Just when I think I’ve read my favorite Anabelle Bryant book, she produces another one that completely takes my breath away and makes me fall in love all over again. This Maidens of Mayhem series is absolutely delightful. Daring young women joining together to fight injustice and discovering so much more along the way.
I fell in love with Sebastian and Delilah from the start. Though they were from completely opposite backgrounds, I hoped they’d find their way to each other. Sebastian had learned survival in the streets, whereas Delilah was raised a proper societal miss. Brought together by a case involving a stolen boy, pup, and jewels, they vowed to work together but still weren’t trustful of one another yet.
I loved Delilah for her courage and her acceptance of others regardless of class. I loved Sebastian for his dedication to helping others and especially because he accepted Delilah’s involvement and didn’t try to dissuade her. Instead, he worked with her.
The evolution of their trust and their romance was exquisite. Anabelle Bryant is a master of the slow burn romance. Nothing is rushed. The mysterious case Sebastian and Delilah were involved in slowly developed along with their attraction to and trust in one another. And I have to say I adored every second of the journey!
Anabelle Bryant also creates exceptional secondary characters that always leave me anticipating their stories. I can’t wait to see more of these Maidens of Mayhem and I’m hoping to learn more of Sebastian’s co-worker Eva. I’m dying to know what becomes of her.
Like every Anabelle Bryant book I’ve read, (and yes, I’ve read them all) this is a beautifully crafted story. Sebastian and Delilah’s story is full of wit, a delightful mystery, and lots of passion. Sebastian’s tutelage of Delilah in the art of self defense left me breathless!
If you love passion that’s off the charts and a mystery that keeps you turning the pages, you’ll be thrilled with this story. The epitome of what historical romance is all about. With Anabelle Bryant’s attention to detail, vivid characters, and eloquent prose, you can’t help but lose yourself in this amazing story.

Alert: many spoilers.
I would like to start by apologizing for spoilers, but they are used as examples.
I really liked the concept of this book. Lady meets mysterious man in slums while she is looking for something or someone. The man helps her and they fall in love.
The book opens with a man (hero) trying to capture children traffickers, who are in a dark alley, waiting for something, and he is spying around a corner, waiting to move. A woman appears, slowly approaches but stays in the shadows. A carriage pulls up and the driver gets down, walks to the trafficker waiting and comes back with a wriggling sack. The lady says "Oliver", and the driver throws the sack in the carriage, and drives away as fast as he can. The woman watches the carriage roll away. The man does also and turns to her, thinking she is also a kidnapper, and she runs away. This is the first chapter of the book and there is already an illogical idea. If I were the hero, I would have thought the person walking up was paying a ransom, since it was a lady of society and not another thug. And he already thinks it is a 'swift transaction of contents for payment' and he was waiting for the transfer. I think she was trying to get the package also.
From there, it is a long road to the end. The story is full of ideas that do not make sense, a couple who never interact daily, and incorrect euphemisms. The couple mainly see each other from afar while they are spying around. The hero has a female spy associate who is also an aristocrat. The heroine sees them at least 4 times together, with the female spy draping herself over the hero and implying a relationship that isn't there. The hero tells the heroine that there is nothing going on, but the hero does nothing to the female spy to tell her to stop. He would have had to do better if it was me. And the dangling story lines are, just dangling. And it was not an easy read. It was long and drawn out and the action scenes weren't enough.
I would not recommend this story. I give it 1 star because the grammar is mostly correct.

Lady Delilah Ashbrook is trying to find a young boy lost on her watch. Sebastian St. Allen works for the crown and those less fortunate. When their paths cross, they must team up to unravel the mystery and avoid danger. But with danger on all sides, can the two find the child and deal with the sizzling chemistry between them?

I liked this book (3 stars on my scale is liked - so don't read too much into the stars as everyone rates differently). I particularly liked the spunk and tenacity of Lady Delilah. She was kind, level-headed, and not willing to back down from a fight. Sebastian was also a great character - I enjoyed his banter with Delilah and their romantic spark. If you're into possessive alpha heros, he is your guy.

The other thing I liked was that parts of the story weren't predictable and took you in a different direction. Some of the action I expected towards the end materialized in other places, which was pretty refreshing. It does tackle some very serious topics (child abduction, abuse) so if those are personal triggers, be warned!

One interesting element was the character of Eva - I'd be interested to see if she returns in another capacity.

Would recommend it to anyone looking for a strong historical romance heroine.

I have enjoyed Ms. Bryant's books before, but this one missed the mark for me. At first, St. Allen came across as a dangerous figure bent on melting out justice to those who commit crimes against children, but that whole scene with Deliah in Seven Dials trying to recover her maid's son was just too absurd to believe. Of course, St. Allen follows her and saves her from a rapist, but I didn't feel the connection between the two of them the author was going for. Throughout the book, St. Allen despises the aristocracy for his abandonment by his peer father, but I kept waiting to see if he would ever confront his father again. The way the story kept repeating that mantra, I expected something to come of it, but it was just another loose thread without any conclusion.

I was hoping the second book in the series would be better than the first, but once again I was disappointed. I doubt I'll be reading any more books by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this for preview; this is my freely given opinion.

This is the second of the Maidens of Mayhem series from Anabelle Bryant. This was a likeable story; it had a lot of potential, but I felt that it did not quite reach the full potential. The original three remaining Maidens of Mayhem were involved in the story, but later on, and really more on the sidelines than a core part of the story, and not essential to it. That is a shame, as I was enjoying the supportive female friendships, and the strong, independent female themes.

This was about Delilah, Lady Ashbrook, an orphaned lady who recently moved to London from Birmingham, to live with her aunt. She had a recent loss to her household which she takes responsibility for - the apparent kidnapping of her maid/friend's son, Oliver, while he was in her care. As such, she goes about on her own to see what she can do to find him. As such, she runs into St. Allen, an agent for the Crown who works to investigate various crimes in London. She comes across as a countrified naif born into Society and privilege. He appears to be a cold professional who scorns the aristocracy - opposites. But he is very attracted to her, and helps her with her endeavours. Through their activities, and her eventual meeting with the Maidens of Mayhem, she learns her own strengths, and explores her boldness and strength, which in turns intrigues him, earns his respect, but fosters his fear for her safety as well, as he realizes how much he cares for her.

A rather sweet story about Delilah and St. Allen, but I felt that overall, the story was predictable, with not a lot of depth, and a fair amount of suspension of belief. Delilah, as a lady of the Ton, and a single miss newly from the country, seems pretty free to come and go from the home, and with no sense of danger initially, despite being poorly prepared for the dangers of areas like the Seven Dials as night. The tension between Eve and her seems rather unexplored, and there is no real conclusion to that. The mystery of the diamonds was not really a mystery, and would it not have been easier to just get rid of Oliver, considering the lack of care for children? The relationships related to the Duchess of Grandon seem to not really have any cohesiveness, especially that rather abrupt resolution between her and her nephew. Maybe it was supposed to be an alternative route of suspicion, but it did not really work for me.

Also, what was the real conclusion - sure there was an HEA - but then there was the tack on in the end with the Duke and Duchess of Aylesford, from book 1, making a tack on cameo - even though Scarlett was no longer a Maiden of Mayhem (and it was implied she and Delilah never met), and what about Delilah and St. Allen? Does it mean she continues as a Maiden and he as an Agent, and they agree to respect and care for each other as equals, or they both give up their activities understanding that they want neither one in danger?

A fair story, but I rather enjoyed the first one more.

2.75 stars out of 5 for me.

Unfortunately I did not realize that this was the second in the series, and I did not feel like it was a great stand alone. I had lots of questions maidens of mayhem and did not feel like the author did a good enough job of setting the scene for it to read as a stand alone. I did enjoy the authors writing style tho.

Sebastian St Allen first encounters Delilah Ashbrook when both are searching for child smugglers - to stop them in his case, to find a specific child in hers. From there they end up working together to locate that child and uncover a wider plot, developing their own relationship in the process.

The story tripped along nicely enough - I liked Delilah as a character, as she was mature enough to know her own mind and not get particularly fazed by the situations she found herself in. Sebastian I found harder to relate to: he presented himself as a man of mystery to everyone including this reader. I suspect I would have enjoyed the book more if I’d already read its predecessor (I didn’t realise it was the second in a series) - I could have done with more background on both the Maidens of Mayhem, who seemed rather incidental, and Sebastian’s role as an agent. Overall, a fun light read that probably works best in a series context rather than a complete standalone.

This is the second book in the Maidens of Mayhem series and I didn’t read the first. Sebastian St Allen and Delilah Ashbrook cross paths in Seven Dials both trying to interrupt a child selling scheme. He trying to right society’s wrongs and she’s looking for her maid’s missing son.

In the first few pages we’re telling not showing, complaining about tight corsets, and jumping point of view in the middle of a scene, so great start. I know this is the second in a series, but it took too long to loosely tie Delilah to the Maidens of Mayhem. Unfortunately, there was little explanation as to who the Maidens of Mayhem are and what their goals are. In a series, I’d expect some introduction to the group at large. Delilah isn’t even in their group until the end and she doesn’t seem to fit. She doesn’t act like she likes danger at all.

This was a slog to finish. The regency era wasn’t set well, there was way too much telling, the characters are one-dimensional, and nothing they said or did made me care about them. Neither the mystery nor the romance captured my attention. And there was no mayhem.

I received an arc from NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington Books and the author for an ARC of this book. I have not been paid for this review and am leaving it voluntarily.

This is the second book in the Maidens of Mayhem series and I was looking forward to reading it as I really enjoyed the search.

This one centres around Sebastian St Allen, who is a secret government operative with a complicated past and Delilah, a woman he originally mistakes for being involved in a heinous crime. Together they work to uncover the perpetrators of a crime syndicate and, in the process, they fall in love.

I liked the pace and the plot, the book is well-written and I was drawn in from the beginning. I did not find myself as engaged with the characters as I was with the first book, and found both Delilah and Sebastian a little one-dimensional. However, this was an interesting storyline and a solid back up to the first book.

What happens when a country lass moves to the city and is beset by dognappers who due to exigencies kidnap a small boy who is in her temporary custody? She learns of the evils concealed in the city and the risks they present to children. She takes her country pluck and some random encounters and sets out to retrieve the child and punish those who abuse them. Along the way, she joins with two vigilante crews to set things right and finds love and acceptance despite stepping outside boundaries established for ladies like her. A fine addition to Bryant’s Maidens of Mayhem series.

The society of daring women known as the Maidens of Mayhem dedicate their lives to protecting London’s most vulnerable citizens from injustice. United by secrecy and sisterhood, these Regency-era feminist Robin Hoods fight injustice wherever it takes them, often putting their lives—and their hearts—in peril. In this second installment from author Annabelle Bryant, a lady and a gentleman search the darkest corners of London to save children from an abduction ring…

A romantic historical mystery. Love the first book in the series and this one is just as good. The characters are interesting and complex. I like the suspense and the plot too.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.