The Undercover Duke

Jess Michaels is a smooth operator. She tempts with romance and delivers so much more. The Undercover Duke begins with a mystery. Lucas has many secrets that just might get him killed. When his double life leaves him at his most vulnerable, he finds an angel in Diana. Diana is a fearless woman with a healing hand and her own baggage to bear. Diana and Lucas walk a fine line between love and lust as they try to stay a step ahead of the danger that stalks them. Ms. Michaels stories are alluring tales of courage that never get old.

Jess Michaels has a way of snaring the readers attention from the first and not letting go until the end. The wounded hero trope is my very favorite because I love to seem them healed and happy in the end. This story had it in spades. Lucas Vincent, the Duke of Willowby at a very young age, has done everything he can to avoid the Dukedom and has worked as a spy for the War Department. Terribly unhappy in his life he fights like he doesn't care if he gets killed and maybe he doesn't. Unfortunately he was gravely wounded in the field and has been sent home to heal. His injuries were grave and he was sent Diana Oakford, whose father, a physician in the war, had died when Lucas was wounded. Two lost souls brought together seems fated and it does not take long for their mutual attraction. But nothing is ever simple when secrets and a mystery get in the way and try to pull the couple apart. This is part of a series that I have not read but I think a lot of the characters in past stories showed up in this one. This can be read as a standalone although I am anxious to read the entire series. If you love historical romance with a little steam, this one if for you and I cannot wait to read the next book by this author!

Five Dukes down the aisle! Five Dukes to go! Jess Michaels gives us another Duke to fall in love with in The Undercover Duke. Lucas Vincent, Duke of Willowy, has been absent from the previous five books, so going into this book the readers have little information about the mysterious man. Turns out Lucas is not only a Duke, but one of the War Office’s most valuable spies. When Lucas tries to ferret out a double agent, he is severely injured and his close friend and father figure, Dr. Oakford, is killed. Daughter to the doctor and a healer in her own right, Diana, is convinced to come to London to care for the Undercover Duke six months after his injury. She agrees once she learns Lucas was with her father when he died. They start their adventure in Diana’s modest London cottage where the spark of desire becomes even more powerful than the pain. Working through his pain, his inability to investigate, and his burgeoning feeling for Diana, Lucas is a mess of male pride. Diana has her feminine flame stoked by the devilishly handsome duke, but has been burned when a previous spy her father worked with took something he had no right to ask for. Wary of each other but still widely attracted, the pair begin an affair with a promised end date while Diana helps Lucas recuperate. As Diana has a little experience with the male sex, Michaels doesn’t hold back when it comes to the scenes that could steam the words from the pages. She creates the perfect mix of desire, tenderness, and even love for the couple who believe an end is in sight. With more twists and turns as their affair turns down the road of true love, Lucas begins to investigate again. With the help of Simon Greene, Duke of Crestwood, Lucas is launched back into society and Meg, the Duchess of Crestwood, takes Diana under her wing. But the double agent has plans for both Lucas and Diana, plans that could tear them apart. You won’t want to stop reading once you’ve started. So grab your drink, your snacks, and your tissues and settle in for another five star adventurous romance with The Undercover Duke! I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.