This is the first book in a new series. I always find that in the first book there are alot of characters introduced that you will find throughout the series. As a result, the book usually starts out a little slow. That was the case with this book. It took a while to get into it. But it was worth the wait. But i really liked the heroine, Idia . She was strong minded and independent. At the same time, she wasn't afraid to reassess her life and open herself up to change. I look forward to the next book in this series. SPOILER : The one thing I definitely did not like about this book was that she killed off the hero from the prequel novella. That really started this book on a downer.

This is an amusing and entertaining story. The storyline provides romance and intrigue and drama. The characters provide amusement and charm. What starts as an antagonistic and uneasy truce, formed to find a missing person, turns into a journey of self discovery and tentative friendship for Derek and India. Then it eventually turns into admiration and love. It's a captivating and fun story. I can't wait to read the next book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my voluntary and honest opinion of it.

The carefree scoundrel and the sensible spinster take on Paris! India (who is never wrong) has much to learn and Derek is just the man to teach her. Add his mother, Lady Westvale, to the mix and India will never be the same. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to the other books to come in this series.

What an adventure! I was swooped up in the romance of Derrick and India and everyone else was just a bonus. I never wanted to experience Paris and the world expedition so much! The humor and the way I related to the women were priceless. I absolutely loved this book and the real emotions and worries it provoked.

The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentleman featured a starchy spinster heroine and a hero who is reluctantly trying to reform his scandalous ways. The pairing of India and Derek was delightful and there were numerous witticisms that made this a charming and intellectual read. The character development of both characters, but India particular, was handled with care. There's something about prudish, straight-laced characters that I find appealing, especially as they learn that there worldview is the not without fault. For me, this journey of discovery (both literal and figurative) that India embarks upon is what made Lady Travelers such a lovely read. The fact that it coincides with a handsome fellow is icing on the cake.

My only quibble about the novel is that I found the novel a bit too long. Certain elements, like Derek's deception, continued too far into the book, which led to the resolution feeling rather rushed.

The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen is a delightful and witty introduction to a new series featuring an intrepid, if reluctant lady adventuress. Fans of on-the-road-romances won't want to miss this one.

The book is the first of a new series by Victoria Alexander focusing on The Lady Travelers Society (for short, TLTS) created by three friends in relation to women traveling outside England. The main characters, or the couple, is Derek Saunders and India Prendergast. India is concerned for a missing relative, a member of the TLTS. Derek, as part of familial obligations, must make sure that the missing TLTS member is found, else his relative, one of the three co-creators of TLTS, ends up with legal troubles. As the two follow the paper trail of the missing TLTS member, they began to fall in love in the city of Paris.

The main couple are strong but flawed characters. I admire the good traits of the main couple, but they didn't endear themselves to me as I read the story. I rather felt that some secondary characters, mainly Derek's cousin, were endearable in my eyes. It will be nice to read more of him and others in future installments of this series.

The plot is not complex, with emphasis on the growth certain characters go through during the smoothly-paced story. While the distinctive writng style and humor that the author exemplifies makes the story and the setting stand out vividly in readers' imaginations.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I have read better ones by this author. The Ladies Travelers Society series has a good premise and a wonderful set of characters. I look forward to reading more in the future.

***I was provided a copy by the author via NetGalley for an honest review.***

The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen by Victoria AlexanderI was quite excited about this book and maybe set my expectations a little bit too high. It is the story of India Prendergast who is trying to find her cousin, Helen. A cousin that was involved with the Lady Travelers group. A group that hasn't been able tell India exactly where Helen is supposed to be. She has decided to infiltrate the group in order to find out exactly what has happened. What she finds instead is Derek Saunders, a man trying to help his aunt, one of the three ladies running the travel agency. He is determined to make sure that the ladies are kept safe, even from their own shenanigans.
For being a book about travel, the first half or so of this book takes awhile to get moving. India is not very likable for a good portion of the book which is hard in a heroine. And while we do get some growth from her, Derek doesn't get to do much growing at all.

Three stars
This book came out May 23

The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen is certainly a mouthful of a title, yet it’s a pretty accurate description of the book’s contents! The first book in Victoria Alexander’s new Lady Travelers Guide series, it’s a light-hearted romantic comedy set mostly in Paris around the time of the Great Exposition in which a starchy spinster comes up against a charming scoundrel and discovers that perhaps her previously held, deeply entrenched opinions aren’t as set in stone as she’d believed them to be.
Miss India Prendergast has come to a meeting of The Lady Travelers Society in an attempt to ascertain the whereabouts of her cousin, Heloise, who recently set off on an extended journey which, India has been given to understand, was organised by the Society. But she hasn’t received a letter or other communication from Heloise for some weeks and has become concerned for her safety. Further investigation has revealed that the society has done precisely nothing for Heloise; there is no record of their reserving hotel rooms or making any travel arrangements on her cousin’s behalf, and India is now convinced that the organisation is a fraud, taking money from unwitting women whose dreams of exotic travel and desire to throw off the shackles of everyday existence and live an adventurous life are blinding them to the fact that they are being swindled.
Derek Saunders has lived the life of a rakish young bachelor, kicking up a storm in society and enjoying a reputation as a scoundrel of the first order. Or he did, until his uncle, the Earl of Danby told him that he’d cut him off without a penny if he didn’t change his carefree, frivolous ways and start acting a bit more like the next Earl of Danby should. Oddly enough, Derek discovers he has a talent for numbers and business and that he quite enjoys working with the earl’s estate and business managers, but the discovery that his great aunt Guinevere and a couple of her friends seem to be running some sort of scam is something he hadn’t banked on having to deal with. Deciding that his uncle won’t look kindly upon his abandoning his duties in order to pursue a missing traveller and work out what his aunt is up to, he apprises the earl of the situation, and is surprised when he comes up with a plan to both find Lady Heloise and keep aunt Guinevere and her friends out of prison.
Derek had already decided that it’s his responsibility to find Heloise, and that as her most recent letters came from Paris, that he’s going to start looking for her there. When India insists on accompanying him, her already knows enough about her to know that she won’t brook a refusal, but his uncle takes that news in his stride. He undertakes to employ a firm of private investigators to find Heloise while Derek keeps India otherwise occupied and out of the way in Paris… it’s a good idea, and although Derek isn’t completely happy about keeping Miss Prendergast in the dark, he recognises it’s the most likely way to find her cousin.
So the stage is set. The prim and proper spinster and the dashing rogue – accompanied by Professor and Mrs. Greer, who are acting as India’s chaperones – arrive in Paris and start to make the rounds of all the hotels at which Heloise might have stayed, and continue the bickering and verbal sparring they’d begun at their initial meeting. India is stiff and unyielding in her attitude and outlook and makes it very clear that she doesn’t trust Derek as far as she could throw him. Fortunately, however Ms. Alexander saves her from being a complete prig by having her be able to admit when she’s wrong and hinting at the vulnerability that lies beneath her unbending exterior.
Derek is handsome, charming and clever, and while India infuriates him, she intrigues him, too. During the time they spend together in the course of their search for Heloise, he discovers a different side to her, one she rarely allows to come to the surface, but one he discovers he likes very much. India has thought herself ordinary all her life, and while she isn’t exactly a great beauty, there’s no doubt that she’s striking and intelligent, and Derek likes that she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She’s practical, sensible, self-assured and annoying; in short she’s the exact opposite of everything he has ever wanted in a woman, and yet he finds himself wanting rather desperately to kiss her and in a few short days, feels as though she has become a part of his life.
As their search continues, India has to admit to herself that she truly likes Derek and is attracted to him, but there’s still the pesky matter of whether she can bring herself to trust the man when she believes him to be responsible for the fraudulent activities of the Lady Travelers Society.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed in other books I’ve read by this author is the dry humour and witty dialogue, and both those things are present in abundance here. The verbal thrust and parry between India and Derek is delightful, and there’s plenty of banter between them and other characters, too, most notably between Derek and his step-brother Val, the Marquess of Brookings (who I hope is going to get his own book at some point), whose relationship is obviously one of deep affection and frequent exasperation. The author has a splendidly deft touch and the dialogue never feels forced or too drawn out; it’s not laugh-out-loud, but it’s wry, funny and clever.
But while this is all lovely and light and frothy, the problem is that there’s not a great deal of substance beneath the surface. While India’s growth - from a woman who believes herself to be content with her narrow horizons and who thinks that efficiency, practicality and being well-organised are all she needs to be - into a woman who realises that there is more to life and has the courage to reach for what she wants, is nicely done, there isn’t a great deal of chemistry between her and Derek; there’s no question they like each other, but there are none of those spine-tingling moments of sexual tension and awareness that are hallmarks of a really good romance.
The book boasts a colourful supporting cast, including Derek’s stepbrother, and his mother, a grande dame in the truest sense; and I really enjoyed the author’s depiction of Paris, the street cafés, the grand hotels, the wide boulevards, all of it putting the reader right there on the viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower or among the crowds strolling along the Champs Elysées.
The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen is not going to find its way onto my keeper shelf, but it is an entertaining, easy read, and is exactly the sort of thing you might want to pick up when you’re in the mood for a non-angsty, funny and well-written historical.

Grade: B- (3.5 stars)

Publisher's Description:

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:
Welcome to the first book in this delightful new series by Victoria Alexander. Be prepared to laugh out loud!

The premise of three little old ladies that are widowed and unwilling to ask for financial assistance from their families, bilking others of their age and generation out of their money may not be laughable on the surface, but these three characters make it hilarious.

I loved this funny and touching novel that begins with the supposed disappearance of India Prendergast's fifty-something year old cousin who has recently embarked on a journey after joining the ranks of the Lady Travelers Society.

India suspects not only fraud, but possible mayhem and that Derek Saunders is behind it all.

Derek Saunders has absolutely nothing to do with the Lady Travelers except that he has discovered that his favorite elderly aunt has come up with the concept that he fears may be fraudulent and frankly quite illegal.
He becomes involved because he is trying to save his aunt and her friends from possible charges of fraud.
What starts out as a relationship of the suspicions of two seemingly incompatible people turns into a love for the ages with three little old ladies telling themselves they are responsible for the ultimate results.

This book is quite a laughable romp. With a frankly staid heroine and a roguish hero and a group of comical cast, how could you go wrong.

I truly loved both the storyline and the characterization and gave this book 4.75 of 5 stars.
There is a underlying sensual nature to this story so it gets 3.75 of 5 flames.

I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from Harlequin Books, the publisher via NetGalley to read.
This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I have read and reviewed voluntarily.

This my review of The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen by Victoria Alexander. This the first book in the Lady Traveler's Society serie. The premise of the story and the series is about a Travel Society for women and run by women sounded like a very interesting premise. I have really enjoyed Ms Alexander's writing style. I have read everything she has written.

The story involves Derek Saunders and India Prendergast. I immediately took to Derek and his sense of responsibility for and desire to protect his family. His need to prove to his uncle that he could change his behavior and become more responsible and upstanding. I like that he went to his uncle for help and didn't try to do it all on his own. India took longer to warm up to, she starts out as a bit rigid in her actions and thinking but over the course of the book she relaxes and becomes more flexible. I like how she is able to recognize, own and improve the character flaws that others make her aware of and doesn't act like there is nothing wrong with her.

India and Derek's road to happily ever after has some bumps along the way (her inflexibility and mistrust of Derek and his concealment of his involvement in the society and "misplacing" of her luggage) but I like look it works out in the end.

I loved the descriptions of Paris at the time of the World's Exposition it makes the city like a secondary character to the story. I enjoyed meeting Derek's mother and his step brother the Marquess of Brookings and hope he features in a future story. The story was a little slow to get into with so much to world building and character back story and development. This is to be expected with the beginning of a series. I look forward to reading the further adventures of the Lady Traveler's and its members.

I was given an ARC by the author for review purposes.

It took awhile for the plot to get there, but when it finally did, it was worth the wait!

More than the first half of the book drags, presumably because the main character, India Prendergast, is extremely unlikable. However, when the story began to (finally!) unfold, there were several sweet and laugh out loud scenes which were highly entertaining. I absolutely loved the characters of Val, who was hilarious, and Mother, who always knew best (of course).

I highly recommend this books prequel novella The Proper Way to Stop a Wedding in Seven Days or Less.

3.5 stars

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After the Lady Travelers Society seemingly loses her cousin, and subsequently refuse to reply to her letters demanding answers, India Prendergast has no other option than to follow her cousin's travel itinerary in hopes of finding out what happened.

When he finds out the trouble his great-aunt and her friends could be in if word gets out about the missing member of the Society Derek Saunders decides the best course of action is to go with India, if nothing else than to keep her from spreading the rumors about the society.

Immediately these two butt heads in a great enemies-to-lovers story.

It was great seeing India open up. She's never been anywhere outside of England so traveling to find her lost cousin really is an eye-opener. It calls into question all that she's thought was right and true in her mind. The same can be said for how she initially views Derek. She believes him to be apart of his great-aunt's scheme where the Travelers Society is concerned, but she quickly learns that her misconceptions have really kept her from experiencing life. She has an opportunity to change all of that now.

Derek is at once taken aback by India's tenacity. The way she strives to prove that she's right in any situation despite having never traveled. But he slowly starts to see the vulnerabilities in the genuine worry she harbors for the safety of her cousin. When that ice starts to break between them, I really enjoyed the friendship that they start with one another before romance is even on the table. Even when they are contending with one another, there's still a level of respect between them. India learns to admit that she's wrong.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the lightness of it. Nothing was ever taken too seriously which was refreshing. It also leaves a few characters open to, I'm hoping, getting their own books. Luckily, we won't have long to wait The Lady Travelers Guide to Larceny with a Dashing Stranger comes out this fall. Plus there's a prequel novella (The Proper Way To Stop A Wedding In Seven Days Or Less) already out if you finish and you don't want to leave some of these fantastic characters yet.

It started off a little slow but once it hit its stride it was great! The main characters were great especially when Miss Prendergast finally loosened up! Mr. Saunders was simply divine and everything you can want in a hero. I have a feeling his reputation was only slightly exaggerated. Ms. Alexander's supporting cast really stole the show. I LOVED Derek's mother and his Great Aunt and company were a hoot! If someone is looking for light, fluffy and warm-hearted then this is the read for them.

I believe I have mainly listened to books by Ms. Alexander so reading this one was a little different. I love her audiobooks with the amazing accents and the language used at the time and look forward to listening to this story. I love history and always enjoy the culture, the dress, and the formality in historical romances.

This story seemed to start out a little slow but I found that it was building a plausible relationship between Derek and India, based initially on assumptions and irritations. India is strong willed and Derek wasn’t quite sure what to do with her.

Once they, and the guests to serve as chaperones, arrived in Paris, the story picked up with all of the wonderful places to see in Paris at the time. The Exposition, the grand hotels, the elegant mansion of Derek’s step-brother where they stayed kept the story interesting. Once their mother arrived, things got even more exciting.

I enjoyed seeing how India thought and felt before the trip and how constrained her life was, by her own choice. Seeing her change and how she starts to view things is interesting and poignant.

The slow build-up of feelings between Derek and India was fun to watch. I found it interesting that Derek admitted to falling in love several times in the past but none of the supposedly perfect matches had ever ended in marriage. It was so sweet that the more time he spent with India and her annoying ways, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. They spent more and more time together searching for India’s cousin and interspersed with the sights of Paris and India found she liked him and was beginning to trust him.

The story had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, sweetness, and family love.

I listen to books in my car all the time and recently listened to The Importance of Being Wicked and What Happens At Christmas – both very entertaining stories. Ms. Alexander has a special talent of bringing historical times to life and writing compelling characters and stories.


I love epilogues and while this story didn’t have one, I was left with a seemingly HEA and hope for the future. This story is the first in a new series and I can’t wait to read more!

We do eventually find the lost Aunt Heloise and that is what kept me finishing the book. India had a most annoying personality and Derek kept me wondering why he was becoming enamored of this impossible woman.
This is a long book that I kept putting down and picking up again after reading something else. It seemed to just drag for me. Since I was not fond of either the H or the h, I just didn’t care all that much. Can the author write a pretty phrase? Well of course she can! But that wasn’t enough to keep me interested in the story. This could have been a really good book if only it was shorter, and the protagonists were more likeable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much of the story gave a little twist here and there to make the characters grow, on both their parts. The supporting cast was also incredibly valuable for the growth, but also engaging enough that I wish I could have had more of their stories. In fact, part of the reason this story drew me into it as well as it did, was the secondary cast and their views which were easily more relatable to me than the two main characters, although I also can remember the certainty of younger habits and beliefs that change as life gives new lessons.

Having read Victoria Alexander’s Millworth Manor series, which I really enjoyed, I was thrilled to see that she is starting another series. First of all, I was totally taken by the title of this book/series, knowing how Ms. Alexander writes her romance novels with such wit and intelligence. I was entertained from the beginning until the end.

India Pendergast, a “sensible spinster”, is trying to locate her aunt who traveled to Paris with the aid of the group known as the Lady Travelers Society, which is run by a group of older women. After not receiving the promised postcards from Aunt Heloise, India investigates this “Society” and believes it to be a fraudulent group trying to bilk women out of their money.

Derek, the future Earl of Danby, is the nephew of one of the founders of the society. He is also suspicious of the group. Since he is entrusted to look after his aunt, he decides to help India in her quest to locate her aunt. India is extremely leery of Derek, and thinks this “carefree scoundrel” is the mastermind of this fraudulent group.

The journey to Paris taken by India and Derek starts with such distrust on both their parts, but evolves into an amicable partnership, and then some. This evolution of their relationship was a delightful treat to read. I don’t want to give too many details, since I believe this to be a truly wonderful page turner. Let me share a quote that I loved…”The end of the road is never as important as the journey taken to get there”.

I’m looking forward to the next in this series. Great job Victoria Alexander! Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy.

Sometimes when you are so busy with your life you forget about an author that was always a favorite but you haven't read a book by her in years. That's what happened to me when it comes to author Victoria Alexander. I have every book in the Effington Family Series and loved every one of them. After reading this new book I now remember why I love her writing. I smiled all the way through this book. Victoria makes me laugh and dare I say giggle!! The witty dialogue that India and Derek is what makes this story amazing.

India is a no nonsense spinster who sees herself as a practical, intelligent who has no time for frivolous pursuits, sensible to the point of not seeing that she comes across as self righteous with a rigid and off putting appearance. She has never come across a Gentleman who could change her mind about spending the rest of her days as a Spinster. Of course then she meets Mr. Derek Saunders and everything she has known comes to a crashing halt that will change her whole life.

Derek Saunders is a rogue, rake and a Scoundrel. He sees through India's defenses to the woman deep inside that is dying to emerge and experience life to the fullest. The two of them are complete opposites that drive each other crazy. The Adventure that they embark on will change India's beliefs, but will she able to trust Derek to make a life together?

This book is worth every penny of the $5.99 Kindle price on Amazon. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of reading this book. There is no angst, indecision or the many misunderstandings that happen in some Historical Romance Novels. Victoria lets her characters speak for themselves in the extraordinary, funny way that only she can do. To Victoria I say "Thank you" for a truly gorgeous story that will be added to my collection of her books.

An interesting historical novel, a complicated plot, a strong woman who can take care of herself, and a grand ending. This book is plot driven with many interacting characters. The pace is a bit slow and it is a long book, so set aside some time to read it. Recommended for lovers of historical romance.