The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen by Victoria Alexander

I gave up on The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen at 25%. I found it to be very slow to start, and a bit of a chore to get through. This author takes a very long time to say what she wants to say, and I found myself spacing out as I read page after page of information I didn't need. There was no chemistry between the main characters, and their interactions felt bland and stiff.

3.5 stars

India Prendergast is organized, methodical, and always right. Derek Saunders has recently discovered that his elderly aunt and her two best friends have created The Lady Travelers Society and Assistance Agency, and it’s not totally above-board. He wants to put a stop to their somewhat nefarious reasons for creating the society, and somehow legitimize it. However, before he can do that, India arrives in search of her elderly aunt, who is supposedly traveling all over the world as a result of her association with The Society. Her letters have recently stopped arriving, and that India is worried that she is in danger or has been harmed. She hasn’t heard from her aunt in about six weeks, and she wants them to find her aunt. As a result, India and Derek and a couple of chaperones take off for Paris during the World Exposition of 1889, as Paris is her last known location. Things are a mess in Paris, with tens of thousands of tourists clogging the streets and other popular destinations, making their search even more difficult. India and Derek both have to face some painful and unpleasant observations about themselves; the acceptance of these observations adds a level of interest to the story that otherwise might not be there.

There are times when the story drags a bit, and the pacing slows. The tension is pretty moderate throughout, until the very end when it picks up. Fortunately, the ending is a delight, and makes up for some of the slower parts. The banter between India and Derek, and between some of the other peripheral characters, is interesting as well. The beginning and the ending—focusing on Derek’s aunt and her two dearest friends—is also well done. In the end, they take credit for what occurs between Derek and India.

This novel is exactly how I got hooked on reading Victoria Alexander in the first place: intriguing character growth mixed with witty banter and an interesting plot. Both India and Derek come out of the story as better people while they move from enemies to lovers. The theme of detective novels adds a good deal of fun to the quest; India is convinced she is hunting for a mastermind, and the characters get a lot of mileage out of that. The plot is logical and solid, and it takes us to Paris during the exhibition when the Eiffel Tower was opened. I found that fascinating. The secondary characters add a good deal to the fun, and we get a few hints about what the next story will be, too.
All of the parts work together very well and make this a delightful read. This is a novel worth rereading, particularly when the second book in the series is released.

I enjoy almost anyting Victoria Alexander writes. This was a fun read. Good characterization (as usual for her) and great setting descriptions.

This is the first time I have read a book by this author, but it will definitely not be the last. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and the way they interacted with each other. There is suspense and romance. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series.

I received an ARC from the author for purposes of an unbiased review.

What fun! Misunderstandings, a head strong woman, a kind but no nonsense man, a chaperone, and three lovely widows trying to run the 'Lady's Guide' to continue in the style they've become accustomed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. India's attitude along with Derek's familial obligations are too much. Add in a trip to Paris for the

I had a lot of trouble with this series and could never get into the novel. It actually was the last one of hers I read, despite reading anything she wrote before it.

India Prendergast lives an orderly life (some would say rigid and unbending), by holding her emotions in check and following society's rules she knows what to expect and expects to be right. But her whole life turns upside down when her cousin, Miss Heloise Snuggs, goes missing and she blames the Lady Travelers Society.
Derek Saunders is turning his life around, he is going from roguish scoundrel to responsible and respectable. But when he finds out that his great-aunt and her two best friends have founded the Lady Travelers Society, which may be slightly fraudulent and has lost one of its members, Derek knows he needs to step in and help find the missing member, Miss Heloise, before India brings in the authority.
As India and Derek head to Paris to find Miss Heloise nothing seems to go right. India realizes that she is not always right and learns that what she thought was her greatest strength may be her greatest flaw, an unwillingness to bend and attempt to being wrong. While Derek realizes that the person who drives him crazy may be exactly what he always needed.
This book has two unique elements that made it stand apart for me 1) there was an interesting subplot beyond the main characters and 2) that the heroine was the character that needed to change and grow - many romance novels have the hero being the one who needs to change, so it was interesting watching India grow and become a better person. Loved this novel and cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

<i>The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen</i> started off a bit slowly, but I devoured the second half in one sitting. Funny, irreverent, and charming.

India Prendergast has lived a very correct, independent, and proper life. Though well-bred, she is not a member of high society, and she chooses to work so as not to be entirely dependent on the kindness of her aunt Heloise. The ever-organised and controlled India works as a secretary to a gentleman ten years her senior, essentially serving as both secretary and housekeeper. Her life is quiet and, while not the stuff of dreams, good.

That is, of course, until Heloise goes missing on a European vacation. No one, from the police to the lady's travel group that "arranged" her travel plans, cares, except for Derek, the greatnephew of one of the old ladies running the travel group. India, a fan of detective novels, suspects Derek is the mastermind behind the fleecing of her aunt, but she insists on traveling with him to Paris to locate Heloise.

The characterizations a bit clunky, mostly of India. The India of the beginning is difficult to reconcile with the India of the end. It's not that she changes so much but that some of how she's defined really doesn't line up with her actions. She's an intelligent and logical girl with a love of mysteries, but she comes up with hare-brained theories based on zero evidence and does nothing to revise them. I found it very difficult to believe that India would have blamed Derek, and even more difficult to believe that she wouldn't have figured out that she was wrong along the way.

That said, once she opens up, she's quite a fun heroine, and I love her responses to other people. The secondary cast almost steals the show in this novel, which is something I enjoy. Derek's mother and brother are entirely charming. The resolution of the second love interest plot is done very well and atypically. The flip of the reformation of a bad boy trope is delightfully done, and it's fucking adorably how much everyone else (except aforementioned second love interest) ships Derek and India. I also super love the reminder that the older people have romances too, both those currently wed and those about to.

This book was super cute, though it took a while to warm up.

This book is pure Victoria Alexander: strong female characters, dashing heroes, great plot and heated romance. Add humor and plot twists and you have a great book to read!

I wanted to read this book based on the cover. I was not sorry. It was great just like all other books by Ms. Alexander. Highly recommend this book to all historical romance lovers.

I love Ms. Alexander's writing style - it is light without being fluffy, funny, emotional and poignant. This book had all those elements plus a bit of steam, a missing cousin, a road trip to Paris and wonderful secondary characters!

India Prendergast is a no nonsense, independent, sensible woman. She is trying to find her missing cousin, Lady Heloise and all her inquires have been ignored by the Lady Travelers Society. India goes to the society - bent on getting answers and proving that the society is a scam and seeing justice done. This is where she meets the most annoying (and charming) Derek Saunders.

Derek has been told in no uncertain terms that he must curb his scandalous ways or his uncle (Edward, Earl of Danby) will make sure he does not inherit his fortune when he inherits the title. To prove that he is mending his ways, Derek agrees to look after his great-aunt Gwen while his mother is away - what he finds is a scandal in the making - his aunt and her friends have started a travel society - but they cannot actually provide the services they promise and to make matters worse - one of their members is missing and her relative is threatening to involve the police! Desperate to save his great-aunt Derek declares that he will hire investigators to find Heloise and will trace her travels himself to find her. This is when he meets the maddening (and intriguing) India Prendergast.

India informs Derek that she will accompany him to find Heloise, she is convinced that he is the mastermind behind the scheme to defraud the members and doesn't trust him at all. Gwen insists that they cannot travel alone and hires Professor and Mrs. Greer as chaperones. India lets Derek make their travel arrangements and the foursome sets off to Paris.

When they arrive in Paris, they are not staying at a hotel - but with Derek's step-brother Percival aka Val, Marquess of Brookings. The scene when India wakes up and Val invades her bedroom is hilarious! India is unsettled, first Val invades her room, then her luggage turns up missing, then she finds out that there are over 20 "Grand" hotels in Paris - can this get any worse? Why yes, yes it can and it does - much to this readers delight!

At the advice of his uncle Edward, Derek is going to stall India in Paris for as long as he can, giving Edward's investigators time to find Heloise and hopefully preventing India from having charges brought up against Gwen. He soon learns that India believes he is behind the scheme and to protect Gwen, he lets her. He and India spend a good deal of time together and slowly India begins to lighten up and starts to make some startling revelations about herself.

The journey to their happy ending is not smooth, but it is very entertaining. The book is well written, flows nicely, has an outstanding cast of secondary characters, a bit of steam, a bit of mystery and a lot of laugh out loud moments.

I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read the next one!
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I can certainly tell you that I did not see this missing person case transpiring and resolving in the way that it did! Curveball to the extreme, but in a really good and unexpected way that I enjoyed immensely! The missing cousin storyline is heavily featured throughout the entire thread of the novel and is not lost at all in the romance storyline, the two elements play together nicely and in this story I don’t think that one could thrive well without the other.

If I had to pick one thing that brought the rating of this book down a little in my opinion it was the early characterization of India Prendergast. She is quite a pain-in-the-neck and unapproachable, not someone I could see myself being friends with at all. While she does grow on you and her transformation is believable, I found her difficult to really get to like through much of the novel. Derek Saunders on the other hand, who is certainly a rouge, has nothing but admirable qualities, from the perspective of the reader, even if India can’t see that until toward the very end.

While this is certainly a lengthy novel, it didn’t feel that way at all as the story kept moving forward and the missing person’s case picked up steam. This novel is certainly a strong stand-alone, and while I haven’t read the other books in the series I think that will define the series, just based on how it appears framed. I look forward to checking out others in this series.

What can possibly happen when three elderly society women (who haven’t traveled the world) decide to start The Lady’s Traveler’s Guide?
Sit back and enjoy the hijinks as these three women 1) lose a traveler; 2) cause untold grief to one’s nephew; and 3) deal with the uptight cousin of their lost traveler and the search that ensues. Enjoy as Derek Saunders sets out to remedy the situation his aunt has gotten into and possibly find the one thing he wasn’t anticipating; and as India Prendergast learns awful truths and wonderful facts about herself in this tantalizing tale by Victoria Alexander.
Excellent start to a new series!!

I really enjoyed Derek and India's story!!

I really like India. She just knew that something had happened to her aunt and she needed the Lady Travelers Society to take responsibility for it. She didn't count on having to locate her aunt with the scandalous Derek Saunders.

Derek is certain that his aunt and her friends had nothing to do with India's aunt going missing, so he is determined to go with her to locate the missing woman. He didn't count on being so attracted to the prickly woman!

I really look forward to reading more books in this series!

I have read many Victoria Alexander books and loved them. I did not love this book.
Beginning of Rant:
I liked the idea of this book as a travel romance but I do not like deception or manipulation and did not like any of the characters.
The male character started off manipulative, the female character distrustful and suspicious but with good reason. She was uptight and a confirmed spinister, he had a reputation as a reprobate. Her Aunt is missing and none of her aunts travel society leaders re willing to help her. It is all a big plot to manipulate her into loosening up and trying something new.
The story starts out slow, the pace is in fact excruciating. Neither character likes the other, she is distrustful and secretive and full of false pride, he is arrogant, manipulative, and decietful from the beginning. Soon he has himself in a big lying mess and her forgiving him is so far fetched that this reader could not suspend belief enough to fool myself into believing the HEA. She may learn to relax and enjoy new experiences but no intelligent woman is going to trust a man who entered into the relationship by lying to her and sending her belongings to a far off country.
Hahaha, isn't that cute. What a story to tell the grandkids.
He does not start to notice her until she starts to relax. She acknowledges his attraction but finds his charm (when he chooses to use it) suspect. They gradually warm towards each other but of course whereas she must soften and become more pliable, his interest in her is all that is necessary.
End of Rant

Perhaps Ms. Alexander worked too hard at making the worst of these characters believable. Our heroine may have relaxed and learned to enjoy travel but she didn't need to lose her intelligence with her starch.

Miss India Prendergast may have an exotic first name, but she is not one for wanderlust. She’s ever so proper, practical, sensible, no-nonsense… in a word: staid. She has no desire to leave her home and job, but that all changes when her cousin Heloise goes missing while traveling abroad, and she suspects the Lady Travelers Society and Assistance Agency as the culprit. Or, more specifically, Mr. Derek Saunders.
Derek is in the process of reforming his playboy ways by becoming a staid accountant in order to convince his uncle he is worthy of inheriting his title and fortune. In the midst of proving to be a capable bookkeeper, he discovers his elderly aunt’s Lady Travelers Society may not be on the on up and up. However, before he can do anything to make it legitimate, India barges in and demands that her cousin be found. Derek offers to travel to Paris, Heloise’s last known location, and conduct a search but India doesn’t trust the cad and demands to go along. Thus begins the journey of two unlikely character’s love story.
At first glance, India isn’t a very likable character who comes across as uptight and having moral superiority. As more of her background is revealed it becomes apparent why she is the way she is and as the story/ journey progresses India discovers some hard truths about herself. Fortunately, Derek is there to help her through the revelations and prove that not always being right isn’t such a bad thing.
The story is well-written and moves along at a steady pace with laughs along the way. There is also a bit of a mystery as to where Heloise could have gone. Ms. Alexander’s description of the World Exposition made me wish I had been alive to be there to see the “iron monstrosity” firsthand, stay at one of the twenty-seven Grand Hotels, and eat one of the decadent Parisian breakfasts. I really enjoyed Derek and India’s love story, the true masterminds behind the Lady Travelers Society, and Derek’s step-brother Val (whom I do hope he gets his own love story).

Summary from Goodreads:

"Embark on the breathtaking romantic adventures of The Lady Travelers Society in the brand-new series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander

Really, it's too much to expect any normal man to behave like a staid accountant in order to inherit the fortune he deserves to support the lifestyle of an earl. So when Derek Saunders's favorite elderly aunt and her ill-conceived—and possibly fraudulent—Lady Travelers Society loses one of their members, what's a man to do but step up to the challenge? Now he's escorting the world's most maddening woman to the world's most romantic city to find her missing relative.

While India Prendergast only suspects his organization defrauds gullible travelers, she's certain a man with as scandalous a reputation as Derek Saunders cannot be trusted any farther than the distance around his very broad shoulders. As she struggles not to be distracted by his wicked smile and the allure of Paris, instead of finding a lost lady traveler, India just may lose her head, her luggage and her heart."

My Thoughts:

I feel like this is going to be a hard review for me to write because I was very in the middle when it came to my feelings on this book. I never really was able to put my finger on why but I didn't connect with this book like I had hoped to. I didn't dislike it to be clear but I also didn't love it. I just found myself kinda underwhelmed by it all. I'll try to explain why but it is hard when for me when I'm just kinda meh about it. I'm almost wondering if my reading experience suffered because I was in the middle of a reading slump. I kept trying to push through on it because I was supposed to read it for a blog tour and I don't think that helped. I loved the premise of this book because it sounds like a romance and adventure combined. It was those things but it was also a bit meandering if I'm being completely honest. I think that part of the problem was that I didn't connect to the main character India Prendergast. I don't think that the reader is meant to like her in the beginning really but that also made it hard for me to connect to her and the story as a reader. Usually when I read romances I'm really rooting for both of the main characters to fall in love and find their happy ever after. Instead I was only rooting for Derek Saunders (the hero) as his character was one that I could get behind. He was a romantic at heart and someone that I enjoyed reading about. I just wish that I could have cared about them both because that would have made this book that much more enjoyable.

One thing that I did really enjoy with this book was the mystery of what had happened to India's missing aunt. I found myself reading this book more to find out where she was then for the actual romance portion. I was really surprised (and I won't say more than that) when we did actually find out the answers to the mystery portion. It made the last part of this book much more fast paced for me compared to the rest of the story. I also have to add that I really, really liked some of the secondary characters in this book. I have high hopes that Derek's brother will be featured in the next book as I believe this is the beginning of a series. I would definitely want to read that one! I also found Derek's aunt and her friends to be a delight to read about. I would really, really like to see more of them as well. It sure sounds like I'm going to have read the next book, doesn't it? LOL! Now you can probably understand why I had such a hard time deciding on how I felt about this book. Mixed feelings anyone?

Overall, I found this to be a good read but not great. I can't honestly tell you if the book was to blame or if it was just my reading mood at the time. I enjoyed it enough to plan on reading the next book in the future. On the other hand, there are other romance reads that I would recommend before this one. I'm glad that I stuck with it though as I found the ending to be much more in line with what I had hoped the entire book would be like. This may have been my first book by this author but I don't think that it will be my last. Recommended but with a few hesitations.

Bottom Line: A book that left me wanting in ways and satisfied in others. I can't say it better than that.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to NetGalley as part of a TLC book tour (I also completely missed my tour date and am just now posting my thoughts. My apologies.

India Prendergast is off to prove that the Lady Travelers Guide is up to no good. Derek Saunders is determined to prove just the opposite. That leads to a fun romp where India learns some things about herself and how she reacts to other people and Derek learns that there is more to India than he thought. An interesting take on what different people do during difficult times of their lives and how they react to events in their past. A nice start to a new series with a interesting twist to the plot line.

I really enjoyed the premise of this series, and I"m interested to see where it goes with future books. Parts of it seemed a bit implausible, and some characters a bit annoying at times, but overall, it was fun, showcased the joy of exploring new locations and adventures and expanding one's world. That, and the supporting cast of characters were charming and I'm hoping to see more of them