4.5 stars. Eliza's husband is dead and she's not sad. Ten years of marriage have left her with little faith in the institution, so she is shocked when her dispassionate husband leaves her a veritable fortune in his will. Everyone else is shocked too, including her former love, the heir and new Earl of Somerset. Urged to enjoy her new freedom, Eliza leaves for Bath with her cousin and causes a stir when she starts spending time with some scandalous authors. She's still in mourning, after all. But what's she's truly mourning are the days she lost playing the part of meek, dutiful daughter and wife.

I absolutely love Eliza and Melville. Margaret, Caroline, and Perkins as well. I adored the first book in this series and was not let down by this sequel! As I've come to expect from Sophie Irwin, the witty banter and retorts are laugh-out-loud perfect, and her characters are complex and easy to connect with. And of course, I loved watching Eliza's journey from quiet and obedient to outspoken and defiant. I don't typically enjoy love triangles, but I found this one to be not so "obvious" a choice as others can be from the beginning, so it worked for me.

I'll read anything Sophie Irwin writes! Thank you Sophie, Penguin Books, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

what i liked: the endgame pairing i didn't see coming, margaret balfour, eliza balfour's acknowledged money-fueled coming of age.

what i didn't like: two too many "twists" that felt like products of an underbaked plot, either love interest, the need for a happy ending. being a regency romance, i do understand the purpose of the ending but the arc of the story would have made a happy, single eliza (and margaret!) more fulfilling.

Austen Meets Heyer: the first half of Irwin’s Lady’s Guide to Scandal is modeled in part on Persuasion: two young lovers reacquained after 10 years apart, the returning sea captain and 28-year-old woman both at last free for a second chance at love. The initial narrative drive appears to reunite them, but the novel is only midway along when they are happily promised to be engaged. Austen is set aside. There is no Anne Elliot here. The second half takes up themes and characterizations of Heyer’s Regency romances: bold personalities, including rakes, lords and ladies of high society (ton) who maneuver amid the strict rules and taboos in Polite Society of Bath’s and London’s balls, theaters, and concerts. The postmodern difference here is the central protagonist and her determination to become a portraitist painter (the novice with talent) and to make her own way, find her own worth. Four main characters develop their own arcs across the storyline, while today’s diversity and inclusion of race and sexuality are woven into the fabric of this 21st-century retelling of Bath society ca. 1818. Which leads to a clever plot turn and a surprising Byronic libertine in possession of latent honor that saves his soul and the story.
Heyer’s classic humor and flair, her own inventive vocabulary and diction, her hilarious young women who confront and demur with beguiling smiles and sudden laughter—all are absent, as is the ongoing comedy of the marriage plot in Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting. But the visual landscape and the time setting are firmly in place in Lady’s Guide to Scandal. The tone is instead more somber in this second historical novel. by Irwin.

An enjoyable read with a few different twists than you usually see in a novel like this. Loved the women characters.

A Lady's Guide to Scandal is a cute, light, and funny historical piece. Author Sophie Irwin adds a few too many unnecessary characters, but otherwise smoothly intertwines the lives of a variety of personalities into a well written and easy to follow story.

I want to thank penguin and netgalley for my copy of the Arc.

Eliza is recently widowed and her first love promptly appears in her life and none too happy in her presence. She drags her cousin along with her and moves to bath to avoid him.

There she meets lord Melville and his sister Caroline, both disreputable in front of the ton.
The first half has a very Persuasion like storyline to it and Lord Melville and his sister reminds you of Mansfield Park, both by Jane Austen.
Therein, the similarities end. Eliza has 2 love interests and both equally interesting at first. Then, the prejudice start to show up and the Eliza's path and who you root for, becomes clearer.
It is well-paced story and the intrigue of how she chooses as her partner keeps you on the edge on your seat.

My only gripe being that I would have preferred that the choice was a tad more expected. I am going to go and read her prior work since this was so much fun.

This book solidified the delight I have in Sophie Irwin's work. I feel that she successfully managed to bring a delightful mix of humor and Jane Austen era fiction to life in her book.

An unforgotten romance and a (potential yet arguably cryptic) new love interest serve as a large push and pull of the novel. I did see the similarities to Persuasion, and those who enjoy that book will appreciate some of the baseline plot similarities. However, Irwin weaves her own take on it and does so successfully.

I think this is the ideal coffee shop read--light-hearted and neatly wrapped up regency romance.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with a copy of this arc.

I had read Sophie Irwin's first and only other novel - A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting - so I was ecstatic to be able to read and review this follow-up.

This is a Regency Romance that contains many of the tropes of the genre, but done in a way I have not seen before. The writing is superb, the pace and flow are flawless, and the

I loved SO MUCH about this novel, but I will detail the aspects that brought me the most delight:

- the HUMOR. Oh my god, the humor. I just know Sophie Irwin is genuinely hilarious in real life, to be able to pen the hilarity and dry witticisms that jump off the page. Melville, one of the male main characters, and Mr. Fletcher, a side character, are particularly hilarious, as are the inner musings of Eliza, our main female protagonist. I loved it.
- the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. So often in stories when authors want to show that a character has grown, I feel that it's almost too quickly done and it feels false for it, but Sophie Irwin developed Eliza, our main character, so gradually and so naturally that it felt incredibly true to life and made Eliza a vibrant and realistic person who I felt was almost real.
- the ROMANCE. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply say that there are two main male characters and love interests in the story, and both storylines and relationships felt natural. The person with whom Eliza ends up, though, was someone I was rooting for from the start, and while he is realistically flawed, he and Eliza had such a swoony romance. I absolutely felt the depth of their feelings for each other, and the angst and tension were *chef's kiss*.
- the WRITING. I was pulled in from line 1 and not released until the last page. I read the entire novel in one day. I have not felt this captivated by a novel in a long time, and I know that this author is one to watch.

I will definitely be recommending this novel to friends, family, students, and others, and I can't wait to see what the author delivers next.

A Lady’s Guide to Scandal starts out making you think it’ll be a Persuasion retelling., it most certainly is NOT! Eliza is underfoot of an overbearing mother, and recently widowed to a man she didn’t love. When Somerset, the man she did love, returns, she is in a constant state of overwhelming despair.

She decides to take her inheritance and her cousin Margaret off to Bath for a change of scenery and Al song the way meets Lord Melville and his sister Caroline,

Eliza continues to be oppressed by the people around her and hunks herself still in love with Somerset, while Melville starts up a flirtation. She is then left thoroughly confused.

Both these men ought to be smacked. Their behaviors are appalling , yet Eliza winds up with one of them in the end.

All the heart eyes!! I wish I could read this again for the first time! the idea caught me off guard and I loved it!

Absolutely loved this book!! I felt like I had traveled back to Victorian England. The way it was written was so immersive and enthralling. I really enjoyed how even the language was time period oriented. I also loved that I got to know the main characters. I did not see the plot twist coming AT ALL. Normally feel as though I can predict the twist but not this one. Overall very well written and wish I could read it again for the first time.

Would love a sequel to have a continuation of the story!

After reading hundreds of Regency titles, I still get a jolt when the modern mores of today are anachronistically inserted.

If a person wants to re-write history into a welcoming gay/lesbian view, why bother putting in the work of other historic details? This novel should be classified as LGBTQ+. Do readers a favor and don’t waste their time by selling them something they aren’t looking for.

Thank you Penguin Books for the gifted eARC

3.5 stars

Sophie Irwin’s debut, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting, has been one of my favorite books so far this year, so I went into Scandal with very high hopes. Sadly, this book did not grab me in the way Fortune-Hunting did. Maybe it was partially the different format (ebook as opposed to audio), but I unfortunately found myself glancing at my percentage progress on my kindle more often than I’d like.

The premise of this sounded fantastic - a loose Persuasion retelling set in Bath. There is a love triangle with our main character’s young love and a much rumored rake that has shown up in town, but it’s never a good sign when you aren’t cheering for either of the men. My favorite relationship in this book was the friendship Eliza had with her closest friend, which really was such a sweet part of the story.

I definitely don’t regret reading this, but it wasn’t memorable for me in the way Fortune-Hunting was and while I will gladly reread that (and any future Irwin novels), Scandal wasn’t a favorite.

Sophie Irwin strikes again! I loved "A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting" and this was another favorite for me. The title is a bit of a misnomer though, as this is more "A Lady's Guide to Self Discovery" but I suppose for the early 19th century, those may be synonymous. We follow Eliza after the unexpected death of her wholly unpleasant husband and the more unexpected generous inheritance he leaves her. She now has to decide: will she continue her life of meekly following the guidance of her parents or will she go out on her own and learn who she really is? Clearly the blurb spoils that conclusion, but the journey of self-discovery is more than worth reading. This is also a true love "wishbone" - she has her first love, now returned and haunting her days with memories of their broken match and a new interest who encourages her freedom and bucks convention himself. Paired with her absolutely scene-stealing cousin Margaret, Eliza fumbles and flails on her new legs but when she finds her footing - oh the end is so sweet.

**Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for the eARC**

I don't know if it's just me but I couldn't get into the writing style. I've read other historical fiction romances and the language and dialogue flowed better. The characters are great and the romance is swoon-worthy but the plot got boring. However, I feel that someone else might enjoy this.

Things I loved about this book:
-I love Margaret! Such a good wingwoman. Always has a snappy comeback and Elizas back.
-kinda like a Persuasion situation going on, but add a love triangle with a misunderstood rake
-Melville is a delight, Margaret and Caroline as well
-I laughed so much! So witty
-Eliza slowly coming out of her shell and standing up for herself is chefs kiss

Wow, this book was a bit slow in the beginning, but it really picks up! I thought I would dislike Eliza throughout the whole book, but she quickly shines and discards all notions of how to act in society. It was very liberating to read about Eliza taking her life in her own hands. It made me so angry reading about her family and "friends" waiting and prompting her to fail and lose her inheritance. I felt so much reading this book - frustration with historical society as a woman; anger on behalf of Eliza for the way she gets treated; hope and love for Eliza and Margaret.

Can't wait to read more by Sophie!

A fun little historical fiction romp. The leading character arc was too extreme and unrealistic in my opinion. I liked the relationships with both men but wasn't surprised by the choice. She did a nice job building the setting and what life as a female would have been in that era, I did crave wanting to pick the book back up. Thanks to Net Galley for letting me preview the book.

In A Lady’s Guide to Scandal, we meet our heroine waiting for her late husband’s will to be read. Eliza is also waiting for his nephew and heir, with whom she has been in love for the past ten years. After finding out she has inherited much more than what was promised, Eliza now finds herself a wealthy widow with the freedom to do what she pleases. Heading to Bath with her cousin Margaret, Eliza finds herself, rediscovers her passions, and meets a host of interesting new friends, including the dashing Lord Melville.

Going into reading this book, I found myself struggling to get invested in the characters until I was around 30% of my way through the book. I thought Eliza was lacking in strength and had a difficult time trying to root for her. However, by the end of the book, I was fully invested in the story that Sophie Irwin was telling and was cheering Eliza on as she fought for what she wanted. There was a point in time that I thought I’d actually get whiplash from the quick changes in emotion that I was experiencing as the reader. There is romance in the book, but it’s much more of a story of self-discovery and standing up for what you want rather than complying with what others believe you should do. The story ended exactly how I wanted it to and I couldn’t be happier than to have read this book.

This book has a catchy title, but it doesn’t really match the content, in my opinion. Eliza finally started gaining a backbone at around 75% and it became a lot more interesting. I enjoyed the banter between Eliza and Melville, but again, we didn’t see much of that until the end. It was a good read, but I think I was expecting something a little more exciting because of the title. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!