I looooooooved A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting last year and was so excited to read Sophie's second book. However I should have known I was not destined to because it not only has a second chance romance, but a love triangle!

Yeah.

Let me talk about what I loved - I loved that Melville was half-Indian and that the book did not shy away from what that entailed then. I enjoyed Eliza coming into her own although I feel she went from 0 to 100 in the last chapters. I really enjoyed the supporting cast, they were all aces. From Caroline to Margaret to Lady Hurdle to Pardle! All the named and unnamed characters were fun, even the annoying ones. Sophie Irwin's writing really sparkles and I adored most of the dialogue.

Where the book falters for me is in 2 of the main characters. I do not like love triangles and this book has not cured me of that. I did like who she eventually ended up with, but I felt it could have been done in a better way? Not like the other Male angle was any better, but I felt he did not deserve what he got.

Huge Thanks to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for a digital ARC - pub date 7/11/2023. I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did because it actually has a lot of charm going for it. So I edge higher than a 2 star but not enough to round up to 3. The reason boils down to the same problem I had with Irwin's debut book, though, so I guess that is a yay for consistency?

Basically, her secondary characters are delightful and well-rounded and interesting and I could read a whole book on them... Her actual hero and heroine? Not so much. While the interloping leg of the love triangle Melville is full of charm and depth and has a slow-grow character arc, the other male leg of the triangle Somerset is just plain AWFUL. He has about as much charm as cardboard and as much depth as a puddle and he is a raging hypocrite, to boot. Eliza, on the other hand, as our fairer leg of the triangle is... Let's just say that her character growth feels like it was jammed into the last 20% of the book and in such a staggering way that I was left wondering if someone else stepped in to take her place. She goes from insipid and spineless to "screw you all, I do what I want" in the blink of an eye and at a point in time where it is pure stupid madness to go that far. Though I was relieved that she did grow and she did realize the emotional abuse she had undergone for years and years!

Margaret and Caroline? All day long. Lady Hurley and her beau? Oh, yes, please. Even Perkins the butler was absolutely adorable and sketched out well enough that you felt you knew him.

As for fashion and manners and the location of Bath? Irwin continues to nail her research and describe things beautifully. I just wish her main characters could stand as well as everything else in the book.

Every once in a while a romance comes along that just really captures your heart, and that's what A Lady's Guide to Scandal did for me. I loved Eliza's journey and growth as she navigates life after the death of her husband- someone she married out of duty, in an era where she had little opportunity for independence and learning. I was happy smiling at the end of this book, feeling strongly that she ended up in the right place, and furious at points of the story at positions she was put in. Charming, witty, and captivating.

Such a fun read! I would recommend to fans of Bridgerton. A love triangle that is the talk on the ton!

Sadly, this book just wasn’t for me. I enjoy historical romance, but I clearly prefer bodice rippers rather than more traditional ones.

I don’t mind a love triangle, but when I don’t ever really get to know or understand why we are supposed to love them, I disengage from the story, which is what happened here.

I thankfully got the ending I wanted, but I didn’t enjoy the journey.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know that I was as swept away by this book as I hoped to be. I loved Eliza. I think that she is a fantastic character. One whose growth throughout the book is admirable. Also, her “rebelling” is very tame, though to be fair women had little outlets that they could truly go crazy with within her status. I enjoyed the triangle of love you have going on between Eliza, Oliver, and Lord Melville. Yet I was not really rooting for either guy above the other. I enjoy books where I can pick a clear winner and stand behind them and personally both men felt very typical, and nothing really made one personality shine above the other one. So honestly in the end I would have been okay if she picked either guy, though to be honest I kind of wanted her to stay on her own and do her own thing. It was an enjoyable book, but I don’t know if it will stand out when making recommendations to patrons if they are looking for a historical romance.
Thank you so much to Penguin Group Penguin Books, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Quiet, complaisant recently widowed Lady Somerset is shocked to discover that she has inherited lands from her husband … but there’s a morality clause. When his heir and her ex-beau arrives on the scene, she sets off to Bath where she sets up a household with her cousin and BFF. There she decides that she does not want to be so compliant anymore.

From the jacket copy, I thought this book was headed in a certain direction, but when I was about halfway through it, I realized that I had to be wrong. Pay attention to how and with whom she spends her time. It would be a truly terrible romance if she spent all her time with one man then married the other! Just saying. I kind of hate love triangles, but this didn’t feel particularly triangular to me.

Anyway, the book was fine. I loved her cousin’s character. She was so sharp and funny. I thought the banter was great. The book has a bit of a slow start, and the ending felt a bit too quick. Overall, it was very enjoyable though.

Title: A Lady's Guide to Scandal (A Lady's Guide #2)
Released: 7/11/23, read 7/5/23
Author: Sophie Irwin, new
Book cover: pretty, captures the love triangle
Format: e-ARC
Page Count: 336
Setting-1819 London and Bath
Genre: Regency Romance
Tropes: love triangle, arranged marriage, 2nd chance romance, slow burn
Representation: LGBTQIA+ ,feminism
Rating: 4****
Source: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions are my own.

Quick summary: Eliza Balfour is recently widowed. At the will reading, the old Earl of Somerset has given her his fortune with a morality clause that the new Earl will oversee. The new Earl Oliver (the old earl's nephew) and Eliza were in love as teens. Enter Lord Melville, new to the scene and smitten w/ Eliza. Who will she choose?

Characters-Main and Minor
Eliza Balfour-27, widowed, married 10 years in a loveless marriage. Loves to paint like her g-father taught her. Agrees to do Melville's portrait.
Lord Melville- new resident in Bath, a flirt
Earl of Somerset/Oliver-old Somerset's nephew, was in love w/ Eliza when they were teenagers
Margaret Balfour-Eliza's cousin, gay
Caroline-Lord Melville's sister, taken w/ Margaret


Conflict: Eliza finally having freedom and what she does w/ it. A love triangle w/ old love and new love. Margaret never married, becoming a spinster. Must hide her sexuality

Resolution: Sometimes old love is just that. Eliza changed from the little mouse she was to a fierce lion, hear her roar!
Complaints: A little predictable, but it is a loose retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. A returned naval officer, staying in Bath, and a 2nd chance romance.

I loved this one! I enjoyed the author's debut, but this one really surpassed my expectations.

The romantic plotline was definitely at the center of this, but a lot of the story also focused on Eliza's journey. I loved seeing her gain more and more confidence, and learn to trust and speak up for herself, as well as others. Her character growth and journey were so fun to read.

There is a love triangle in this which I don't typically search out and I wasn't really expecting, having just read the blurb on the back of the book. But I really enjoyed how it all played out. It made for a fun reading experience and the fact it was a historical setting made each of the guy's pursuit of Eliza a lot more fun in my opinion.

Melville I adored from the start. He had such character and charm, and I just couldn't not love him. The way he helped Eliza come out of her shell and encourage her was so sweet to see. He knows how to push Somerset's buttons which was so entertaining.

I usually have a hard time with second-chance romance, but I was able to understand Eliza and Somerset's situation better and it made sense for the time period and each of their situations.

There was a ton of good banter and I found myself laughing and grinning to myself so many times.

There was one main side plotline with two of the side characters which I enjoyed. The side characters felt like full characters themselves and I enjoyed their characters' trajectory as well.

This might very well be one of my favorite reads of the year! I think it would make such a fun miniseries too.

I genuinely enjoy this series by Sophie Irwin. After reading some reviews, I was concerned I would not like this second novel as much as the first but thankfully for me, I disagree with those reviews. I love books in this time period, especially ones that aren’t stiff and dramatic. It’s always frustrating at first to have a heroine who does not have a backbone but it is easier to swallow given the time period. I feel Eliza grew at a consistent and realistic rate and really came into who she is. Yes, it is a love triangle but reading between the lines, it never truly is one. It is obvious who is the better match for her. The side characters are a great mix of love and hate based on their behaviors. I love the way the book wrapped up. I love where everyone landed and with who. If you enjoyed the first book, this is a definite read and if you didn’t, but you enjoy fun, clean, good-hearted reads, this is a book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC.

Ready for a regency love triangle? If so, this might be the book for you. Eliza Balfour is recently widowed and is getting ready to explore life without her controlling husband. She married her husband because of a duty to her family. It was not a love match. She was molded into what society expected a woman like her to be. She is now wealthy and ready to get on with her life. She asks for friend and cousin, Margaret, to go with her to Bath, where they rent some rooms. Eliza is a talented artist, but has not really been allowed to pursue a career as an artist. Eliza has a second chance to reunite with her first love (who is also related to the now deceased Lord Somerset). However, Eliza meets Lord Melville and is both frustrated, intrigued and attracted to him. Scandal follows him around, but with Eliza’s daring new life, she gets to know him better. There is some jealousy that definitely emerges and unpredictable twists and turns that involve a bit of mystery and scandal with the stipulations of Eliza’s inheritance. This is a slow burn romance that will hook you in and a perfect summer read.

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Recently widowed countess Eliza finds that her inheritance is dependent on her staying away from any scandal. The new earl, Lord Somerton, is the nephew of her late husband and happens to be a former suitor that was rejected when Eliza’s parents forced her to marry. As a widow, Eliza finally has a small taste of freedom when she spirits herself (and her cousin) away to Bath to visit before she makes her way back to her family’s home. Eliza ends up meeting the charming and scandalous Lord Melville and tries very hard to avoid him due to his reputation. Eventually Melville convinces Eliza to paint his portrait and she seizes this opportunity to utilize her artistic talent. Additionally, Somerton has renewed his acquaintance with Eliza and they confront their romantic past. We have a slowly building love triangle here, where you’re mostly rooting for Eliza to break free of her oppressive marriage and reunite with her long lost love, but then we start to see her friendship with Melville develop and wonder where that will lead. Since this book was a single POV (only Eliza’s), it wasn’t clear who the ultimate love interest is going to be, and I was intrigued to find out who she ended up with. There are also some delightful side pairings that we discover along the way as well. Despite this being a super low-steam book, the emotional build-up was really well done and it was an enjoyable book to read.

While admittedly not the biggest fan of love interests, this one worked for me since it had you rooting for different guys at different times and for a while I honestly didn't know who Eliza would marry in the end. Also, Sophie Irwin's writing is about the closest you get to Jane Austen without actually reading Jane Austen...and I mean that as a very high compliment.

Eliza is a young widow who has recently inherited a lot more than she expected. The only problem is that it's dependent on her good behavior. She enjoys her newfound freedom by heading to Bath with her good friend Margaret, where she meets the dashing but infamous Lord Melville. Also, there is a chance that she might be able to rekindle her romance with the man she almost married many years ago but had to pass by due to family obligation.

Took me a bit to get into, but this was a witty, well-researched, and tender romance. Great for people looking for a historical love story without spice and fans of Jane Austen.

Meh. That is really my overall feeling for this one.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Eliza. It’s not that she was a bad character and she did learn a lot about herself and what she wanted instead of following orders from those around her who felt they knew what was in her best interest, but I just didn’t feel any connection towards her.

Eliza also finds herself in a love triangle and usually I am one for this trope but I didn’t like this one at all. There wasn’t enough development for the two guys and they just felt bland besides when a plot twist was deployed that involved them. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between any of them or eventually the one she does pick. It was really a bummer.

I feel like the parts that could have been good were lacking. The romance, Eliza’s previous marriage, and her past relationship with Somerset could have been explored a lot more but the last two were just very vague.

Overall, this was just disappointing compared to her first novel. I really loved that one and was looking forward to her latest but it just didn’t live up to my expectations.

DNF — I had high hopes, but the style just wasn’t for me. It leaned more on the historical than it did the romance.

I loved this just as much as Irwin's debut! Eliza is a wonderful heroine and her fiery attitude was fun read. This is a smart, witty romance for lovers of Regency romance!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
I really liked the author's previous Regency novel, and I was happy to discover that she has written another not-so-typical take on the romance novel.
Ms. Irwin's protagonists are a bit quirky, intelligent and independent of thought (but not so it feels strange in the Regency setting).
Eliza is now a widow (after 10 years of an unromantic marriage undertaken for family reasons). She finds herself with enough money to take her cousin to live in Bath and intends to enjoy her independence, but of course, there are financial and relationship challenges!
There's an old flame and a new flame, and a tricky codicil to overcome, all within a delightfully balanced description of Regency life in Bath. I love that the two main characters are friends with shared interests, and that all of the characters feel like people and not 'types'.
Although this isn't a 'sequel' to the author's previous book, she again gives the reader a good read, and a pretty original story (considering it's really a 'Regency romance').
Would recommend for fans of character driven historical novels, good rainy afternoon reading.
5 out of 5 for being well written and original with thoughtful female characters.

I liked this one!! I thought the characters were more immediately likable from the beginning compared to ALGTFortuneHunting! I didn't love the love triangle and I did feel like it could've been more tightly focused on just one romance instead of two. Still sweet and cute, but enjoyed book 1 overall more!

Duty and love!

Eliza Balfour has been browbeaten all her life. Duty and obedience has been drummed into her. So when her parents arranged a marriage with the wealthy Earl of Somerset, uncle to her true love. Eliza did her duty, and Captain Courtney joined the 10th Regiment of the Foot.
Eliza’s was a marriage that was endured, a self that had shrunken down so much it was hard for her to even breathe Now she’s widowed. Her husband has surprisingly left her property that had a morality clause attached to it. Eliza would inherit as long as no scandal was attached to her name. Of course her domineering parents wanted her and her fortune back under their household and their control.
Faking fatigue Eliza and her cousin and best friend Margaret Balfour repaired to Bath for three months, and began to live a sober but more gratifying life.
Except Eliza met Lord Melville and his sister Caroline. She took up her paints again. She reached the end of her mourning period and was pleased
This pleasing interlude is interrupted when Lord Somerset called. Now the past and present was on a collision course. And let’s not forget that morality clause!
I loved this second chance romance where Eliza is given hope for the future and the chance to chart her own path, despite the obstacles.

A Penguin Group invite ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Eliza is a widow, but there is no love lost as it was not a love match. Her husband left her quite the fortune, some of which she can keep when the heir takes over if she lives a life of morality and honor. Her first act as a dowager is a small trip to Bath with her cousin. There she meets all manner of interesting people who challenge her ability to stay on the proper side of mourning.

The first one of this series, I thought was just ok. The main character irked me a little. But this go around, Irwin's characters were easier to enjoy. I appreciated the women who were feminist before their time but also realistic about how many society rules they could flaunt without completely being outcasts. I actually liked the men as well, which seems rare in a feminist novel of its time. The romances were very slow burn with no real scandalous content, despite the title. That was perfect for me. I appreciated that we were getting Eliza's story and there was more to it than just swooning after a man. Also, I loved how the author managed to get an inter-racial and an LGBTQ relationship into a story set in that time.

Thanks to Penguin Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.