A Duke for Diana

Written by Sabrina Jeffries

Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

A successful debut requires a smashing social event, and in this dazzling new series from New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries, the key ingredient is Elegant Occasions—a talk of the ton trio of creative, enterprising
young ladies who’ve rejected working as governesses to become party planners. And if they, and their wealthy clients, happen to find love along the way, it just makes their efforts more rewarding …

Self-made civil engineer Geoffrey Brookhouse has unexpectedly inherited the dukedom of Grenwood. But he has a secret that could ruin his family. Hoping to save his timid sister from that fate, he seeks to marry her off to a respectable,
protective gentleman. With the London Season imminent, Geoffrey hires Elegant Occasions to orchestrate her debut. Yet Lady Diana Harper, spirited fashion expert, proves more than he bargained for. Suddenly, Geoffrey’s sister is
emerging from her shell, and he is beleaguered with social invitations and gossip! Worse, Diana is attempting to transform him into a presentable duke—when all he really wants is to make her his own …

Diana doesn’t know what to make of the handsome, disheveled duke. The man bristles at the very idea that his fashion faux pas might spoil his sister’s chances.

Yet Geoffrey’s stubbornness simply inspires Diana to ruffle his feathers—by setting him on a course of self-improvement. Although there’s something endearing, even irresistible about his flaws, can a man who hates the ton tolerate
a woman who makes her living catering to them? Little does either know that they have more in common than they suspect—and that two can create a society all their own …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705053041

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 A Duke for Diana

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In 1811, Diana and her sisters are trying to outrun the scandal of their mother leaving their father and running off with her lover, and have begun Elegant Occasions, an events company. When Duke Geoffrey Brookhouse of Grenwood hires them to find a suitable man for his shy sister, Rosy, he puts conditions on their payment plan. What he doesn't bargain for is his desire for Diana. This is a historical romance novel with racy scenes of Diana and Geoffrey. Their initial disdain for one another is quickly shed, along with their clothing! I couldn't quite believe the "secret" that Geoffrey was keeping and loath to admit to anyone. It didn't seem like that big of a deal, especially since he had evidence to help his account of the situation. I think I would have liked it more if there was more detail of the events planning and fashion advice vs. the steamy scenes. Thanks to Kensington Books and BetweenTheChapters for the book.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I'd hoped. The big secret reason why they couldn't be together ended up being kind of toothless when it actually came to it. And the relationship focused more on the two of them butting heads, and later some passion, than the romantic feelings and growing attachment I would have preferred. (It would have enhanced the conflict and passion if nothing else). I liked that the women were capable and ran a business, and that the hero was new to high society, (though he was awfully imperious for someone who hadn't grown up in the peerage).

[madison_fairbanks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Duke for Diana by Sabrina JeffriesBook 1 of the Designing Debutants series. Historical romance. Geoffrey unexpectedly inherits a dukedom. He hires Elegant Occasions and Lady Diana to help his sister make her debut. Diana has significant work to do to make them ready for the society season.I liked Geoffrey for his humor and compassion for his sister. That he actually works as a civil engineer is quite different from the usual historical romance. The same can be said about Diana and the business she and her sisters have created. That they build in specific charity donations into her fees is wonderful. The relationship between Geoffrey and Diana is beyond convention with her naivety in experience. An entertaining story with some high society rules explained, some sexy romping and the eventual love match.

[eyes92c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Debutantes and Dukes!A clever read but not what I expect from Jeffries. Mostly she’s a five star read for me. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked all of the characters but the events became a tad predictable.Lady Diana Harper and her sisters operate an event planning concern, Elegant Occasions. The women have been forced to make hard decisions, hovering as they are on the edge of society. Why? Well their mother ran off with a General, and their father is suing for divorce. Absolutely scandalous to the ton. Their mother is “married but courting.” The three sisters all have a gift for various aspects of what is important to polite society—food, fashion and music. Talents that translate to tasteful and interesting ton functions for ladies needing or seeking advice. As it so happens engineer Geoffrey Brooke has inherited the dukedom of Greenwood. (I love that the Duke make sure to cross the Thames at different bridges to study and enjoy their structural identities. ) Anyway being newly come to the business of Duking brings about its own challenges, particularly as Geoffrey’s sister needs guidance during her London season. This is where Elegant Occasions come into play—much against the Duke’s better judgement. Of course sparks are going to fly between the Duke who has no clue about how the ton works, and the woman who now finds herself on its edges—the Lady Diana!A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley

[barbararogers-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The author did an excellent job of setting up the backgrounds and characters for this new series. The series features three sisters, Eliza, Diana, and Verity, whose scandalous parents have caused them to be ostracized from society. Luckily one of the sisters, Eliza, was already married when the scandal hit, but the other two were just entering society and lost all chances at finding an appropriate marriage. Rather than letting their heads hang in shame, the ladies decided they’d blaze their own trail by starting an event planning business – Elegant Occasions. Each of the sisters had a unique talent to bring to the business, which made each event they planned very unique and special. Now, I have to admit I have my doubts about whether this would have been something three society ladies could start and make successful during the Regency period, but I’m willing to suspend my questioning nature and accept it as doable.Geoffrey Brookhouse is a very successful civil engineer in New Market. He’s traveled the world designing and building bridges, canals, etc. He’s been running his grandfather’s Ironworks company, Stockdon and Son, for a number of years. He’s very intelligent, driven, plainspoken, and hardworking. What is a man like that supposed to do when he inherits a dukedom never expected and certainly doesn’t want? He’s going to launch his young sister into a ton who doesn’t want them and he’s going to see that she gets the future she deserves. Since he has no clue how to do any of that, he hires Elegant Occasions to assure Rosy’s success.Lady Diana Harper has never seen or met anyone like the duke who has just come to hire her and her sisters. He curses in polite society; he is unfashionably dressed; he actually speaks of (GASP) money. Diana thinks they may have more trouble launching the duke than the sister because he is totally unrepentant about who he is. He is attractive though – and she can’t stop stealing glances at him.There are a number of humorous moments along the way to their HEA – and Rosy adds delightful moments with her charm and beauty. However, I think it says a lot about the story when I was more interested in the scandalous parent's background story than I was in the romance between the two lead characters. Geoffrey and Diana were more like cardboard cutouts than fully fleshed, relatable characters. I found both the characters and the romance to be on the dull side and I kept waiting for something interesting or exciting to happen. Even the chase to Gretna Green was ho-hum.This is not a book I’d read a second time, but it set up the series so nicely that I’ll definitely try the next book in the series to see where it goes.I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[scoutmomskf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good start to the new series. I am a big fan of Sabrina Jeffries' books, and this one did not disappoint. The book opens with a prologue showing Diana and her sister Verity suffering through the Season. The sisters are considered unmarriageable thanks to their scandalous parents - their mother ran off with another man, and their father pursued a very public and acrimonious divorce. Their older sister, Eliza, is already married, but her husband joined the army and escaped the scandal by going off to war. Determined to get out from under their controlling father's thumb, the three sisters decide to go into business together as party planners. And so Elegant Occasions is born. Four years later, they have earned an excellent reputation and have their pick of clients. When the new Duke of Grenwood contacts them for help with his sister's debut, they can't resist adding a duke to their client list. But it may be more of a challenge than either side expects. Geoffrey's father was the son of an earl who was disowned when he married a commoner. Geoffrey grew up in Newcastle, working for a living, and became a well-known civil engineer. He has a low opinion of the nobility because of how his parents were treated. Inheriting the dukedom came as an unpleasant surprise. Geoffrey is handsome, arrogant, and rough around the edges, but his family means everything to him. He's sitting on a secret that could cause a scandal that would destroy their lives. He is determined to see his sister safely married before that can happen. To ensure the best results, he hires Elegant Occasions to handle the whole process. Things get off to a rough start between Geoffrey and Diana. He is demanding in what he expects the sisters to do, while Diana is equally adamant about her expectations of him. There is quite a bit of sniping back and forth between them until they realize that they both want the same thing. Underneath their antagonism burns an attraction neither knows what to do with. Geoffrey has no immediate plans to marry as he has Rosy to deal with and the possibility of scandal hanging over his head. Diana's exposure to her parents' marriage troubles has left her uninterested in experiencing it. However, the more time they spend together, the harder it is to resist the temptation. Diana is interested in seeing what all of the fuss is about regarding so-called passion and thinks Geoffrey is the perfect person to show her. For Geoffrey, the flesh is willing, but the spirit is wary. He doesn't want to draw her into his trouble. The more time they spend together, the more they want from each other, but Geoffrey keeps putting distance between them. I got a little frustrated with him because he refused to confide in Diana and get her take on the secret and its implications. By the time he did, it was almost too late. I liked seeing her take him to task and point out the negativity of his thinking. I also liked that she stood up for his family and told him to be honest with them. It takes some serious recalibrating of his thoughts for Geoffrey to finally believe that he and Diana can have a life together. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the work that the three sisters did to help Geoffrey and his family enter society. His sister Rosy was a sweet girl who was very insecure in her new role as a duke's sister. I loved watching her confidence grow each day as the sisters took her in hand and helped her navigate from her Court presentation to Almack's to her debut ball. There was some drama involving Rosy and a man Geoffrey thought was unsuitable. The twist at the end was unexpected, but I loved how it turned out. There is a bit of a mystery involving an unknown guest who turns up at several of the Elegant Occasions events. I suspect he will play a part in the next book, and I look forward to seeing if my initial suspicion about him turns out to be true.#netgalley