This is a charming romance between Sheridan, the Duke of Armitage, and Lady Vanessa. Suspecting her Mother to be involved in the murders of his Mother’s three husbands, he spends time with Vanessa, to question her Mother and find out what she knows. Their time together turns into a pretend courtship on the pretense of making Vanessa’s supposed love interest, a playwright , jealous. Their lack of honesty with one another causes the couple a lot of unnecessary angst and mistrust. A bit of a mystery and “who dunnit”, adds to the the Duke’s wonderful love story. Lots of fun family members and interesting characters contribute to make this a most enjoyable read.

This book is light and fun and romantic with a great big helping of intrigue to add a bit of spice to a classic pretend engagement/true love story.
What stands out is that both Sheridan and Vanesa are flawed characters who are, of course, perfect for each other despite Sheridan's insistence to the contrary. You know from the moment they're first together on the page that they will make a great couple and Jeffries does not disappoint. Over the course of an expertly-paced plot, there's good banter, many secrets brought to light, sweet family moments, a special license wedding, the resolution of several murders, a little bit of everything, and then some more to keep interesting. It's perfect.
I'm starting to believe that Sabrina Jeffries is incapable of writing a romance that I don't fall in love with. Even when I never really understood how all the members of the titles Duke were actually related. This is one complex family. Not even the inclusion of a family tree at the beginning of the book helped there, but that's a minor quibble.
Overall, it's a classic historical romance with a perfect HEA and great twists and turns along the way to seeing Sheridan and Vanesa find it.

Many extremely happy thanks to NetGalley and Zebra Books for the early read!

The last of the Dowager Duchess of Armitage’s children meets their match in Undercover Duke. Sheridan and Vanessa are both characters who intrigued me in previous Duke Dynasty books so I was eager to dive into their story. With this book Sabrina Jeffries has penned a solidly entertaining romance and a satisfying wrap-up to the overarching Duke Dynasty mystery of who murdered the Dowager Duchess’s three husbands.

Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is determined not to fall in love. He’s known heartbreak and he doesn’t want to feel that kind of pain again. But with his sister-in-law nearing the end of her pregnancy, the task of questioning his half-brother’s aunt about the mysterious deaths plaguing their family falls on him. Sheridan needs a way to get the woman to talk to him and the opportunity is presented to him by his half-brother’s cousin, Vanessa Pryde. Vanessa wants to catch the eye of a rakish playwright and she wants Sheridan’s help making the man jealous. Pretending to court Vanessa will put Sheridan in a good place to question her mother. The only problem is, the longer he’s around Vanessa the more difficult it is to resist her. And there’s one thing he doesn’t know: it’s actually him Vanessa has set her sights on.

Undercover Duke works because Vanessa and Sheridan have an easy chemistry that makes them work as a couple. They complement one another perfectly and though there are secrets and mix-ups worthy of a Shakespeare play in this story, I trusted Jeffries to bring everything together, which she did. It was easy to fall into Vanesa and Sheridan’s romance and the smooth rhythm of their story made it a great comfort read. The other storyline – that of who murdered Sheridan’s mother’s husbands and why – finally comes to a conclusion in this book. I enjoyed watching the pieces of the puzzle come together was satisfied by how everything played out. All in all, I greatly enjoyed Undercover Duke; it has likeable leads, solid chemistry, and a fast-paced romance with just enough mystery to tie everything together.

Sheridan Wolfe is the Duke of Armitage with a number of problems. First and most important is he hasn't been trained to be a Duke but to be one of Britain's Diplomatic service. He has learned the Estate is broke and losing money every day, no matter how hard he tries to understand the bookkeeping system it makes no sense to him. The only way to save his Dukedom is to marry a Lady with a very large dowry. That makes him sick as he loved once and lost her, he has no desire to every open himself up to other. The loss and pain are too great. Thinking of marring just for money is wrong. If that wasn't enough for him to worry about, he is helping his brothers and sisters to try and figure out why their mother has lost three of her husbands all Dukes under odd circumstances.
In order to find out information, he is supposed to question Lady Eustance, who use to be his mother's sister-in-law. She has a daughter, Vanessa Prude who was raised with Grey, Sheridan's brother.
Ever since Grey introduced her to Sheridan, Vanessa has wanted him. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to feel the same way. Vanessa comes up with a scheme to try and make him notice her or make him jealous. She is going to use a playwright, Mr Juncker. Till it all goes wrong.
One thing Sheridan hates is schemers. He is also highly attracted to Vanessa. Spending time with her only makes it worst, as he finds out she is not only a beauty, but also kind, and intelligent.
Oh, my so many secrets, not only just between Sheridan and Vanessa but the whole family has a lot going on.
I hope you get a copy to find out if the secrets, hidden truths, the murderer, and betrayal will
tear our couple apart or bring them closer together. Sometimes you don't know what you really what till it's gone.
This story has lots of drama, emotions, witty banter, and love.
I hope you get a copy and see how it all turns out. The books can be read as stand along, but
better if read in order as a lot of history follows the books and family
I received and ARC from the author and wish to thank her. This is my honest opinion and am freely giving it.

First let me say that if you have not read the previous books in this series you might be lost in reading this story. It does have an overarching mystery of who killed the fathers of these five siblings. I have enjoyed all of the stories in this series, some more then others. Normally I am not one for deceit in relationships. However, I did like the premise in this one (Vanessa says she is attracted to one guy to get the other one to notice her) but as all deceits, it came back to bite her in the butt. Sheridan has been the staid duke throughout this series but his “jealousy” gets the best of him and I liked seeing him brought down a peg or two. But, he is also engaging in his own slyness by not telling Vanessa the truth, the whole truth. Man are these two a mess even though we see their love they are blinded and fail to see that they are growing more and more attached each day. Who ends up being villain and why? Well, I cannot tell you that. I might be who you suspect, but it might not and the reason is very devastating.

Sheridan, the Duke of Armitage is finally going to meet his match in Undercover Duke.
*****
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 2 flames
Genre: Historical Romance / Fake Relationship
*****
Sheridan has suspected foul play in the death of his mother's previous husbands, including his father and uncle. Although each death looked to be accidental, he suspected more and in Who Wants to Marry a Duke, we discovered there was more to the men’s death.

In order to get to the truth, the family decides to question those people that knew his mother during the time of the deaths. Sheridan must question Lady Eustace. In order to get close to Lady Eustace, he will need to get close to her daughter Vanessa. Only there is one problem with that plan, Vanessa is in love with someone else, and Sheridan is more than a little attracted to Vanessa.

Vanessa has had a crush on Sheridan for ages, but she didn’t want anyone to know so she lied and said she is interested in the famous playwright Mr. Juncker…and the lie just spreads. Now she is in a pickle, she want’s Sheridan but everyone thinks she wants Mr. Juncker. Vanessa and Sheridan strike a bargain, he will help her make Juncker jealous by pretending to court her and that will give him the opportunity to question Vanessa's mother on the events that lead to the deaths of his mothers husbands. A fake relationship, what could go wrong? A fake relationship where both parties have some feelings for the other...we are in for a fun ride!

Undercover Duke is filled with romance, family, love, and twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages. I admit I figured out whodunit early on in the book, but I was still on the edge of my seat until the truth was finally revealed and though I had the who, the why was something I never saw coming. I was overjoyed to see all the characters from the previous books and it felt like catching up with old friends. Fabulous characters and a great story, who could ask for more? I have thoroughly enjoyed this entire series and although this book could probably be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the series to get the full story. A definite recommendation from me.

Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is asked by his half-brother, Grey, to start making into the death of his brother's father. The whole family is worried that it may have been a murder since their mother's second and third husbands died young as well with Sheridan's own father was poisoned. With his brother's wife in labor, Sheridan has been tasked with questioning Lady Cora Eustace who was at the party for Grey's christening the weekend his father died. She is also Grey's aunt who Sheridan barely knows. Besides, she has a daughter, Vanessa, who Sheridan is... well.. prickly about. Sheridan knows that he needs to marry an heiress and doesn't want to drag Vanessa into his quagmire. Besides, she's enamored of a poet, Juncker.
Vanessa has been using Juncker as a reason to make Sheridan jealous. He doesn't seem to realize that she is full grown and she'll use any means she can to make him realize that she is perfect for him.
The ending wrapped up rather quicker than I had hoped especially since it closed out an arc that has been going on for several books. I was at 80% done and it didn't seem like it was getting close. There was also sort of a rush to the "I love you"s that could have been a little longer to feel more like a real HEA, especially after there was so much deception (some of it from themselves) in the rest of the book. I really do like Jeffries' writing though and up to that end was a lovely story.

Three and a half stars
Follows Who Wants to Marry a Duke
This book comes out May 25th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Sabrina Jeffries concludes her latest series with “Undercover Duke”- giving the last single family member his happy ending and concluding the mystery the family has been working to solve throughout the books. I was happy to see Sheridan get dragged into his happily ever after, though her certainly went kicking and screaming. Most of the book is the traditional comedy of faux-courting turning real, and attempts to make others jealous. The murder mystery itself is more of a background than the focus of the book. Sheridan is a decent hero and I enjoyed Vanessa and her attempts to catch Sheridan’s attention,, and certainly felt sorry for her having to deal with her mother.

Overall a nice book about love and how it can happen when we are fighting hard against it, but should welcome it anyway

I received an Arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I was happy to get the full story on the mystery behind the deaths in the family. Sheridan is attracted to Vanessa, but he isn't ever going to marry anyone, so when he told Vanessa that he would help her make a certain man jealous, no one was surprised as much as he was. Vanessa really has no interest in any other man than Sheridan, but she can't think of any other way to get him to see her as a woman instead of a girl. Sheridan is trying to question Vanessa's mother about the past and that is his excuse to be close to Vanessa. The problem is, he wants to be close to her. When they are caught in a compromising situation, they have no choice but to marry. When all their secrets start spilling out after the wedding, they aren't sure if their marriage will make it. Can they find the murderer and keep everyone safe?

This series started when after the deaths of 3 husbands and her brother-in-law, the Duchess of Armitage’s children begin to wonder if foul play was involved and set out to discover the truth. After a lot of frustration and dead ends, the siblings have narrowed their suspects down to three ladies that were present at the time of the deaths of the duchess’s first two husbands. One of the ladies is the Duke of Greycourt’s aunt, but with his wife entering confinement with their first child, Grey tasks his half-brother Sheridan Wolfe, the Duke of Armitage with interviewing his aunt, Lady Eustance. With no real reason to call on her, Sheridan forms a plan to pretend to woo her daughter, Vanessa Pryde. An idea that takes wings when Vanessa agrees to play along if Sheridan will help her make the playwright, Konrad Juncker jealous enough to offer for her.

Vanessa has no interest in Mr. Juncker, Sheridan has always been the man she wanted, but he has never paid any interest in her at all and has made it clear that he is not looking to marry any time soon. She is hopeful that if he spends time with her, she can change his mind. But what she doesn’t know is that Sheridan’s heart was broken years ago and he refuses to risk it again – no matter how much Vanessa tempts him. But when they are caught in a passionate embrace, the only way to protect Vanessa is to marry her. Sheridan rationalizes his eagerness by thinking that he is keeping her out of the clutches of the rakish Mr. Juncker, that her dowry will help shore up his failing estate and he will have credible access to her mother for questioning – that is his story and he is sticking to it!

After they marry, Vanessa learns the real reason he started wooing her and is hurt, but she wants to clear her mother’s name and offers to help. But Sheridan was not the only one with secrets and these two will have to come clean and open their hearts to get their HEA, assuming that the killer doesn’t strike again before they get the chance!

This was a good book, well-written and nicely paced with wonderful characters and the conclusion to a series-long, well-thought-out, and perfectly executed murder mystery. The book is full of secrets, steamyish love scenes, great characters, cameos from previous heroes/heroines, a hero with a broken heart, a heroine who knows what she wants, and a nail-biter ending as well as a very sweet and satisfying epilogue. I enjoyed this book and am happy to recommend it. This is the fifth book in the series and while it could be read as a standalone, I would strongly recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

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

This was a good ending to this series. I liked how the mystery was tied up and I thought that Sheridan and Vanessa were a great couple. Their romance unfolded beautifully on the page and I was happy to have the chance to read this book.

Along with his half-siblings, Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is determined to solve the mysteries behind the suspicious deaths of their mother's three husbands. His investigations bring him into dangerous proximity with the captivating Vanessa Pryde, but the duke, still haunted by his tragically lost love Helene, is resolved to resist the attraction. Besides, lovely Miss Pryde seems utterly smitten with a roguish London playwright Mr Juncker. Vanessa's theatrical flirtation is intended only to break through the duke's business-like demeanour and guarded emotions, for it is Sheridan she truly has her sights, and her heart, set on. As the duke's jealousy becomes evident, the two find themselves propelled into a scheme involving a pretend courtship, a secret inquiry then everything changes when they are caught in a compromising situation.
This is the fourth & final book in the series, it could be read on its own but to fully appreciate it I’d recommend reading the series in order. I loved Saint Sheridan who wasn’t a saintly as his nickname implied, I also loved Vanessa who was a lovely caring woman & credit to her as her parents were horrid. I loved their verbal bantering also their attraction sizzled, I was totally engrossed in the road to their HEA. There’s also been a murderer to track down which has been ongoing throughout the series & finally all is revealed. I did work out who the murderer was but I was surprised as to the motives. A very well written book (& series) which drew me in from the start & I read it in two sittings. I loved the mixture of romance & mystery & it was also lovely to catch up with the other siblings & spouses
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A great ending to "Duke dynasty" series. The heroine is so fun & knows what she wants and goes after the hero. The hero & his siblings and their respective partners find out who is the villain. All in all, an enjoyable series.

Thank you NetGalley and Zebra books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries in the fourth book the Duke Dynasty series. This book aimed to be the conclusion to a mystery that has been following out characters from the very beginning. Unfortunately, the mystery and all the romantic couples from the previous books felt like they bogged down the romance in this one. For me personally, it felt like the romance of Sheridan Wolfe and Vanessa Pryde was second to everything else. Seeing the characters from previous books was nice but felt like too much as I wish we could have gotten more attention to our romantic leads.

I honestly really likes the two characters in this one despite that they both suffered from terrible communication and the lies between them seemed to just keep adding up. Yet, when the lies finally come crashing down I liked that them learning to deal with their problems was not drawn out. I just really wished that there could have been more scenes of them together and working through their relationship. There was a lot of buildup to them getting together but I didn't feel like enough between them was said. Despite all that they were a really cute romance. Both have liked each other for a long time but neither of them thinks the other has any affection for them. It leads to a lot of really nice moments between the two as they are both toying the line between friendship and something more.

Sabrina Jefferies writing is wonderful. I was drawn in and read this book in one sitting. Once I started I just had to keep reading. She is exceptionally witty and I found myself chuckling along throughout the story.

Mystery and Romance! Ms. Jeffries has given us another wonderful HEA with a very satisfying end to this series. The characters are wonderfully written with delightfully developed relationships. One can't help but cheer Vanessa as she works her wiles on the duke! This was a fun book to read, like all of Ms. Jeffries's books.

I was provided an advance reader copy through NetGalley. These are my own opinions voluntarily given.

Undercover Duke
Book 4 in the Duke Dynasty Series
Rating: 3 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

This is the fourth book in the series and it could of been a four star book but I lost a little interest towards the end of the book. The conflict between Sheridan and Vanessa was very anti-climatic. I needed more angst! I liked how they start off by being very attracted to each other but due to certain situations in their lives they can not be together, therefore they lie to each other about how they really feel for one another. When some certain truths are revealed for the real reason of Sheridan getting close to Vanessa and her easily agreeing to their rushed marriage I felt that their conflict as a couple were too easily resolved to make way for the second story line in the book.
We join Sheridan and his family in trying to solve the murders of family members of this extended family. We also get to see the characters from the previous books (since they are all related in a certain way). To be honest I was not really interested in this story line. I feel it took away from the romance between Sheridan and Vanessa.

I really enjoyed this book, though it is clearly part of a series, but I could still understand what was going on. A great romance, and I want to read the previous books. I loved the mystery, and didn't pick up who it was until the end. Overall, a great read, and I'll be picking up the previous books, highly recommended.

Review: This is the 4th and final book of the Duke Dynasty series. This is not a standalone book, so I highly recommend reading the first three novels in order to fully understand the plot. While you may not think it hard to choose the villain from previous books, the details of the mystery will be clearly outline!

Sheridan Wolfe, new Duke Armitage, must marry and must choose someone with a large dowry to save his estate. He’s spent a great deal of time attempting to learn bookkeeping and identify the trouble spots in his estate, but has been unsuccessful and is fighting against the idea of marriage. Since he wasn’t raised to inherit the estate, it’s a difficult position for him. Enter Lady Vanessa, who has long been in love with Sheridan, and worries that he thinks of her as a little sister. She’s hidden her feelings and even gone so far as creating a pretend crush on playwright Juncker in an attempt to create some jealousy while also resisting her own mother’s agenda to marry her off to a much-older man.

The banter between the characters is fun and believable. The family relationships (and main characters from previous books) are well-developed. The series is able to finally wrap up the story of the dowager Duchess and her tremendous history of love and loss.

Note: I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is my own. #UndercoverDuke #NetGalley

I usually like to read my books in chronological order. I would rather wait for a series to end before I even pick up its first book. I somehow missed doing that here, ending up reading the last book of the series! (gasp)

Did that though ruin things for me? No.
Was I confused by the many secondary characters involved? No.
Now that I know who the murderer is, will it stop me from wanting to read the other first books? No.

That is the mark of a good book and a great writer. Even though it is the last book, it can still be read as a standalone and be enjoyable. Which it was in spades. I will not go into detail describing what the main plot is about- the blurb for once does a great job of that for this book. I will reiterate that it was immensely fun.
Both the lead characters were attracted to each other but were loath to admit it to anyone. Vanessa did not want love to be used against her in life. In Sheridan’s case, he had too many excuses to deny himself some happiness, which goes hand in hand with his stoic saintly character. He always had to do the right thing and wanting Vanessa for himself just did not seem like that, so he stayed away from her- until forced to be around her at the request of his eldest brother, Grey. Venessa was a darling. Her antics and feelings were a delight to read. Poor thing has been infatuated with Sheridan since she first met him, and to throw others off the scent, especially his eldest half-brother and her first cousin, she pretends she is in love with someone else.

This caused so many amusing scenarios. I loved how they both were lying to each other, themselves and the people around them- just so that no one would know their true motives, whether its her unrequited feelings for him, his attraction to her, his secret investigation of her mother, her ploy to make him jealous, his plans to make her see that her playwright was not worthy of her etc etc.

On top of that, there was a triple murder to solve, scandals to avert and a dukedom to save from insolvency. This book was not boring for a minute. Yes, its peppered with many anachronisms, the characters speech and their manner of interactions at the top of it, but I found myself forgiving that because I was so entertained throughout. The murder mystery too was obvious, and I cannot believe it took so long for these people to figure out who was behind it all. Then again, I have not read the other books (which I now plan to!) and not everyone can always have the deductive reasoning skills of Sherlock Holmes when they are nothing more than aristocratic lords and ladies.

The romance was not slow to pick up, and two thirds into the book, our leads get married. I had no problem connecting with the characters and their confusing lies and thoughts. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

I have read other books by Sabrina Jeffries and I like her writing style and especially her development of characters. I find myself interested in all of them and wanting to read about them. The playwright Juncker in this instance. Even though his upcoming novella doesn’t seem that it will have anything to do with this series, I will still be on the lookout for it, because I want to know what his and Flora’s story is and how they will end up.

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review. Thoughts and opinions expressed here are honest and completely my own.**

3.5 Stars

Undercover Duke is the fourth book in the fourth book in the Duke Dynasty series by Sabrina Jeffries. Sheridan Wolfe, the Duke of Armitage, is committed to solving the deaths of his mother’s three husbands. During his investigation, he is assigned to look into a suspect that could crack the case and save the lives of his family. However, to get close to the person of interest, Sheridan will have to deal with her daughter, Vanessa Pryde. Vanessa is a confident woman determined to get Sheridan to see her as more than a young lady. She is willing to resort to a bit of scheming to do so, especially if it means igniting his jealous streak. Vanessa and Sheridan soon find themselves embroiled in an unexpected partnership, where attraction simmers beneath the surface, as does the lies.

As a full fledge Bridgerton fan, I was more than excited to delve into the historical romance. It had all of the makings of a top-shelf historical romance: arrangement of convenience, a dashing duke, assertive and resourceful female, secrets, and an impending threat. Sheridan constantly struggles against the obvious passion he feels towards Vanessa. He has sworn off love and is unwilling to reopen his heart again. Vanessa’s mom is determined to marry her off to the highest bidder, or the match that would secure an advantageous social position. Vanessa is determined to show Sheridan the happiness they could have together if he just let himself fall in love with her. The multiple points of view helped offer a free indirect perspective of both main protagonists.

I was immediately drawn in by the push and pull of Vanessa and Sheridan’s relationship. I was intrigued to read more. I admire Sheridan’s fortitude to discover the murder and do everything in his power to protect those he loves. But, closer to the middle of the book, I felt like it didn’t necessarily add depth to his relationship with Vanessa. I read the Undercover Duke as a standalone book. While I was able to grasp the characters and plot easily, perhaps not having read the other series in order, I didn’t feel like, as a reader, I had an opportunity to bond with the other family members so frequently mentioned in the book. Instead, the other family members felt like a block to their romance. I would have liked to see more interaction between Sheridan and Vanessa’s other suitor, Mr. Junker. Their relationship was dynamic and funny. It brought out Sheridan’s less refined characteristics, which I didn’t mind seeing. While the blend of mystery and romance is amiable, it falls a bit flat in this occurrence to me. I did appreciate the strength of Vanessa’s character and her grit to fight for what she wants and what she thinks she deserves. I found Sheridan’s immediate switch in emotions from desire to avoidance a bit flat and mercurial. There seemed to be a slow burn that snowballs into a marriage of convenience.

I would consider reading the first book's first instalment to gauge the difference between what is covered in the first book to the fourth.