The Secret of Flirting

Sabrina Jeffries

Mar 2018 · The Sinful Suitors Book 5 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

“Quick pacing, witty dialogue, and charmingly original characters set Jeffries’ books apart” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), and The Secret of Flirting is the next thrilling romance in the bestselling Sinful Suitors series.

The moment spymaster Baron Fulkham meets the stunning Princess Aurore of Chanay, he’s positive her royal persona is a ruse and that she’s actually Monique Servais, the mysterious actress he met three years before in Dieppe. But as he pursues his suspicions, he uncovers a plot of attempted assassination and betrayal that could very well destroy his career, expose his own secrets...and ruin the woman he’s rapidly coming to love.

The Secret of Flirting is a sizzling historical romance filled with fast-paced storytelling, an enchanting heroine, and a sexy hero, perfect for fans of Regency romance.

Ratings and reviews

3.75 stars--THE SECRET OF FLIRTING is the fifth instalment in Sabrina Jeffries’ THE SINFUL SUITORS historical romance series. This is spymaster Baron Gregory Fulkham, and actress Monique Sevais’ story line. THE SECRET OF FLIRTING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Told from dual third person perspectives (Monique and Gregory) THE SECRET OF FLIRTING follows Baron Gregory Fulkham as he is tasked with naming the royal head to the new kingdom of Belgium. As Belgium fought and won their independence in1830, the London Conference and the House of Lords was tasked with naming their new ruler. As Princess Aurore of Chanay on her deathbed due to an unknown illness, her look-alike doppleganger, French stage actress Monique Servais was called into service to ‘portray’ the princess at future gatherings. Enter Baron Gregory Fulkham, the man in charge of determining the rightful heir, and the man who would discover the truth to the identity of the reigning princess. What ensues is the building relationship between Monique and Gregory, and the potential fall-out as Monique aka the princess is targeted by an unknown assassin, in the hopes of destroying her chances at the crown. Our heroine, actress Monique Servais is the sole custodian of her ailing grandmother so when an offer for aid comes with the opportunity to play her grandest role to date. Baron Gregory Fulkham recognized Monique immediately although her resemblance to the ailing princess was unmistakable and not without merit but proving our heroine’s secret meant revealing his own failings as it pertained to revealing the truth. THE SECRET OF FLIRTING is a detailed, complex and intriguing story line; an entertaining, historical look at passion, betrayal, revenge and espionage; at one family’s hidden secrets, and another family’s secret past. The premise is engrossing; the romance is passionate; the characters are spirited, damaged and energetic.

AudioBook Review Stars: Overall 4 Narration 4 Story 4 The first I’ve read in this series, the story is clever and quite engaging – with plenty of mystery to ferret out. The hero, Baron Fulkham, Gregory, is in service to the crown, as were many of his station to combat the scourge of Napoleon and the upheaval throughout Europe. In the midst of some delicate manipulations and political delicacies, there is a ball thrown, a ball in which Gregory is destined to meet the formerly reclusive Princess of Chanay. Unfortunately, Gregory is convinced that the woman, posing as the princess is an actress he met a few years back, one Monique Servais. He’s determined to get to the bottom of the charade, and to see just why (and how) she is using her skills to impersonate someone else. Monique was approached by someone claiming kinship to the ‘real’ princess, and in need of Monique’s skills – skills that she has been using at every opportunity to provide home and security for her ill grandmother. Gregory recognizing her is bad enough, but his digging into her reasons, AND placing her in dangers she didn’t expect as the stakes for gain and political one-upsmanship grow larger each day. Together, both Monique and Gregory are delightful – snark, sizzle and steam rise from their every interaction as they struggle with their own feelings of attachment, and wonder how to uncover truths while not destroying relationships, reputations or negotiations. Fully realized, completely engaging and utterly well-suited in intelligence, temperament and that pesky thing called attraction, it’s time to see another formerly reserved and uptight man find his match in one wholly unexpected, emotionally available and intelligent woman. Narration for this story is provided by Justine Eyre, and she’s managed to capture the dueling (and dual) characters and personalities with flair – never over-reaching or overacting to make a point. Monique has a flexibility that shows a flash of humor and enjoyment when sparring with Gregory, Gregory’s rather ‘stick up butt’ initial and public persona is quite obvious through tone and pace, while his quiet moments, when he lets his guard down and actually relates with Monique, shows an enjoyment that is evident in the delivery. Never too fast or hesitating far longer than necessary for moments of import, the performance highlighted and served the writing beautifully and helped to hold my interest throughout. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Simon and Schuster Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I just adore Sabrina Jeffries' books. They always provide great characters, a great story, great humor and this book is no exception. Monique Servais is an actress in Dieppe and lives with her grandmother, who has developed dementia and it is getting harder to look after her while she has to work. Her grand-maman was born into royalty, but left that life to marry her true love and thus was cut off from her family. Now years later, the Count de Beaumonde, grand-maman's brother-in-law. was looking for Monique's help. He would like Monique to pretend to be Aurore, the reigning Princess de Chanay. If she could pull it off, he would take care of her grand-maman the rest of her life. The real princess is ill but she needs to be in London because she is the front-runner to becoming the Queen of Belgium, which is seeking its independence from the Netherlands. It would only be for a short time, and really what could go wrong! ;) What Monique did not count on while she was pretending to be Princess Aurore was to run into Gregory Vyse, Baron Fulkham, whom she met three years earlier and has not been able to forget. Right away Lord Fulkham realized that it was Monique, but she kept denying it. Now the game was on. As Gregory and Monique spend more time together, their feelings for each other grow. When an attempt on their lives happen, secrets start to unravel and Gregory and Monique have an even bigger issue on their hand. Together they have to work to figure out who is behind all their issues and how they are going to solve their problems. I loved these two characters. Gregory's life has always been all about work. Monique's life has been all about work and taking care of her Grand-maman. Together these two find something wonderful that they were missing in their lives. The mystery that they had to figure out to get to their happy ending was so fun and enjoyable. It kept me constantly guessing at the end results. Overall, I just adored this book and I highly recommend it.

About the author

Sabrina Jeffries is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of several Regency-set historical romance series, including the Royal Brotherhood, the School for Heiresses, the Hellions of Halstead Hall, the Duke’s Men, and the Sinful Suitors. When she’s not writing in a coffee-fueled haze, she’s traveling with her husband, caring for her adult autistic son, or indulging in one of her passions: jigsaw puzzles, chocolate, music, and costume parties. With more than nine million books in print in twenty languages, the North Carolina author never regrets tossing aside a budding career in academics for the sheer joy of writing fun fiction and hopes that one day a book of hers will end up saving the world. She always dreams big.