Review: If the Viscount Falls by Sabrina Jeffries
Title: If the Viscount Falls (The Duke’s Men #4)
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Pocket Books
Genre: Historical Romance
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository. Bookshop
Source: e-ARC via Netgalley
Rating: 3 stars – stick to your bedtime
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
When Dominic is suddenly disinherited by his brother, he realizes that the life ahead of him will be a difficult one. Though he is engaged to Jane, the love of his life, he decides that marriage to a man without prospects is unfair to her and urges her to jilt him. Young and in love, Jane refuses. Dom then hatches a desperate plan with her cousin for Jane to catch them in a scandalous act to to force her hand and end their engagement. His plan works and a heartbroken Jane breaks it off and leaves him to his new fate.
Twelve years later, Dom is now a successful investigator with his own infamous investigation company. Though he’s found success, he’s never come back for Jane, believing she’s better off without him. But one day Jane suddenly appears on his doorstep asking for his help in locating her missing cousin (the recent widow of Dom’s cruel brother) who she believes has gone missing. The two take to the road together to find Nancy and old feelings bring themselves to the surface.
I’m a big fan of second chance romances. There’s just something so heart wrenching and emotional about two people who used to be in love growing and overcoming their past hurt in order to try and find love again. In the case of Dom and Jane, I definitely sided more with Jane’s position. While I understood Dom’s reasoning, he really did give very little credit to Jane’s character at the time and made a decision for both of them by forcing her hand. A lot of it came from his insecurity to be worthy of her love but I totally get Jane’s anger and frustration.
Dom is bossy, arrogant, and surprisingly sweet. His feelings for Jane have never waned and his own doubts and insecurities led him to stay away from her for much too long. Over the course of the book he starts to realize that maybe he doesn’t know what’s right for everyone, maybe not even himself. He comes to understand that he is worthy of love and happiness and that he may finally get it if he will just let his guard down.
Jane and Dom make a fine pair. I like that Jane doesn’t back down from him and isn’t afraid to push him. There is a lot of anger and hurt feelings from the past but it’s clear that neither will be happy with someone else. At times I got frustrated with Dom’s stubborn and high handed behavior, but Jane was stubborn as well.
Dom’s siblings also appear in the book which is also fun. They and their partners are fun and unconventional and don’t let Dom take himself too seriously. I found the dialogue to be awkward at times, especially when Jane and Dom were professing their love or lust. I’m not sure what it was but it took me out of the story a bit.
While I liked this book, it was not my favorite of the series. The pacing was a little slow and the dialogue somewhat cheesy. However, I’m glad to see Dom finally get his HEA and Jane is more than a match for him. If you’re a fan of this series, If the Viscount Falls is a must read.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my review or opinion of the book.
