024
Series: The Scandalous Ladies of London #2
Pages: 304

I have not had the opportunity to read Sophie Jordan in quite awhile and thought this would be a great opportunity to re-introduced myself to this author and her novels. Not sure what took me so long, but I can tell you that “The Duchess” was a quick and somewhat enjoyable read that has so much going on inside the pages that makes you want to finish the story. There are twists, secrets, and enemies.

Valencia, Dowager Duchess of Dedham has not had the chance to embark on her new freedom from mourning as she finds herself being kicked out of the only home has known by the new Duke of Dedham, Rhain, his mother and six of his unmarried sisters. Although Rhain loves being a businessman more than a Duke, he knows that he must set aside time to tend to the needs of the estate and as well as finding suitable husbands for his six unwed sisters. It is not until Valencia is visited by a few of her friends, that the Rhain understands his mistake and notices that his sisters are in desperate need of comportment training if they are to enter into society and find suitable husbands. This is when he enlists the help of Valencia and in exchange she gets a home in town and financial means of living.

Both main characters are likeable individuals with the exception of Rhain in all his hypocritical thinking and when Valencia stops pitying herself and blaming her father and husband in the story and. Although men held a lot of power during that time, women had voices and she could have spoken out about her husband’s treatment although it may not have fell on death ears. I was happy that in all she endured that she had a host of sub-characters that supported her; i.e, other young wives, and widows from wealthy families. At times, I did not care for her attitude towards her stepmother, who was the younger of the two and the way she viewed Rhain and his siblings.

As this was a short read, I was not a fan of the flashbacks and dual POVs in the book. Historical romances for me should come with enough sexual tension and spicey, especially when you have a hero that is viewed as a hunk of a Welshman. This was a slow, slow burn to get to some spicey that never manifested on the pages…a few kisses and one intimate scene…bummer. However, there were laughable moments with Rhain’s sisters that were delightful. Overall, the story felt a bit rushed and could have been written a bit longer to develop the plot…developing the main characters relationship to getting to the falling in love and a bit more dialogue.

The Duchess is the second book in Sophie Jordan's Scandalous Ladies of London series. This book is better read as a series as the books overlap and continue within each other. Jordan touts this series as having a "Real Housewives" like storyline with intrigue, scandal, and older heroines so keep this in mind when picking it up.

The Duchess opens one year after the events of book one. Valencia is just coming out of mourning for her late husband when she awakens to a bustling household of people. The new Duke and his family have arrived. They immediately clash and he banishes her to the Dower house in the countryside. But before she can leave, Valencia and Rhain strike a deal. If she helps get his six unmarried sisters ready for the marriage mart he will give her a townhouse in London and the means to live comfortably in whatever way she wishes. With the prospect of freedom and security, she accepts. Ultimately, Valencia and Rhain have trouble keeping away from each other.

Okay. Here we go. So I really loved this book for about the first ninety percent. The last ten percent took off a full star for me. The plotline flashes back and forth between a house party that took place one year ago and present day. This is where the series deviates from other romance novels. The level of interest in side characters can be a little confusing if you aren't expecting it The Duke is given six (unmarried) sisters as side characters and yet I'm not even sure all of them have names even though they are all on page. Where this really goes off the rails is a totally bonkers plot that takes place the last 5-10% of the book. It took away from the already underdeveloped romance. This book really could have done with another seventy five pages to develop the relationship more. I'm guessing the next book will be set up with Hazel being the heroine. That plot already seems like it will be the full banana.

I'm a fan of Jordan's and will be picking up the next in the series. I just hope there is a little more focus on the relationships of the main characters. This would have been a four star read if it wasn't for the ending.

Tropes: widow, newly minted Duke, pleasure den, abusive past relationship, intrigue and blackmail, taxidermy dog, part of a series, terrible parents

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Jordan, and Avon Harper Voyager for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #scandalousladiesoflondon #theduchess #avonharpervoyager

I definitely liked this second book in the Scandalous Ladies series more than the first. Still the same great premise, “older” women of the ton, getting a second chance at real romance and love, but The Duchess has a stronger focus on just the two leads, which I appreciated.

There is a lot of entertaining chaos. Mishaps and then an influx of secondary characters to send leading lady, Valencia, into a whirlwind of dread and then possibility. But her poise and strength of character were amazing. Her sense of self, amid fears, trauma, and change was addicting to read.

And of course there is the animosity and then growing closeness with Rhain. Push and pull, barbs, and then attraction and passion. It’s everything that I love in a historical romance.

It’s a quick and easy read, one I thoroughly enjoyed and binged in a single day, and I can’t wait for the next one.

The second installment in The Scandalous Ladies of London series, The Duchess brings us Valencia’s story. Fresh off a year of mourning for her cruel husband, Valencia is doused by cold water 1) by literally falling into the Thames and 2) by the arrival of Rhain, her husband’s heir and the new Duke of Dedham – along with his mother and six uncouth sisters.

The first book in the series spent a lot of time worldbuilding about the group of friends and their backstories. This book also spends a lot of plot development time away from the romance itself. You even get inside the heads of characters outside of Valencia and Rhain. A lot was focused on Valencia and her coming to terms with pain from her past and deciding how to move forward. Which is good and important, but I would have liked more time with romantic partners on page.

Valencia agrees to shepherd the six sisters through their first season. We are told this is happening rather than shown. As much build up as there was at the beginning of how stubborn and unbending the sisters are, I have a hard time believing they went along with the lessons without some resistance. I think it could have rendered a funny scene or two.

I overall enjoyed the book and look forward to the friends in Val’s circle getting their own books in the series. It’s an irritated-to-love trope with a twinge of forbidden relationship thrown in to make things interesting. I liked the story. No one, and I mean no one, does longing and chemistry like Sophie Jordan. There’s a scene where the duke realizes he just wants to be in Valencia’s presence and talk to her that had me swooning!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC.

This second in the Scandalous Ladies of London series doesn't quite deliver on the promise of the first novel, but is enjoyable nonetheless. Valencia was married to a brute of a husband, and has been enjoying her status as a widowed dowager. But when her husband's heir is finally found, it throws her carefully curated life into disorder and her heart into torment. Nothing about his title, from characters to plot, is quite fully realized, but it's still a fun read and I look forward to the continuation of the series. 3.5 Stars.