Publisher's Description:

A Passionate and Whimsical Regency Tale from Bestselling Author Jane Ashford

Will the secrets that brought them together tear them apart?

Proud. Cunning. Battle-hardened. Lord Sebastian Gresham is the epitome of military might and excellence. He’s wealthy. The son of a Duke. There’s just one problem: he can’t read. It’s a secret he’ll never tell, certainly not to his new bride-to-be.

Brilliant. Witty. Gorgeous. Lady Georgina Stane has always known she’d make the perfect bride, that is, if her eccentric family didn’t scare off every potential suitor from London to Bath. After carefully orchestrating a London season with her parents out of the picture, she secured an engagement to an impeccable gentleman. And when Lord Sebastian arrives at her family’s estate to meet her parents, she’s not about to let their antics ruin her perfect marriage.

But what happens when these two learn that some secrets aren’t so easy to keep?

The Duke's Sons Series:
Heir to the Duke (Book 1)
What the Duke Doesn't Know (Book 2)
Lord Sebastian's Secret (Book 3)

My Thoughts:
I really hate to start a series in the middle but as it happens that is exactly what happened with my reading this book. It is book #3 of a five book series. The last two have yet to be released.

I really enjoyed reading this extremely funny and delightful book. In addition to the charming and humorous human characters we are treated to a group of amorous pugs. They really make for funny and interesting dialog since our heroine's mother thinks her little dogs can do no wrong.
Our hero is far from perfect and some people think him stupid. He is not dull witted though. He has a learning disability that was not diagnosed in these times.

As stated the characters in this book are well developed and the storyline follows an interesting trek .to the inevitable ending.
I gave this book 4.25 of 5 stars for storyline and characterization and 3 of 5 flames for heat. There are amorous encounters but they are not so descriptive as to make them extremely hot and for the most part blend in well with the humorous story.
I look forward to the last two books in this series and hope to be able to read the first two very soon.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley to read and review.
This in no way affected my opinion.

This book was difficult to finish--not because it was a bad book, but because there really wasn't much excitement throughout the story. I understand how difficult it must have been for our hero Sebastian having to overcome the adversity of not being able to read, but it didn't build any suspense for the overall story. Georgina's character was pretty flat for me. She was beautiful, kind, thoughtful with no apparent flaws. Being so perfect doesn't make for an very interesting character.

I haven't read the previous books in the series and that could be why I couldn't keep all of Sebastian's brothers straight. So many characters in one book dilutes the plot in my mind. Of course, then there's the pesky younger sister who does add some comic relief, but it got tiresome with all her schemes.

The story meanders on toward the finale. The best thing I can say is it was nice, although that's not always a good thing. I'm not sure if I'll review any more books by this author.

I was SO excited headed into this story. I love Regency romance and historical romance so much, but I've pretty much read it all, seen it all. I was thoroughly intrigued by a cover blurb that promised a hero who wasn't a typical "perfect" Lord So and So. A hero who can't read? A hero who genuinely was interested in listening and learning all he could about his fiancee? Squee! You don't have to be perfect at everything to be a perfect match for someone in real life, so why should it be so different in a book?

Sebastian Gresham was quite dashing. I was a little disappointed that his story went off on a strange tangent more than a few times. The "elopement" and rituals of the eccentric father distracted me too much from the terrific chemistry and closeness of Sebastian and Georgina. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I so wish Lord Sebastian had revealed his secret a little sooner. It would have been so wonderful to see how both of them together faced his learning disability head on.

Jane Ashford certainly has a good thing going with this series and I'm anxious to see where Randolph as well as Georgina's sisters end up. Since they were such endearing characters, I really hope I've not seen the last of Hilda and Emma! They added such life and comedic relief. I bet they'd take London by storm! They definitely deserve a Season of their own!

Note: The pugs were brilliant.

Unlike a typical romance novel, LORD SEBASTIAN'S SECRET opens with Georgina Stanes and Sebastian Gresham happily engaged and eagerly awaiting their upcoming wedding. Sebastian is traveling to Georgina's home to meet the rest of her family and to wait for his own family to arrive for their marriage. Sounds like a happily ever after, right at the beginning of the book. What could possibly go wrong?

The Stanes family is very eccentric, to say the least. Georgina's father, the marquess believes he is a reincarnated king, her mother breeds pugs, dozens of them run free through the house, taking great joy in becoming very affectionate with guests' legs, and her sister Hilda, is a scheming liar, determined to do whatever it takes to install herself in the newlyweds' home.

As Sebastian walks into this chaos, he's hiding a secret. He has a condition that makes it impossible for him to distinguish letters and written words, therefore he's never learned to read. In school, he was thought of as stupid and lazy, and he allowed everyone to think that. For years, his valet has covered for him, handling his correspondence, and he chose a career as a soldier, a vocation where reading was unnecessary.

Georgina and Sebastian are wonderful people - I like them both very much. She is lovely, kind, and compassionate. He is a gentleman, handsome, and honorable. They are perfect for each other, and very much in love. I hated to see the trials they had to go through, and I hated Sebastian's anguish at the thought that Georgina would jilt him if she knew the truth about him.

As much as I like the protagonists, my enjoyment of this novel was greatly reduced by the intense dislike I felt for Georgina's father, and in particular, her sister. I realize that the author had to create conflict, or there wouldn't be a story, but the selfishness of these two characters left a bad taste in my mouth. When there is one final hurdle for Sebastian and Georgina to overcome before they wed, they find a solution together. This bodes well for their future, and indicates that theirs will be a successful and happy union.

He's hidden this shameful secret all his life...

Lord Sebastian Gresham is a battle tested soldier and brilliant strategist. Yet all his life he's had to hide his complete failure to decipher letters. In his own mind, he's just stupid. What a miracle it is that he's found the perfect bride. Lady Georgina Stane is beautiful, witty, and brilliantly intelligent. Sebastian is head over heels in love, proud as a peacock, and terrified. If she finds out, he'll lose her love forever.

This book was a tough read for me. I kept putting it down and picking up another book for inspiration to finish this one. The sex scenes were hard to read and not because they were steamy and inviting. It's because they're just so odd....like the author has never had sex. For example: A country upbringing had shown her a bit about mating. She could see clear evidence of Sebastian's unsated arousal. "I should do something for you," she said. She had some ideas on that score. She reached up.

Huh? A country upbringing? Like watching cows mate? Really? I hate giving criticism on a book because I know how much time and effort goes into it but that's just wrong on so many counts. Also, the formatting is a tiny bit distracting for me especially with all the paragraphs. I'm kind of hoping that the final copy went to formatting before they sent it out to people because all the separate lines drove me crazy.

There are so many different characters in this book that you really need to keep a journal. There's an Indian, a priest, an eastern magician, a couple dogs, a couple brothers, some sisters in law. I expect that there's going to be a clown at some point. I mean I keep waiting for this guy to grow a pair and he doesn't, he's stuck on his big secret. For crying out loud....tell your secret man!!

At one point, I almost thought the author took a vacation and let a ghostwriter finish a couple chapters. The heroines (Georgina) father was eccentric and over the top and now he's a major bully. I won't let any spoilers go as to what he's taunting the hero about but it's a total DNF move. I would put the book down if I wasn't writing a review. I didn't really like Sebastian's one brother and I'm not sure I'd even read his book. I did like Randolph. I just didn't see the big deal with the humongous "secret" and I wouldn't have spent almost 400 pages keeping it a secret. I'd say at 25% it would have been great to just reveal it. All the drama of keeping the secret was enough to make me have heartburn and take some tums. I read to relax and this book made me take 2 Xanax and follow it up with chocolate. I'm gonna have to hit the gym after this book.

There are a few grammatical errors with sentence structure. For example: "Well, if we want run papa through with a saber, that might be helpful," There should be a "to" in there. The book had some funny parts because it seems like all the people are crazy...Seriously, all of them are crazy. There's not a sane one in the lot. Would I read this again? Or gift it to my friends? No, I don't think so. For the price of this book, I'd say save your money and buy a Lisa Kleypas or Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel and save your Xanax for another day.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions.

This romance was pretty fun. Sebastian and Georgina were great characters and Ashford really made you root for them. The antics of various family members and staff in the Stane household were fairly infuriating. Sebastian and Georgina really should have just run away to get married, manners and niceties be damned.

Sebastian Graham is a brilliant strategist on the battlefield, but completely out of his element in society and libraries. For years he has struggled to hide his difficulties with reading and deciphering the written word, but hand him a battle plan overview and he’s everyone’s golden boy. He’s convinced that if the woman he is utterly in love with discovers this secret, he’ll lose her forever.

Georgina Stane is gorgeous and bright, and fortunately her family is rich enough to be considered eccentric rather than utterly crazy. For they are – wholly unconventional and outrageous. Two terrible parents who veer wildly from utterly absent to so present and imposing that one can see how Georgina is able to accept a bit of ‘unusual’ in her life.

And then as a couple – I had real issues. This story is overburdened with too many characters, al placed for one or another reason that may have been in earlier books – but completely unfathomable reasons here when we consider the plot moving forward, and I would have much preferred more dialogue between the two. Their connection, physically, was problematic, as their sensual scenes felt awkward and hesitant. In my opinion, the story would have been better served with the removal of those scenes, as they are written as if the author is uncomfortable, and would have preferred to leave them out. There wasn’t a ton of emotion in here unless one considers Sebastian. He was struggling and moving on, trying to find compensations for what would now be diagnosed as dyslexia, and he’s still determined to be kind, protective, and happy in spite of those worries.

It just wasn’t a book that carried a flow for me, making the story a bit more difficult and longer to read. With humor that comes more from the antics and behaviors of others that borders on crazy unrealistic, this is a story best enjoyed by those who enjoyed earlier titles in the story to have some background on the ‘events in London’ that appear to have such an influence on the couple.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Sebastian and Georgiana are an interesting couple. I suspect I missed their courtship in the earlier books of this series as I just jumped in with their book. Certainly there is little enough said about what went on in London before their betrothal. I do feel like I missed a few things along the way from not reading the earlier books.

The Stanes - Georgiana's family - are really the centerpiece of this book. They are a remarkably different family for their time period, not in a "never happen" kind of way but more in a "thank goodness they have money and a title and can be called eccentric" kind of way. The parents are largely terrible parents with their heads forever into something that has nothing to do with raising children. The brother is almost completely absent in the story. But the sisters - oh the sisters! - they needed a good spanking or ten or a time out in a locked dungeon for a day or seven or something, anything!

When misfortune befalls anyone in this book you can bet it has something to do with the sisters. One could call them incorrigible except that's too nice a word. One has no redeeming qualities and is proud of her guile. The other has no spine and follows rather blindly and they categorically have no ability to see beyond their immediate desires. This book is less about Lord Sebastian's secret (which is not really a secret to the reader) and more about the horrible Stane children and how they nearly destroy their sister's life.

There are a couple of interesting characters in the Indian man and the governess and how they also influence Georgiana's life negatively. I did enjoy the discussions that centered around religion but of course, they tended to be discussed in the book more through Sebastian's difficulties and not about the topics themselves.

I felt truly sympathetic toward Sebastian. His struggles and difficulties, especially in that time period, were particularly rough. He came across as both incredibly strong and incredibly vulnerable which I liked.

If it hadn't been for those pesky sisters I might have enjoyed the book more but they undertook to ruin everything good and helped to make this book more of a struggle than I had thought it would be. I did like the book but I would have preferred (and based on the title, expected) it to be less about them and more about Sebastian and his issues.

Witty, charming with a wicked hilarity!

I have to say I really loved Sebastian Gresham's story. Tender yet troubled!
For many reasons Sebastian reminded me of Freddy Standen in Georgette Heyer's 'Cotillion.'
Whilst Sebastian's strengths are different to Freddy's, he nevertheless makes his fiancée Lady Georgina Stane feel protected . As Georgina says, 'he always knows what to do.' And that's exactly how Kitty Charing felt about Freddy. Sure it's reversed somewhat. Sebastian is good looking, dashing, and more at home on a horse than in discussion with his peers over some obscure point. Where Freddy was up to the latest rig and knew to a nicety how to steer a course through the social pitfalls that yawned for the unwary.
Sebastian is acutely aware that he is not as clever as his siblings. He looks at the written word and all he sees is a string of letters running together in no recognizable pattern. So Sebastian covers up his heartfelt flaw, his dreaded shortcoming via a series of logistically manoeuvres that really show his innate cleverness. His memory it seems is prodigious.
Sebastian travels down to Georgina's home (Stane Castle) to meet her parents prior to their wedding. His family--the Duke and Duchess of Langford and his brothers and their wives will join them.
A panicked Georgina realizes that her family might not be quite what Sebastian and his family are used to--especially as her mother breeds pugs (a flowing carpet of them), her father is enamoured with all things to do with reincarnation at the moment, a Hindu scholar is in residence, her hoyden sisters' actions make for some telling times, and their governess has apparently taken reincarnation to heart in her own particular way! Oh, and let's not forget Sebastian's sterling valet and confident William Sykes, an aspiring playwright. One dreads to even contemplate what the future might hold for the whole Gresham family and when Sykes' pen comes home to roost. And what will happen to sister Hilde when she is loosed on the ton, or maybe I should rephrase that and say what will happen to the ton? And Robert is obviously twitchy about something. I see more fun and games ahead.
I do love Sebastian's introduction to Stane Castle where 'the pugs flowed over like a school of fish to surround him and began to scratch and slaver at his riding boots.' Hilarious!
A charming, amusing and heartfelt story with tender and delicate moments.

A NetGalley ARC

All reviews appear on Amazon, Goodreads plus Gr Facebook, LibraryThing plus LT Twitter, eyes.2c review blog (January 2017)

Lord Sebastian Gresham, son of the duke of Langford, is engaged to Lady Georgina Stane and is heading to Stane Castle in Herefordshire before their wedding to meet her parents, Charlotte, Marchioness of Pembridge and her father, Alfred the Marquess.

Georgina’s mother loves Pug dogs and breeds them. The woman’s life seems to revolve around the dogs and Georgina’s father loves local history. Sebastian meets Georgina’s two sisters, Emma and Hilda, and her brother, Edgar.

Sebastian and Georgina spend as much time together alone as they can, but the Pugs running around coupled with the eccentricity of the Marquess and the nosiness of Georgina’s younger sisters, make things difficult for them. They enjoy stealing a chance here and there to kiss one another wishing they could do more.

Georgina has been left a rich heiress by one of her deceased relatives. This is one of the big things that drew Sebastian to her. But after getting to know her more, he has found her to be intelligent and kind in addition to being beautiful.

When Georgina and Sebastian ride out to visit a waterfall, Georgina falls into a ravine and Sebastian climbs down to rescue her. But they both become stuck and it takes days for them to be found.

But Sebastian’s secret is about to be revealed when he needs to contact his family to let them know that he and Georgina are fine.

Will they be able to get through the next few weeks until their wedding?

I did not care for this story because Georgina’s family is a serious bunch of nutcases. I have enjoyed the author’s books in the past, but this is not one I can recommend.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

At a time in history where very little was known about a true medical condition, dyslexia, Sebastian considered himself world smart but otherwise quite stupid. Who in this day and age couldn’t make sense of his letters enough to read a sentence. So, he kept a secret and prayed the world, and especially the lovely Georgina, the love of his life, would never realize his oddity.

Georgina loved Sebastian with a passion she was barely beginning to understand. He was everything she wanted in life and she was determined to not lose him for any reason. Including the, well, uniqueness of her odd family. So she kept a secret and hoped that when Sebastian finally met her family that his love for her would be strong enough to overlook the way her family acted.

I’ve enjoyed this series, and Lord Sebastian’s Secret fell quite nicely among the other stories. It’s a good story with interesting characters. I didn’t connect with this one as much as the earlier books, but that happens at times. Perhaps there was just too much eccentric involved – but whatever the reason I wasn’t fully engaged in Georgina and Sebastian’s journey, I did enjoy spending time in this world. I certainly didn’t hate this story, but I didn’t love it either.. it fell into the good story, but not one I’m likely to re-read. It added to the series and that was enough for me.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this novel. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this story.*

Charming and whimsical. I enjoyed the premise and the storyline. The ending took too long to resolve but I loved the characterizations and both of the heroine's sisters. Since this was the first of this series I had read, I had some difficulty in keeping all the brothers straight. I will go back and search out the previous books.

It took a little bit for me to warm up to this story, I felt rushed into the main part of the story with not much background into the characters background. That withstanding, I really grew to enjoy the story of two people caught up in personal secrets and familiar embarrassment afraid that love will leave them behind. Sebastion spends years feeling "dimwitted" because he is unable to read and not understanding it has nothing to do with his intelligence and everything to do with a learning disability. Georgina's eccentric family seems an insurmountable obstacle to her happily ever after. In this sometimes very sweet and adventurous story, Sebastion and Georgina learn that love can overcome every obstacle for a sweet HEA.

Jane Ashford has written a series called The Duke’s Sons. Today, I finished Lord Sebastian’s Secret by Jane Ashford, the third book in the series. I enjoyed the quirky family characters in Lady Georgina’s family that made the story humorous. Lord Sebastian was over his head with the various plots and foibles, but with some help managed to stay a step ahead.

Lady Georgina Stane and Lord Sebastian Gresham met during the London Season. He proposed and she accepted happily. Together they go to her ancestral home to meet the family and to spend time before the wedding there. From here the story meanders a bit, until you fall in with the family’s eccentricities. Then the story picks up and becomes much more enjoyable. The problem is that Lord Sebastian Gresham has a secret that makes him feel less intelligent than others. He needs to share this with Lady Georgina Stane, but instead keeps pushing it off…

Lord Sebastian’s Secret by Jane Ashford is fun read that has made me want to read the previous books in the series.

This was a pretty good read with lots of funny quips and romance. I thought the story line was interesting. I like the main man Lord Sebastian Gresham who was a soldier and very accomplished in battle tactics. He has always had a problem of reading the words on paper and thinks he's stupid.
He feels like he will never be up to snuff with his betrothed Lady Georgina Stanes. She is very intelligent person who Sebastian loves her madly. She in turn loves him too, but for some reason they both have their secrets to hide.
Georgina has a kooky family in which her father seems to thinks he has lived a past life. Her mother has her pug dogs who are always pestering people. Her sister also thinks that she will live with her when she marries Sebastian. Boy, there is lots going on and you will have to read though the book to get the everyday stuff out the way.
The last of the book was not to bad, and Georgina finally finds out about Sebastian. She was remarkable woman to help him. He was there for her and loves her more each day.
I find this was a really sweet book for those who like this type. I haven't read the past titles, but this one can be a stand alone.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I have given an honest review.

Lord Sebastian Gresham is a soldier revered for his skills on the battlefield he can execute a brilliant military plan, but he has one flaw he has cleverly managed to hide the fact that he cannot read. He has trouble deciphering the letters in his mind. Lord Sebastian is very intelligent and he fears his fiancé will call off the wedding if she finds out he can’t read. Lady Georgina Stanes is witty, beautiful and very much in love with Sebastian, but she comes from her very eccentric family. Lady Georgina does not want her family to scare Lord Sebastian off before her dreams come true to marry him. It’s a crazy house hold that Lord Sebastian is invited too, but he eventually realizes he has fallen in love with an extraordinary woman who loves him for who he is, not his disability. I received an ARC copy from Net Galley in exchanged for my honest review and opinion.