Member Reviews
This book was an entertaining read. It had some mystery to it, which I ultimately found distracted me from the romance. The spice was a little awkward, but that happens sometimes. Overall, I recommend this series finale.
I received an ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest review.
Loved this book! I took the time to re-read the first two book in this series to refresh my memory, and I am very glad I did—while I do believe you *could* read Accidentally His without having read the others at all, I don't necessarily think you should. Verity's fascination with her "Phantom" is a small but recurrent theme throughout the series, and the payoff here is nice.
Sabrina Jeffries writes a very fun, lighthearted and sexy story. I enjoyed Verity and Rafe meeting and sparring, and appreciated the push-pull of their relationship when it came to her suspicions and his machinations. And while the ending wasn't as satisfying as the overarching mystery in Jeffries Duke Dynasty series, it was still a solid ending to a series I suspect I will enjoy re-reading in the future.
Side note: this book will always be A Viscount for Verity in my head, just as the previous book should've been An Earl for Eliza LOL.
Alas, this was a DNF for me. I really liked the first book, enjoyed the second well enough, but couldn’t stand Rafe in this one. I did not appreciate him manipulating Verity’s emotions, she deserved way better than that, especially after previously being jilted. Rafe was throwing himself at her the whole time without any redeeming qualities. I wanted to scream “run, girl!” the whole time.
And it felt like I was missing a lot of information that I should have known earlier. I conferred with a few friends who have also read the series and this book to ask “wait, did we know about x because I have no recollection about it and it seems like the author thinks we should…”
I expected better.
I loved this series. I’ve been waiting for verity’s story since book 1. I loved that the phantom was uncovered, and that Verity managed to figure it out without his help.
“I have no desire to spy on people.”
“No, just to record the spy spying on you,” he said testily.
“Can you blame me?”
Verity turned into a spy herself, searching for the phantom at events for 18 months, then trying to figure out if Rafe was the phantom. The twist of who was the “bad guy” got me and I didn’t see it coming until the end. Love a regency romance, and this one did not disappoint.
Accidentally His by Sabrina Jeffries is the third book in the Designed Debutantes Series. Lady Verity and her sisters run a party planning business called Elegant Occasions. They plan parties for the rich and famous in the Ton. Verity is the only unmarried sister. The other sisters met their forever after person in the prior books.
Lady Verity had firmly decided that she wanted nothing to do with men again. Her ex fiance was in the past and she was moving forward. She decided to stay focused on their business.
Rafe Wolfford was a spy. He needed to find who was passing information to the French and believed it was coming from Elegant Occasions. He befriended and then started to court Verify to get to the bottom of the spying.
Nothing went exactly as planned and suddenly Verity and Rafe were engaged and the secrets built up around them. Trust was needed to move forward, something neither of them had. Accidentally His by Sabrina Jeffries was a good read.
What an absolute delight! This is a spy mystery where the spy is outed by a very observant lady and it is delicious fun. Verity KNOWS she has seen Rafe before, but cannot pinpoint whether he is the “party crasher” she keeps seeing. Rafe is trying to find a traitor and must use Verity without her knowledge. The antics that ensue are half hilarious and half scary. I loved how the two of them banter and Rafe’s protectiveness of her , even though he “doesn’t love her” is precious!My favorite line from Verity is “ It’s swollen because it’s been injured?’ I just about fell off the chair. You will have to read it to know what she is talking about! The villain is well hidden with different avenues that keep the reader guessing. I adored Constantine and the short reunion between him and Rafe is so emotional (sniff). This is WELL worth your time!
I received this copy for free and these are my own opinions
This is the third book in the series and answers the questions left from the first two. It can be read as a stand-alone, but the characters from the first two books are in this one, so I recommend reading them first. I enjoyed it so much!
There were great interactions between Rafe and Verity, even though he couldn't tell her the truth about much of his life since he was a spy trying to find out who was giving information to the French.
There was a mystery, intrigue and romance, making this a very fun, interesting read with a did not see it coming surprise at the end.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and read it voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
Accidentally His is the third book in the Designing Debutantes series which follows the three Harper sisters as they rebuild their lives after a family scandal. The sisters created Elegant Occasions to put their skills to use and support themselves as well.
Lady Verity Harper loves food and enjoys creating menus to pair people with their favorite foods; and works with their cook when planning EO events. Rafe Wolfford has been on assignment for the last 18months investigating Verity’s family to find the person relaying war information to the French and responsible for shooting his uncle. Running out of ideas to get the information he’s seeking, Rafe decides that courting Verity is the only way he can infiltrate her family to get the answers he needs to apprehend the villain. In the last year and a half Verity has spotted the Phantom over a dozen times and when Rafe shows up at an EO auction as himself, Verity is almost certain Rafe is the Phantom - even though that sounds far fetched even to her. Although Verity is wary, Rafe finds himself getting invited to the EO house party. As they get to know one another during the house party, circumstances change that has both Verity and Rafe questioning if they can trust the other with the secrets and information they have despite their growing feelings for one another.
I really wanted to like this one and was excited to read it after the first two in this series but it fell kind of flat for me. There was lots I enjoyed in it but the plot was a bit convoluted. After having the Phantom pop up in previous books I was intrigued to read Verity’s story. I wasn’t too big of a fan of Rafe in the beginning as he was a bit of rogue with Verity based on his initial intentions with her. He somewhat redeemed himself later when he shared information about an ex-suitor with Verity and not just her brother in law; although he did keep underestimating her until almost the end. Verity is very perceptive and it is shown not only by her food but her ability to put information together. I was surprised by the close relationship Verity had with their cook, Beaufort. It makes sense that they’d have a close working relationship but struck me as odd since it came off as a given as it would be in a similar way to how her relationship with her sisters would be. Maybe this was detailed in earlier books and I’d forgotten about it. I enjoyed the swimming trip during the house party and learning the tidbits about swimming and bathing machines during the Regency. I’d only come across this in one other book where the author had gone into quite a bit of detail on it, so it was an interesting part. I also enjoyed the twist about Verity finding out about Rafe’s ulterior motives - it helped keep the storyline from being predictable. I was also surprised by who the villain was.
There are three encounters that are mid steam.
Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Books for an advanced ecopy of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.
I really enjoyed the second book of this series and so when the ARC for the third book, Accidentally His, came out I was like: Yes Please! Verity is the third sister in the series and the only one unwed. She was secretly engaged once but she is not tempted to repeat that fiasco by falling for another guy.
Rafe is a soldier, a spy and the heir to a viscount. He doesn’t have time for a wife. Verity becomes a means to an ends in his investigation as he begins to court her to get info. Problem is their fiery chemistry makes it so he can’t keep his hands off her. Enter in some forced proximity and we have ourselves a situation that could lead to something really wonderful or a possible explosion.
This book was wonderfully written and all my favourite tropes were done really well. I found the juxtaposition between Rafe’s hesitations and his inability to control himself around Verity a bit hard to reconcile but other then that it is a wonderful storyline that I enjoyed reading from start to finish.
“Accidentally His” Designing Debutantes, Book 3 of 3 by Sabrina Jeffries
Oh, My, What a Tangle!!
I loved my time within this story. What more can I say. I read the description and have usually, if not, maybe always really, really, liked this author’s stories. So, I jumped at the chance to read the ARC of this story. AND, I was not disappointed. This story can be read as a stand alone read, but it has recurring characters which would possibly be spoilers for your reading prior books in the series. Just sayin’. Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.
I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley.
I was so excited about this one, but unfortunately it was DNF for me. This is just my personal opinion, please give it a go yourself and try it. It just didn’t grab my interest.
Oh, the last in this delightful series.
I don't know why this isn't called a Viscount for Verity, which would have continued the cute names, and I don't know what uniform that is supposed to be since the hero, Rafe is an incognito spy, but he does turn out to be the perfect man for Verity. This is another clueless male in love trope, which is one of my favorites. Rafe has had a very lonely childhood, and really does not know what love is. Verity had scandalous parents and a broken engagement, so she is also leary of attachments.
In the 2 previous books Verity keeps seeing a man who she calls "the Phantom" and no one believes her. When she meets Rafe, she has a feeling it is him. I love how this all plays out at a house party, where people are trying to find spouses, while Rafe is hunting spies. All the characters from the previous books are here and that makes it so much fun. I will admit the villain was a complete surprise. I am sad to see the series end.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc. This is my honest review.
Rafe is an army colonel and spy looking to identify the person responsible for shooting his uncle and selling secrets to the French. While he has been following the Harper family events for awhile, he’s decided to uplevel his spying by trying to court the youngest sister Verity. She suspects that Rafe is the Phantom person who has been crashing her events for the past year, but can’t seem to prove it. Add in the part where they are actually attracted to each other and seem to be distracted by each other. When Verity’s ex-fiancee starts causing trouble, Rafe ends up proposing marriage to prevent a scandal. She’s hesitant of course, knowing that he’s keeping secrets, but they soon realize they’ll need to team up to find out the identity of the traitor and villain. Loved seeing Verity’s sister and brothers-in-law come to her defense and I also enjoyed seeing Rafe’s respect and yearning for Verity’s family life.
In the third installment of her Designing Debutantes series, Sabrina Jeffries creatively weaves a web in which her two main characters gradually peel away each other's protective emotional layers until they finally find peace in each other's arms. There a quite a few secondary characters for the reader to keep track along the way.
This is a very satisfying ending for the Elegant Occasions series. Verity has challenged herself to find out who the man is who keeps crashing their events in various disguises. She refers to him as The Phantom to her sisters. She also has the additional hurdle of dodging her former fiance' who has reappeared on the scene. Why is he trying to win her back after all the damage he did? You enjoy this story!
Sabrina Jeffries is my favorite author working in historical romance, and this book is a good example of why. I love how good the chemistry was between the leads and the mystery of the spy was thrilling with an ending I didn't see coming! Thank you netgalley for the copy
Accidentally His is the third book in the Designing Debutantes series (and I don't think I'll ever get over this not being titled A Viscount for Verity).
Final book of the Harper sisters and their business Elegant Occasions. This one centers around Verity and her Phantom. This book probably would be fine as a stand alone, but the reader will have a much deeper appreciation for the sisters and a better understanding of the world building if read in order, to tie all the threads together.
There was a lot going on in this book, too many villains and too many secrets. I wish it was reigned in a bit. It felt very long and in the heads of the characters repeating their thoughts.
There was a lot of steam. I don't know if I totally bought the romance between Verity and Rafe, but they definitely had an attraction (though some of the dialogue during the steamy scenes was really cringy). I think the "villain" got off way too easily.
For fans of spies, secret/hidden identities. A good trilogy overall, even with a few bumps along the way.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this novel. The thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.
Rafe, a government spy, infiltrates Verity’s family to learn who is selling secrets to the French. He is forced to step up and ask her to marry him. Verity suspects Rafe is not all he appears to be. They both must learn to trust each other to succeed against a mutual foe. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Zebra books for my honest review.
What’s starts as a courtship for his country ends in real feelings and a love to cherish. Solider/Spy for his country Rafe’s objective is to get close to a young lady Verity to see if her business has anything to do with someone giving secrets to the French.
What he doesn’t expect is to find Verity irresistible. When he longs to protect her, both of their lives are changed forever.
This is the third book in this Sabrina Jefferies’ series. It was entertaining and lovely to read. Both characters were smart and the story wasn’t full of anything annoying to keep them apart.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
Diana, the oldest, husband Geoffrey Grenwood, then Eliza, husband Nathaniel, the Earl of Foxstead,
the middle sister have had their story told now we have the youngest sister, Lady Verity. The three run Harper sisters Elegant Occasions, with Monsieur Beaufort, the Head Cook.
As you remember Lady Verity was publicly scandalized by Lord Minton, pain in the but ex-fiance, when he started courting Lady Bertha, after her mom, Lady Rumridge.ran off with lover, Major General Tobias Ord, Viscount Rumridgewhom she married once her father divorced her.
Osgood Harper, the Earl of Holtbury. Then her father married his second wife Lady Sarah who is meek, quiet, unassuming. She has three boys by her first husband. Which all the sisters love.
As you may also remember, Lady Verity is still trying to figure out who "the Phantom" is that keeps showing up and disappearing. Now she is planning a charity event for the orphanage along with a house party to see if the matches they have come up with will take. Her part is the food for the events. This is her specialty.
Colonel Raphael Wolfford, Rafe, raised by his Uncle Constantine General Wolfford, Rafe also known by his fellow officers as The Chameleon, is back home to find a spy that is giving troop movements away. His Uncle started the investigation but was hurt, so Sir Lucius Fitzgerald, boss in the war office, has brought Rafe home to finish it.
This has lead him to a very short list of people that are associated with Elegant Occasions. So Rafe is donning his true self to find the culprit. His first foray into society that he would prefer not to do. He likes his single life but wants who hurt his uncle caught more.
Join in the hunt for a spy as Lady Verity puts clues together on who her Phantom is while Rafe tries to make sure his Chameleon status goes unknown. Rafe gets more clues as he "pretends", in his mind, to court Lady Verity. Verity believes Rafe is her Phantom but can't prove it. Once she gives Rafe information that starts to put all his pieces together, he slips and giver her the final piece.
A fun romp from ballroom to house party with madcap mischief for all in the fun read that will have you laughing. The surprise ending will bring a tear for Uncle Constantine. Sabrina Jefferies is at her best in this trilogy.