The Duke Starts a Scandal by Sophie Jordan

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Duke Hunt, #4

Release Date: October 24, 2023

Susanna Lockhart is the housekeeper for the Duke of Penning, and so far, it has been interesting, especially when the old duke died and his son, the new duke was deemed illegitimate, and a new duke and his son moved in. Everything was going great, but Susanna soon learns that he is an imposter, and now the newest new duke is less than pleased with her and makes it clear that he will be looking to replace her at some point, but first, he wants to throw a house party. The man is completely insufferable, arrogant, and much too handsome for her peace of mind. For eleven years, Susanna has kept a secret and has not had the slightest interest in any man, so why does this man affect her? It is clear that the primary purpose of his house party is to find a bride for himself and husbands for his two sisters, something that should make her happy, since she will be able to do her job and won’t have to interact with him, but for some reason irks her. Determined to prove herself, she sets out to impress the duke and his guests, but once the party is underway, Susanna’s past rears its ugly head and threatens to destroy everything she has worked so hard to accomplish.

Lucian Ross had no idea he was related to a duke, much less an heir! Lucian was raised as a gentleman, but upon the death of his father, he learned that his father had lost the family fortune to gambling and despite a job with the Home Office, his family was left penniless, forcing his mother to make some hard choices, choices that broke her. With his mother incapacitated, it falls on Lucian to care for her and his younger sisters. Thanks to a neighbor, Lucian finds an occupation that enables him to earn more than enough to support them all, but he is careful to make sure no one ever learns how exactly he makes his living. But once he learns of his elevation to the peerage, he knows that his past could destroy his sisters’ chances for good marriages, thus his desire to get them all married as soon as possible, and what better way to do that than to host a house party! But upon meeting Susanna, he has a problem, he wants her, badly. Since he would never take advantage of an employee and he is not sure he can resist her, so she will have to go, right after the house party. But a kiss changes everything and this duke may just cause his own scandal!

What a great end to the series! I will be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book, especially when I learned his secret and found out he was looking for a bride, but I was wrong, I loved it! The entire book was a delight to read, and I LOVE how the villain is dealt with, OMG, I was actually laughing out loud! This book has secrets, class differences, blackmail, great secondary characters, meddling family members, steamy love scenes, a little heartache, a secondary romance, some amusing scenes, and finally a happily ever after that left me smiling. This is the fourth book in the series, and even though I highly recommend all the books in this series, this book could easily be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*