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!

After the death of her husband, the late Earl of Somerset, Eliza is shocked to learn that she was left an unexpected fortune. However, this fortune is subject to a morality clause whose arbiter is none other than the man she jilted ten years previously, the new earl of Somerset. When her childhood sweetheart, Somerset, returns from abroad, Eliza knows that their time has passed but secretly hopes to rekindle their previous romance. However, after a frosty re-introduction and rising pressure from those around her to control her new fortune, Eliza does something completely out of character and moves to Bath. There she establishes her own residence and starts to build a life for herself. She establishes new friendships, begins painting again, and begins to rethink what she wants out of life and who she wants to share it with.

I had been craving a regency romance for a while when I read the blurb for a Lady’s Guide to Scandal. I hadn’t read a Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting but decided to give this book a shot. I am so happy that I did. Sophie Irwin did an amazing job of instilling her story with whimsy and humor, while slowly ratcheting up the tension and conflict. She also left the reader as conflicted as Eliza—do we root for Somerset or Melville or both (for a minute there I wasn’t sure if I had accidentally found myself in a RH regency romance)? Because I was conflicted about who she should end up with, it made it easier to relate to Eliza’s feelings and emotions. This was especially true in the second half of the book. Like Eliza, I was disappointed and angry with Somerset and Melville. And like Eliza, I hoped that somehow she could be proven wrong. Thankfully Eliza gets the ending she deserves… though I do wish we got more of her happy ending.

All in all, this was a fun book that I am so glad I read. I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Read if you like:
🎨regency romance
🎨love triangle

Will post to Instagram in June.

If you are looking for a good historical romance, I highly recommend the newest by Sophie Irwin! Eliza is a recent widow who finds herself in a love triangle with her first love and a famous poet with a scandalous past. The story takes a couple chapters to really get going, but then I couldn’t put it down. This book was a fun story of learning to follow your dreams even when they come with consequences.
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️/5
I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Lady's Guide to Scandal follows Eliza as she navigates the newfound freedom and fortune she's found as a widow still in mourning. This is a delightful romance with witty banter, likeable characters, and a journey of growth.

Melville's banter is so charming and he steals every scene he's in. The romance in this book is so sweet and the love triangle is done in such a way that has you rooting for each of the MMC's at different parts of the story. Eliza's growth and her friendship with Margaret were both also highlights of the story.

While it was a delightful story with delightful characters, there just wasn't much about it that made it a truly spectacular read.

All in all, A Lady's Guide to Scandal is a sweet historical romance for anyone and everyone.

If you're a fan of Bridgerton (books or Netflix) and similar period dramas / romances, then you'll likely enjoy A Lady's Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin, which I am giving a solid 4.0 stars.

What you can expect is "ton" life with a bit of rebellion as Eliza (fmc) learns to take control of her life's newest circumstances; no longer just a widow, but a rich one. And doing all that while trying to stick to Society standards and prevent scandal. There's also a love triangle, secret affairs, betrayals, and some great character growth.

My docking of a star comes from the first third of the book really dragging for me. I didn't start to truly feel invested and engaged until closer to halfway through. Also I'm not a huge fan of love triangles because they can be very hit or miss, and the beginnings of it were very much a miss, in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Books, and Sophie Irwin for allowing me to read A Lady's Guide to Scandal in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man, two things I never do: I never rage read, I just DNF. And second, I refrain from using caps when reviewing, but this called for exceptions.

Ok, one more caveat: I detest love triangles with a passion. Yes, the illustrated cover should’ve given this away, but I’ll blame being blinded by the excitement of this author’s second book and the promised Persuasion vibes vague blurb, for which I really did not even have a notion this had this tricky, tricky trope and everything that drives me to writing in caps about it. But still, as I could see where it was going, I held on to hope the wonderful banter and biting wit would somehow make it work. But, alas, I’m left mourning my second chance trope dashed hopes.

Because this was as if Anne Elliot inherited a fortune and was like “Peace out! Off to Bath for some fun!”, had Wentworth in her grasp by half-way and then promptly LOST HER EVER-LOVING MIND.

I’m all for the meek, mousy pushover finding her voice, some individual motivations, some competence. But, our girl here is just stumbling around into scandal. How exactly would she write a guide? Be naive and just go along with it? And I even love some secrets in my romance sometimes. BUT NOT AFTER DECLARATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE AND AN UNDERSTANDING IS IN PLACE. This enters cheating trope territory for me, and cannot abide, cannot abide. It just ruined this couple for me. I could not get behind the rakish, flirty, oft-maligned, unfiltered wit Melville and Eliza together, because all their interactions were tinged by how she was being duplicitous and inconstant. I never fully enjoyed or felt their relationship cemented because I could only read it with skepticism. Even til the end they were jokingly addressing his many previous affairs? Such a bad taste in my mouth. What’s the takeaway here? You were repressed, so now bumblingly throw all consequence out the window? I get the duality of Eliza with her first love, being so young, not fighting for that relationship, and now being willing to throw it all away for her chance at happiness. But sooo many different pacing and progression choices could’ve helped for her second opportunity at love not be so shady as it developed.

Points awarded for Melville being such a scene-stealing wit, for well-roundedly absurd secondary characters in great full-cast banter scenes (though the jibes and veiled insults- while viciously fun, started to bring down the tone), and for story twist reveals that I did not see coming at all (even though they highlight even more duplicitousness and inconstancy).

Another review mentioned things truly start to get interesting by Chapter 26, and it’s so true: too little too late, I was already not rooting for them and skimming. I really don’t feel like any one of the final couples have a lasting HEA. Just, no good vibes at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this ARC.

Content notes: Brief mention of kissing. On page vocal outright racial prejudice from side characters, same sex attraction secondary storyline, mention of affairs and adultery.

LOVED it. A perfect combination of Bridgerton meets Northanger Abbey. The character arc of all the main people in the storyline was entertaining and engaging. The writing, the pacing, the plot development--all of it was fantastic. Laugh-out-loud funny in many points, the dialogue was snappy and fun. Overall, I would highly recommend.

Once I began reading a Lady's Guide to Scandal, I couldn't stop. My initial impression was that Irwin was providing readers with an updated take on Austen's Persuasion, but I was incorrect, and what she did was better than I anticipated. To me, Irwin combined the elements of characters you love from Austen's novels but with the fun spin you get in the storylines of Julia Quinn novels. And while this book definitely does not have the regency romance steam of Bridgerton, the well-crafted chemistry stands on its own.

When Eliza was seventeen, she fell in love. But at seventeen she also married, and it was not for love. She was forced to marry by her family out of duty. Ten years later, Eliza is a widow and has discovered she is now insanely rich. Will she reignite the love that she never lost for a man from ten years ago? As Eliza discovers herself in her new life, she realizes that what she once wanted might have changed, as well as who she is.

What I really appreciated about this book is that there is one point in the novel that you are REALLY rooting for Eliza and Somerset to get together--they've loved each other for 10 years! You want it to finally happen for them. But THEN you REALLY want her to be with Melville, a man who truly sees Eliza for who she is and what she can do. My only complaint was that it took SO long for the characters you are so hoping finally come together (Once you as the reader see that really, despite both men, there is only one right answer!) to get together, you are left with so little of the book in which they are actually together! Alas, the joy of them finally making it there still comes. I can't wait to see what Sophie Irwin writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of a Lady's Guide to Scandal in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Sophie Irwin’s debut, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting, so I was really looking forward to this one. It doesn’t disappoint in the slow burn, witty dialogue, heroine who goes through a growth journey way and I tore through A Lady’s Guide to Scandal just as quickly.

Eliza is a complicated heroine and it was nice to see her come out of her shell throughout the book. I like how the secondary characters all feel like three dimensional characters — I very much enjoyed their stories as well. The one complaint I had was the main love interest — I really thought the book was going one way with a certain trope and felt invested in one relationship and felt like it switched half way through. While I liked the ending, and think it ended in the right place, I wasn’t a huge fan of how we got there.

It’s worth mentioning that unlike most regency romances this is pretty clean, which might appeal to those who don’t like much spice.

Looking forward to the next book in this series!

Thanks to Sophie Irwin, Penguin Books and Netgalley for the

A Lady's Guide to Scandal
Despite my instant dislike for the main character's meekness, I reminded myself of two things:
1. The era in which the story takes place would demand such behavior from women.
2. Sometimes, a character needs a negative space to grow from in order to become likable to a reader.

I read on hoping that the story would unfold in an appealing way, and I was not disappointed. It's worth the read for fans of regency era romance.

*I received an advanced reader copy from Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a delightful story! Recently widowed Eliza awaits the return of her lost love, who also has inherited her late husband's estate.

They finally have their second chance at love, but are they still right for each other? She meets the acquaintance of the artful Lord Melville, but is everything as it seems?

My favorite part of this book was watching Eliza get her backbone.

The story ended up going a way I wasn't expecting and it was great! There is no sexy times which was a little disappointing (for me) I loved the first book by this author and I will definitely pick up her next. Thank you for the review copy!

This book was exactly what I needed to pull me out of a bit of a reading slump. “A Lady’s Guide to Scandal,” was a lovely read from beginning to end. Eliza, recently widowed, suddenly finds herself having to make rather a lot of choices while also having to make sure there’s not a hint of impropriety attached to her name- or else she ends up close to penniless. Adventures and hijinks ensue. I laughed, I cried, I read it all in one sitting. I found myself rooting for Eliza and was excited to find the plot unpredictable and fun. This is the first book I’ve read by Sophie Irwin, although her other book “A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting” has been on my TBR. It will be one I move to the top! This book comes out July 11th of this year and I will be ordering a copy for my shelves. I adored this and highly recommend it!

What a delight! Eliza is 27. Newly widowed, she now has a bit more freedom and a lot more money. There is just one catch - her deceased husband had a morality clause in his will so Eliza must continue to be on her best behavior. This shouldn’t be an issue as she’s never been one to cause waves or draw attention. However, as she finds joy in buying glamorous frocks, making new (potentially scandalous) friends, and taking up paining again, Eliza also begins to find herself. Will her journey to self-discovery threaten her reputation and cause her to lose it all?!

I adored A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting, Sophie Irwin’s debut, and A Lady’s Guide to Scandal has similar charms (and a brief and subtle shoutout to Kitty!). Eliza is likable and it was great to see her grow more assertive and figure out what she needs and wants without anyone else’s interference. 4.5 stars.

Thank you very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I really loved this book! I loved the character development and I did not expect the story to take the turns that it did. I definitely recommend it.

I picked up this book because I wanted to disappear into a new world and forget the stress of reality. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this book as soothing as I expected it to be given that it was a regency romance. Despite technically everyone getting a HEA, I still felt unsettled by the ending and what felt like the unresolved connection between Eliza and Somerset, as well as the surprisingly conniving way Winnie broke them up. It left me annoyed at everyone except Margaret. That being said, I don’t mind the author’s style and would likely read another book in this series, though it’s certainly not cracked the top 10 in terms of regency romances for me.