When the Rogue Returns

The Duke's Men, Book 2

By: Sabrina Jeffries

Narrated by: Corrie James

It had been a decade since Victor Cale, first cousin to the Duke of Lyons, had seen his wife. After some royal jewelry went missing from the jeweler's shop where they worked, Isabel Mertens disappeared. When Victor gets word of a woman who fits his wife's description, he sets out to confront her. But he discovers that nothing is as it seems-and revenge is never as sweet as true love.

©2014 Deborah Gonzales (P)2014 Tantor

loving this series

I am loving this series. Sabrina Jefferies stories are great and Corrie James is great in narrating them. Can't wait to listen to the next book in this series. Love love love these books

Interesting & Heartwarming

I loved this book. It was different! The story was a little bit different - it held my interest and I was definitely looking forward to what was going to happen next. There were a few times in the book that I was a little bit frustrated and I felt like it was dragging just a bit... but I feel like that's probably because I was so excited for the characters to get together.

Issa and Victor are great together. I wasn't sure I was going to like Victor as much as I ended up liking him.

There were many times in this book fit my heart clenched for this couple and I got choked up a couple of times - so it definitely had a moving affect every now and again. I think it was better than the first book and I can't wait to move on to the third and fourth and see how it stacks up in this wonderful series.

Book 2

Victor Cale is shocked when he learns that his beautiful young wife deceived him. Isabella left him ten years ago, and Victor hasn't heard from her since. Now working for Manton Investigations, Victor is sent to Scotland to investigate a woman who may be taking advantage of a young Baron. This is where he discovers Isabella.

Isa can't believe that Victor is back in her life. She blames him for abandoning her after helping her relatives steal priceless diamonds. Isa left her sister and brother-in-law in Amsterdam, changed her name, and started a new life with her daughter. She doesn't want Victor involved in her new life or possibly finding out that he has a nine-year-old daughter.

Both Victor and Isa are well-developed characters. They both thought the other was a crook who abandoned them. I was happy that the "Big Misunderstanding" didn't play out over half of the book. Isa and Victor compared notes and realized that Isa's family lied to both. They know that Isa's brother-in-law will be back to cause more trouble for them and possibly for their daughter. They need to stop him now.

This is the second book in The Duke's Men series. Many of the characters in the first book appeared in this one. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. My rating: 4 Stars.

Wonderful series!

The challenge a single mother has to face and overcome … terrible sister and a typical man jumping to conclusions…

Good, but not going to be a favorite

A good story, but definitely not my favorite from this author. The two main characters took way too long to be honest with each other--their initial hesitation made sense, but after a while it got to be ridiculous, especially since they both got hugely upset when they found out the other one was hiding something from them. (Hello? Pot? Kettle? You're equal in your blackness, so get over it already!) Other than that, Victor and Isa/Sofie were likable characters overall.

Ultimately, the last third or so redeemed the book for me. At one point I was afraid they were reverting back to their old ways, but they proved me wrong so nothing got tossed across the room (I was listening on audio, so book tossing would have involved earbuds being ripped out of my ears. I was very glad to have my fears proven wrong, believe me!) The ending is immensely satisfying, and helped me to get over much of my frustration with the book.

Some of the secondary characters' immense likability helps matters as well--Amalie, their daughter, is charming; Rupert and Mary Grace's secondary romance is adorable; and Sofie's business partner Mr. Gordon is an all-around great guy. Tristan and Dominick, the brothers who run Manton Investigations, are as entertaining as ever, and I cannot wait until they have their own books.

The science too was interesting, both of Sofie's artificial gems and Rupert's studies. I didn't quite "get" it all, but it sounded impressive. ;) Ms. Jeffries's afterword showed that she had clearly done her research in that arena.

Part of my dissatisfaction with this novel stemmed from the audio performance--I couldn't stand the voice the narrator used for Isa/Sofie. It always sounded as if she had a mouthful of marbles when she spoke, and it was distracting. Perhaps if I'd have read it instead of listening, I would have rated it higher.

So far the first book in the series is still my favorite. I wouldn't go so far as to say this one was a disappointment, it just didn't quite live up to the standards of book one. Hopefully the next offering from The Duke's Men will be more consistent in its execution.

Rating: C+/ 3.5 stars