These "Duke's Sons" series books are my favorites of all of Jane Ashford's writings. They follow the exploits of the 6 sons of the Duke and Duchess of Gresham, all of whom have different occupations. The oldest son, of course, is the heir, then there's a soldier, a naval officer, a clergyman, a scientist, and a man-about-town. Although this one is labeled Book 3, I call it Book 4, because "The Bargain" which Ashford wrote years ago, has the youngest Gresham son, Alan, as its hero.
Lord Sebastian, who is a cavalry officer, is the hero of this book, and he is my absolute favorite. He's great at what he does, but he's got dylexia, which makes him think of himself as less intelligent. Actually he's quite clever about a lot of things, and has great emotional intelligence, but he's a man of few words. He and Lady Georgina are a perfect couple, just great together. He admires Georgina's sweetness and intelligence and she admires and appreciates his good qualities. They are also extremely physically attracted to each other. The beginning of their courtship was a bit of a subplot in "The Bargain", and when this book opens, they are already engaged, and he's on a pre-wedding visit to her family's estate. The entire book takes place there, but it's not exactly a quiet visit in the country, there are plenty of events and shenanigans mostly caused by Georgina's family. Their engagement has its ups and downs and almost gets called off at one point.
I actually lost sleep because I couldn't put the book down. I think it might be the best of this series so far, although "The Bargain" is also charming and funny. I rate "Heir to the Duke" after those 2, but also good, and "What the Duke Doesn't Know"(the book preceding this one)as my least favorite.
I recommend reading them in order to understand the family dynamics. The rest of the Gresham brothers and their parents, as always, are great characters and make appearances here.
Lord Sebastian, who is a cavalry officer, is the hero of this book, and he is my absolute favorite. He's great at what he does, but he's got dylexia, which makes him think of himself as less intelligent. Actually he's quite clever about a lot of things, and has great emotional intelligence, but he's a man of few words. He and Lady Georgina are a perfect couple, just great together. He admires Georgina's sweetness and intelligence and she admires and appreciates his good qualities. They are also extremely physically attracted to each other. The beginning of their courtship was a bit of a subplot in "The Bargain", and when this book opens, they are already engaged, and he's on a pre-wedding visit to her family's estate. The entire book takes place there, but it's not exactly a quiet visit in the country, there are plenty of events and shenanigans mostly caused by Georgina's family. Their engagement has its ups and downs and almost gets called off at one point.
I actually lost sleep because I couldn't put the book down. I think it might be the best of this series so far, although "The Bargain" is also charming and funny. I rate "Heir to the Duke" after those 2, but also good, and "What the Duke Doesn't Know"(the book preceding this one)as my least favorite.
I recommend reading them in order to understand the family dynamics. The rest of the Gresham brothers and their parents, as always, are great characters and make appearances here.
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