I love a good regency romance!! This was so addictive. Anne is a strong FMC who is trying to reclaim her life after being mistreated by family and her fiancé. I think the author did a good job covering such dark topics. I loved this book. I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future!

This was just such a fast read for me. It made me want to get back into historical fiction. You got a prime ministers daughter and a rake. I mean come on! That combo?! Dirty politics always makes a great story line. And also that plot….not just romance. . Make sure to read the trigger warnings before reading. Overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you Bloomsbury (Aria) and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

Ah, another "run away from my arranged marriage" plot! Not angry about it one bit! Anne is the daughter of a powerful politician, and seeks help from a rogue named Richard Grey. Cue the love and deception!

Lots of chemistry here, and the plot does extend beyond their romance! There is quite a bit of triggering content, something to please keep in mind before divulging, but it's very compelling. Full of passion and adventure!

This story was an enthralling historical romance that completely captured my attention. The story is set against a beautifully detailed Regency backdrop, and Kendrick does a superb job of transporting me to that era with her vivid descriptions and authentic settings. The plot revolves around a passionate and somewhat forbidden romance, which is both complex and delightfully scandalous.

Take nothing at face value!

Anne Sheffield is the daughter of Stanton Sheffield, a powerful politician whose ideas are ultra conservative, where women are seen as the property of fathers and husbands. Anne’s been betrothed to a much older man, the Duke of Kendal since she was twelve years old. Definitely sleazy connotations, cohesive control, and abuse—both physical and mental are part of her life from her father and the Duke.
She has six weeks to find an alternative to her marriage to the Duke, but how to dodge her father’s decrees?
Who better to help her than Richard Grey, a dedicated politician opposed to all her father stands for. A thorough rogue to train her in the art of flirting and help find someone else to wed. Anne’s bar is not high.
In return Anne will give Richard the names of politicians whose vote her father has obtained by manipulation and blackmail. Anne trades her lessons for that damaging political information.
Anne has had to maintain an empty facade, concerned only with new gowns and hats. In reality she is highly intelligent with an astute mind, and gifted with a phenomenal memory.
A Bill is about to be introduced into parliament for the right to vote for all men. Grey of course champions this. Stanton Sheffield is vitriolic in his opposition.
Anne and Richard’s relationship grows, sparked by the attraction between them. A pull that is both illicit and troubling. After all rakes don’t reform! Sensuality comes to the fore. A redeeming quality of Richard’s is his kind heart and unswerving loyalties to friends.
What follows is a novel that tackles age old issues of power, wealth, dominance, and all matters in between. As I said in an earlier review of the ebook edition this is an oftentimes fun read with intrigue and romance, in a taming of the rake and quasi enemies to lovers vibe.

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

My Rating: 2.75 / 5

I am truly wavering on the rating and can't fully decide but I liked the book well enough.

What I did like about the book:
I liked the two main characters Anne is strong and intelligent and Richard is sexy and rebellious for his time( meaning yay women's rights!). Their chemistry together was good. It was a bit of an insta-love situation but mostly on the guys part which makes it okay in my books lol.
The first half of the book, this is very much the "scandalous lessons" part. Only expect the title to be relevant in the first half.
What I didn't like:
This book is cleaved in two essentially. The "scandalous lessons" part and then frankly a bit of a sickening and nerve-wracking second half. If you are looking for a fun sexy light read then the second half of this book Is Not It. It's quite the tonal switch up and didnt feel very romance book to me.
It is VERY obvious the author has plans for many of the side characters to have their own books (by many I mean 4 couples). It was distracting to say the least. It took the focus off of Richard and Anne because we were getting some plot set up for these four other couples stories. Many times I felt like I walked halfway into a story without knowing because these side couples were getting so fleshed out it felt like maybe I was on the middle book of a series.

If you think this book will be spicy I would say this is on the lower end of the spice scale.

That being said for the most part I liked the book well enough. If it had stayed more along what it's first half was I would have enjoyed it more. I will be keeping an eye out for one of the couples book though.

Anne Sheffield is in a difficult place. She's completely under the thumb of her domineering and abusive father, and he's betrothed her to a much older and really creepy duke. Desperate to escape her father's control and her upcoming marriage, she approaches her father's political rival Richard Grey with a proposition. She wants Grey, a notorious rake, to teach her the arts of seduction so she can find an alternative husband. In return, she'll provide him with her father's political secrets. He agrees to the plan and arranges for Anne to attend a house party at his friend the Duchess of Hasting's estate.

Seduction lessons in a historical romance always lead to sexy results, and this book is no exception. But it's all about how the couple gets there. Richard is very charming and not nearly as much of a rake as he's been rumored to be. Anne seems like a typical young miss, but she's a completely different person when she's away from her awful father.

I really enjoyed this book. The romance is great, and the stakes are very high as Anne tries to escape the control of her father and fiance. There's a lot of political intrigue, and Anne's role as her father's secret keeper makes her a target. The drama is very entertaining.

CW: attempted sexual assault, parental abuse (physical and emotional), brief mentions of child sex abuse.

Anne Sheffield has finally decided to take charge of her life, her father is an MP and an awful man who uses her photographic memory to store information about his enemies, so he can blackmail them. He completely controls her life and has betrothed her to an equally awful man, the Duke of Kendal. But no more, she is done being her father’s puppet and she cannot even contemplate being married to Kendal. She carefully plans her escape from her father’s house and makes her way to the home of his archnemesis and known rake – Richard Grey. She makes a deal with Richard, he will tutor her in the ways of seduction so she can find a different man to marry and in return she will provide him with information to convince his political opponents to vote with him on a bill he is trying to get passed in Parliament. She was sure her scheme would work, but she never counted on falling for Richard or the lengths her father would go to keep her under his control.

Richard Grey is the brother of the Earl of Kent and a powerful political figure, as well as a well-known ladies’ man. When Anne comes to him in the middle of the night for help, he can’t believe that she is the same woman he has seen many times before, a woman who seems more interested in bonnets than politics, but it is clear that she is not the woman the ton thinks she is. Richard agrees to teach her how to attract a man, but never dreams he will be that man or meeting Anne will endanger his own family.

OMG – I loved this story; it ran parallel to his brother’s story – A Touch Wicked and teases readers with future stories regarding more than one secondary character. The book is well written, nicely paced, delightfully steamy and has just enough drama and angst to keep it interesting without becoming too dark. I loved Richard and Anne together and was on the edge of my seat more than once as their love story twisted and turned. This book is part of a series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title – but be warned, once you read this book you are going to want to read them all! *This book was originally published in 2018 and was re-released in 2023*

4.5 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. *

This book was the perfect blend of steamy, and sweet, with just a bit of mystery, and intrigue mixed in there. The first half of the book was a little more heavy on the romance than the last half. I probably would of enjoyed it even more if the steamy parts were a little more frequent but that's just my personal preference. The mystery aspect of the story was fun too. Overall it was an enjoyable read for me and I'll read more in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for eARC!

This is an easy read with with good drama and romance. I was rooting for the main characters from page one and their love confessions were perfection I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

Vibes: seduction lessons, gentle hero/traumatized heroine, instalove

Heat Index: 7/10

Anne needs help finding a husband--it's the only way she can escape her abusive father and worse fiancee. She offers notorious rake and political blackmailer (and enemy of her father) Richard a deal: if he teaches her how to seduce a husband, she'll give him information he needs. The problem? She may be, however unintentionally, seducing Richard.

This is an interesting one. It got off to a really good start. I like the characters, and they have good chemistry. I'm definitely intrigued about the rest of the series, and will most likely be checking it out. But it went by very quickly. This would have benefited from more page time, and for that matter, more time luxuriating in the romance. Anne and Richard get together fast, and the story takes a pretty dark turn from there--one I expected, but even then it felt tonally dissonant from the frothy, heady love story I'd read up until then.

I know this book was published in a different form earlier, and I wonder if it was any longer. As it is, this is compelling and makes plenty of good points about nineteenth century politics and the abuse suffered by women. But it's pretty rushed.

Quick Takes:

--Just as a heads up... when I say this gets dark, it gets pretty dark. Emotional, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse are discussed and occur (and it has been occurring for a very long time). I didn't think this was over the top, and I feel it was sensitively handled. However, read with caution.

--One thing I really enjoyed was Richard's friend Caro (not because of the name similarity, but it helped) and all of the nude paintings she did... starring Richard. More books where the heroes pose for nude paintings! More books where the heroes have female friends and it's cool and chill and nobody is weird about it! I definitely want to read Caro's book, which I think comes out next year. Marriage in trouble? Yes please.

--I hate the term "instalove", because I often feel that what people are referring to is instalust. I honestly don't mind instalust when done well; it's the love part I want to see happen gradually. Because the first half of this book, when the falling in love part takes place, is SO quick, this did feel pretty instant. Richard is really, really soft with Anne--and yes, he's a nice guy, but it kind of feels like he's falling for her super fast. And if there had been more to the relationship, more trouble and friction, that may have worked. But the love story itself is pretty smooth.

--On another note, I will say... for a nOTORIOUS ROGUE, Richard is pretty sweet. Not that a notorious rogue has to be the worst person ever, but at points this book seemed SO aware of its publication date. Richard is super talky about consent, and like--I want this book to have good consent politics. I do not need the hero explaining consent. It felt awkward.

That said, otherwise he was very hot, and I enjoyed the fact that he got weird and cranky when he hadn't been laid in a while. More of this behavior please.

--This all sounds very critical, but honestly--if you want a good romance and you're okay with things being a bit fast, you'll probably love this. The writing is good. It's hot. It's tender. I liked a lot of it. I'll be reading more. I just think that this installment could have used a bit of work.

The Sex:

Speaking of, this was good. It obviously begins pretty early, and there are several scenes that aren't RIDICULOUSLY explicit, but are very much explicit. And it begins with a gazebo moment that is QUITE impetuous. The best part is that he's very grumpy and fucked up about it after because they aren't together and he's trying to help her find a different man, but he can still taste her in his mouth!!! DAMMIT!!!

A flawed but nice read, I think this book shows Katrina Kendrick's talent, but would benefit from some expansion and a bit of further development.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The taming of a take is always a fun read but throw in the political issues and the MMC being on the right side of history and it turned this book into something set apart from the rest.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (Historical Romance)
Release Date: August 3, 2024

Synopsis: Anne Sheffield has been promised to the Duke of Kendal since she was 12. Her father is domineering and uses her memory to help his political machinations. With two months to her wedding, she gets in contact with the only man who can help her, Richard Grey. Richard is known to be a rake, but he uses this reputation to hide his real role in politics. Anne needs Richard’s help in finding a husband that she actually loves. Will the flirting lessons lead to more?

My Thoughts: I did like this book, and it was very quick however, parts of this book were very tough. TW: sexual assault, child abuse, forced marriage. However, I did like the love story between Richard and Anne. I thought Anne was a great character, with her being strong in the face of everything that life has thrown at her. So, despite some of the tough subject matter, I did like the book.

If you love dating lessons or the Bridgerton series, you’ll love this.

This is a short, straightforward, sexy historical romance. Anne is betrothed to an awful man; her father is an unscrupulous politician on the wrong side of history. Using impeccable romance novel logic, she approaches his political enemy, Richard Grey, to help her find a husband. Richard is the perfect man to do this because he can seduce any woman he wants, so obviously he can teach her to seduce any man she wants! So he gets her invited to a house party where she receives plenty of successful lessons in seduction. But the lessons work too well, because now they've been mutually seduced!

We love a book with lessons, decent characters, and external relationship conflicts, and this book gives all three. There are some major content warnings (see below) but honestly this was pretty rompey for a book that deals with such dark themes. This one is a ton of fun where the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good guys come out on top. The book also sets up at least three other romances, so we might be headed for a deep Katrina Kendrick dive...

CW: child sexual abuse; sexual abuse; physical abuse; psychological abuse.

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

I really enjoyed this story it was cute and my cup of tea. I love anything to do with the pride and prejudice era. Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC!

This book was so cute and spicy! I loved it!! Engaging romance with fantastic characters, beautifully written, I finished it in a day!! I'm a sucker for historical romances and the cover art is adorable. 100% would recommend this book

Victorian era instalove romance with a side of political intrigue, voting rights, and (warning!) child abuse.

His Scandalous Lessons tells the story of Anne, who is the brilliant but sheltered daughter of a corrupted politician. She is being forced into an unequal, miserable marriage that benefits her father. Leveraging political secrets she is privy to, Anne devises a scheme to secure a safer marriage by working with Richard Grey, one of her father's political rivals. The pacing felt a little off to me- things between Richard and Anne seemed to move so fast, despite the trauma she had experienced and how carefully she planned and executed everything else in her life. I was really surprised at how dark this book got- Anne's story is much deeper than just an overbearing father, and the scandals/blackmail that come to light were distressing to read about.

I usually stick to Regency era romances, but enjoyed the political backdrop of the Victorian era in this story. There is a lot of discussion of a ballot change legislation to make voting more equitable across socioeconomic classes, which was interesting to read about.

This is the first in a series, and introduces several characters who feature in the following books. I actually read a later book in this series (A Bride by Morning, highly recommend) first, and enjoyed getting some backstory on some of the characters from that book. I really like how the author writes her FMC- they are clever and skilled at working with the limited social and political currency they have. I will definitely continue this series, and hope that a book about Caroline, the Duchess, is coming soon!

thanks to netgalley for my copy! i've been in my regency era lately and simply put, i enjoyed this one! it was simple to follow and had a fun plot that reminded me a little bit of bridgeton. the writing style/pacing was a little all over the place for me and the plot eventually went everywhere towards the end, but i really enjoyed the characters and thought they had a lot of depth. would definitely still recommend if you're into the bridgeton style, sexy romances and will definitely still be looking into the author for her other books!

Genre: historical romance
London, 1872

Anne Sheffield has a very limited time frame in which to seduce a man so thoroughly he will procure a special license and marry her before her father weds her to a much older duke. Anne’s father is a powerful MP, and relies on Anne’s memory to keep his secrets (mostly of blackmail) safe. Anne takes her future into her own hands and bargains with Richard Grey, notorious rake, by trading lessons in seduction for the secrets her father has been keeping. Richard arranges for the reputable Duchess of Hastings to host a house party, where Richard and Anne can meet. The threat of Anne’s father looms large, though, and it’s becoming clear that there may not be anyone more suitable for her than Richard himself.

I picked this up because Katrina Kendrick is a pen name for Elizbeth May, whose book To Cage a God has one of my new favorite anti-heroes. Knowing her ability to bring sizzling chemistry to the page, I wanted to read some of her historical romances as well. And let me tell you, this did not disappoint. This is high heat, and while Anne is innocent, she’s also attuned to her needs and never a wilting miss. Richard is immediately gone for her when she sheds the public persona she wears under her father’s control, and there’s nothing hotter than a man who has promised to help a woman find another husband but falls hopelessly for her first.

Because she also writes fantasy, Kendrick shines with politically entangled plots that don’t bog down the storyline. The driving plot is Anne’s father’s blackmailing scheme, and not only Anne’s opposition, but also Richard’s opposition to the way he bullies tenants and servants, and strong-arms men into quivering at his power. The villains are on the overstated side, both father and duke are smarmy men against whom you desperately want to seek vengeance, but it makes the payoff all the more satisfying.

I did not completely finish this b00k, but I got over halfway into it, and though I really loved the writing style and the political aspects and concept. I felt the romance was far to "Insta-love" for me, the relationship progressed really fast and I found myself asking "Woah??? how did we get here?"