If The Viscount Falls by Sabrina Jeffries
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Pocket BooksPage Count: 400 pages
Format: eArc
Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries, the deliciously sexy fourth book in the “Duke’s Men” Regency romance series—the first of which was called “a totally engaging, adventurous love story” (RT Book Reviews, Top Pick). The heir presumptive to the Viscount Rathmoor, Dominick Manton once had his heart’s desire within reach—a bright future as a barrister and engagement to Jane Vernon, a wealthy baron’s daughter. Then a shattering betrayal by his vindictive brother George snatched away Dom’s inheritance and his hopes of offering Jane a secure future. Brokenhearted, and attempting to end their engagement without destroying Jane’s reputation, Dom staged a betrayal of his own to convince her that he’s not the husband-to-be that she thought. Now George is gone and the viscountcy restored to Dom, since his brother’s widow, Nancy—Jane’s cousin and closest confidant—never bore an heir. But when Nancy goes missing, a panicked Jane calls on her former fiancé to track down her cousin. Dom knows the mistakes of the past may be unforgiveable—but now, entangled together in mystery and danger, will they rekindle a passionate longing that was never lost to begin with? (via goodreads)
If The Viscount Falls is one of the first books I've managed to read by Sabrina Jeffries, though I do a couple on my TBR list. This book tells the story of Jane Vernon, who, in the prologue, jilts her fiance, Dominick Manton, after discovering him in the midst of a “betrayal.” Time passes before she is faced with the task of asking for his help, due to the fact that her cousin is missing. Her cousin, who happens to also be the widow of Dominick’s rather malicious brother. Then ensues a tense battle of wiles as they seek the reason why Nancy has disappeared.
Jane and Dominick had great chemistry in this book. Especially because of the fact that there is history between them, one that neither has actually been able to completely put behind them. Through their journey their feelings come to head many times, with Jane's independence and need to keep her distance and Dominick's battle to also keep his distance while giving in to the urge to keep her safe. In the typical tone of historical romances, Dominick obviously believes Jane to be this precious flower he has to make decisions for, which is part of the reason behind their problems from the past, and it's something he has to face up to.
I think the gradual evolution of their relationship was the best part of this book, and it was great to read about, because it's an interesting dilemma that seems to come up in quite a few books. Man loves woman, man deems himself unworthy, them man makes decision to leave without worrying about what the woman actually wants. It can get annoying, so it was enjoyable for me to see the realizations of Dominick finding out what exactly went wrong. Romances in which the two characters have previous history, no matter the genre, have always been my favorite. I prefer it to the initial beginnings of a couple in most romances.
However, the plot surrounding Nancy's disappearance wasn't as interesting to me. It became a little to easy to predict what eventually happened though the culprit was the biggest part of the reveal. It was also a bit difficult to decide on an opinion of her cousin Nancy, because her character comes into question for most of the book. Dominick and Jane were definitely the focal point of the story for me.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. There wasn't anything particularly wrong that I can point out it just wasn't something that exceeded my expectations. I'd definitely look at trying more from this author in the future, especially the previous companion books featuring Dominick's half siblings and the conflict with his older brother.
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A copy of this e-book was provided by Pocket Books on Netgalley in exchange for a review.