This book was a big fat DNF for me – I hate books with infidelity and cheating. The “hero” in this book is a married man – an unhappily married and hasn’t live with his wife in 9 years – but is STILL married to her. His wife wants a divorce, and they begin proceedings – but at the end of the book he is still married to her – so what kind of HEA is that?? Della 100 % deserved better.

If he had already been divorced, I would have been fine with that, but he wasn’t. He is married, as in has a wife and married is freaking married – ergo the only relationship he could have with the heroine is an adulterous one – That is a hard pass for me.

Clearly, I didn’t like this book, but I would consider reading the next book because I like the author’s writing style.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Ready for your next good read? Check out A Lady’s Guide to London by Faye Delacour is out soon. Pick it up.

I love historical romance. I also loved the first book in this series so I very much was looking forward to this one.

This is an enemies to lovers where the odds are stacked against them. BUT what we love about the genre is we know we’re gonna get our happy ending.

This book was very enjoyable.

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC.

2.5 rounded to three stars.

This is a tough review to write, because I think Faye Delacour is a strong writer, and I’m glad she’s writing historical romance. She knows how to write dialogue, create dramatic tension, and move the plot forward. I did not think this book had the pacing issues that the first book in the series did. These are all very good things.

My issue was with the characterization of Della, as well as some of the other characters. Another reviewer noted that these characters did not seem consistent with who they were in the first book in the series. I agree completely. At times, it felt like I was reading a book about brand new characters I had never met before. That’s not a great feeling in a series.

The problem with Della was most likely personal for me. I am a professor and an author. I could not help but cringe every time Della made comments about how easy it would be to write a book, how she could do it in six weeks, etc. The treatment of writing in this book just drove me nuts. I know this is rather a niche problem to have and isn’t something that would bother most readers, but it was really bothersome to me.

I also found it unbelievable that a woman of Della’s time would so easily take up with a married man, with seemingly little to no thought about the consequences to her and her family. It is possible to write a very good historical romance that explores the awfulness of divorce laws, and specifically the treatment women in divorce cases, during this time. Julia Bennet did this beautifully in The Worst Woman in London. Unfortunately, this book did not take that type of approach. I found the tone of the early chapters of the book to be completely at odds with the plot, frankly.

Della’s sister was also a head scratcher for me. Again, we have a character taking huge risks with something that was absolutely taboo at the time, but treating the whole matter very lightly and as if it was just a fun lark. I’m being a bit vague here so as not to spoil, but it was very difficult for me to reconcile Della and her sister‘s earlier behavior toward this particular person with the actions they took later in the book, which showed a complete disregard for this person. This character’s life was ruined, and that was treated as an inconvenience by Della and especially her sister.

Finally, the ending. As others have said, I turned the page, expecting another chapter or an epilogue, only to say “that’s it?!” I don’t necessarily think that every romance novel has to have a happily ever after, but it does need to have a happy for now, and this book doesn’t even have that. I understand that the future of these characters was difficult, given the issues of divorce, but again, other books have done it. In addition to the other book I already named in this review, Scarlett Peckham’s The Rakess is an excellent example of a book that gives a satisfying conclusion for a couple who will never marry. It is possible to acknowledge and respect the complexity of the characters’ lives while still providing readers at least some resolution, and unfortunately, this book did not do that for me.

This is the second book in the series.
The plot in this book is not your typical historical romance.
Della is a partner in a ladies gambling business. She decides to write a guide for ladies traveling to London and of course promote the gambling hall.
Viscount Ashton has written a guide for gentlemen, so, when his publisher suggests that Ashton and Della team up for his second book, he unwillingly agrees to help her.
Their chemistry together is all over the place. He is going through a divorce and doesn't want to compromise her reputation.
There are great secondary characters, and as I stated before a very unconventional storyline.

I just love Faye so much!
The second book in "The Lucky Ladies" series had cemented my love for her and her writing. Della had grown so much since the first volume and her love story was so awaited! I loved the rivals to lovers and Ashton's character. I just would love more of them in the end.

Faye Delacour has once again won me over by creating a cast of characters for whom I can't help but cheer.

Della is determined to demonstrate to the world that she's a reliable friend and a capable business woman. When her closest friend and business partner has her first child, Della takes on more responsibility at their women's only gambling hall. Though she is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks required to keep the hall running, she is full to bursting with ideas for how to improve the running and marketing of it. When the grumpy and buttoned up Viscount Lyman Ashton declines to include her gaming hall in his guide to London, she decides to write her own guide, which the publisher agrees to purchase... if Ashton will mentor her through the drafting of it. And thus begins a banter filled rivals to lovers romance teeming with forced proximity and delicious tension.

I loved Della from the first page. She feels like a kindred spirit - bright and determined, albeit overwhelmed by the size and scope of her own enthusiasm. She has so many ideas, and she's not deterred when people underestimate her. Viscount Ashton is drawn to Della from the start, though he resists her charms because he ruined his life and his marriage through gambling, and he doesn't want to ruin her.

Della's relationship with the viscount straddles a fine line that some readers won't be comfortable with. Lord Ashton is married. Though he's been separated from his wife for years and she is seeking a divorce, some readers might find it challenging to get behind their love story. I really enjoyed this aspect of their story, as it gave them a real reason to resist their attraction to each other beyond just coming from different classes or having differing levels of wealth.

Faye handles their relationship with care and fills it with such joy and tenderness I think readers will be excited to root for them. If you love a spicy rivals to lovers historical with high emotional stakes, definitely give this book a read.

So happy to return to this world! I really enjoyed the first book so I was really looking forward to this one. Especially since it focused on Della.

Della is easily the best part of this book. She's delightfully charming, witty, and optimistic. I really enjoyed her POV chapters. Her struggle with being co-owner of the gambling hell is written well too. Viscount Ashton could be a bit of a butthead but that's only because he doesn't include Della's gambling hell for women in his guidebook haha. I had a lot of fun with these two butting heads and fighting their attraction. They are very much rivals to lovers vibes. The romance is paced well and has plenty of chemistry between the two leads. The spicier scenes were well balanced throughout the story. Plus the things that would come out of Viscount Ashton's mouth! Very hot!

I liked that we got to return to the gambling hell that Della and the main FMC from the first book created. We didn't get to see much of it in the first book so it was cool to see it here. Plus I like that Delacour shows the business owner's side of things. The struggles of trying to make a business successful, especially a woman owned business feels timely.

Overall, I enjoyed this installment in the series. It was nice to return to this world and characters. Would recommend!

ARC Review: A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour
Pub Date: April 15, 2025

Della is part owner of a women's only gambling club. She's shouldering more responsibility there and has come up with a few ways to help drum up membership - including writing a guide to London for ladies after the author of a similar guide refuses to include her club due to it only being for women. Viscount Lyman Ashton has nothing against Della, really, but thinks that it's not good business to write about her club. However since Della won't take no for an answer, he offers to help her write her own guide, for a price of course. As they spend more and more time together, Della realizes that she may have judged Lyman harshly. But when scandal threatens to ruin them both, what will they do?

I really enjoyed this book! It's pretty rare that I can get to 90% of a book and really not know how the characters were going to get their HEA. It kept me incredibly invested in the book and I love that we get a sort of untraditional HEA. I really like how Della and Lyman get to know each other and come to a much better understanding of each others motivations. There are a few subplots but I don't think they detracted from the main relationship - and I was really glad to have a queer subplot with Della's sister!

I just really have no complaints about this book! I'm super excited to see what Faye writes next. Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour, Della Danby, a wealthy heiress, is living a rather careless life. She and Jane, her best friend and business partner, are running a ladies gambling business that is not acceptable in society, but they are willing to risk their reputation. Viscount Lyman Ashton is a man living in regret since gambling ruined his life as well as his marriage, leaving him penniless. The only thing that keeps him going is being an author of London's guidebooks. He meets Della when she decides to promote their business through his guidebook, but Lyman refuses to include it, so she decides to write her own. But she needs his support and guidance, and he needs the money, so they have to work together. As they work on her guide, they discover that they are getting closer than they are supposed to, and if they decide to pursue their feelings, there's just too much to lose. To find out what the future holds for them, find out more in this book, A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour.

I like the way the author has expertly crafted the book from the beginning to the end, as the book is quite complex but very intriguing. The writing style is also clear, although it is a historical fiction genre. I like that about it.

Although the book is fascinating, the author has dwelt so much on the bad and the ugly side of the characters, leaving the good behind, therefore not striking a good balance.

I rate this book, A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour, 5 out of 5 stars.

I recommend it to those who love steamy historical fiction books that are an engaging read, which contain characters with great personalities but also do not hide their bad and ugly sides.

Yeah this one totally worked. I don’t think I have read a hist rom like this before. Viscount Lyman Ashton was a fascinating character with a terrible secret. He has what we would call now a gambling addiction. 9 years ago, he gambled away his entire estate and subsequently became estranged from his wife. He now makes a meager living writing guidebooks for gentlemen. Della Danby co-runs a gambling club for women with her friend. She wants to get Ashton to include her club in his book. When he refuses she decides to write her own guidebook for women but the publisher makes her work with Ashton who has experience writing books. This couple was great! And there were many twists and turns in each of their stories. I liked that this book didn’t take the easy way out, going for a Hollywood ending. This is a romance so we know these two have to end up getting together but, well, it’s complicated. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Faye Delacour is one of THE new voices in historical romance, and her sophomore novel deals with all the third rails of the genre. This is smart, creative, and clever--Delacour is one to watch.

Faye Delacour, you never miss! I absolutely loved the heroine fighting society's strictures and the way the people who matter love her all the more for it. Delicious.

We love a historical romance that stares the absurdity of draconian divorce laws in the face and explores how trapping people within unhappy marriages hurts everyone, especially women. I appreciated Ashton as a hero who knows he has royally messed up and makes no illusions about or excuses for his past immaturity and carelessness. It was so refreshing to read about a man who agrees that his wife is right to hate his guts and is willing to do whatever is necessary to help her be free and find happiness. There's a quiet radicalness to his insistence that he doesn't deserve Della, his heroine, either, and it made his <i>we-shouldn't-do-this</i> wavering feel genuine as opposed to patronizing the way it often does in other historicals. Della's stubbornness and enthusiasm for life made her a perfect counterweight, and I like the open-ended conclusion of the book. I have faith in these two figuring it out together.

In the second title of the historical romance series, the plot is focused on Della, who co-owns a ladies only gaming hell with Jane (the MFC of the first book The Lady He Lost).

Well written, with enjoyable characters, I enjoyed this - with some issues.
*calling this an enemies to lovers story is stretching it
*the end - I wanted more of a resolution

All in all, this one didn’t work for me quite as well as the first title, but I will continue to read more of this series and more by the author.



Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the DRC

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Della Danby is determined to prove herself as co-owner of London’s first (and only) gambling club for ladies. Nothing will stop Della from achieving financial success, especially not a grumpy viscount-turned-writer who thinks he’s too good to include her business in his precious guidebook. But when Della sets out to write her own guidebook to London geared towards the ladies of the ton, she finds herself closer to Viscount Ashton than ever.

A Lady’s Guide to London is Faye Delacour’s second installment in The Lucky Ladies of London series. I enjoyed the push and pull of their relationship throughout the book, drawn apart by their fears and insecurities and forced back together by their shared project (and undeniable chemistry). I love when two characters think they’ve got their feelings under control and don’t realize they’re doomed until it’s already too late.

Some Miscellaneous Positives

♣️ Something I love about reading historical romances is all the tiny details you learn about life at the time that you’d never encounter otherwise. I’d never heard of chocolate houses before this book, and I definitely thought that “gambling hell” was an ironically apt spelling error.

♣️ I related to Della’s struggle with her newfound responsibility at the club, even if I got a lot of secondhand anxiety from her procrastination.

♣️ The spice was well balanced, not so much that it distracted from the plot and not so little that we lost the tension. The dialogue really shines in these scenes as well, especially from our hero.

♣️ There was a very transparent conversation about contraceptives in this book that I appreciated. I think a lot of romances skip these discussions because they don’t want to lose the scene’s momentum, but here it felt organic and realistic.

As for the negatives, I’d say that this book handles the pacing much better than the first, but it still feels like too many subplots for my personal preference. As a standalone, I think Delacour did a great job creating a believable and engaging relationship, but I don’t think I’ll continue on with the series just because I’ve ran into that issue in both her books. I also wish that I connected with the side characters more, but I found a lot of them either unlikeable or unremarkable. Lastly, I really felt like this book needed an epilogue. It’s not that the conclusion is unsatisfying, but I expected one last moment to truly bookend the story and was surprised we didn’t get one.

Overall, this book tackles a lot and succeeds in crafting a compelling connection between the main characters. I said it with the first book too, but I would really recommend this series to readers that are trying to get into historical romance. I think the fast pace and the number of subplots would appeal to readers that normally find historical romance slow or boring. Ultimately, I didn’t fall in love with their love enough to get to 5-stars, but I appreciate the ways it improved on the first book and enjoyed myself a lot.

This is the second book I have read in the series. It started with so much promise and I truly enjoyed the building of the romance but somewhere along the way it fell flat for me. Della and Ashton seemed to have a great understanding of each other but at time it also seemed as though they didn’t really like each other. I disliked how Della was portrayed during some of the book. I really wanted to enjoy all this book but it felt flat.

I did really enjoy this (though not nearly as much as the first book) but there were some things that I really disliked about it, and had it not been the second book in a series I'd like to enjoy, I think I'd have felt differently about the book overall.

The time period, setting, and world building are really well done here. It's familiar, but different (in a more modern way - you can tell these are written in the 2020's) to other late regency/early Victorian romances.

Now for my complaints

I absolutely knocked a whole star off for how this ends - there's so little resolution that it feels like there is at least a chapter missing at the end. It cuts of so suddenly, following on from Delia's change of heart about Bishops that I struggle to even buy a HFN for these two, which is not something I say lightly.

I didn't realise until after I finished that this was billed as enemies to lovers - at best it is a very mild rivals to lovers & it just annoyed me to try and frame the book like that because that's not the case at all.

The motivations for Delia in this book just... didn't quite gel with who she was in the first book (and the same with Jane & Eli etc). I know there's a decent time jump, but even so, it's fairly jarring.

Anyway, definitely still enjoy Delacour as an author, and I'm excited to see where else this series goes, even if this book didn't quite work for me.

Thanks to @sourcebookscasa I was able to read an eARC of @fayedelacour upcoming book, A Lady’s Guide to London, pubbing April 15, 2025

It’s the second in the Lucky Ladies of London series, and focuses on Della, who owns and operates a gambling hell for ladies with her bestie, Jane, the FMC in The Lady He Lost.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and loved how unexpected it was wrt having a MMC who is married - but long separated - and is definitely on the fringes of “polite” society, as well as a FMC who has her own business, and seeks to live life on her own terms.

The I bring was, IMO, perfect for the two MCs. It’s a messy conclusion but one that makes sense for them.

There’s some side characters we spend time with and whom I hope get their own stories! I will definitely be reading more books by Faye as she continues her publishing career!

If you like the vibes of Lindsay Lovise’s Never Gamble Your Heart, Laura Lee Guhrke’s Lady Scandal or Amalie Howard’s The Worst Duke in London, then I suggest you add A Lady’s Guide to your TBR.

The writing was great and I’d definitely read more from the author, but I felt like the whole “rivalry to lovers” thing lasted 3 pages and then it was just insta lust.

There was times that the main couples relationship took a backseat and the main focus was on Dellas sister or other couples or characters which I usually don’t mind because I love having actual plots that don’t pertain to just the romance but in this instance I just didn’t gel with it?

There was something about the fmc I just wasn’t clicking with either.

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!