Series: A Lady’s Guide #2 (Standalone)
Publication Date: 11th July 2023
Genre: Regency Romance
3.5 Stars
One Liner: A decent entertainer
A shy Eliza Balfour got married to Earl of Somerset, twenty-five years her senior. Almost a decade ago, it was the match of the season, even if Eliza didn’t gain much from it.
Now, a widow with no child, Eliza is rich and free, thanks to her dead husband’s will (never mind the morality clause). Determined to enjoy her new-found freedom, she travels to Bath with her cousin Margaret and has the time of her life.
However, the news reaches the current Lord Somerset, a young man she knew as a debutante. Soon, she realizes that her freedom has come with strings attached, and she could lose it all if things went out of control. But should she resist the opportunities that come her way?
The story comes from Eliza’s third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
How you like this book will depend on a few elements – whether or not you read Persuasion, your opinion on love triangles, your tolerance levels for a mousy heroine, and how good you are with rushed endings.
For me, it was a mixed read as I did not read Persuasion and didn’t compare the books. I also didn’t compare this book to any other historical novels, which made it easy to read the book for what it is. I don’t like love triangles, and things are a bit tricky here (more on this next). The heroine's 50-50 for me, and I dislike rushed endings.
First, good things – The writing style is easy to read. It is light with the right touch of depth expected (based on the cover). Even the tough topics are handled with a certain ease, which keeps the overall tone lighthearted.
The book has good humor and strong second leads (Margaret and Lady Caroline). Sometimes, they outshine the FMC, which, I think, is intentional to show her growth from a demure pushover to an assertive woman.
Melville is an interesting character. I liked him a lot (and not just because he is half-Indian). I wish he could have been explored in depth, though we see glimpses of it.
The racism is well done. Must say I’m glad it has not been whitewashed in the name of bringing ‘diversity’ to a book. They never liked us (and many others), and there’s no reason to pretend otherwise.
There's a mandatory LGBT+ track too. It's done well and doesn't take over the main plot, so that's fine.
Now, we move on to the not-so-good aspects of the book. The pacing is uneven. The first half takes too much to establish the premise. The last quarter packs so much that events trip over each other. The reader doesn’t even get the satisfaction of seeing the couple together before the book ends. And there is NO epilogue. WHY? (I would have rounded the rating to 4 stars if there was an epilogue.)
The ‘love triangle’ is there, yet not really there. This one had so much potential, but the whole thing is rushed, and Eliza’s thought process just doesn’t make the impact it should. Some of it might border on cheating, but I wouldn’t call it that, either. Still, I wish it was better written. It could have been.
Anyway, I never liked that guy and couldn’t see why Eliza was well… so sure of it until she wasn’t. This forms the crux of the plot. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get enough space. Let Eliza explore her feelings in detail. Let her interactions with parties play in her mind. Let her realize things without the next event breathing down her neck.
Despite everything, the book is pretty quick to read, and I approve of Eliza’s choice. Of course, the other option wasn’t even an option considering the developments afterward, but they are justifications to prove her right. There was this one point Eliza knew who/ what she wanted.
To summarize, A Lady's Guide to Scandal is a decent read and a quick entertainer with a bit of family drama, personal growth, love interests, and some twisty reveals at the end. It is a complete standalone too.
Thank you, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Books, for the eARC.
#ALadysGuidetoScandal #NetGalley
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