Loved this second chance romance! The writing was emotional and romantic, and the premise of someone thought dead but coming home after being kidnapped by pirates was so much fun. Great use of the historical setting! Can't wait to read more from this author.

When Lieutenant Eli Williams returns from the dead, two years after his shipwreck, only to find his brother has spent his savings, and his fiancée married someone else. Yet when he turns up in the middle of the London social season, all he wants to see is Jane Bishop, a woman who meant so much to him, her memory keeping him sane during his capture by pirates. Yet Jane refuses to pine over Eli, a man who chose her cousin over him. She needs to focus on gaining her financial independence by establishing a ladies' gambling club. However, Eli is determined to wine Jane over and when Eli faces a court of inquiry on suspicion of desertion, Jane must decide whether she has the courage to support him, or risk losing him for good.
The attraction between Eli and Jane is obvious, to all except Jane, who struggles to come to terms with his engagement to her cousin. Jane does all that she can to hide her feelings, but it was lovely to see Eli win her over and build her self-confidence. A sweet romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this one but didn’t totally love it, mostly due to the pacing. I became frustrated with the slow pace of the relationship development BUT I am not generally a fan of second chance romances so this may just be not my perfect cup of tea.

When the man you love goes missing - presumed dead - you do what you have to do to get on with your life... especially considering that he was engaged to your mean girl cousin. Jane has done just that: she's starting a gaming club with her BFF and they're planning to make it a going concern. But then, Eli (that man Jane loves) shows back up. He's not engaged to her cousin anymore, and he seems to be interested in her.

We saw a ton of potential in this debut historical romance: the characters were consistent and appealing, the banter was on point, and the plot moved at a cracking pace. Also these are two horny characters, which we appreciated. Sure, the plot runs a little bit on romance reasons (Jane is really pissed at Eli but also decides that she trusts him to give her discreet orgasms) but on the whole we enjoyed it. The ending went a little bit off the rails, and we would have loved a little more groveling (or decisiveness?) from Eli, but that didn't mean we didn't enjoy the hell out of this book.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Jane and Eli are two very beautiful characters. However, I found the beginning slow in introducing the two protagonists. Afterwards, I became thoroughly engrossed in the plot.

Jane seeks to be financially independent by establishing a ladies' gambling club. This is one of the aspects of the book description that attracted me to my choice of reading. I would have liked this element to be more developed. A few scenes are too quickly incorporated into the tale, particularly those leading to the book’s ending.
This book remains a great read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Naval Lieutenant Eli is back from the dead after being shipwrecked and captured by pirates to find that he has no money, no fiance, and might be questioned by his bosses about his time away from the Navy. His former friend Jane is being cold and he doesn’t quite know why, but he wants to regain her friendship and affection. Well, we find out that Eli and Jane had a strong friendship up until the point where Eli gets caught in a compromising position with Jane’s prettier and more sociable cousin Cecily and then gets engaged to that woman. Stuck doing the honorable thing and staying engaged to a woman he doesn’t like very much, he runs off and joins the Navy. It’s basically a cluster of immaturity for Eli there. Meanwhile Jane is trying to run a discreet gambling club for ladies and gain her own financial independence. Due to the meddling of too many of Jane’s family members, she and Eli end up at the same house party attending the horse races at Ascot and sort of maybe start a physical affair. But both Jane and Eli is dodgy about their feelings, leaving the other person totally unsure and insecure. This is one of those books where I’m just waiting for the characters to just talk to each other already. However, it was fun to read about Jane’s adventures in gambling and Eli’s unwavering support.

"The Lady He Lost" is Faye Delacour's debut novel and while it was a decent read, I will be interested to see how her writing develops in future books. Here, the writing is a little uneven - the pacing is off and the ending feels rushed after all of the set up for both the romance and the military service conflict. I did like FMC Jane and her determination to forge her own path. MMC Eli - I don't know. While there was obvious tension and chemistry between him and Jane, I just couldn't really respect him. He made questionable choices over and over and basically hides rather than actually deal with the consequences. I did believe he loved Jane, but I also thought she would always have to be the strong one in the relationship versus more a union of equals. I did really enjoy Della and would love to see her get her own story - as long as it is not with Jane's brother!

Three stars. I see a lot of potential for this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are my own.

I liked this historical romance. I liked the premise of the female gambling club. I liked a lot of small individual things but I didn't blow me away.

I thought the relationships was good, just the other things bore me.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

♠️𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑯𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘♠️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️/5

Thank you, NetGalley, and Sourcebook CASABLANCA for an early copy of this audiobook.

I promised myself to try new genre this year and historical romance it’s a novelty to me. I tried to read something in the past but I never fell in love with any of those books, but The Lady He Lost was soooo good! Amazing debut novel 😍

I found the story and the characters very interesting. Eli and Jane had unmatched chemistry and all their scenes were just spot on!
I particularly liked the angst and how badly Eli wanted to do good by Jane, and how much she wanted to be independent.

I also really enjoyed the side characters, there was a little bit of everything. The super cute and loving uncle, the bitchy and annoying cousin, the young little sister, the crazily brilliant best friend (whom I hope will be the protagonist of the next book in the series).

As far as debut novels go this one is really good. Congratulation to @fayedelacour for the amazing job ❤️

If you are a fan of Bridgerton I think this book is a must for you.
I also liked the amount of spice, not too much and not too little.

I may be redundant but I have ZERO complaints about Dreamscape production! The voice actress did a splendid job and if you love listening to audiobooks I highly recommend this one ❤️

In this novel, the hero returns to England after having been presumed dead for years. The heroine, who had pined for him before, is not willing to trust him at all after he betrayed her in the past.

This romance novel has some of my absolute favourite things.

-a side character who delights in a new bureaucratic challenge that is frighteningly high stakes for the hero. Like, give me a whole story with this socially oblivious lawyer as a protagonist.

-a secret proof of love gesture that happens in the back story.

-heroine who is trying to make an independent life for herself during a time when it was unusual

-he messed up more, but she also needs to consider her past choices and how they affected outcomes

Looking forward to any connected books that come next.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

As delightful and steamy and angsty as advertised by friends! I REALLY loved the concept behind this one, with Eli coming back after all believed him to be dead (the Persuasion/Poldark comparisons feel very apt), although the romance for me was the strongest part and the surrounding elements weren’t as solid in execution. Eli and Jane’s chemistry is off-the-charts, and while the resolution of most of the side plots felt somewhat more rushed/neatly tidied up by comparison, there’s plenty here to love. A very strong debut from a historical romance author I’d love to read more from!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Upon the death of her parents, Jane Bishop and her brother Edmund were taken in by her widowed uncle Bertie and his young daughter Cecily. One summer while visiting with another uncle, Jane met Eleazar “Eli” Willams and fell in love, but at only sixteen, she kept her feelings to herself. A couple of years later, Eli broke her heart when he proposed to her cousin Cecily and then again when he was lost at sea and presumed dead. Jane decided that love was not for her and set out to find a way to support herself without a husband and along with her dearest friend Della, form a Lady’s Only Gambling Club. The hope is that they make enough money to support themselves independently yet ensuring that no one is gambling so much they ruin themselves. It seems like she finally has her life on track when the impossible happens – Eli returns for the dead, with secrets and seems intent on rekindling their friendship. There is no way Jane can risk her heart again, and hardens her resolve to ignore him, but when Eli offers to help her make her dream of a gambling club come true, everything changes. But will all her dreams come true, or will Eli’s secrets break her heart all over again?

Eli made a huge mistake when he followed Jane’s cousin Cecily into the garden and it cost him his freedom, as he was honor-bound to offer for her when they were discovered kissing by her father. Their engagement was announced, and Eli joined the navy to earn a living. Three years later, he is a Lieutenant in Her Majesty’s Navy when his ship is destroyed, and he is lost at sea and presumed dead. In reality, he was saved and taken prisoner by pirates, and it took almost a year and a half to escape. He returned to England to find he had been declared dead, his savings given to his younger brother, his fiancée married to another and Jane hostile. He tries to make amends with Jane, but without disclosing the entire truth, which could put him and others in danger, she refuses to soften. But all that changes with a rain-soaked kiss, giving him hope that he will finally be with the woman he has always loved. But when has the path to HEA ever been easy?

This was a new to me author and I thought it was a good debut effort. I liked the writing style, but I did find it a bit wordy and the first two-thirds of the book dragged for me. However, the final third of the book was paced nicely and wrapped everything up quite neatly. I wasn’t a big fan of Jane until about halfway through the book when she finally fell off her high horse and pulled the stick out of her – well, you know. I loved Eli and found the majority of the secondary characters to be completely delightful – I am seriously hoping for Della’s story – she is a piece of work that is sure to lead some hapless man on a merry chase. Overall, the book was good, it was original, the idea fresh, and the story was filled with wonderful characters, secrets, betrayal, heartache, some laugh out loud moments, warm love scenes, big plans, disappointment, hope and a satisfying ending but sadly no epilogue, although, the last chapter does set them on the road to HEA, so it’s all good. This is billed as the first book in a new series, and I am definitely looking forward to the next book.

3.5 stars

*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.*

Format - E ARC

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- the Lucky ladies of London

Troupes- Friends to lover, shared history, golden hero, independent heroine, forced proximity, historical romance

Representation-

CW-Kidnapping

This is Faye Delacour’s first book, which in it’s self is freaking amazing! Now the book is very good y’all. It’s a debut and you’d hardly ever know it. It’s a well constructed story with compelling characters who are pinning after each other!

Eli is back, after being presumed dead he's not expecting though the red carpet to be rolled out for his return but he also wasn’t expecting his long time childhood friend to be big mad at him and very spacious of his return.

Jane never thought see would see her friend and secret crush again, she’s made plans for her future that doesn’t include marriage but now that he’s back she knows he’s hiding something, and it take lots of forced proximity and golden retriever behavior on Eli's part to convince her to give him a second chance.

Eli is keeping secrets and Jane is trying to get her gambling club off the ground and things just don’t seem to be lining up. With both of them so unsure of their future how can they make it work.

I enjoyed the majority of this story, it was really right at the end when Jane’s brother is an absolute asshole and things somehow still turned out alright that left me wanting mostly for the brother to get his comeuppance.

The tension between these two was sparking and the spice for a debut was great!

Overall it’s a good hist-rom with great characters and intrigue. I’m looking forward to more from Faye Delacour!

Thank you Faye, Sourcebooks Casablanca and netgalley for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own!

Eli Williams is a lieutenant in the Navy who was thought to be dead after a shipwreck. He was engaged to Cecily, but her cousin, Jane, was in love with him. Cecily married someone else after Eli was thought to be dead, but Jane continued to privately mourn him even though he picked her cousin to wed. This romance starts when he comes back to England after being rescued by pirates and tries to get back to his normal routine two years after everyone thinks he died.

Jane Bishop wants to be financially independent after the death of her parents when she was younger, so she wants to start a gaming club for ladies. She worries for her younger brother, Edward, who is frankly awful to her. Jane was part of society, but never made a match due to her lack of dowry.

This romance started out strong for me, but honestly felt rushed towards the end. I liked the plot, but it felt like it went a little awry along the way.

I just reviewed The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour on #NetGalley - all opinions are mine

The Lady He Lost is a second chance romance for Jane and Eli, who were separated when Eli was lost at sea. Unfortunately this one was just not for me. I didn’t connect with the characters and wasn’t even sure I thought they should be together. And I didn’t have too much interest in where the plot was going either. Disappoint but this just wasn’t for me.

Read and reviewed this Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley.

First, I love the cover of this book. It is gorgeous. This ticked off a lot of my boxes. Lots of dialog, guy lost or scarred, and an independent woman. But…it was a DNF for me. Honestly, I got bored. The same thing over and over. I don’t know how it ended, it might have gotten better, but I was done. I hate that because I love trying new authors and they are, most of the time, really good. I know it takes a lot to be a writer (not something I could ever do) so I applaud Faye.

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour was a quick and enjoyable read! I just happened to come across it and requested because is sounded interesting and I'm glad I did!

Lieutenant Eli Williams was supposed to be dead. After being gone for two years, he suddenly shows up in the middle of the season and quickly becomes the talk of the town...which isn't what he wanted. He did go down in the shipwreck, but he has a secret around what happened to him and why. All he wants now is to get his life back in order before he goes back to sea and reconnect with his friend, Jane Bishop, as she's always meant a lot to him. Unfortunately for Eli, he's going to have to work a little bit to get back into Jane's good graces.

Jane refuses to waste any more of her life pining over Eli, who chose her cousin instead of her. She truly thought they had a connection and when everyone assumed he died in the shipwreck, she was forced to mourn him alone. Now Jane has decided she is going to focus on becoming financially independent. She's lived with her uncle since she was young and he is determined to see her wed now that Jane's cousin, Cecily is married. Jane isn't interested. Instead, she is working with her friend to establish a ladies' gambling club. When Eli returns and finds himself trying to find a way to make up with Jane, he uses his notoriety to bring new members to her club and while she's thankful, Jane can't bring herself to trust him. She knows Eli is keeping a secret about his disappearance and while he eventually shares it with her, he also finds himself in some hot water with the government because of the gaps in his story.

As I mentioned, I truly enjoyed this one and I'll be looking for more books from Delacour in the future. If you're looking for a new historical romance series to pick up, consider this one!

First, I LOVE this cover. I want more covers this pretty in historical romance. Now, this was a good book from a debut author. It was well written and I enjoyed the premise and the characters. But at the same time, it felt like not a lot was going on until the end when everything happened at once. I feel like some of that could have been spread out earlier in the story to be more impactful. It was a good opener for a series and I do look forward to the next one!

A young man’s folly separated them for a time. Losing him, she decided to forge her own path without the need to rely on a husband. He came back looking to reconnect with the only woman he ever cared about. The path to reconciliation is paved with obstacles, however. But the heart’s desire can not be denied and like nature, will find a way. Lovely read with a heroine who is strong willed and a hero who would do anything for her. Lovely read!

I received an ARC of this book and leaving my review voluntarily.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

CW: Kidnapping; toxic relationship (not main couple); death of parents (off-page)

I first fell in love with The Lady He Lost because of its stunning cover! And I’m so glad that the story behind the cover is just as good! The Lady He Lost is a fantastic debut historical romance from Faye Delacour that had me laughing, swooning, and sighing as Eli and Jane find their way back to each other after his “death” at sea two years ago after getting engaged to her cousin.

If you’re looking for the perfect “it’s always been you” romance, The Lady He Lost would be it. I love a romance that packs an emotional gut punch with some heartache, and this book delivered! I’m truly obsessed with the romance between Jane and Eli. These two are so in love with each other, but there is a lot of hurt and history between them that they need to wade through to get to their happily ever after. This book definitely throws you right in, as I was getting all the feeling from the start with all the tension between them, given their history. I loved how deep the feelings go for both of them, and there are so many things left unsaid between them in the beginning that really add amazing depth to the romance.

I appreciated that Jane is not willing to let Eli back into her good graces so easily. But even as she tries to feign disinterest, you can tell how much she cares. This leads to some great banter and bickering between the two of them as they learn to navigate this new relationship and the sizzling sexual tension between them. And the pining! Ugh, I love it. And when they kiss – IN THE RAIN no less – oooh boy. All those true emotions come out when they’re alone together, and it’s so hot. These two are just so perfect for each other and watching them navigate their way through their complicated relationship to get the happily ever after is so rewarding.

I absolutely adored Jane. She’s determined to take control of her own future and claim her independence by running a ladies’ gaming club. She’s very practical and driven, so Eli showing up after being thought dead for two years definitely shakes her. She’s always been in love with him, but he hurt her deeply by getting engaged to her cousin (cue all the emotions!). I loved how she tries to be so cold and unfeeling towards him when she’s really a mess inside. Her relationship with her Uncle Bertie was also a highlight for me. Sweet Uncle Bertie isn’t perfect, but it’s clear he loves Jane deeply as he wants Jane settled and happy more than anything – and she wants to make him happy in return.

Eli’s had a rough few years. Everyone thought he was dead when his ship sank two years ago, but he was actually held captive by Greek pirates for that time…mostly. He definitely made many decisions in the past that have complicated things for himself now that he needs to try to untangle. I liked trying to unravel the mystery of his disappearance—there’s clearly more to it than he is initially sharing. I also loved how much he understands Jane. When it comes to her club, he not only supports it but actively encourages her to expand it and is willing to step aside for her to take the lead in the relationship. And despite being surrounded by a truly toxic relationship with his parents, he still wants to find a relationship that will bring him love and happiness.

Outside of Jane and Eli, I really enjoyed all the secondary characters in this. Jane’s friend and partner in the gaming club, Della, was one of my favorites, and I hope we see more of her! She was such a great friend, and so encouraging of everything Jane did – from the gaming club to Eli. Uncle Bertie’s another standout. He’s truly the sweetest. Even if he makes some choices that Jane may not like, he does have her best interests in mind. I love that he got his own happily ever after too, as he deserved it. I also hope we get to see more of Eli’s sister, Hannah, as I feel like she deserves to get a happily ever after as well after being stuck with their miserable parents.

If it’s not clear, I loved the premise of this book. Who doesn’t like it when someone you thought was dead for two years shows up unexpectedly? Plus, he was engaged to your cousin but was actually in love with you the whole time! So good! The pacing of the story was great, especially when it came to the romantic beats. I loved all the hints that there was more to Eli’s story than he was letting on. There was enough peppered in that the reveal wasn’t shocking, but still fun in its own way. The ending was a bit wild as a lot happened in the last 10%. That’s the only part that felt a tad rushed, but everything was resolved in a way that left me satisfied and happy, so I didn’t mind!

This was such a beautiful debut. I swear I highlighted like half of it as so many of the passages, particularly when it came to Eli or Jane talking about the other, were so beautiful and just hit right in the emotions! I also loved the humor Delacour wove into this. I seriously found myself chuckling so many times, including at the opening line. Overall the book felt so fun, and the tongue-in-cheek humor really added to it!

If The Lady He Lost was on your radar yet, ADD IT! It’s a beautiful debut historical romance filled with characters who are richly nuanced, a plot that is fun and engaging, and a romance that is so swoonworthy and hot. I had a blast while reading this as it was so fun but it also packed all the emotions I want from my romances! I cannot wait to see what Faye Delacour writes next, and I hope we’ll see some characters from this book get their own spinoffs!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca/Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in this review are my own.