Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries started as a perfectly adequate Regency romance -- easy to pick up for a few minutes at a time but not hard to put down.
The main characters, hero Grey and heroine Beatrice, are fine. Grey is a curmudgeonly duke. Beatrice is a poor relation who likes to speak her mind, but usually doesn't. Sparks, plot plot plot.
But: Grey's back story made no sense whatsoever. After his father the duke died when Grey was a child, his uncle became his guardian and the trustee of his estate. When Grey was twelve, the uncle tried to get Grey to sign over to him ownership of unentailed properties. Grey spent a couple of days teaching himself how to read and understand legal documents, and then refused to sign the documents. The uncle would lock him in a basement and starve him in an attempt to coerce him, then try to be nice to him in an attempt to convince him, but Grey still refused to sign.
This plot seems bafflingly stupid. I can't believe that even in Regency England a twelve year old could sign a binding contract. But if the uncle was trustee, he could sign on Grey's behalf. Sure, he could be sued later for breach of trust (or whatever), but Grey noted in retrospect that if he, Grey, had signed the documents when he was twelve without researching them, as an adult he probably would never have realized that the properties had ever belonged to him. So if the uncle had signed them over to himself, the result would be the same.
The second worst thing about this book: It ends on a cliffhanger. The plot centers on a murder mystery -- which is unresolved at the end of the book. Even in the epilogue new twists are introduced. Yes, the first third of the book spends way too much time discussing the extended families of Grey and Beatrice, meaning that this is the beginning of a series, but come on. Regency romances should not end this way. Ever.
Note from Jasmine Gold: As the name of this blog indicates, I write erotica. Check out my dark, dystopian novel about naked sex slaves, Mindgames. Your darkest fantasies, with a phenomenal plot and characters you will come to think of as beloved friends. Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited and in paperback. Or read my book of short stories about hot, consensual sex, The Mature Woman's Guide to Desire, available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
