Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is book two in The Queen’s Deadly Damsels series (read in order!) and is a marked improvement from book one which unfortunately fell flat for me.

A historical romance with a mystery subplot (it’s buried somewhere, I promise). The overarching plot of our FMCs working for the Queen in taking down a trafficking ring continues. The balance between romance and mystery was once again weighted much more heavily towards romance. I found myself often forgetting about the subplot altogether. But I felt the build up of the romance here was much better done and had a satisfying payoff.

Millicent (Millie) and Major General Drake (Beau) find themselves in a marriage engagement neither of them were looking for. They both use the house party in the country leading up to their wedding to try and smoke out a suspect in the trafficking ring from book one.

There is a great build up in the relationship between Millie and Beau. A lot of tension and a lot of yearning. Both have been hurt in the past in different ways and must learn to trust and love again.

I find myself looking forward to (hopefully) reading more in this series.

Millie doesn't want to get married, especially to the man her terrible step-mother picked. She'd rather live alone fighting crime in the name of the Queen. That is until she meets Major General Drake and comes up with a new plan.
Think Bridgerton vibes with more female espionage. This is the second book in the series, but you don't need to read the first to understand the story. Although I will now be reading the first one to hear Hannah's story The Secret Life of a Lady.

I thought this was fun! It was a quick, easy read that had me hooked from the beginning.

What I liked:
1. Body positivity
2. Banter
3. Unlikely partnership
4. Millie’s feminism and the fact that she didn’t care what others thought. I love a powerful FMC

What I didn’t like
1. I wish the POV switched every chapter instead of randomly in the middle of the chapter.
2. Instalove/instalust is not my favorite trope and I felt like that delayed the chemistry of the characters

I would definitely recommend this book and series to anyone who likes historical romance with spice.

this was everything you could ever want in a book. regency romance, spice, drama and a bit of murder mystery.

i devoured this book, it was so easy to read and it was the most fun storyline i’ve actually had the honour of reading in what feels like forever

i loved the characters. and i loved how millie is described as being plus sized. it was a breath of fresh air. millie and drake are adorable and i loved how they shared their fears and all things intimacy with each other. even the side characters were chefs kiss and i hope they all get their own books

the mystery plot was also amazing albeit a little bit of a side plot, didn’t see the twist coming but it was really well written

i genuinely had so much fun with this book and im so ready for more. thank you netgalley & boldwood books for this e-arc

Thanks for the opportunity to read a book on Mac gallery. The premise of this book I liked the writing is bunker using the word nipple and cock and breasts is deplorable. I would not recommend this book unless it was rewritten. I would’ve appreciated a warning about the language in the explicitness before attempting to read this book.

3 ⭐️
This was a cute historical romance with a side plot of mystery. While I did enjoy elements of the story, such as watching the relationship between Millie and Beau develop. Alongside seeing them solve the mystery of their secret mission. I found this book a bit hard to get into due to some of the dialogue at the beginning, but carried on as I was intrigued by the mystery and hints about the future relationship between our main characters.

I would have liked to have seen more of Millie’s training and seen them actively investigating rather than the author just telling us information. But overall found this to be an easy read.

I’m loving this series of witty adult racy books where the Ladies show the Lords they have met their match in every sense. Match in love, match in intrigue, match in the Ladies knowing what they want in life and the bedroom, and not being beholden to a husband. In book two: Millicent Whittenburg just wants to spy for the Queen, rather than being foisted off in marriage to a decrepit aged Lord by her truly appalling stepmother. Millicent’s plan to be ‘ruined’ in standing by Major General Beaufort Drake (a kiss meant much more then) then escaping into the background of a life of espionage comes unstuck. Better watch out Beau her knives are much sharper than you might imagine, but also Millicent because she realises Beau looks very nice to her from every angle. Beau slowly comes to realise that he wants to ‘ruin her’ (read in a truly adult sexy way) after all - and not just a dalliance but for every more. What will he be willing to give up for that? Because Millicent knows what she wants, or does she completely know what she wants after all? Thank you to Boldwoid Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Mystery and romance come together at the home of Major General Beaufort Drake, Earl of Tetly.
Millicent Whittenberg is being forced to marry a man the same age as her father by her truly horrible step-mother Patricia. Truly, truly horrible...
Millie needs a quick out and the major is the perfect route. A quick moment (planned) on the veranda and Millie is freed from the horrible connection, only to find herself now tied to the major, who rather than leaving her a ruined woman, has decided they must wed!
Both Millie and Beau have secrets (secret skills secret work, secret missions), major trust issues, and horrible relations, but they fight through it to each other.
The mystery definitely took the back burner here, which is fine, the romance was lovely and certainly spicy.
As this was the second in the series, I feel I would have had a better grasp of the supporting characters if I read the first, but it really didn't detract from the story.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Darcy McGuire, and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this book!

A spicy Regency (well, Victorian, it looks like) romance with wallflower femme fatales? Sounds like a fun time. The book's first half was quite entertaining, though the evil stepmother trope felt somewhat overdone. Millie, the main female character, was interesting. I liked that she was not some delicate English rose, and the main male character, Drake, was an actual war hero with the scars to prove it.

Unfortunately, I didn't like many of the other elements of this book. The book was fast-paced when it came to the romance, to the detriment of the criminal investigation subplot, which felt more tacked on and didn't seem to have a clear resolution at the end. The main characters' inner thoughts regarding their love interest were repetitive, with maybe some throwaway lines about the investigation to remind us it's still going on. Actually, it felt like, aside from the romance, many of the other characters and situations felt more like throwaways. The best friend from the start of the book doesn't make another appearance until more than halfway, and only so she could trauma-dump on our FMC, and it's never explored again. The evil stepmother exists pretty much to be evil and not add much else. Our main characters obviously finally get together in the end, but what of the investigation? Eh, who knows? Certainly not the reader.

Another nitpick that had me nearly deciding to DNF this book was the author's preference to cut sentences into sentence fragments for emphasis. For example: He was in the mid­dle of a com­plete mess. Thanks to his lack of con­trol. Which was clearly Miss Mil­li­cent's fault.

It very much smacks of amateurish writing I've seen from some fanfiction. Surely there are other ways one can write to make some kind of point?

Second in the Deadly Damsels series, but you don't need to have read the first (it's a good read, though).

Millie plans to ruin herself in public so she doesn't have to marry the choice of her horrible stepmother, and can continue to train with the duchess as one of Queen Victoria's 'deadly damsels'. But her plan backfires when she chooses Major General Drake, because he offers to marry her.

They both have secrets and have to come to terms with past betrayals; what neither of them expects is to fall in love with the other.

There's lots of banter and steaminess along the way. They also continue working on a case from book 1 (though it's explained well enough so you know what's going on). Romance, mystery and adventure all wrap up very nicely together - great fun (though I did wince at some of the violence).

A well written regency romp. Not my usual book so I'm not best placed to review in more detail but of it's genre it is a good read.

BOOK: A LADY LESSON WITH SCANDAL
AUTHOR: DARCY MAGUIRE
PUB DATE: OCTOBER 2024
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REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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THINGS I LIKED
1. I liked the empowerment of women and training to be security operatives
2. The marriage of convenience and the house party. I like the tropes
3. The FMC, Milicent, was amazing when she actually stood up for herself.
4. Millicent and Beau's relationship was okay.
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THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
1. Millicent is trained to defend herself, and she doesn't protect herself from her horrible stepmother and her betrothed.
2. That the MMC was an Afghan soldier, just another British soldier who planned to colonise Afghanistan. He should have just blamed his country for going through what he experienced.
3. The cliches. I just wanted something to spice it up. Something different.
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This book was not my favorite.

I usually don’t say this, but I loved A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal way more then the first book! I loved the banter, steam, and love between the two main characters. They were such an opposites attract couple and I loved how they both didn’t want to get married but still somehow fell for each other anyway. Also, I’m usually really good at figuring out the bad guy’s identity in books, but this one came out of left field and I was just like WTF??!! The way McGuire revealed his identity caught me completely off guard. I am loving this series and really hope Ivy gets her own book. READ THIS WHEN IT COMES OUT OCTOBER 12!

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is the first book in Darcy McGuire's Deadly Damsels series. It is full of exciting mystery and love stories. Millicent Whittenburg isn't your normal heroine. She's actually a femme fatale-to-be who wants to ruin herself to escape being betrothed to someone she doesn't want and secretly serve the Queen. The scarred and cold Major General Beaufort Drake is her goal. He hates marriage even more than she does.

When her bold plan goes wrong and they kiss in public, sparking an undeniable attraction, Drake shocks everyone by asking her to marry him. The next week is hot and tense at a wedding house party, where their desire and secret tasks threaten to break them both apart.

In this historical tale, McGuire does a great job of keeping the tension and excitement high. The fiery relationship between Millie and Drake is full of clever banter, hot energy, and surprises. A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is a great book to read if you like strong female leads, dark male leads, and love stories that combine risk and desire. Get ready for some bad lessons and a romance that will thrill and steam you up!

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal gives definite Bridgerton vibes! A historical fiction period piece with a daring heroine and plenty of spice this was a compelling read however the book just didn't quite hit all the marks. The characters were enjoyable but the story felt a little too neat and predictable in parts.
I would recommend this as an easy read to fans of romance and period pieces.

Title: A lady's lesson in scandal (the queen's deadly damsels book 2)
Author: Darcy Mcguire
Pages: 332
Rating: 5/5

Arc Copy (gifted) - review left voluntarily
Publish date - 12th October 2024

"A BRAND NEW spicy historical romance series, featuring a cast of deadly damsels! Wallflower at risk of ruin…"

Millie wants to publicly "ruin" herself so she's free to work undercover. Of course things backfire spectacularly!

This book had me smiling from ear to ear with the quick witted banter between each of the characters. The storyline wasn't all fluff and spice though. There were some darker sinister things at play making it all a very interesting read. It was well balanced and didn't seem particularly heavy.

The characters are well made. The storyline well paced.

I hadn't realised this was the second book in the series, however it does work very well as a standalone and I felt I hadn't missed much from book one.

A fab ending and I'll be reading book one and following the series!


You'll love this book if you like
- spicy books
- historical romance
- marriage of convenience
- femme fatales
- grumpy x sunshine
- strong female leads
- enemies to lovers

Thank you netgalley and boldwood books for allowing me to review.

Will you read it? If you've read it already, what were your thoughts??

I really enjoyed this - so much so I immediately bought and read the first book. The writing is sassy, spicy and fun, which is how I like my historical reads. I’m a sucker for stories with female assassins – and I’d definitely read more from this author.

Millicent Whittenburg is being forced to marry a man old enough to be her father. Her only way out is to be the architect of her own, very public, ruin. The woman hating Major General Drake seems like the perfect candidate for her ruination. But she doesn’t count on his being a man of honour who will offer for her. How can she lead her life if espionage for Queen Victoria if she is married.

The story is set in the Victorian period, though I only know this from the multiple mentions of the queen. It could be set in any period with the characters all having modern ideas and acting very twentyfirst century. I did like the idea of less than perfect main characters (she’s tall and fat, he’s tall and scarred from war) but really it didn’t add anything.

I did find the treatment of Millie by her stepmother, only a few years her elder, and her father very unpleasant. Her father went from doting on her to allowing his new wife to whip her.

On a pedantic note, one of the characters is the Duchess of Dorset mispelt Dorsett throughout, which to a UK reader is a glaring error.

Overall it’s an okay romance but had too many flaws for me to really enjoy it.

Today I’m reviewing the new historical romance from author Darcy McGuire, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. In this historical fiction romance we follow Millicent Whittenburg, a forward thinking, femme-fatale in training in need of way out of an unwanted betrothal. With the unknowing help of Major General Beaufort Drake, Milli rids herself of her stepmothers choice in husband, to find herself in more trouble than she realized in her recklessness to gain her freedom.

This one was tricky.

You have a young woman desperate to get away from her abusive step-mother and neglectful father. Milli has the means to free herself from her situation and takes a rash chance on a man she knows would be honor bound to protect her. What she doesn’t expect is finding a love she didn’t know she could have or felt she deserved.

So here’s what I thought didn’t work for this one. There is on page physical abuse Milli suffers by her stepmother. It’s very intense and close to being described as being flogged. When authors take on forms of abuse, especially when it’s on page, they walk a fine line of its significance to the story when portraying something horrifying in humanities capability of being cruel.

My question I had from these interactions with the stepmother was is this necessary to have this much dedicated on page violence? Plus, the time for those types of wounds to heal isn’t a few days or a week. If you’re asking me to stomach the main character being abused and then have her miraculously healed a week later, I’m going to have some very concerning questions.

My suspense of disbelief can only be held for so long.

Even though I had issue with one of the villains of the novel and the reality of how human beings heal, the romance friends is what you’re going to enjoy. How Milli and Drake start to create a safe haven for each other from the very beginning. Traversing a dangerous attraction that could undue them both (in an oh-so-good-way). It’s fun to see them rile each other up and explore the endless possibilities of what can be.

Please be sure to see the content warnings before reading this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"A Lady's Lesson in Scandal" is the second book in a series by Darcy McGuire. I didn't read the first installment, and I think I would have enjoyed the character dynamics in this book more if I had. Our main characters, Millie and Drake, are working for separate employers but towards the same goal; this scenario and some fun tropes drive the plot. This was a bit spicy for my taste and there was some insta-love, which I don't tend to enjoy. However, the main mystery was interesting and kept me reading.