Title: A Lady's Lesson in ScandalAuthor: Darcy McGuire
Series: The Queen’s Deadly Damsels #2
Pages: 332
Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2024
Publisher: Boldwood Books Ltd
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical
Synopsis:
A BRAND NEW spicy historical romance series, featuring a cast of deadly damsels! Wallflower at risk of ruin…
Secret femme-fatale in training Millicent Whittenburg needs to escape her unpleasant betrothal. Taking matters into her own hands, she plans her eventual ruin! Then she can disappear from society to carry out the Queen’s deadly missions. Step 1: seduce the one man who despises marriage more than her!
However, she hugely underestimates her target. Major General Beaufort Drake. Fearsome private investigator, he’s notoriously cold and visibly battle scarred. But Millie’s scandalously public kiss awakens a deeply suppressed desire in Drake. Instead of allowing them both to succumb to shame he does the unthinkable, and offers for her hand in a convenient marriage.
Nothing prepares them for the fireworks when a fearless damsel collides with a dangerous Major General! And as their secret missions align they face their hardest test on the glittering battlefield – a week long wedding house party where there is nowhere to escape…only new and wicked lessons to be learnt!
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Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s a great continuation of the series, and I love the strong FMC. A spy working for the Queen, Millie kisses a stranger at a party to get out of a loathsome marriage arrangement. What she doesn’t realize is that she kissed Major General Drake, an honorable man and private investigator who feels it is his duty to marry Millie since they were caught in a compromised position.
Major General Drake, aka Beau, and Millie have a great romance. The banter and witty conversations are fantastic, and they have a grumpy/sunshine dynamic that I enjoyed. Beau is a scarred and brooding hero, and Millie challenges him perfectly. Their love story is steamy and sexy, and their adventures together are filled with mystery and intrigue as they work together on a secret mission both have been assigned to.
There are some heavier issues in the plot, including abuse and trafficking, and though the trafficking issue is part of the overarching plot, the physical abuse Millie suffers was surprising and a bit tough to read. I would recommend checking out the content warnings, even though the lighter and romantic parts balance out the darker elements well.
Special thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
- marriage of convenience
- country house party
- grumpy/sunshine
Darcy McGuire is an award-winning New Zealand-born writer now living in the Pacific Northwest. She will write a five-part Victorian romance series for Boldwood, focused on a group of ‘Deadly Damsels’. The first book will be published in June 2024.
Brillaint review, Julie! I’ve not heard of this series, but I will definitely be checking it out 🙂
Thanks, Becky. It’s a newer to me author – definitely worth checking out.