Ruby Devereaux is in her nineties and is finally putting her incredible life down on paper, in order to fulfil a book contract. She’s enlisted the help of a young, attractive gentleman by the name of Jude, who’ll type up her memoirs now that Ruby’s arthritis-riddled fingers are no longer capable.
Ruby has lived a hell of a life – and had liaisons with many different men. It’s a thoroughly entertaining novel, with evocative descriptions of locations all around the globe, covering the big events of the last century. I found myself wondering how many of the places the author had visited (and indeed how many of the events she’d lived through!) as they were all so detailed and believable. There are times when the episodic nature of the book can detract a little from the flow – it reads almost like a series of vignettes or short stories - but Ruby is at the heart of the novel, holding it all together.
Overall I was swept up on the ride with Ruby D, thoroughly enjoying the highs and devastated by the lows, until it reached its unexpected conclusion with a final twist.
4.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Aria.

Overall, it was a very gripping read. The writing is flawless, the pace is satisfying. Ruby is an alluring and quite charismatic character, I enjoyed getting to know her and these twelve relationships in her long and fulfilled life. However, the very first relationship disgusted me, and another relationship was a little bit less interesting to me (the plot became a bit unrealistic) but in some other relationships, grief was explored a couple of times and I love grief in novels. The way the author dealt with grief was enthralling.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux
By: M.J. Robotham
Genre: Fiction


Summary:
Ruby Deveraux is a well acclaimed author. Not only is successful, but she still owes her publisher one more book. She finally agrees to give them the memoir they've been asking for, but only if it's done on her terms. So, Ruby Devereaux tells her life story- through the men who had the biggest impression on her.

Ruby Devereaux may be 90, but she is still a force to be reckoned with. So, while it's easier to give her publisher the memoir they want, she's doing it her way. What follows is the 12 men who have shaped her life and left the biggest impressions on her. She shares her firsts: love, sexual experience, heartbreak and betrayal. Beginning in the late 1940s and going to 2020, you'll journey history through her life and heart. You'll see her fall in love, get her heart broken, navigate betrayal, get married and suffer gut wrenching losses- just to name a few.

She'll tell stories of an actor, politician, artists, her Dad and others. She'll fall head over heels and, sometimes, just love the person for the moment. As she lays out her history, you'll run the gamete with her. You'll fall in love. You'll fall in lust. You'll feel her joy. You'll feel her pain. You'll see a woman embrace life in all it's emotions and experiences. Some will scar, some will enrich. And some will forever change you.

Ruby as a spy? Ruby as a wife? Ruby in love? Ruby learning the truth of someone she thought she knew. Ruby being the nurturer to a man who's own trauma threatens to take over. Ruby having the time of her life and getting arrested- at 52 years old. It's all in these pages and more.

It was fun to see her life unfold. Ruby lived so many different lives, but all those lives were the pieces that made Ruby who she was. I grew attached to her and wanted to see her happy and succeed. No matter what love brought to her, or did to her, she was the feisty woman I rooted for every time.

There's no way to escape the inevitable comparisons to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. They are similar in many ways, but don't dismiss Ruby. Don't underestimate Ruby. You will enjoy her story, her loves, her life, her guts, her grit. Curl up and get to know a woman who lived a long, incredible life.

Excellent premise but the book itself is very disappointing. There is so little character development that it is impossible to really care about Ruby or anyone else in the book.

This was a sweeping story of the life of Ruby Devereaux set against the backdrop of the second half of the 20th century in New York, Germany, Venice and Vietnam as the main character tells her life story through the men she had relationships with. It was a fun read with an interesting premise and structure.

Kudos to Mandy Robotham for writing a fabulous novel. Ruby Deveraux is an author of many books and lived a legendary life.. Poor Marina Keeve. Her boss has ordered her to get her ninety plus year old client to write one more book - her memoir. Ruby eventually agrees.. Chapters about the men throughout her life will thrill you, maybe amuse you and break your heart. Interspersed between the chapters, readers will find themselves back in present day with Marina. I don’t mind the flip-flopping in timelines, but there are those who do. I feel this book will not pose that problem to the readers who do not care foe jumping around since the shift in times are clearly named in those chapters. An interesting read about an interesting (even though fictional) woman.

Her publishing house wants to squeeze one more book out of 90 year old author Ruby Devereaux. She has led a colorful life and her memoir might be just the thing. A Boy Friday is hired to assist her in recording her memories and also in providing her tea and refreshments. She has traveled the world and had adventures few women of her time have experienced and chooses to recount her history by focusing on her interaction with twelve men in her life. Thus we learn of her history from the days of World War II through the present.

I have read and enjoyed a number of Mandy Robotham’s historical fiction books, particularly those set during the World War II and Cold War eras. This book is quite different and yet it is a chronicle of the times spanning the days from the 1940s onward. While alternating chapters between a book within a book style and interactions with Ruby’s present publisher and staff, Robotham captures well the culture of the various time frames…including the post war peace, the machinations of the Cold War, the haze of the 60s, the hell of Vietnam…while also revealing the personal loves and pains of Ruby’s experiences, as well as a bit of the writing process

Ruby is an indomitable character, and I enjoyed this romp through life with her. I also loved the different international settings, from London to New York, Venice, Budapest, Vietnam.

I enjoyed this book! It dragged a little, maybe 6 men would have been better!

If you enjoyed the 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo it's worth a read!

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down! I was absolutely mesmerized by this story and I loved every word of it. This may is my favorite book for the year so far!! 5 star read!!!
I just reviewed The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux by Mandy Robotham. #RUBYMDEVEREAUXALIFEINTWELVEMEN #NetGalley
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A lovely book and a wonderful read about 90yo Ruby who is writing a memoir and this is her story. We go back in time and learn all about Ruby's life and loves. So what is the scandal?

This is such a charming read and I loved hearing all about the journeys (life and otherwise) Ruby has endured. The interesting part was the men in her life and this is how the chapters are written. A bit different from other books I have read and I really enjoyed it.

The cover, the title it all drew me in and the story-telling is what kept me reading. I highly recommend this book as it is different, interesting and very well written.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

How can I make Ruby Devereaux a real person and then an adoptive Aunt?

A 90-year old woman, who everyone knows, is nearing the end of her life. Her publishers push for one last book from her, so Ruby hires an assistant, someone to type out her stories....and oh, man...those stories. Ruby was in the middle of parties, scandals and so many adventures. This is the story of Ruby's life and her many loves.

This is an excellent adventure book through the life of a zany woman. I love every minute of it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a great book. Very interesting and was hard to put down once I started reading.The Scandalous Life of Ruby Deveraux is a book I would read over and over again because of Ruby alone. A true heroine that captivated me with her life and the adventures she had. The author Mandy Robotham has great word play that allows the story to leap off the pages, everything was easy to follow with a mix of comedy and romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book is perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Ruby is a brilliantly written main character who draws you straight in. I really enjoyed the trip through so many historical moments through Ruby’s eyes.

I wish some of the 12 men were written a bit more in depth. Some of them were a lot easier to connect with than others. Rubys relationships with these men seemed to be under explored as well, which was odd considering this is the whole premise of the book.

I enjoyed reading The Scandalous Life of Ruby Deveraux. The book was written as if one is reading a memoir, about the men, in formidable Ruby's well-lived life and how time with each person strengthened or made her discover a part of herself. The author described the feel of each decade beautifully.


Thank you to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for the e-arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

I do love a good scandal, and with a name like Ruby Devereaux, and a lovely cover to match; this was read at the earliest opportune after downloading.

Ruby Devereaux is a famous author, in her later years, who so far has refused to write a memoir.

Eventually her publisher persuades her and the book are her recollections, as narrated to her assistant.

The main thread are the men in her life. Those she has loved and left behind, or who have left her behind, and it was a good way of doing it. Ruby just finishes her relationship and literally moves onto another chapter, or lover.

I cried with Ruby, I shook her head at some of her choices. At one point literally saying to her walk away this one is trouble.

This is one to look out for as something tells me this is going to be one of the biggest titles in 2024.

Ruby is an author who has lived quite a life but she's older now, and cannot type as well as she could so she hires a young man to write her final story.

LOVED this book. So good!!! It was so interesting to read and Ruby is just the best character. I laughed throughout and had tears.

First, the cover of the ARC I received drew me in hard! So good. A story told in vignettes about men and the relationships she was in with them. Highly original and FUN. Highly recommend.

Ruby Devereaux is ninety, her publisher Grantham & Harris wants her to write one last book and Ruby isn't the type of person to walk slowly away from a challenge. Ruby employees an assistant, the person needs to be able to type, make a decent cup tea, cook and most of all have an open mind and not be easily shocked. Ruby last literary endeavour will be a biography, about herself and she's going to go out with a big bang.

Ruby had a dull childhood, her father was always working and her mum didn’t really like being a mother and burnt everything she cooked. Ruby was sent to the country during the Second World War, here Ruby feels free, and she dreams about her future and has her first crush.

Ruby grows up and starts working at a literary agency in Bloomsbury, her boss mistakenly reads her scribbled manuscript, publishes it and she's officially an author. Ruby travels to New York, Venice, Vietnam, Berlin during the Cold War, back to London and twelve people play an important part in Ruby's life and are a major influence.

Ruby uses what happens in her existence and conversations with people as inspiration for her books, like all authors she suffers from writers block, she’s always searching for something and has no idea what it is. Ruby D. likes to have a good time, attend parties, drink too much, fall in love and sometimes it works out and others times it ends in disaster and it wasn’t always Ruby’s fault.

I received a digital copy of The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux by Mandy Robotham from Aria & Aries and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is brilliant, so different to other novels I have read by Ms. Robotham, it made me laugh and Ruby is a unique character, cry, I rode all of Ruby’s highs pardon the pun, her lows and everything in between.

A narrative about friendship, love, messy break ups, heart break, scandal, adventure, war and loss. Five stars from me, I'm sure Ruby rocked her Mary Quant miniskirt, she had great taste in music as well, and when I think of Ruby, one quote comes to mind "it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all".

The Scandalous Life of Ruby D, was definitely more sensational than scandalous if we compare it to the antics women get upto in today's times.

Ruby D the lead , sure lead a full life , in a way experiencing most of what life has to offer. I sure did enjoy her scandalous life cycle.