Another wonderful story from author Mary Lancaster 😉
I always know when I pick up a book from this author that I will be rewarded with a story that hooks me from beginning to end, Unmasking Sin, is a prime example. I was able to easily connect with the characters and found the plot to be entertaining. I can’t wait to read more from this series.

📚Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, comments, and interpretations of the story are my own and bias free. I did not receive any money in exchange for this review. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review. 🦄 @dragonbladepub
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I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a good addition to the series. It was a heart warming story. I enjoyed it a great deal.

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

Rebecca, Lady Cornish, has been widowed twice at the young age of 22. There's rumours about her late husbands in the ton, and so she is gossiped about, and reviled as a murderess. Her only solace is her young son, though her in laws want to take him from her, and have her punished. Enter Ludovic Dunne, hired to find evidence about her crimes by the in laws, and who needs to get close to her and hope she slips up. So when she goes to Maida Gardens, it would be the perfect opportunity, yes? However, it soon seems that Rebecca has cracked Ludovic's hard shell, and though he prides himself on always achieving his goal, he may have to admit defeat this time around.

The mystery in this book wasn't too hard to crack. I felt sorry for Rebecca, and all she needed, really, was a friend and confidante. Neither of the main character's were trusting people, and it was hard for both to allow the other to get too close. They had been through heartbreak in the past, so were wary to open themselves up again, but I liked the way they came together, especially with Rebecca's son too. This was a really quick book to read, enjoyable though not entirely memorable, and I'm hoping we'll see the couple in subsequent books.

This addition to the Pleasure Garden Series revolves around a twice-widowed heroine being investigated, by our hero, in the deaths of her spouses. Enjoyable story with interesting characters.
Thank you Mary Lancaster, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

The Pleasure Garden series revolve around protagonist meeting/ an event that happens at the Maida Pleasure Garden. Like-wise this novel also starts off from the Garden. The protagonist here is a young widow who finds love while trying to solve her uncles' (in-law) plot. It is a sweetly written romance with a somewhat known plot against the protagonist. The writing style is simple to understand and the reader feels carried away to that era. I would rate it 3 star, as the plot could have been made a bit complex. But all in all a positive vibe exudes from the book.

Unmasking Sin by Mary Lancaster is the 3rd book in her Unmasking series. I haven't read any of her books til now and just wanted to see if I might like her writing. I am usually a fan of historical romance that have well-defined characters and good enough conflicts and discovering new good authors of the historical romance genre is always a joy.

Coming to Unmasking Sin, if I were to be asked about Mary Lancaster, I would say her story telling and writing style is along the lines of authors like Sophie Barnes and Rose Pearson. This book can be classified as a sweet historical romance with gentle passion. The story features Lady Rebecca, who is twice widowed by the tender age of twenty- two. This leads to rumors that she is a black widow with many people believing her to be the perpetrator of both her husbands' death.

In comes Solicitor Ludovic Dunne, who is employed by the Lady's second husband's uncles in a bid to find evidence against her. Though initially he takes up the case being intrigued by the prospect of exposing a high society criminal who has escaped law, he later becomes convinced of the Lady's innocence and does all in his power to help her.

As the story moves on, the author gives the reader a beautiful portrayal of a relationship which develops beautifully out of a mutual need to feel companionship and closeness. Both the hero and heroine have gone through painful situations in their lives and it translates in the way they handle their new found relationship. I particularly liked the way author Mary had made their relationship develop naturally. The story had enough intrigue and mystery to keep the reader fairly engaged and ended on a lovely note. This is a lovely, feel-good book, which you will leave, feeling just a little bit warmth in the heart.

Ludovic was hired to prove Rebecca, Lady Cornish, had murdered her first two husbands. Ludovic was very thorough, and realized all was not as it appeared. He was a very honest person and wanted justice to prevail. He realized her in-laws wanted to destroy her, and take control of her son.
A great romantic story that included treason, attempted murder, mystery, and great characters.

The Black Widow

She was accused of killing two husbands, and Ludovic was tasked with proving her guilt. However, Ludovic was on the side of justice, no matter who paid him. What was Rebecca’s story, and could Ludovic ever gain her trust? There was treachery afoot. Why were her in-laws determined to destroy her? As Ludovic set out to prove Rebecca’s innocence, his past was about to become intertwined with her present. Danger was about to engulf them both. Could they survive the treachery?

This story has romance, mystery, Danger, treachery, and intrigue. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who like Regency romance with suspense.

I enjoyed Unmasking Sin by Mary Lancaster. This is the third book in the series although I feel like you can read it as a standalone.

This book introduces us to Rebecca, Lady Cornish who happens to be known by the Ton as "The Black Widow" due to the fact that her past 2 husbands died. It also happens that society believes she murdered her husbands so she finds herself isolated. To get away from that part of her life, she puts on her mask and heads out to the Maida Pleasure Gardens just so she can feel like she is a part of something. Then one night she meets Ludovic Dunne and she hopes he can help her with a problem. She quickly finds out he has a conflicting interest and while she finds she can't trust him because of it, she also realizes that she can't stop thinking about him.

Ludovic has been hired to find some evidence that Lady Cornish murdered her last husband. When he gets to know her though, he realizes he has been pulled into something more than he expected. Not only is he on the wrong side of the puzzle but he is attracted to Rebecca and can't stop thinking about her. Unfortunately he has lost her trust and has to disentangle himself from those he is working for before he can even think about what to do to help her, even if she never knows it was he who did it.

I enjoyed the relationship these characters had because clearly, even though they were attracted to each other, they didn't trust each other and once they started to realize who the other person really was, they had to change their thinking and figure out how to move forward.

I also thought the story was well written and can always rely on the fact that I will get a good story when I pick up a Mary Lancaster book.

I just adore Mary Lancaster's work, and this book is another really fab read.

Rebecca, Lady Cornish is shunned by the ton, as her second husband's family are spreading rumours that she murdered both her husbands. Mother to a young son, and not invited anywhere, Rebecca is lonely. She visits Maida Pleasure Gardens masked and alone to be part of a crowd, although she shuns any companions who might approach. When Ludovic Dunne refuses to be put off from sitting with her and she feels a connection to him, Rebecca hopes she has made a friend.

In actual fact Ludovic has been hired by her second husband's uncles to find any evidence that she is morally unfit to have care of her son and his inheritance. Very quickly Ludovic realises that Rebecca is in no way the black widow she has been dubbed by the papers, and he is disgusted with his employers and himself. He decides he will do whatever he can to help her, even if she shuns him, and never knows.

As the danger against Rebecca and her son increases, Ludovic really invests himself in proving her innocence, and keeping her safe, and as a result they fall in love. Mary Lancaster has created a really believable and well developed romance, with good character development, together with a complex and exciting plot, that brings together the current problems, with a villain from Ludovic's past and they are all drawn together and resolved in a fast based and satisfying conclusion.

Loved it. Read it.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Each book in this series is so wildly different, even the styles and tones differ. So I never know what to expect and I must admit it took me a minute to get into. When I was reading this, I kept picturing an old school film noir.

Rebecca, Lady Cornish, a widow twice over, is believed to have killed both her husbands. When Ludovic Dunne is hired to find evidence of her guilt, he finds himself falling in love with Rebecca and wanting to rescue the lonely widow. I found Ludovic to be such a rich character, I loved that he had a moral code to correct injustices. I also loved when he comes to the realization that Rebecca needs someone to stand by her. And it's such an easy switch for him to make. I hate it when the heroine is a victim and is then victimized by the hero. Thankfully this was not the case.

Rebecca finds herself attracted to Ludovic but angry that he's working against her. When she finds out he has his own injustices he is fighting, she works with him to solve both of their dilemmas. The book sort of wrapped up neatly and every clue and question were answered in order. This basically never happens so it was a nice conclusion.

It wasn't what I usually expect from Lancaster but it was still an enjoyable story.

Rebecca is shunned by the ton and reviled as “The Black Widow”, due to her first two husband’s dying. The rumours are she is guilty of murdering them. She endures her isolation from polite society but refuses to give up her son to her dead husband’s hostile family. Ludovic, a solicitor who specializes in solving people’s knotty problems, could be the man to help her fight?

Ludovic, however, has already been employed by the dead husband’s family to find evidence against her. Haunted by the past, he will never let his heart interfere with justice. By the time he proves Rebecca’s innocence, he has lost her trust. But that will not stop him from helping her, even if she never knows.

This is book three of the pleasure garden series but can be read as a stand-alone.
I loved Ludovic and Rebecca’s story they were great characters, the romance between them was a bit of a slow burn but I like that. There also was a bit of danger and excitement in this story also a few laugh out loud moments.

This is the third book of the series and my first opportunity reading one of Ms. Lancaster's books. Although I have not read the previous books, I had no trouble reading this as a standalone. Rebecca has been widowed twice and is shunned by society. Being rumored to have murdered her husbands, Ludovic is hired to prove her guilty of the crime. As the investigation progresses, he begins to believe in her innocence and does what he can to try and prove it and in the process has fallen in love with her, but by then has he lost her trust? As he helps her prove her innocence, he also discovers other dangers at play. This story was truly captivating with elements of mystery, intrigue, danger and romance. The story captured my attention from the start and kept it all the way through. Great story and wonderful characters!

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

She only wanted to be left alone, but needed to be near people, so she had gone to Maida Pleasure gardens to watch the festivities.

He had been hired to prove her guilty of murdering her second husband so that her in laws could get total custody of her son.

But everything was not as it seemed and he began to believe her innocent.. Oh yes and began to have feelings for her. When he figures out she is not guilty, it just might be too late!

Mystery, a little suspense, amazing characters and a journey to find true love if only they can survive it and trust each other! Another fabulous addition to this intriguing series!

A fun regency romance with some mystery thrown in.
You can read my full review at Open Letters Review:
https://openlettersreview.com/posts/unmasking-sin

Rebecca, Lady Cornish, is lonely. She comes to Maida Pleasure Gardens, masked and alone, just to feel part of a world that still dances and laughs. But she repels all company – until the mysterious Ludovic Dunne refuses to be dismissed. When I started reading I couldn't put it down. Mary Lancaster is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book

Losing two husbands at a young age makes for a lot of rumors that Rebecca, Lady Cornish, murdered both of her husbands. Her son's great uncles are trying to prove she is an unfit mother. They hire solicitor, Ludovic Dunne, who digs for the truth, a truth they find doesn't work in their favor. Once Ludovic no longer works for the uncles, he immediately goes to aid Rebecca. Discovering embezzlement, a traitor and attempted murder close up the loose ends. It all started with an encounter in Maida Gardens.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Unmasking Sin is the third book of the Pleasure Garden Series. This is a stand alone book.

Rebecca, Lady Cornish, is known as the Black Widow. She has married twice and both in a short time have died. Her present family started rumors about her in an effort to get control of, Rebecca's son Tom, the heir to the estate. They have hired Ludovic Dunne to uncover dirt about Rebecca. Ludovic meets Rebecca at Maida Pleasure Gardens, masked and alone only to be dismissed. Intrigued and unwillingly attracted,

Rebecca is shunned by the ton and reviled as “The Black Widow”, thanks to her husbands family. Ludovic, however, is already on a mission to find evidence against her. Ludovic will dispute the lies and rumors but it is too late, he has lost her trust. He will not stop him from helping her, even if she never finds out.

This is sweet story with some very likeable characters.

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this free digital copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Rebecca is called “The Black Widow” as she has had two husbands die on her. She was widowed by the age of two-and-twenty. She's lonely and in dire need of a companion. She meets Ludovic Dunne at the Maide Pleasure Gardens and she feels an attraction. That is until she realizes that Ludovic is working for her son's uncles--the same people who have been trying to take her son away from her. When Ludovic realizes he has been working for the wrong party, he tries to reconcile, but the damage is already done. Will he be able to convince her that he only wants to help her clear her name?

Yes! A million times yes!

This book started out a bit slow. The characters were fine, the descriptions were great, and the plot fantastic. But something just wasn't fitting. But after a few chapters, the plot began to lure me in with its merciless twists and turns.
The story is well-written and entertaining, The plot is fast-paced, just how I like it. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is full of drama, scandal, secrets, betrayal, and a beautiful romance developing between two intense characters. It has witty and smart dialogues. The sexual moments are very tastefully written. What's not to love?
In case I haven't made it clear, I loved Ludovic with all my mangled heart. He was charming and had similar a tone similar to Simon from Bridgerton and the story also played out like a true Regency romance. Just the perfect book to curl up with, in the winters.

This book is part of a series, and we see some appearances of characters from previous books, but it can be read as a standalone. I will definitely recommend this book and series to my friends.

Ludovic Dunne has always pursued the truth. For his family and his clients. When asked to investigate Lady Cornish, who is accused of murdering her first two husbands, he finds that he was misled.
Rebecca has one goal in life-to protect and love her son. When her late husband’s uncles attempt to take her son, she refuses. When she realizes that Ludovic was hired to discredit her, she finds it hard to believe he has fired those clients and wants to assist her. The two attempt to fight their attraction to each other as they unravel the web of deceit woven by those who should be her protectors.