The Making of a Duchess

The Sons of the Revolution #1

by Shana Galen

Julien Harcourt, Duc de Valère, still searches for his brothers in France, raising suspicion of British Secret Service. Duke Northrop orders governess Sarah Smith, surname for her orphan status, to pose as Seraphina, the Duc's intended, and prove Julien a traitor working for Napoleon. Sara disagrees and follows Julien from London ballrooms to Paris dungeons. Plus preview.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Regency, Regency Romance

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

About the author

Shana Galen is three-time Rita award nominee and the bestselling author of fast-paced, witty, and adventurous Regency romances. Kirkus says of her books, "The road to happily-ever-after is intense, conflicted, suspenseful and fun," and RT Bookreviews calls her books “lighthearted yet poignant, humorous yet touching." She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston's inner city. Now she writes full time. She's happily married and has a daughter who is most definitely a romance heroine in the making.

Want to know more? Visit Shana's website at http://www.shanagalen.com and sign up to be notified when Shana has a new release http://bit.ly/ShanaGalenNews

Reviews

[Darbella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah and Julien. Wow, chapter one (in other books would be called a prologue) really drew me in. I cared about what was happening to Julien and his family. The mystery of who Sarah really is was a breeze and the villain obvious. However, having said that the romance was awesome. I am one who loves a good romance so this was exactly my cup of tea. Loved their HEA journey.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing that worth my 5 bright shining stars:
Julien Harcourt

Because all of the following reasons:

*Everything he has done and he would do for his mother,
*He is everything a father wants from a son,
*He never give up in finding his brothers,
*He makes his own fortune,
*He knows how to treat a woman,
*When he makes love and speaks french... (Use your imagination) This point is worth 6 stars,
*He's one of the best romance hero. Period.

Things that I really like:

- The past about French revolution,
- The story,
- The adventure.

Things that I like:

- The writing,
- The humor,

Things that I don't like:

- Cliche plot,
- Predictable mysteries,

One thing that worth my 1 lonely angry star:

- Sarah Selfish Smith.

Because of Julien, I will read this book again.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Smith is put into an impossible situation: she must spy on Julien Harcourt or else. This task is for King and country, but she is not accustomed to lying and spying. It's not her thing. Sara goes about her task the best she can, but the Duc is an imposing, irresistibly cute gentleman. It is hard for the both of them to ignore the sparks that fly between them, whenever they spend any amount of time together.

Julien has fought hard to take care of his mother and rebuild the family fortune that was lost during the Revolution. The most important things to Julien are his family and their safety, hence his search for his lost brothers. If only Sara knew this, for they share the same wants, a family and sense of belonging. Julien and Sara are ideal for each other. They share the same beliefs of family and security, are strong determined people who stand up for what is right and fair, and both just want to be loved. How sweet is that?

Julien and Sara are two characters that had more oomph to them than your average romance novel. At least that was my take. Both have issues to deal with, more so than a usual romance novel, and both are very strong people. Sara is scared and a wee bit skittish in the beginning, but she soon gets herself together and goes about her business. Julien tries to do what "duty" and society expect him to do, but eveventually does what he thinks is right. Julien and Sara make a good match because they are equally strong in the story. That is what I liked so much about this book.

The story has a spy theme, so there is a lot of intrigue, and there were a few places where I had to read quickly because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. There were adventures throughout the story and as a whole the novel had a fine pace. Galen paints an excellent picture of her setting as well. There were some grand society events, rides through London, and beautiful clothing described. All in all it made for a wonderfully exciting read.

There is one thing I should mention, although it is minor. There is a reveal at the end of the book, that at first, I thought was cliche. However, after consideration, the reveal goes with what I perceived as a fairy tale element of the story. The spy story, a girl from a humble background, boy and girl meet, fall in love, have adventures together....catch my drift? I don't want to give the story away, but the reveal totally makes sense. Besides, it's a romance novel! How could this detail not be included?

All in all I really fancied this story, and I look forward to reading the other two books in this trilogy. I also plan on reading Galen's previously published works as well. The woman writes a satisfyingly fun story!

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen is the first of the Sons of the Revolution trilogy, featuring three brothers who all suffered to varying degrees from the French Revolution (the book is set in England years later). This book had a lot of things going for it – interesting character descriptions and an intriguing premise. Unfortunately, the book’s execution left a lot to be desired.

One of the biggest disappointments was the plot twist at the very end – it was way too easy to figure out. I won’t go any further into it to avoid spoilers (although it won’t take you long if you pick this up). But the second I realized what would probably happen at the end I actually felt a little insulted – like “am I not supposed to be able to figure this out?” Maybe Shana Galen just didn’t intend for it to be a surprise – either way, it should have been made much harder to discern.

And, while I found the synopsis intriguing, the way the overall plot ended up playing out was also a let-down. I wish a more experienced historical romance writer had written it – I think it would have been carried off much more successfully.

Anyway. Moving on. Sarah Smith, an orphan-turned-governess, is forced by her employer to become a spy for British Intelligence. Julien Harcourt, a French duc, has been making secret trips to France and is assumed to be a spy. Sarah takes on an assumed identity to get close to the duc in order to find proof of his activities. What she ends up discovering, however, has nothing to do with spying – in fact, she ends up deciding to help him. Their attraction quickly leads to complications that carry The Making of a Duchess on to its conclusion.

Their mutual attraction does not work for me at all. While Julien Harcourt is definitely the typical historical romance hero, Sarah Smith acts like an idiot. To be fair – it isn’t her fault. She is dropped quickly, without enough preparation, into a very difficult situation. But still. It makes absolutely no sense to me that Julien is so enamored of her. Then, once he discovers who she really is, he gets over it and falls in love with her way too quickly. The entire romance was completely disappointing, the first word that comes to mind is actually “idiotic” because once again, I felt insulted that I was supposed to just fall in line and find them a legitimate couple.

So, I basically found The Making of a Duchess to be a complete let-down. Despite the promising synopsis, I do not think it is worth picking up. If you like the thought of spies playing out in historical romance – pick up the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig instead!

[Beanbag Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up for the low price and I can't say I was disappointed. Galan isn't as good as Heath, Long, or Kleypas, but it was diverting nonetheless.

The story concerns a governess names Sarah who is yoked into working as a spy for the Foreign Office by her employer. It's a completely absurd premise, of course, and things fall apart quickly. Of course, the guy she's spying on -- Julian Harcourt, duc de Valere -- is hot. He's also fairly scarred from the French Revolution and has priorities that appear on the surface to be treasonous to England.

Blah, blah, blah. I'm not a big fan of historical romances dealing with spies. Especially when one of the leads is spying on the other. For the entire time that's going on their relationship is dishonest, so it's hard to become engaged.

Anyway, I'm going to read the next one because I'm curious. I don't see anymore listings for her, so I wonder if she's going to get to the third character who seems to be set up for a story.

[Sophie Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved all Shana Galen's books, but THIS book is her best yet -- and much different fare from other historical romances. A breath of fresh air. Lush, sexy, smokin' chemistry between the h/h. Very layered, multi-dimensional characters -- I was riveted from the first page!

[SeaBae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long ago, when I was a reader for big name Hollywood talent agency, we would talk about scripts that were "on the nose." I haven't really come across "on the nose" as a literary critique term, but if any book embodies the concept, it's this one.

In screenwriting, "on the nose" refers to dialogue that baldly expresses what the character is thinking or feeling, rather than leaving it up to the audience to interpret the emotion via cues and context. It's boring, it lacks subtext and subtlety, and it treats the audience like an idiot.

Meet "The Making of the Duchess."

On the surface, there should be so much for me to like about this book. French Revolution! A Scarlet Pimpernel-esque recue of an aristo from a French prison! Rogues on the high seas (okay, English Channel, but still)! A heroine who pretends to be someone she's not! Spies! Each and every one my romantic adventure sweet spot.

And yet, it if weren't for the fact I read this on my Kindle and I happen to like my Kindle very much, this book would have hit the wall several times over. Because it also hit my romance black buttons of death many more times.

Heroine TSTL? Oh, yes. Sarah is one of the most obtuse heroines I've met in a long time. I don't think she could grab a clue if you coated her hands with SuperGlue. And she's insipid to boot. You know how Regency heroes are always bemoaning the latest crop of insipid debutantes, and you wonder where they are because Regency heroines tend to be rather 21st century in their mores and manners? They're hiding out in this book. But not that Sarah feels particularly true to period, either. Lizzie Bennet would eat her for tea and then wonder why she still felt peckish.

Cardboard villian? Check. He even monologues and gives away the big plan twice. Twice! Sometimes I really miss the satisfying sound of a book hitting the wall.

Plot points that could be cleared up with one honest conversation? Bien sur, mon ami.

Insta-love? You betcha. Why do these two crazy kids love each other? Near as I can tell, it's because Sarah has Angelina Jolie (or Meg Ryan on a bad plastic surgery day) lips, and Julien, well, he's an alpha male duc so pheromones I guess.

Actually, Julien is a much more successful character, probably because he has goals and motivations. His only flaw is the insta-love, and completely overlooking that Sarah lied to him, is spying on him, might be conspiring with his enemies, and could blow his most desired goal in life - because she has big pouty lips. So of course, dear reader, he marries her.

Thunk. (Head, book, whatever makes the most satisfying sound.)

By the way, did you know the penalty for treason was to be drawn and quartered? Because that is mentioned. Many, many times (although Sarah was wrong about women being burned at the stake for treason - that was abolished in 1790, eleven years before the main story takes place.)

And I guess that is my biggest problem with the book. Nothing is subtle. Subtext is non-existent. Even the big reveal at the end is very clunkily foreshadowed. The book is just "on the nose" - there's no better way for me to describe it.

(Spoiler: and why doesn't Sarah care what happens to her former charges?! She seemed to like them, and from what little we saw of them they were polite, sweet kids. But never a thought is given to them.)

[Leonie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I skimmed to the end. Loathed the heroine. Didn’t believe the plot.

But the writing was good, just this story was clearly not for me.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story opens with a young boy running for his life and leaving nearly everything and everyone he loves behind. It's a brutal look at what happens when the mob mentality strikes and both the guilty and the innocent are caught up in the violence. I was quickly swept up in the story of what happened after that young boy becomes a man. What happens when the same young boy who ran for his life is now a wealthy and powerful man.

Julien Harcourt is a man with a life mission. He desperately wants to find his brothers. He has to believe that they are still alive and that he has not worked so hard in vain. He will do whatever it takes to find them even if that means placing his trust in a woman whose allegiance he finds questionable. He needs her help and he's willing to use her to get what he wants. I liked that Julien never gave up hope of finding his brothers alive. It's been years since he fled from the Revolution in France and now that he has established himself in England he hasn't forgotten his brothers. He uses his connections and wealth to continue looking for them and following any lead.

When Julien's mother tells him the daughter of an old family friend will be visiting he knows his mother hopes there will be a marriage between Julien and Serafina. Julien accepts the fact that it is time for him to start thinking of marriage and heirs. When he sees Serafina aka governess Sarah Smith, he is a bit surprised. She isn't at all what he was expecting. Their first meeting is certainly memorable with Sarah leaving a distinct impression on Julien. Sarah is a nervous wreck and totally unfit for her role as spy.

Governess Sarah Smith is in shock when told she must act as a French noblewoman to uncover a spy and traitor to the crown. She may speak French but she is far from nobility. She works for the nobility but acting the part puts her out of her element. This is where I had problems with the story. Sarah was so unbelievable in her role as Serafina Artois, noblewoman. She was young, (20ish) so she didn't even have any real maturity or much life experience to fall back on. The reader had to really stretch reality to believe that this young woman was able to continue in her deception of Julien. She kept making one bad decision after another. Her inexperience when dealing with stressful situations and drama was obvious. I think it would have worked better had she been a bit older and more assure of herself. It would have made her character more believable in her role as a would be spy and her deception of Julien.

Julien was a fascinating character whose past shaped him into the man he had become. He could be ruthless when it came to getting what he wanted but he still held enough compassion for those in desperate situations like Sarah was. I did like how Julien treated Sarah, trying to keep her safe while still searching for his brothers. He was terribly attracted to her but didn't completely trust her which made for some interesting sexual tension. And he found that he was not only attracted to her but he liked her. Which took him by surprise. Love when that happens. I enjoyed his honesty and his honor even when he had no reason to trust.

The plot of this French exile doing well in England while still maintaining ties to France was interesting. I liked the way the politics of the time period were woven into the story but didn't overwhelm the characters or the romance. The romance between these two seemingly opposites started out as a business transaction, much like many marriage proposals between aristocrats of that time. In the end they of course, fall madly in love and will do just about anything for each other.

Unfortunately, what started out well didn't hold together as well. It all kept coming back to the character of Sarah and the fact that she just didn't fit. I get that she wasn't suppose to fit the role of spy, since she didn't have any experience and only three days of training but it was more than that. It was the fact that she kept going with the role and began to believe in what she was doing, that she could play the spy when she kept screwing everything up. It was out of character for her and made that aspect of the plot unbelievable.

The next book in the series, The Making of a Gentleman, is due out in October. I will admit that I am curious about it and will probably read it due to who the hero is. As long as the heroine isn't another Sarah, I'm willing to give it a try.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

From My Blog...[return][return][return]A seemingly simple request leads to a delightfully fun, quirky, and fast-paced game of charades in The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen, the first in her trilogy I am thrilled to announce. How does one describe a novel such as this without giving away the points that make the novel so delightful?[return][return]In 1789, Julien and his mother escape the peasant uprising, making 13-year-old Julien the duc de Valere. He and his mother escape France and head to England and begin a new life for themselves and all is fairly calm for twelve years when trouble finds Julien once again. Sir Northrop, a former Naval Officer now part of the Foreign Affairs Office and head of overseeing and training operatives, has been watching Julien, believing him to be an informant and a traitor. Northrop sets up an elaborate ruse to have a spy planted within Julien's household, an intimate with the hope of an engagement between Julien and Sarafina Artois which would allow for confidences to be shared. The only problem for Northrop is he needs an operative with no family and no ties to the London ton. His choice is his governess, Sarah Smith, who has approximately three days to learn about the elite before being sent to stay with Julien and his mother. And oh yes, how is her Italian?[return][return]Galen weaves together a delightful and witty tale of cat and mouse with deception, intrigue, mystery and romance into her fast-paced Regency novel. The Making of a Duchess makes for exceptionally entertaining reading with a cast of brilliantly written characters both central and minor. An example of Galen's wonderful command of description, wit, charm, and her delightful cast of characters is evident during Lord Aldon's ball. One cannot help but adore Sarah as she goes from the happy and content governess to an unwilling spy, entering the Season and the ton, both entirely foreign to her. And what of Julien and his mates? Is he indeed a spy as the British government suspects or are his dealings on the continent legitimate and quite legal? Galen's descriptive writing and wonderful dialogue makes her novel impossible to set down.[return][return]I am personally looking forward to the release of the other two novels in this trilogy, The Making of a Gentleman and The Making of a Rogue. If it is not evident yet, let me point out that I highly recommend The Making of a Duchess to any reader who is looking for an intellectual, witty, and all around delightful read.

[Niki (mustreadalltheromance) · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I love Shana Galen's writing and that she gives us a nice long story. This one has us following Julien and his mother as they escape the violence of the French Revolution and start anew in London. Julien is constantly trying to live up to his role as a leader of the family, right his father's mistakes and find his lost brothers. Sarah is put into a desperate situation by her employer in which she and Julien are thrown together. Both were strong and well-developed characters and I loved watching them grow closer. This has become one of my favorite books and I would highly recommend it.

[Kaity ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the French Revolution girlies! This book was merveilleux! It starts off with peasants raiding and burning down the house of French nobles - and mother and son escape. This scene alone reeled me in; it was intense and it was brutal! The story was just thrilling. The stakes were high, there was espionage, and lots of twists!! Some were predictable but you know what, I loved it. The romance!!! The romance between Sarah and Julien - *chef kiss*. I loved the chemistry and the way they came to truly care for one another. Where can I find a Julien?? He was perfect. 😭 Loved his mother too; she was so sweet. The ending of the novel was so exciting, I could imagine it all so perfectly. Such an exciting book and I really recommend this! Definitely will be continuing this series! What’s next for Armand?? ❤️

[Amanda Winkworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written non-traditional Regency

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just because spy "The Widow" "ample bosom .. beautiful .. catlike in her repose" p 23 fails to show for secret meeting with Sarah, could she not still be alive? "What happened to the Widow?" p 194. Safe from untrustworthy Northrop "accepted into the highest social circles" p 21? Easy killing is scary.

"Something was so familiar" p 43. Easy to guess Sarah "slip of paper .. misspelled" at orphanage is really Sera. "You are Serafina" p 352.

Julien's mama does see family resemblances. Mouth "much too large" is as fashionable today as thin lips were aristocratic then. Her plain brown eyes and hair are redone with cosmetics, fancy dresses. Voila, la Comtesse.

Surprise that Northrop "dispatched" p 359 her parents, left her at orphanage, hired her as servant to humiliate, and deliberately placed her in position as herself.

Letter from family servant Gilbert is real, not fake lure. Of course they retrieve Armand, mute. They bring back Gilbert too, hope to question him about Bastien, other brother.

At first Sarah resists Northrop, not so hesitant as she thinks. Her "confidence growing" p 63, she soon takes on her part as Lady Sera. Julien first offers "business arrangement" p 88 marriage proposal. "Her eyes flashed" p 88, and again. "The chit had some backbone" p 88, refuses.

Dancing, she steps on his feet. He puts "discomfort aside and did his duty" p 170. I suspected his pal Marcus Stover, so friendly to her, obligingly finding "smuggler .. transport .. France" p 125. "Rigby knew bits and pieces, but Marcus knew the whole" p 184 of his history.

"Oh my .. breathless and wanting more" p 285. X-rated. "I stay away from you .. Because I do want you" p 221. "Full, ripe" p 184 Sarah too easily gets Captain Stalwart to take her aboard for finding Armand in prison "The Attic". In childhood game, brother "Bastien had always been Captain Cutlass" p 348, so who is pirate likely to be now?

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet romance that was a fast read. This book didn't blow me away but I was charmed by the main characters. Sarah was sweet, unassuming and incapable of lying. When she is essentially blackmailed into spying on Julian, it was an obvious disaster. Julian, obsessed with finding the rest of his family in war torn France, was instantly attracted to Sarah. The obvious does occur.

In order to enjoy this story, I had to suspend a great deal of disbelief about this time period (well, knowledge based on a lot of books read in this time period). For one, Sarah was an orphan raised in a Girl's Academy to be a governess and suddenly had to impersonate a Duchess. She had to socialize not only with Julian and his family but upper class British nobility as well. And she pulled it off. Two, she had to seduce and beguile Julian, which wasn't very hard for her despite her humble upbringing. So... suspending a lot of disbelief, I did like this story. All the obvious tropes did occur and I was actually mentally ticking them off.

All in all, this was a nice "fluff" read. I really liked another one of Ms. Galen's books, so the bar was set a bit higher than this book delivered. I was a bit disappointed that this book was not up to par with the other book I had read, but I do believe that this is an earlier title. This encourages me as her writing/plotting obviously improves.

I feel like I'm a bit harsh with this book, but I think it's because I went in with the misconception that it would be as good as the other book. I will be continuing on with this series and I look forward to the next brother's story.

Read on my Kindle. Hardly any formatting/editting errors found.

[Alaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first historical romance that I recall reading set in the early 1800's but I really enjoyed it. Julien was a dashing and hunky hero and Sara/Serafina was an elegant and complex heroin. I really enjoyed the whole British upstairs/downstairs aspect of the story as I used to watch the television show years ago when I was a teenager. Yes I'm a sucker for the poor girl being rescued by the dashing knight in shining armour.

This is a beautifully told romantic story that will have you sighing and gushing after the first few pages. But there is plenty of suspense to keep the story moving along quickly. Although one of my favourite scenes was when Sara met Julian and promptly threw up in his Ming vase, it was laugh out loud funny. All in all a very entertaining read with plenty of intrigue. This romance was different to any I've read before so I enjoyed it simply for its fresh ideas.

Wonderful characters combined with international spies (1800's style) makes this a captivating read. As I know very little about the French Revolution the Aristocratic side of the story made for interesting reading and the suffering of people simply because they where born into wealthy families. One thing I've learned from reading historical fiction and historical romance is that suffering has no bias when it comes to wealth or the lack of it. Can't wait to read the next book in the series, 'The Making of the Duke'.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am officially a romance novel snob. After talking books with my mom and her friends, I have come to the conclusion that ravishment novels only have joy for me if they have an awesome plot as well. Hence my love for Kathleen E Woodiwiss and Charlaine Harris.

That being said, this book was lacking in a lot of ways. I loved the concept of the plot, however I hated the length and the lack of detail to plot development that the book had. While the book itself wasn't written too poorly, it was moderately predictable and the "twists" were seen miles away. I liked the idea of a plot based on espionage and intrigue, however I should have recognized that since the book was rather short, that the development of the plot would focus on the budding relationship between the main characters rather than the plot of a spy being sent in to discover a political threat.

I liked the time period and the allusions to literary characters revolving around the French Revolution, however I feel that this novel lacks. I gave it three stars because the author did her best to balance the plots, but I feel like the length and development was lacking, either to make the book easier to read or to make a publisher happy.

[kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. Pacing issues, ahoy! (Get it? It's a pirate pun because the missing brother is a PIRATE? I would say spoilers except there are 3 books in this series and the third clearly has a pirate on the cover. SO YEAH IT SPOILED ITSELF.)

The awkward spy-Sarah stuff managed to get dragged out for faaaaar longer than it should have been. Then, all 3948 plot-lines get wrapped up in the last 3 chapters? WHAT? Here's a quicky summary:

• Julien finds his missing brother in France...
• ...and rescues him from an unbreachable prison, on his own?
• Sarah discovers what everyone has known from Chapter 3: she is the missing Serafina.
• Sir Northrup is uncovered as a traitor,
• a murderer,
• and weirdly into watching French nobility tutor his children?
• Julien's mother knew about Sarah's deception the whole time! It's totally cool!
• There's a good chance the missing third brother is sailing the seven seas as a dastardly pirate--STAY TUNED.
• And they live happily ever after!

2. WOW SARAH WAS A SHITTY SPY.

3. WOW JULIEN WAS PRETTY DENSE TO NOT SEE THROUGH HER SHITTY SPY SKILLS LIKE RIGHT OFF THE BAT.

4. I, do, however, want to know Armand's story, so! ON TO BOOK 2.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Making of a Duchess is set during a fascinating period of history, the French Revolution, and the period shortly thereafter. I was captured by the start of this novel with thirteen-year old Julien Harcourt, duc de Valere, trying to escape with his life from a mob of peasants. The novel then flash forwards towards the future when an older Julien Harcourt is trying desperately to find his missing brothers in Napoleon ruled France.

Julien’s life is complicated when the lovely Serafina, another French aristocratic refuge arrives in England from Italy. Serafina is lovely, and a woman that Julien’s mother would love him to marry. Little does he know that Serafina is really Sarah Smith, a governess turned spy, who is trying to determine whether Julien is a French traitor.

I loved the two main characters and really enjoyed the setting. The adventure was very exciting and I couldn’t wait to see how it all ended. I read this book easily in a day. Overall, The Making of a duchess was a highly enjoyable and exciting romance novel. I can’t wait to read the next two books in the series!

[Grace Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah is a governess working for Lord Northcott, but when her employer summons him to her study she finds a new career unfolding - as a spy.
I bought this book as the blurb appealed to me, but I was a little wary because the plot had the potential to be weighted down with angst. Happily, this was not the case. The author skilfully handled the storyline without it being cliched. Sarah turned out to be a pretty hopeless spy and was found out early on. She was refreshingly honest with Julien, and instead of trying to pull the wool over his eyes - owned up to what she was about. Phew! No angsty misunderstandings. The story could then move on in a believable way as a new threat to Sarah was revealed.
An enjoyable read with characters I was happy to spend time with. Not a 'wow' book but I'd happily read more by the same author.

[Frances Shellings · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many twists!!!

She's an orphan raised in a school to be a governess. When her employer demands she takes on an incredible task.
He ran for his life with his mother at the age of thirteen when the peasants rioted on his families country home. He has never forgot the pain of leaving his brothers behind. And he vowed to find them. With France and England at war he has to sneak over when he gets a lead. If found he would be imprisoned or worse face the guillotine.
Can she do the job set to her with her memories and feelings all jumbled? Can he stay on task when all he does is think and dream about her?

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting journey of intrigue

I wasn't sure that I was enjoying this story until I was so enthralled that I couldn't put it down. The premise and the heroine were just not quite right to me at first and the Duc's responses to her were incredible. But the story draws you in and as Sarah's ineptitude turns to sensibility you can't wait to see where this tale will take you. Now I can't wait to read the next story in this series!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these books out of order. It was not a huge problem. But if you can, I would read them in order. It builds up the family, the personalities. What a love story. A total love story. Very sweet. Fate and destiny bring the right people at the right time. This couple is perfect. Love this story and now, having read the rest, I will add the whole series is wonderful. You will not be bored.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book filled with great adventure congrats on another fantastic story Shana

[Lassarina Aoibhell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm trying to figure out how to review this book, and it's hard, because there were definitely things that bothered the hell out of me about this story, but overall I enjoyed myself so much that I just want to slap 5 stars on it, because I fell in love with every chapter and I'm super excited to chase down the remaining books in the series and devour them too.

The love story here is entwined with a spy story in which no one knows what they're doing and everything goes wrong in a charming way; I am usually 100% here for competence porn and dislike comedies that rely on people getting things wrong, because it tends to give me second-hand embarrassment squick, but this managed to tread the line there correctly. Sarah is a governess whose employer is a member of the Foreign Office. He commands her to pretend to be a French noblewoman whose family was exiled during the Revolution and convince a Duc to marry her, all the while spying on him for the Foreign Office. Why entrust this game to a novice who knows nothing of spycraft? Well, a professional spy was to do it but was injured and cannot, and Sarah is the right age and roughly correct physical type, and one must make do.

Julien is the Duc in question, who survived the Revolution by fleeing with his (English) mother. His two brothers were left behind and are presumably dead, although Julien has never accepted this and continues to search for them. Julien has accepted that he needs a bride and it might as well be Seraphina, the daughter of his parents' friends and the woman that Sarah is pretending to be.

Naturally, absolutely nothing goes as planned.

I loved the way Sarah and Julien interacted. I loved how bad Sarah was at being a spy. I loved Julien's family and the way dozens of small, seemingly inconsequential things came together to build an entire story that was richly woven. (I did see the twist coming from miles away, but in a well-written narrative with proper breadcrumbs, you're supposed to see it coming.) I loved the different ways Julien and his mother addressed the same grief. I just loved this story, and I devoured it in one sitting, which my cat heartily approved of because it meant I sat up until 2 am petting him while I read instead of, you know, sleeping like I should have been because I had to get up for work the next day, but we make sacrifices for our books.

There were things that never felt quite right to me. Julien's mother explained why she accepted Sarah as the missing Seraphina so easily, but I never understood why Julien, otherwise an intelligent man, just completely missed all the signals he should've seen. I wouldn't quite dub him too stupid to live, but he was certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer in ways that seemed inconsistent with his characterization otherwise.

For all my complaints—and those may well be ones that ruin the book for someone else—I'm enchanted enough by this story to want to read the latter two books in the series. My gut feeling about this book is that I loved it and I want it to be 5 stars; the issues would ordinarily push it back down to 3. I'm settling at 4, with the caveat that I'm aware I'm overrating it from feeling rather than logic.

[Lita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this story and would give the story itself 5 stars. However, I cannot give this book 5 stars because of it's errors. There were several lines

that were broken

just like this one. I realize that could be a formatting issue due to conversion to digital or ebook format. However, it should not be sold in that condition.

The author is a former English teacher, so I cannot let this next one pass. She uses the term Turkey when describing carpets. Are the carpets made out of turkeys? I doubt it. I'm pretty sure she means carpets from Turkey which would make them Turkish carpets. She does this in other books as well. Her use of duchesse instead of duchess is annoying and distracting. Yes, the character is an aristocratic refugee from France, but she's English (her husband was French) and she lives in England. Finally, the word lounge was spelled longue on more than one occasion.

I've read a lot of books with typos and if they are few and don't disrupt the story I usually ignore it. However, I've also read numerous books without these types of errors and suspect some laziness somewhere along the way in those cases. We readers should not have to tolerate or accept these things. Authors, editors and publishers make too much money from these sales for this to become an acceptable norm.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series: Yes
Standalone: Yes
Read Again: Maybe

Main Characters: Sarah/Seraphina & Julien
Setting: England mostly. A few chapters in France

Married: Yes
Children: No (in 3rd book)
Sex: Yes

---

Themes: discovering your identity / spy / traitor (who is not a traitor) / bad at lying / governess / lost family

Thoughts: This was a good book. I wouldn't be apposed to reading it again. Julien was looking for his brothers (found Armand in French prison). Sir Northope was trying to label Julien as a traitor to cover up that he was the traitor. Sarah was sent in to get evidence even though she has never been a spy before as she was an orphaned governess. Sarah found out she was really Seraphina (who she was pretending to be but this was her real identity).
Everything turned out happy in the end.

Stars: 3.5
Writing stars: 4
Plot stars: 3.5
Read: November 6, 2023

[PATRICIA KUNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book by Shana Galen.

Sarah is asked by her employer to spy on Julien Harcourt. He claims he is a spy.

Sarah presents herself as Comtess of Guyenne. Sir Northup is the spy and killed her parents.
They have sparks and a growing attraction. They go to Paris to find his brother.

They find Armand and they get married.

They find their love during all this. Julien has to see if he can find is other brother.

This is good that in spite of all they both went through, they found their Love.

[Alaina Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

OH GOOD, ALAINA - JUST ADD "IDENTITY CRISIS" TO ~EVERYTHING ELSE~ THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW. WAY TO DE-ESCALATE.

For the full review - which actually talks about the plot and characters, and is not completely Alaina's latest identity crises - follow the link to That's What She Read.


Guster Reading Challenge
"The Prize" / Parachute
Read a book about someone who has lost themselves

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading THE MAKING OF A DUCHESS last night at well after midnight, and was thrilled to find that I just couldn't put it down. Start to finish action-adventure between Julien a driven hero and Sarah an endearing but socially awkward heroine. The characters were not typical, and their interactions both emotionally and physically seem real. Beautifully written romantic tension, that doesn't feel rushed. I absolutely loved it.


Review of Shana Galen's The Making of a Duchess | Sunday, July 31, 2011 | Intrigue & Delight