This wasn't that engaging for me, mostly because while the story foundation and conflit was a good basis, the two chracters wren't devleoped enough for me to root for them

4⭐ 3🌶️

This was a fabulous read. I've not read a bad book from this author yet. I really like the subplots The angst causing aspects, the side characters and hints about more in the next books in the series. I also have nothing but to say about the narration of this novel. I think Beverly Crick does a fabulous job and I love listening to books that she narrates. Beverly really has a way of communicating the character's feelings from the book. The premise of the civilian detainees during the Napoleonic Wars was very interesting and I look forward to more. There are some cringy lines and some half-hearted spice scenes, but it's still a great listen.

Big thanks to @netgalley Sabrina Jefferies and RBMedia for a copy of this audio book. This is my honest option

At the age of 18, Lord Jonathan “Jon” Leighton, the third son of the Duke of Falconridge set out on his Grand Tour with his tutor/mentor, Dr. Issac Morris, but while in France, war breaks out and he and Morris are captured by Napoleon’s soldiers and held as prisoners for 11 long years. On the day of their release, Morris lays dying from an injury sustained while attempting an escape with Jon and two of his friends, 3 years ago, an escape that was ruined when they were betrayed. He begs Jon to make sure his daughter Victoria is taken care of, as it is clear he will not be returning to England. Morris’ death lays heavy on Jon, he blames himself, believing Morris only tried to escape because of Jon. Jon returns to England to learn that he is now the Duke of Falconridge and Victoria “Tory” Morris is his sister Chloe’s governess. Jon is stunned by Tory and knows that if she ever knew that it was his fault her father died, she would want nothing to do with him, so it would be best if he married her off as soon as possible. He tells her that her father left her some money for a dowry and convinces his mother to sponsor her “come out”. It should be simple, but he wants her for himself and is having trouble keeping track of his lies, while trying to learn his new duties and tracking down the person who betrayed him and his friends in France, oh and there is the small fact that Tory doesn’t want to marry.

Victoria “Tory” Morris began working the Duchess after her mother died and knows that her time is coming to an end as Chloe is in her second season and has no need for a governess. She is shocked (and a bit suspicious) when Jon tells her of the “dowry” her father left for her, but she doesn’t want to marry, what she wants is to open a school for women artists. Tory is an artist and specializes in sculpture. Tells Jon of her dream and is surprised when he says he will consider giving her the money, IF she attends the rest of the season and tries to find a husband. She agrees if he will take sculpture lessons with her. He agrees and she presses him for information about her father; not sure she believes his stories. But Tory has secrets of her own and her reason for not wanting to marry is due to much more than just wanting to pursue her art. She falls hard for Jon, but he is keeping things from her, and she isn’t sure she can trust him with her heart. But can she live without him?

This was a good start to a new series, steeped with history and enlightening readers of the challenges and hardships of the English détenus held in France during the Napoleonic wars. But is much more than an history lesson, it is a charming romance filled with wonderful characters, lies, secrets, heartache, betrayal, witty banter, a slightly ditzy duchess, great secondary characters, warmish love scenes, surprises that ends with an HEA and includes an epilogue. I had this book in audiobook format and thought the narrator (Beverley A. Crick) did a very good job, although she did make Jon sound like an old man – but overall, her voices were great, and her reading cadence was paced perfectly. I really enjoyed this story, and I highly recommend this book. In fact, I am already looking forward to the next installment!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Great new series alert!!!!

I love when a historical romance author finds a unique part of history and brings it to light in their writing. This is one things that just makes historical romance, so interesting and fun for me!

Speaking of, Sabrina Jeffries new book, Hazardous to a Duke‘s Heart, the first in her new Lords of Hazard series revolve around a group of men who become friends do a common misfortune of location, that found them all in captivity in France under the reign of Napoleon. They are known as detinue.

Now these former captives are of returned to England and need to find a way to live a normal life again… easier said than done for Lord Jonathan Leighton when he returns home only to find out that he is now the Duke! Thankfully, he has his sister’s sharp-witted governess, who happens to just be his mentors daughter, to show him the ropes and ease them back into society.

Jonathan and Victoria strike a deal aimed at easing Jonathan‘s guilty conscious for Victoria‘s father‘s passing, but he doesn’t expect the attraction in kinship. He feels for her, knowing that his time in captivity has made him in suitable as a husband…

I absolutely loved this tape on the prodigal son’s return and the heartfelt emotions that Sabrina Jefferies in Sue her characters with. They’re both so multidimensional and well developed that it was a real joy to see them, traverse the obstacles and find away to be together.

I had the opportunity to listen to the audio narrated by Beverly A. Crick and absolutely loved her traditional historical romance narration for this book. She is an icon in the genre and did an amazing job of voicing the various characters and stealing their personalities in her reading. And absolutely delighted to listen to.

After this great start to the series, I’m eager to see where the Lords of Hazard take us next!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Decent historical romance, although slightly cheesy at times and I didn't feel like the characters were that in depth. I enjoyed it overall though and would read more in this series.

While the story did not wow me, it was entertaining enough to keep my attention. Sabrina Jeffries writes easy to read stories.

I was dismayed by the lack of empathy from the MCs family he returned home after being released from being held captive during the war. They are more concerned with the season and Ton gossip. Within a day when he returns his mother and sister bombard him with events he must attend without thought to what he'd been through or the fact that he is now the Duke, a title he was never expected to obtain. I'm sure Jon had PTSD from his ordeal. I wanted to see that play out along with Tory helping him through it.

The relationship between Jon and Tory lacked a real love connection. They felt more like friends versus lovers. I believe the missing piece was what I mentioned before, Tory helping Jon navigate his PTSD. This would have allowed her to open up sooner about her brother. I think if the author had explored that route this story could have been better.

Overall, this was an ok story that I think many will enjoy.

I received an ALC from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I absolutely loved this book!! The audio was amazing as well. If you like pride and prejudice or Bridgerton, then I highly recoming giving this book a try!

Jonathan returns to England after eleven years of captivity in France, only to discover he is now a Duke. Upon arriving home, he meets his sister’s “governess,” Victoria Morris—and it’s love at first sight. Yet Jonathan denies his feelings and instead vows to fulfill her father’s dying wish: to find her a husband. But Victoria is adamant—she will not marry.

As Jonathan wrestles with his growing affection and guilt tied to her father’s death, Victoria harbors a secret of her own about her brother. Their journey is tangled with intrigue, heartache, loyalty, guilt, and ultimately, redemption.

Sabrina Jeffries delivers once again. I was never bored for a moment and can’t wait for the next installment. A deeply satisfying read!

While I found the writing and setting to be delightful as always (in a Sabrina Jeffries novel) I really just lost interest in the plot by the end. It was a bit too long a dragged out, but not a bad time by any means. I really loved that Tory had brother with an intellectual disability as that’s a subject close to my heart and quite an infrequent occurrence in romance books. I do wonder if this was sensitivity read? Something about it maybe needed a little more development.

Personally I wanted something with a bit higher stakes or characters with a bit more…character. Which is becoming a theme I’ve noticed recently: both characters are just solidly good people which is nice but not necessarily exciting, you know? Maybe if you don’t read a lot of historical romance, you won’t notice it, but I’ve read several recent releases and they’re all just ~nice.

Beverly A. Crick is one of my favorite narrators, and she remained as lovely as ever here. The audiobook seemed well edited and a consistently high quality. If the plot is of interest to you or you’ve loved Jeffries’ other work, I definitely recommend picking up the audiobook.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️/5


I received an ALC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own.

Hazardous to a Duke's heart is a pretty standard regency romance. John was a (civilian) prisoner of war during the Napoleon wars, and upon his return home to England, he discovers that not only is his father dead, so is his two older brothers, making him the new Duke.

Back in England he meets Victoria Morris - Tori - his sister's governess and his recently deceased mentor's daughter, and thus romance is born.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, even if it didn't exactly bring anything new or exciting to the genre. The lovestory was a little too insta-lovey for my taste (they've known each other what, two? Three? days, when they first kiss?), but there was also some cute moments.
My main issure was the conflict of the book, which was based on miscommunication and also the fact that John just doesn't speak to people. I found myself annoyed at his reasonings for keeping away from Tori a few times, as they could be solved if he only looked past his own ego.

That aside, I believe enjoyers of regency romances will like this book, which has also paid attention some some great historical details along the way.

Overall, 3 stars.

This story follows a duke who went to war in France with a group of men. One man that passed asked for the duke to watch out for his daughter. The duke and Victoria make an instant connection.

I LOVED this story! The conflicts within the story were so intense and the ending tied everything together.

Hazardous to a Duke's Heart
by Sabrina Jeffries
Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

This enchanting debut in the author's new Lords of Hazard series captivated me from the very first chapter. As a first-time reader of Sabrina Jeffries, I found the story particularly intriguing, especially the hero's compelling backstory as a victim of the Napoleonic Wars. Jonathan Leighton, having endured eleven harrowing years as a hostage during the tumultuous war, returns home to discover that he is now the head of his family and the Duke of Falconridge.

Upon his arrival, he encounters Victoria "Tori" Morris, the governess to his younger sister, Chloe. Tori, with her warm spirit and dedicated presence, is also the daughter of Dr. Isaac Morris, Jonathan's esteemed mentor, who accompanied him to France over a decade ago.

The narration by Beverley A. Crick elevates the experience, bringing the characters to life with her mastery of various accents and a wide range of clear, distinct voices for both men and women. The emotions woven throughout the story are subtle yet palpable, drawing listeners deeper into the great story. The perfect blend of lighthearted charm, swoon-worthy romance, and a hint of mystery kept me completely enthralled from beginning to end.

Sabrina Jeffries historical romance novels were among the first I picked up. I love her ability to tell a story woven into history. Learning about the the British citizens stuck in France during the war was very compelling, and John and Tori's love story unfolded beautifully.

Hazardous to a Duke’s Heart by Sabrina Jeffries
Lords of Hazard series #1. Historical romance. Alternating 3rd person POV.
After being held hostage for years during Napoleon’s war, Jonathan Leighton returns home to find out he’s the new head of family and the Duke of Falconridge. One of his first responsibilities will be to ensure his lost friend’s daughter is set up appropriately.
Victoria has no interest in marriage. Learning of an inheritance means she can make her dreams of setting up a school. Jon has other ideas.

🎧 I was able to read both an ebook copy and listen to an audiobook which is narrated by Beverley A Crick who does many of this authors books. She creates a wonderful regional accent with clear voices for male and female. Emotions are subtle but clear. The characters come to life in the audiobook.
I did listen to this between 1.5 and a bit higher to closer match my reading and conversation speed.
The descriptions were vivid for me in the print version for the locations and settings while the audiobook is about the people. I think either will give the reader a rich experience.

I always have a hard time with war as a setting. This book is more looking back on memories after the prologue. He doesn’t want to talk about the hard times that he experienced but Tory needed to understand. I feel like his sharing brought them closer together.

Sentimental, sexy and a bit sad for the typically not talked about prisoners of war. I’m happy he was able to recover and find love and a whole new dynamic for a family.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher RBMedia.

This was a super cute book! I'm not used to reading HRs and really don't care to accurace to historical facts, but loved learning about Napoleonic wars, checked the authors website for the information she talks about in the end of the book.

The romance happens a little too fast, I'd love to see more yearning. I'm always looking for more romance acts!

People talk about the cringy dialogues in the book, but I love it!!!

So sad I'll have to wait for the next books of the series, because I really want to know what happens to the other characters of the book. Looking foward for it.

Loved the narrator Beverley A Crick, she is wonderfull at creating different accents and voices for the characters, it's so easy to know who is talking at what time.

I felt this book wasn’t Sabrina’s usual witty historical romance. I couldn’t connect with the characters much and the story felt a bit boring to me. It didn’t really have anything to drive the conflict and the main characters felt a bit flat. Overall it was a light romance read.

The Duke of Falconridge’s third son, Jon, leaves for France on a grand tour. Instead of all the fun, he ends up detained in a French prison during Napoleon’s war. He’s stuck there for years with his two best friends and his tutor, William Morris, who becomes a dear friend and father figure to him. On Morris’ deathbed, he asks Jon to help his daughter, Victoria (Tori), find a good husband when he gets home.

Finally, they’re released and—surprise—Jon learns he’s the new Duke. Riddled with guilt for Morris’ injury and death, Jon creates a dowry for Tori and tells her that her father amassed a fortune in France. Only Tori has no interest in marrying; her dream is creating a school for female artists who have nowhere to develop their skills.

Neither can ignore their attraction and growing feelings, though they are determined to deny them. Jon’s in awe of Tori’s intelligence, creativity, determination, and beauty (of course), among other things. Tori sees a passionate and thoughtful man (if at times high-handed and arrogant) who’s haunted by something. I loved the tension between them, the dialogue, the character development and chemistry, the palpable emotions. The secrets/relationship impediments did drag a little longer than I’d prefer, but I absolutely loved the book.

The narrator, Beverley A. Crick, always does a fabulous job with historical romance. Loved her tone, inflection, and ability to differentiate the many voices so I always knew who was speaking.

Highly recommend!

Will someone please save me from crusading Historical Romance heroines? Where can I find an old-fashioned bodice ripper these days? All the HRs published lately have heroines who are just not interested in finding their hero and are set on some quest, be it personal or political. I'm tired of it. I want an old-fashioned romance. Deep breath. Rant over. Now for the review.

"Hazardous to a Duke's Heart" met only one of my expectations: That Beverley A. Crick would deliver an awesome narration. She deserves better material to work with but performed a great job with what she had to work with. Jon, our hero, was a typical nobleman in a lot of ways but because of his experience, he showed a lot of empathy and a lot of guilt over how Torie's father died. Tory was carrying a heavy load and not willing to share why with anyone. The whole thing just didn't click for me. I guess what I wanted was a hot bodice ripper, what I got was a tepid romance with a lot of angst and martyrdom.

My thanks to the Publisher and Author for providing a complimentary audio Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Jeffries is one of those romance writers who steadily produces solid, well-written romances, conventional but reliable. Add Hazardous to a Duke’s Heart to her oeuvre if you’re looking for a solid listen. To the publisher’s blurb to fill in the details:

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.

Jeffries’s romance could have used with a major prune. I don’t know if that impression was amplified because I listened to it, but there are too many pages “read” to Hazardous, too many love scenes (tedious), too much tacked-on intrigue, too many ruminations, especially on the hero’s part. The gist of the matter is that Jeffries never convinced why these two should not be together. She peopled her world with two good people surrounded by decent people, finding silly reasons why they should not marry. First, the cross-class element is hoisted on its own narrative petard when the hero contrives to give the heroine a dowry. Secondly, Jonathan’s reasons for not marrying someone who amuses him, is compatible, beautiful, intelligent, well-bred if not wealthy, and attractive, who’s RIGHT THERE in his house as his sister’s governess, is some kind of night-time PTSD, except he never suffers from it, merely ruminate-declares it so. Victoria’s reason, not the school as the blurb suggests, for not being with Jonathan is more convincing until it isn’t (without spoiling, it requires care and understanding about a certain situation and Jonathan proves he is both). There are one too many dark moments when the couple breaks apart, unconvincingly. And there are epilogues upon epilogues…

The best part of Jeffries’s romance is the banter; these two are smart and fun. The sculpting and art talk are good too. The secondary characters are gently droll, especially Jonathan’s mother and sister. In a nutshell, Jeffries’s romance is competent, but predictable. Were it historical category length, it would have worked better. The narrator too is competent (though I don’t like listening to love scene after love scene as narrative filler), but has a bizarre catch to her voice that broke the narrative flow often enough that I noticed. Overall, a nice enough way to while away a few walking hours for this listener, but given a year from now, I will remember neither narrative nor narrator.

Sabrina Jeffries’s Hazardous to a Duke’s Heart, audiobook version, releases today, April 29, and is produced by RBMedia. I received an audio file, from RBMedia, via Netgalley. The above is my honest, AI-free opinion.

4.25 Stars
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 recognises, 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 fulfil his promise to find a suitable match for the man’s daughter, Victoria. 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.
The start of a new series & a very good starter, I was lucky enough to get both the ebook & audiobook from NetGalley so I feel I had the best of both worlds. The narrator brought the book to life & it was great playing in the background whilst I was gardening & then I was able to relax & read it. I really liked both Jon & Tory, their chemistry sizzled but secrets kept them apart. I was fascinated by the plight of the detenus, something which isn’t referred to very much. I felt that Jon adaptation to life back in England as a free man was swept under the carpet & more could have been made of his struggles. A very well written thoroughly enjoyable book which left the ongoing arc of who had betrayed the friends unsolved so I expect that this will run throughout the series. I look forward to the rest of the series
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own