Alexandra, Duchess of Chelmsworth, is tired of pretending to mourn a husband who squandered a fortune and never bothered to give her the time of day, much less any attentions at night. So, the still-beautiful duchess cuts up her mourning gowns, deciding to experience the pleasures long denied her by daringly visiting the Garden of Hedon. It is there the ton anonymously gives in to their deepest desires, and where Alexandra finds herself in the arms of a mysterious man. She willingly gives in to the passion he offers her, fully believing she would never see him again.
But she is shocked to soon discover he is none other than Theo Osborne, who is continually being pushed forward as a husband for her stepdaughter.
It is funny when mother meets the same man she has an interest in.
This is a witty romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

This was, unfortunately, a big disappointment. The writing style was light and fun as usually, but the story line didn't work for me in so many ways. I never saw any reasons for Theo's immediate infatuation with her, making the whole relationship feel like, "man loves woman due to her magic vagina." Alexandra's growing strength and expression of her own desires was good, but then it was entirely undone by <SPOILER>the pregnancy at the end, which really took away most of her choice by default. Also, the complete lack of any sort of contraception attempt by this man who is supposedly oh-so-good in bed (He tells us MANY times.) is pretty much the antithesis of giving the woman a choice or caring about her future. There wasn't even an acknowledgement by either party, and in a romance novel in 2023, I expect better.<END SPOILER> Pretty much the only things I like about the book in the end were Edith and Harriet and Fenton.

Alexandra and Theo’s one night stand goes wrong yet right in “His Study in Scandal” by Megan Frampton!!

Dowager Duchess Alexandra arrives to town and prepares for her daughter’s delayed debut. Her few years older stepdaughter brings her to the Garden of Hedon for one night of play before her work begins. Wealthy and part owner of the Garden, Mr. Theodore Osborne, is there for his last night of play before he marries into the aristocracy.

I am loving Alexandra’s cougar era and Theo very mature for his age, so they make a perfect pair. She is done being silenced and told what to do, and Theo does his best to give her what she deserves and needs.

Theo’s person of interest brings conflict however there is more than one female fighting for what she wants and she journeys out of the situation. I love that this book has multiple strong females. Also, I love that he has “brothers” who take part in creating the right circumstances to get what he wants.

Alexandra and Theo want each other, physically for sure! If there is a semi-private place then there is semi- to full action happening. I love the passionate tension yet sweetness of the bathtub scene!

If you enjoy books with age gap, class difference, found family, good-for-you-girl moments, marriage of convenience, and road trips to name a few, then I highly recommend this book!!

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager US for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I loved this unique age gap romance!
Just some of the things I adored:
1. The heroine’s emotional vulnerability and the way the hero both recognized it and supported her journey toward self-actualization.
2. The open lines of communication between the MCs from the very beginning.
3. The very realistic depiction of the freedom of choice and body autonomy.

Full review to come on blog.

I gave the first book in this series 5 stars and while this one didn't completely work for me I fully intend to read the entire series as I love the rest of the cast of characters.

One of my favorite scenes is right at the beginning with Alex literally cutting off her mourning clothes, shedding all the dead weight of her past marriage. I also love Theo and Alex's meeting and their immediate chemistry, I also loved how as soon as it was over Theo couldn't stop thinking about her. Their relationship did feel a bit one-sided to me at least on the level of the feelings they were developing towards each other, you could feel hard and fast Theo was falling for Alex, and how he was doing everything he could to make their crazy situation work. Alex definitely had carnal feelings for Alex, but she had a lot of trouble trusting him. Although they do have a lot of fun together and lots of steamy... steamy moments.

Once all the conflict is resolved, and the feelings revealed everything smooths out nicely and I think when we get to see them in future books I'll end up liking them a lot more as a couple.

I did enjoy the ending and how everything played out, although the Duke definitely could have gotten a bit more karmic justice in my opinion... and can't wait to see who the next couple is going to be.

This new addition to The School for Scoundrels series is absolutely delicious.
When the Duchess of Chelmsworth decides it's high time she stops morning her husband, who had squandered away their future and made her life miserable. Now she wants to just enjoy life and make sure her daughter can marry the right man.
When Alexandra gives in to her step - daughter, who is her close friend, to visit the Garden of Hedon & all the fun and desires it offers her whole world changes. She soon learns that the man from the Garden who showed her passion & fun is Theo Osbourne. Her step - son has arranged for Theo to marry Alexandra's daughter.
What a wild predicament this story was, full of humor & passion. I will definitely. have to read the rest of this series. I love the way see writes. Her characters are perfect. And the details so well written your there as part of the story. You are going to love this adventure.

I very much liked this book and the two leads quite a lot. I loved all the other characters in the book that I hope we see again!

This was an entertaining, well-written historical romance. It was steamy, fun and kept me reading. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Just out of mourning, dowager duchess Alexandra indulges in a night of pleasure. She never expects to see Theo again. Then, she learns that the present duke is pursuing Theo as a potential husband for her daughter. Will displeasing a powerful duke destroy Alex and Theo both?

I loved the engaging characters and innovative plot in this steamy Victorian romance. The author skillfully interweaves passion and humor for an immersive reading experience. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Things I continue to love about the School for Scoundrels series: Frampton’s writing and the way she crafts her characters, the relationships between the Bastard Five, the strength of her female leads, and tbh, the absolute oddness of Fenton, “just Fenton.” I honestly can’t wait for his book because I can’t predict for the life of me what wonderful madness his story will contain.

There’s no slow burn in this second installment. Theo and Alexandra have an intense physical chemistry right from the start, and it was much steamier than I expected. The frankness with which they spoke during their intimate moments isn’t exactly my style, but I can acknowledge that it was important for the narrative here. The plot revolves around Alexandra embracing her own desires as a widow out of mourning and learning to ask for what she wants, in both intimate and non-intimate moments.

The driving force of the plot – that they have an anonymous liaison and then discover Alexandra’s evil stepson plans for Theo to marry her daughter – stressed me out beyond belief. Luckily, the book doesn’t drag out the will they or won’t they long. I really enjoyed seeing Theo and Alexandra’s connection grow deeper outside of the bedroom. She deserved a man who saw her and listened to her, and he was exactly the right person.

Which means his third act screw up (I won’t spoil what happens) felt a little bit out of character for a man who spent the rest of the novel so meticulously caring for her and what she wanted. I suppose they needed a little conflict, but I would have preferred something else be the roadblock to their happiness.

This was a very interesting take on a historical romance.
There may be spoilers in this review.
The heroine is a very much older heroine, in her late thirties-early forties. Her daughter is old enough to have a Season and the heroine has been waiting for a two year plus two day mourning period to be over. The heroine had been married to an overbearing man who had overridden her at every chance, but indulged himself. He even told her how much and what food to eat. That last day of mourning, she went to a modiste maker to order a bright and cheery wardrobe for her and her daughter. Her step daughter, who was older than her, went with her. She is the heroine's best friend. Her step son, who was older than her, hated her and treated her worse than his father did and wanted to sell her duaghter to an illegitimate man who would make him a lot of money. The heroine was appalled when she heard these plans. Just to say, I hate when there are men like this in my romance stories. It raises my blood pressure as if I was there myself.
The heroine goes to a pleasure garden and meets a man about a decade younger than herself. They have a one night affair. It was a very descriptive smut scene, so be prepared if that is not your thing. (I tend to skim through them, just saying.)
The heroine and her daughter go to a friend's ball, who is bringing their daughter out also, because the heroine's step son is too dang cheap to have a ball of his own, when she sees the man she had a one night stand with. Imagine the shock that this is the man her daughter is supposed to marry. Young, handsome as sin, and rich.
I give a lot of credit to the hero's character. He literally fell in love with the older heroine and has been thinking of her and immediately pulled her aside, when it was polite to do so, to say that he was in no way going to marry her daughter because they had a fling and because he was deeply attracted to her and wanted to investigate the relationship.
What a conundrum!! And her evil step son cackling in the background, threatening to take his support away if the daughter did not marry this man!
This book made for great reading. I would give it 4.3 stars. I recommend reading if possible.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC. I hate to give this book two stars, because I really liked the premise of the story, but I had a hard time getting through it. The main female character, Alexis, talked a lot about wanting to keep her freedom when she really didn't have it because of her controlling stepson. Her feelings for the main male character were very wishy washy and it felt as if he was more in love with her than her with him. I was ready for the story to end way before it was over.

Really liked this one until the end! (And it wasn't because of the surprise pregnancy.) Overall I feel like the characters' motivations were too simplistic, which is something I don't say often. I just wanted the emotions to be a little messier and less straightforward.

We know Alexandra wants freedom, but why? The details about her time with her husband were just too sparse to create a cohesive picture about why she wanted freedom so bad.

Especially with a situation as complex -ish as this, I expected more angst. Theo is intended for Alexandra's daughter but Alexandra and Theo hook up before either realizes their connection.

I did appreciate that this book got steamy so fast. I needed to know they had a strong connection (albeit just sexual at first) to buy that they'd be so obsessed with each other. This is not the time for a slow burn, so Frampton got that right.

I like the way Frampton writes sex. Even encounters in ordinary settings get an extra polish of intrigue and become extra special.

2.5 stars, rounded up

Alexandra “Alex”, the widowed Duchess of Chelmsworth is finally done with mourning and is more than ready to move on with her life. At 40, she is free for the first time in her life and is looking forward to enjoying that freedom, starting with destroying her widow’s weeds and attending a pleasure garden with her step-daughter, Edith. She plans to find out what she has been missing before she slides into her role of chaperone for her daughter Harriet’s debut. And boy does she ever find pleasure! But all good things must end and Alex leaves her lover’s embrace, planning to never return. The next day her step-son William, the new Duke tells her that he has made arrangements for Harriet to marry a wealthy merchant who is looking to elevate his social status, and since the dukedom is in dire need of funds, he expects Alex to convince Harriet to marry him as quickly as possible and if she refuses, he will cut them off without a penny. Alex is not happy with this turn of events and is downright mortified when she learns her mystery lover is the man William expects Harriet to wed. Could things get any worse? Why, yes they can and they do…

Theodore “Theo” Osborne was adopted as a child by Mr. Osborne and learned a lot from his adoptive father, but it was his friends, the “Bastard Five” that taught him the most he is still close to them and they meet monthly for a book club. He has come a long way from being the orphaned boy with nothing; now at 28, he is successful, rich, handsome, and smart, he is never in want of female company and enjoys his encounters at the pleasure garden, but now he has decided to marry and will indulge one final time – but this encounter is unlike any he has ever known and he knows that he can’t marry anyone while his feelings for his mystery lover are so intense. He plans to meet the Duke of Chelmsworth’s sister, but will explain his change of heart to the duke, and then hopefully find his lover. And find her he does, she is the mother of the woman he had considered marrying! He is delighted to find her, but that feeling is not returned and it becomes crystal clear that finding his HEA is not going to be easy.

I loved the first book in this series and when the book started so hot, I had high hopes for a repeat. But my experience with Ms. Frampton has been hit or miss, I was hoping that this series would be a grand slam of hits – but I am sad to say the series is tied at 1 – 1. The writing is great (as always) but the lighthearted banter and humor that made the first book such a delight to read was nowhere to be found in this book. This was angsty and repetitive and I didn’t like Alexandra– she wants everything to be her way or you can’t be part of her life – which OK, I get it, she has never had any freedom, but it came across as self-centered and dictatorial - and when Theo didn’t do exactly as she wanted, she cut him out of her life and if not for her problem at the very end of the book, I am not sure she would have taken him back. So despite the 12-year age gap, the abundance of steamy love scenes, wonderful secondary characters, and the setup for a possible Fenton/Harriet romance, this story was a miss for me. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series and will fervently be hoping this story was just a fluke.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

The moment she can be out of formal mourning following the death of her husband, Alexandra shreds her black gowns and joins her step daughter on a trip to London’s pleasure gardens. There she has a tryst with a mysterious gentleman, Theo, only to learn a few days later that he is the man her stepson chose to marry her daughter, Harriet. Luckily Harriet and Theo have no interest in each other by society keeps conveniently throwing Theo and Alexandra together so their affair can continue.

This book was the palate cleanser I needed. It was frothy and steamy with a bonkers plot that scratched an itch I’ve had after trying to read several boring books. It was by no means a perfect book and a lot of the criticism I’m seeing from other reviewers is valid. This book definitely falls into the category of insta-lust and while feelings definitely develop for Theo, I don’t think Alexandra ever really reached the same level of love, especially given the circumstances of their marriage, but I was just happy to read a book where the two were attracted to one another and didn’t wait until the 75% mark to have a bland sex scene. As always Megan’s writing style is easy to read and and paced in a way that keeps things moving even while spanning long stretches of time (thank god for authors who can just say two weeks have passed and not give us every detail of those two weeks that don’t move the plot). Overall, the book wasn’t perfect but it made me happy which is a win in my book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Games, Desire, Family:
We first meet Alexandra ready to start a new life after the death of her good for nothing husband.
She is headed for the Garden of Hedon. Oh, dear she is in for a life changing experience. She meets a mysterious young man and desire, and flirtation gives her courage and the thought that she will never see this person again. Well, you know that she will be in for the shock of her life when she realizes who that young man is.
I liked many things about this complex story and a number of things I didn't care for.
We follow Theo and Alexandra through much turmoil, frustrations, teasing, flirtatious games that become much more serious before the book comes to a happy ending.
✔Mature Advisory:
✔Pretty cove was one of the best things about this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley kitt and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
His Study in Scandal is the second book of Megan Frampton’s current series. A School for Scoundrels. It can be read as a standalone, and I personally read this one with no issues, after abandoning the first early on due to having issues with some of the stylistic choices. And while I liked aspects of this book, I found the execution failed to live up to the premise.
I’ve been in the mood for a widowed heroine lately, especially as Lady Danbury’s arc in the Queen Charlotte show was one of the highlights for me. And that likely colored my perceptions going into this book, as Alexandra also is a survivor of a terrible marriage she was forced into against her will and relishing her freedom after his passing and the two long years of forced mourning that followed. I loved her spirit, and her desire to not want to be controlled again.
Theo is equally compelling, being born illegitimate and taken in by a wealthy man and has made a name for himself in his own right. He’s disdainful of the aristocracy and their excesses, and is unfailingly noble in character, sometimes fatally so. I also adore his openness about his romantic interest in Alexandra, including easily admitting to being in love with her.
I love the way the narrative shows how both of them don’t quite fit in the aristocratic world, despite their initial perceived differences (her being older and mother to a daughter who is considered as a possible wife for him being one of the major sources of tension). She has been ill-used by all the men in her life, and her world feels like a gilded cage, while he has never belonged to this world, and has had to scrape by to get to his current position, and their mutual cynicism allows them to relate to each other, as they also explore the passion between them. However, I felt conflicted as things progressed, culminating in a third-act conflict and resolution that showed his underlying patriarchal traditionalism (even if he did not mean to be overbearing in his expression of it) and her inconsistency in her desire for independence. I saw no reason for her swift one-eighty, simply because she found the “right” man who seemed to consider her desires for once in her life. Why can’t romance characters (including in historical romances) be allowed to have complicated feelings about marriage and domesticity without them magically changing by the end of the book because “twue wuv?!”
While I was disappointed with the direction of this book, the positives make me inclined to still recommend it in spite of my issues, especially if those things don’t bother you as much.. If you’re looking for historical romances that explore class and age differences.

A Widow Finally Feeling Her Oats

Book 2 is also the second achievement in the School for Scoundrels series. In the 19th century, when women were subjugated at the whims of her husband and many couldn’t make simple decisions, it’s refreshing to read about a noblewoman who is a widow and (even though she’s 40) wants to “go for” a little pleasure for herself. Dowager Duchess Alexandra is forced to do her step-son’s bidding until he wants her to help set up the marriage of her daughter to the (very rich) man she’s having an affair with. Said man, Theo Osborne, refuses to marry the daughter but had considered it before he met Alexandra. Therein lies the problem.

It was heartening that Alexandra and Theo fell in love even though she was 12 years older. Theo was patient, kind, and protective of her while hoping she came to see that she loved him just as much. He gave her life excitement and choices that she never had before. It was a bit anxious for me that Alexandra was so steadfast in not choosing Theo as a husband for so long. Their love scenes throughout the book were passionate and sensual.

I received a free copy of the book in advance and am leaving this review voluntarily.

ARC copy kindly provided by NetGalley but all thoughts are my own.

I really loved the first book in this series do I was so excited to read this one. And i really hate writing reviews like this, But this is probably Unfortunately one of my most disappointing reads.

this has a lot going for it. Alexandra is ready to come out of mourning from losing her awful late husband. she goes to a pleasure garden and has an amazing one night stand with a mystery man (Theo). come to find out, the mystery man is sort of but not really about to be in an arranged marriage with her own daughter.

plot sounds good right? I was really liking that part. Theo is very feminist. always wanting her to make a choice. having her express what she wants asking for nothing in return. but it really started to make this relationship extremely one sided. and the times he said it were frankly beginning to be annoying and he was ALL IN from page one completely. BUT THEN, this book does something at the end that I and many readers hate. it isn't rocket science that when you have unprotected sex something might....happen. and the timeliness of everything at the end doesn't make sense at all. it seems like they go to Paris and back within days but then he says it's been over a month.

I really wanted to like this age gap historical romance (heroine is 40) it has a lot of potential but I think the execution of this wasn't there for me. However, overall I like the mens book club and the characters and will absolutely be continuing in the series.

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the School for Scoundrels series. Alexandra is a widowed duchess out of mourning, seeking to take charge of her life by tearing up her mourning gowns, shopping at a modiste her late husband did not approve of, and enjoying a night of pleasure at a hedonistic garden with a handsome stranger. Theo is a wealthy businessman who has just made a deal to marry a duke’s sister but plans to spend one last night at the pleasure gardens before officially meeting her. Theo and Alexandra meet there and spend a steamy night together before parting ways. Complications arise when they realize that Theo has been intended for Alexandra’s daughter, as a way for her stepson, the new duke, to cover the debts that he’s incurred in the last two years. With the brimming attraction between Theo and Alexandra, it’s obvious he cannot marry her daughter, but they need to figure out a way to extricate themselves from this delicate situation or else Alexandra’s stepson will ruin Theo’s business prospects and leave Alexandra and her daughter destitute. With an fun little plot twist of how the daughter gets herself out of the bind.