A Lady’s Guide to Scandal
Eliza is a widow and she’s not even thirty yet. Her late husband has left her a fortune, but there’s a catch—a morality clause that means she can do nothing untoward. It’s a good thing that the new Earl of Somerset is her childhood love (is there any chance for them after how they left things a decade ago?) and he’s the one controlling those purse strings. The problem is, the whole family dislikes Eliza. When she and her cousin, Margaret, head to Bath to get a fresh start, they become entangled with siblings whose names show up in the English gossip regularly. Will Eliza stay out of trouble? Will the infamous Lord Melville become more than a friend, even as Lord Somerset still has part of her heart?
I liked this, but didn’t love it. It had the same humor and hijinks as A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting (which I LOVED), but somehow I overlooked that this one included a love triangle. I mean, the evidence was right there on the cover and I didn’t see it. The plus was that Eliza seems equally exhausted by the two men vying for her attention. I liked the relationship between Eliza and her cousin and appreciated their friendship. I also thought the family obligations and duties along with the subtle undermining and sabotage was interesting. Besides the love triangle, I felt a little like the secondary romance got too much page time. I would have rather seen Margaret get her own book than for the cousins to have simultaneous romances occurring in one volume.
Overall even though this one wasn’t as much of a hit as the author’s prior novel, I will still be coming back for more. I’ve been a very hesitant contemporarily-written, regency romance reader. I feel faithful to the classics in this regard, but Sophie Irwin gives me faith in the genre.
A couple quotes:
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This book contains kisses only.
