The Bachelor

Written by Sabrina Jeffries

Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries features an irresistible
family in a series to savor, as the grown children of a thrice-married dowager
duchess piece together the stories of their fathers—while pursuing passions of
their own …

Lady Gwyn Drake has long protected her family’s reputation by hiding an
imprudent affair from her youth. But when her former suitor appears at Armitage
Hall, manhandling the heiress and threatening to go public with her secrets, it’s
Gwyn who needs protecting. Her twin brother, Thorn, hires Joshua Wolfe, the estate’s
gamekeeper, to keep her safe in London during her debut. As a war hero, Joshua feels
obligated to fulfill the assignment he has accepted. But as a man, it’s torment to be so
very close to the beauty he’s fought to ignore …

With handsome Joshua monitoring her every move, Gwyn would prefer to forget
both the past and the parade of money-seeking bachelors at her coming out. But
Joshua is unmoved by her attempts at flirtation, and the threat of blackmail still
hangs over her. With danger closing in, Gwyn must decide which is the greater risk:
deflecting a scoundrel’s attempts to sabotage her—or revealing her whole heart to the
rugged bodyguard she can’t resist …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980001164

Sabrina Jeffries

At the tender age of twelve, Sabrina Jeffries decided she wanted to be a romance writer. It took her eighteen more years and a boring stint in graduate school before she sold her first book, but now her sexy and humorous historical romances routinely land on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists and have won several awards. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and son, where she writes full-time and is working on her next novel.

Reviews for The Bachelor

[UchennaEzeh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a slow start but eventually I enjoyed it. It was entertaining. It was sad to see her holding onto 10 year secrets that could have ruined her life

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoy several of the features in this book, bodyguard, wounded veteran, heiress, class difference, and employer/employee forbidden relationship. The characters were perhaps a tad bit slow in confiding in each other, but I liked it more as it went along and they became more open about their issues. Overall I liked them and think they're good together/for each other.

[scoutmomskf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book. I've been looking forward to this story since seeing Gwyn and Joshua in the first book, Project Duchess. The sparks between them were evident even then and burst into full flame in this book.The story opens as Gwyn attempts to deal with a past indiscretion that has come back to haunt her. Her confrontation with her blackmailer is interrupted by Joshua Wolfe, the estate gamekeeper. Believing that the man intends to kidnap Gwyn to gain her dowry, Gwyn's brother, the Duke of Thornstock, hires Joshua to act as a bodyguard for Gwyn while she is in London.At thirty years old, Gwyn is no longer a naïve young miss. Past experience has made her cynical about men, a feeling reinforced by the parade of fortune hunters she meets in London. She is spunky and not afraid to stand up for herself and go after what she wants. And what she wants turns out to be Joshua.Joshua is a gruff, grumpy war hero, injured in the war against Napoleon. On half-pay from the Royal Marines, he is determined to get back on active duty. In the meantime, he works as the gamekeeper on Thornstock's estate. He is attracted to Gwyn but believes that his injuries and the differences between them prevent a relationship.I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Gwyn and Joshua. The sparks are there from the beginning, and I loved watching them build. One of the things I liked best about Gwyn was that she didn't look down on Joshua for being the gamekeeper. He is the grandson of a duke and a war hero, and that is enough for her. She is also not put off by his injuries and is quite protective of him when she thinks he is being slighted. I liked how she saw the man beneath the grumpy exterior. I especially enjoyed her attempts to make him laugh and how good it made her feel when she succeeded. I loved Joshua's protectiveness toward Gwyn, which goes far beyond his bodyguard duties. He senses from the start that there is more to the story with Captain Malet than Gwyn or Thorn has shared with him. It was fun to see Joshua thwart Gwyn's attempts to get around him. I loved seeing them grow to trust each other and the boost that trust gave to the feelings that grew between them. I ached for Gwyn as her love for Joshua grew because she was afraid that if he knew everything about her past, he would reject her. The ending was great, as all the secrets were revealed and dealt with, and love conquered all.The storyline with Captain Malet was excellent. His history with Gwyn created a lot of tension. There was Gwyn's fear that he would expose their past, not just ruining her, but also affecting her entire family. This wasn't his only run-in with Gwyn's family, as he also made an appearance in Seduction on a Snowy Night, Heywood and Cass's story. To complicate matters further, Joshua was also tasked with looking into Malet by the War Department. The final confrontation with Malet was intense. I loved how it worked out - Gwyn made me grin over what she did.One of the best things about this series is the complexity of the family dynamics. One woman who has had three different husbands, all dukes. Five children by those three men, three of them now dukes in their own right. I loved the teasing and evident love among the family members and the way they support each other. The relationship between Gwyn and her brother has been strained, and we finally find out why. There are also ongoing questions and suspicions about the fathers' deaths that seem to run across the series. Looking forward to how that will play out.

[nelispelusa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the series and I honestly was anxiously awaiting this book. Since I had read the first book, I liked Joshua and understood that this guy suffered however he did love his sister and would defend her honor again first book, since I liked and my heart went out to him I was happy that he got a story, and if you read the first one you knew it would have to do with Gwyn. I wasn't crazy about Gwyn in the first book but after reading about her I ended up liking her and rooting for them both. I was happy to read of the secondary couples and will look forward to reading more of this convoluted family. We will have blackmail, lust, laughs and redemption..But we still need some questions answered.rcvd an ARC at no cost to author...(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions

[eyes92c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Electric read!This second in the Duke Dynasty series is a cracking good five star read with all the mystery, energy and frustration one could wish for.Lady Gwyn Drake is a person holding deep secrets. I was won with the opening description of Gwyn where she's pacing an "ornamental bridge like a tigress in a crate." Is that just not the perfect gambit sure to entice? With a malevolent blackmailer pursuing her, Gwyn finds herself in troubled waters. That's not a problem! She has a plan. Although not all plans run smoothly. Who better than a navy man to help rescue her? Even if it's at the request of her brother Thorn. The brooding Major Joshua Wolfe, injured in naval action and now the estate’s gamekeeper, is to be Gwyn's bodyguard in London after he'd rescued her from being manhandled by the odious Captain Malet.Of course Gwyn wants none of this. She has secrets to keep and being followed by Joshua does not fit with those plans, even if she finds Joshua attractive.Talk about strong reactions these two have to each other! Often explosive, and yet at other moments they are both quietly stunned by the effect each has on the other--not that either of them is about to let their guard down too much! Until they do!I was riveted by the push and pull of the attraction between these two, the gradual acceptance of each other, in between the fireworks, and the way they complimented each other.And the suspicion that the preceding Dukes of Armitage might have been murdered as posited by Sheridan Wolfe in the first of the series? That quietly bubbles to the surface towards the end, not forgotten, and now very much alive, along with the thought that these deaths might be centered around the Duchess of Armitage.With two strong, passionate characters, witty dialogue and plenty of action this was a dynamic read! A Kensington Press Invitation ARC via NetGalley

[barbararogers-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh! I LOVED this book. I loved Joshua and Gwyn in the first book and couldn’t wait to see their story. We learned of Joshua’s war injuries and how he’s still suffering and trying to come to grips with his limitations – and we also learned that there is more to Gwyn that one would believe. She has some deep secrets. Now, we get to learn what those secrets are in this wonderfully well-written, romantic, and well-plotted book.In case you missed the first book, Project Duchess, – well – you shouldn’t miss the first book because it was wonderful – but if you did… This series is about a Duchess who was married three times – each time to a duke – and she has five children from those – meaning that three of her sons are dukes. While each of her children, Fletcher (Grey), twins – Marlowe (Thorn) and Gwyn, Sheridan, and Heywood, will get their own story, there is an overarching mystery regarding the entire family. At this point, it appears that the mystery concerns the mother, but that could easily change through the course of the series.Joshua is the grandson of a duke, but his profligate father died leaving Joshua and his sister destitute. His grandfather paid for Joshua to have a commission in the Royal Marines – at the age of sixteen – which doesn’t speak too well of the grandfather (to me). Joshua loved the military and was very good at it – until he was horribly injured in a sea battle. Now, he works as a gamekeeper on the estate that had belonged to his grandfather. He’s grouchy, irascible, unhappy with his role in life, and inordinately attracted to Gwyn.Lady Gwyn Drake, twin sister to Thorn, the Duke of Thornstock, has secrets – secrets that could impact her entire family. Those secrets are back to haunt her -- she’s being blackmailed. She can’t tell Thorn about it because he’d just go out and kill the man, so she just has to find the money to pay. At thirty, she had hoped the past was behind her, but she’d always worried about it – and now it is here.When Joshua witnesses what he thinks is an attempt to kidnap Gwyn, he immediately rescues her, but the kidnapper gets away. What he actually witnessed was a meeting between Gwyn and her blackmailer. When Joshua tells Thorn about the ‘attempted kidnapping’, Thorn immediately hires Joshua to be Gwyn’s bodyguard during her upcoming debut season. Great, now how is she going to escape to pay her blackmailer?Gwyn is attracted to Joshua and Joshua is attracted to Gwyn, so can you imagine what being thrown together constantly in London is going to do to them? Yep! You are absolutely right and it is a fun ride. Two troubled people, each with trust issues, fall for each other, but their path is neither clear nor smooth. I loved watching them work their way toward their HEA – not exactly fighting the attraction, but reluctantly accepting it – and then – well, you’ll just have to read the book.I highly recommend this book. It is a great read with great characters you’ll quickly come to love. Now, I can hardly wait for the next book, Who Wants to Marry a Duke, which features Gwyn’s brother Thorn and Miss Olivia Norley who is a chemist. How cool is that?I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own