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. ( )

Review originally published at Romancing Romances.

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I’m starting by saying I really like meeting Joshua in the previous book of this series, so I was very happy to see that he was the hero of this new book.

Joshua is hired as the “bodyguard” of Lady Gwyn Drake. But Gwyn has her own secrets that make it very hard for Joshua to protect her. I really enjoyed as Joshua wanted to protect her but didn’t invalidate her experiences, and believed her but not judged her.

They have a bit of a rough time in the beginning, but their attraction grows, and when they open up to each other everything falls into place.

Joshua clearly has PTS from the war, and his temper is not the best. Gwyn wants things done her way, and they collide until they start seeing the others’ perspective. When they both learn to trust, all the romance and sexy times get better.

It was a great romance, with characters that made you care about their outcome. ( )

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. ( )

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 ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries is the second book in her Duke Dynasty series. I do think you should read the first book in the series before reading this one, not so much because of the story but because you will find it helpful if you already understand the relationships between the supporting characters in this book. Joshua Wolfe was severely wounded in battle and spent a year recovering from a wound that nearly cost him his leg. Miserable and unhappy about being unable to continue his military career, he’s been acting as gamekeeper on the estate that formerly belonged to his uncle and now belongs to his cousin. He felt an instant attraction to Lady Gwyn Drake, whose mother is his aunt by marriage, although she is no relation to him (see what I mean about the relationships), but he feels that he is not good enough for her and that she deserves better. When Joshua interrupts Gwyn in an altercation with a former suitor who’d gotten the upper hand and taken her pistol, he rescues her, and when her brother the duke hears of the situation, he hires Joshua to act as Gywn’s bodyguard during the season. The story is opposites attract with the grumpy one being charmed by the sunny one, although Gwyn is not all sunshine as much as she takes every opportunity to make Joshua smile because she has a secret that she’s sure will end any chance of a relationship between them. I enjoyed this story very much and look forward to the next book in the series. Medium Steam. Publishing date February 25, 2020. #NetGalley #TheBachelor #SabrinaJeffries #KensingtonBooks #HistoricalRomance #Bookstagram ( )