I found this book to be ok. There were some steamy scenes that were good. Overall, the plot was very contrived. It was hard for me to believe so I couldn't get fully into the story.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Eloisa Holt is the perfect debutante, but on the eve of her and sister's debuts, a nude portrait of their mother is made public, and they are tarred with the same brush. Now her perfect reputation is in tatters, and she must do whatever it takes to ensure that no other paintings come to light, and rescue her future, and those of her sisters. She's desperate, and risks everything, but luckily, the only person who notices what she is doing is her brother's best friend, Cornelius. Lord Cornelius Chichester may think he's kidding everyone, but it's clear he's falling for his best friend's sister, and though he's trying to be honourable in protecting her, the closer they get in their efforts to hide the paintings, the harder it is to stay part.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this book. I thought that Eloisa would be a little bit too prim and proper for my liking, but she had a feisty persona hidden from view, but that she used when protecting those she cared about. As the oldest girl, she felt the brunt of the scrutiny, so she wanted to shoulder the burden and protect her sisters as much as possible. Even taking risks she could never have imagined, but she was willing to do it, at least for them. When Cornelius found her out, she was worried, but surprised he wanted to help. She'd had feelings for him for years, but never expected anything to come of them, so treated him as a friend, which was great for them both to open up to each other, and see the true person. An enjoyable Regency romance, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for honest review. If I am being honest I really wasn’t a fan of this, I wasn’t a fan of the characters. They were ridiculous at times. The story seemed rushed and the title just didn’t fit.

Eloisa, attempting to retrieve a nude photo of her bohemian mother before scandal breaks, is assisted by Cornelius who happens to be her brothers' best friend. Both feel an immediate connection, but Cornelius once promised Timothy that he would never go after his sisters. Makes for a rip-roaring conundrum!
Thank you Bianca Blythe, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

The Secret Life of a Debutant is book one in Bianca Blythe’s newest series, Determined Debutantes. This is a fast-paced, lighthearted, and slightly scandalous adventure type regency romance featuring a couple of my favorite tropes: Falling for brothers best friend mixed with a rake who falls in love.

Eloisa Holt is not the type of woman to wander London on her own. In fact, she’s not even the type of woman to consider such a thing. After all, her governesses hailed her as a paragon of everything proper. But when a nude painting of her mother scandalizes the ton, Eloisa must stop more paintings from being displayed. This debutante is desperate.

Lord Cornelius Chichester knows the first rule of being a best friend:

Don’t fall in love with your best friend’s sister.

Unfortunately, that rule becomes difficult to follow when he discovers Eloisa by herself at an indecent hour. Still, perhaps helping his best friend’s younger sister is honorable. He may have promised his friend long ago he would never marry one of his sisters, but Cornelius never promised he would not be of assistance.

As these two race against time to avoid further scandal long hidden feelings start to emerge. Cornelius and Eloisa have a lot of desire and passion between them, when they finally give into those needs they lit a fire in each other that refused to be put out. Now they just have to find all the scandalous paintings and reveal their relationship to Eloisa’s older brother.

3 Stars ⭐️ | 5 Flames 🔥

3.5 stars for a very quick read!

It was an enjoyable read. Liked both Eloisa and Cornelius. The story line was interesting and it could have made even more intriguing.

Looking forward to the next books in the series.

2 stars

A ridiculous plot & ridiculous dialogue made for an annoying reading experience. Shallow characters & insta-lust didn’t help either.

[What I liked:]

•The premise of a debutante’s bohemian mother causing a scandal with a nude painting is a unique one, & had potential.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Timothy is a total jerk. He doesn’t care about comforting his sisters when their lives are upended, he just can’t get rid of them fast enough. He’s also a jerk to his supposed best friend. Why does Eloisa even care about his feelings?

•Quite a few plot holes, including minor things that should’ve been easy to catch & edit. How come Constance’s footmen wear exactly the same livery that the Duke of Dartmouth’s footmen do? How is it possible that Eloisa has never had a single headache in her entire life? Why does Eloisa need to do to Brighton, couldn’t Cornelius take care of the painting there by himself?

•If Cornelius’ goal is to help protect Eloisa’s reputation, why the heck does he take advantage of her sexually? She’s young, naïve, with nearly ruined prospects, so if he really cared about her why would he do that?

•Unfortunate anachronisms: racquetball wasn’t invented until 1950; at a formal evening event, Cornelius is somehow wearing only a shirt underneath his tailcoat—what happened to his waistcoat?

•Why does Eloisa assume that Cornelius is denying everything to her brother when she finds them arguing at Cornelius’ house? Why doesn’t she just find out what he wanted to talk to her about? I really get annoyed with big misunderstandings that could have easily been avoided.

•So much insta-lust. Like all Cornelius apparently thinks about is sexy times, to the point of ridiculousness. Not to mention that Cornelius’ main concern about pursuing Eloisa is that she seems interested in is his body only, & he wants to marry for love & deeper feelings. Yet they don’t take the time to establish deeper feelings, & seemingly base the whole ensuing relationship on lust.

•The dialogue is incredibly clunky & superfluous. The writing in general is not great either.

CW: sexism

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Lighthearted Regency Romance

Eloisa is on a quest. How can she destroy paintings of her naked mother that seem to be making rounds in houses of the ton? The scandal is destroying hers and her sister’s prospects for good marriages, and her mother does not seem to care. What is a woman to do? Will Eloisa succeed in destroying the paintings, or will she start a scandal of her own? This is a delightful, lighthearted, steamy Regency romance that might get you to laugh aloud. Cornelius is Eloisa’s brother’s best friend, and as she pulls him into her scheme, she steals his heart. Will he break the unspoken rule of not falling with his best friend’s sister? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to those who enjoy Regency romance with adventure and humor.

The Secret Life of a Debutante by Bianca Blythe is a very entertaining story of a mother, who after being stuck with a husband that she disliked and upon his death lead the life she wanted to: artists and parties. At their first ball, the three sisters were witness to a new painting being unveiled. It was covered with a cloth, which was odd, but turned out to be a portrait of a naked woman. Oh, my God, it was their other. They all looked very much like her so it was only moments before the guests were pointing their fingers. They were ruined. Eloisa, the eldest, decided to confront her mother, and ask her to stop. As she was sneaking out of the house for that very purpose, she was caught by Cornelius, Viscount Chichester, who insisted upon accompanying her. Her mother thought it was funny. As they were leaving the "studio" where they had found her mother, they ran into Timothy, her older half-brother, coming for the same purpose. He was furious.

The paintings had to be destroyed. Cornelius had the first one but there was to be an exhibit of three more in several days at the home of the Duke of Dartmouth and he also had another in Brighton. Watching Eloisa and Cornelius deal with these painting is hilarious and also the basic plot of the story. Eloisa is a wonderful character, full of vim and vigor, not really caring what people thought, except for those paintings. Cornelius is a rake, until he spends time with Eloisa and sees her determination and imagination. He is not looking forward to approaching Timothy with his intentions toward her, but it must be done. I totally loved this book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of the Secret Life of a Debutante by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #dragonblade #thesecretlifeofadebutante #biancablythe

Eloisa Holt and her two sisters have come to London to enjoy the season. Imagine Eloisa's horror when she discovers a nude painting of her mother on display at their first ball. Lord Cornelius Chichester is Eloisa's brother best friend, and quickly finds himself involved in escorting Eloisa around London when she discovers there are even more nude paintings of her mother.
This is a fun story, while many of the rules that Society follow seem to be broken.
I enjoyed this story and would recommend it!

This is Book 1 of Ms. Blythe's Determined Debutantes series and what a wonderful start to a new series! Eloise and her two sisters make a scandalous debut into society when they arrive at a ball and discover that a painting featuring their mother in the nude has just been revealed. Eloise decides that she has to stop any more paintings from being revealed if they are to have any hope of salvaging their reputation. Cornelius is the best friend of Eloise's brother and when he discovers her out and about and alone at night, he decides to help her. No way will he go back on his promise of not falling in love and marrying one of his best friend's sisters. Or will he? This was an absolutely delightful quick read and I enjoyed the interactions and witty dialogue between Eloise and Cornelius. The story definitely captured my attention from the start and I was entertained till the end. I am looking forward to whatever scandals and mischievousness Eloise's sisters face in the coming books!
Glad to recommend this!

I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

The Secret Life of a Debutante had so much potential to be a hilarious, madcap story but it just didn't work for me. I wish the humor in the absurd situations would have been ramped up a bit, as well as the romance and chemistry between Eloisa, the desperate debutante who wants to save her and her sister's reputation after her scandalous mother poses nude, and Lord Cornelius Chichester, her brother's best friend. The plot itself was so unique I had high hopes.

What stood out the most was the really boring dialogue. Cornelius was often relegated to repeating what the other speaker said, or had entire quotes consisting of "Oh!" The book was relatively short, so many of the characters and situations could have been fleshed out a whole lot.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this story, it was simple and quick read. I would love to have more detailed and longer talks between main characters, in the second half of the book I felt all was too rushed and quickly displayed.

Overall, it was a nice romance.

A free spirit, Eloisa's widowed mother is the lover of London's most notorious portrait painter. When a painting of her nude mother is revealed at a ball, Eloisa and her two sisters see their first seasons come to an end. Eloisa is determined to find the other paintings and Lord Cornelius Chichester is determined to help.
They commit breaking and entering to remove or destroy the paintings when they find them. Sometimes with amusing results.
Nevermind falling in love may be more important than the paintings. A short, light romantic romp.
3 1/2*STARS*
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

The last thing a new debutante needs is a scandal appearing about her mother of all things!
Certain ruin is sure to erupt, especially when a painting of her mother appears, sans clothing and everyone thinks it could be her or her sisters.

What's a girl to do? Run down her mother and find out there are more paintings out there?
He is one of her brother's best friends and knows to stay away from his sisters. But
when one is about to get herself in more trouble, he cannot help but jump in and try to help.

A fun novella with the start of this new series!

Eloisa Holt & her two sisters are making their society debut but at their first ball a scandalous nude painting of their mother is revealed, the ton is scandalised so Eloisa must stop more paintings from being displayed. Lord Cornelius Chichester knows the first rule of being a best friend to Timothy Holt:
Don’t fall in love with your best friend’s sister. Unfortunately, that rule becomes difficult to follow when he discovers Eloisa by herself at an indecent hour. Still, perhaps helping his best friend’s younger sister is honourable. He may have promised his friend long ago he would never marry one of his sisters, but Cornelius never promised he would not be of assistance.
A well written enjoyable quick read. The characters had depth & most ere likeable but I thoroughly disliked the totally selfish mother. I really liked the three sisters Leonora, Eloisa & Sabrina & their brother Timothy. I also really liked the rakish Cornelius. The pace was good & held my interest all the way through. The race to find the paintings was secondary to the growing feelings of Cornelius & Eloisa, their attraction had been there on her part for quite a while but he suddenly discovered Timothy’s little sister had grown up. I enjoyed their road to a HEA & look forward to the rest of the series & hope the hint for Leonora is followed through
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I enjoyed this story, it was a quick read and there was plenty of action to keep my interest. The brother and sister-in-law seemed pretty uncaring, but that seemed to be part of the plot.

This story had intrigue, heat, love and humour. I did enjoy this book as a light read. At times the story seemed to come off a bit as a wild snowball tumbling down a hill, but I find that gave it a unique character. I absolutely love the humour in servants, have always lauded butlers to be some of best side characters on romance novels. But I’m this car it was Blair, the valet who stole the show. The scene where he questions the paint on Cornelius’ shirt was laugh out loud funny. I did find though initially I wanted to love Timothy as the supportive older brother taking care of his siblings, but I find after the initial scandal broke he quickly went from supportive to pompous jerk. The fact that he so quickly cast all thoughts aside to find the girls positions as governesses or companions as his wife could not be expected to live in the same house as with the scandalous girls came off incredibly disingenuous. Though it was masked as practicality, it truly was just thoughtless. The love of Cornelius & Eloisa though was the true cornerstone of the book.

Not a bad read if you like spicy regency romances, but nothing spectacular, either. It was pretty short, and I wish the author had given us a bit more in terms of characterization and backstory on some of the more important side characters. Without it, everyone pretty much felt like a trope or an archetype. But again, if you’re just looking for lighthearted and spicy, this hits all the right notes.

New series! I have read several books by this author and enjoy her writing. This is the story of Cornelius and Eloisa. Eloisa Holt finds herself and siblings in the middle of a scandal, her mother has posed nude in a painting. Her 1st ball as a debutante, along with her 2 sisters and the painting is unveiled. The hostess is embarrassed and evicts the Holts sisters from the ball. Cornelius is Timothy Holt best friend, he steps in to try to save the Holts from the embarrassing situation and takes the painting out to his carriage. Only to find out there are more pictures and in the hands of a Duke that the Holts have a feud with. The two band together to find the other paintings and find a attraction during their escapades.
The story was a fast read, but seemed a little lacking.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #TheSecretLifeofaDebutante