Cassandra (Cass) Benton is hiding in the shadows of Deverall Place at 1:00 am. Hired as a housemaid, her real job is to shadow Lord Deverell until he goes to bed at night. Her twin brother, Charles, works as a footman in the same household. Both of them work for Bow Street but have been hired by George, Lord Northbrook, son and heir to the Duke of Ardmore.

Around 40 years ago, the younger sons of 10 aristocrats placed a secret wager called a tontine and now after careful investing, is worth 100,000 pounds. The one survivor of the group receives all the money. Some have now died of natural causes, however in recent years, some of the investors have died under mysterious circumstances, thus necessitating Lord Northbrook’s investigation. His godfather, Lord Deverell, is one of the survivors and he worries that if someone is killing them off, he wants to protect his godfather. But when someone manages to sneak into the house and stabs the man but not killing him, George feels he needs to step up the protection. Thus, he hatches a scheme to have Cass move into the house pretending to be his cousin and assume the name of Mrs. Bendetti and mix with the ton hoping to ferret out the killer. The ton seems to accept this clever woman - a red head with an Italian name. Huh?

By that time, I had a headache trying to piece all of this together while asking myself why authors must write Regency novels with heroines as spies. Please. This trope has been done to death. I really like the author and have read many of her novels but I do not think I can digest another Regency spy novel. Please get back to writing a “real” Regency romance.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A mystery to solve and two romances provides the reader with an engaging read. I enjoyed the relationship between George, Lord Northbrook and Cassandra, his hired investigator. They were such interesting characters, both were intelligent and had their own set of skills. There is also a secondary romance for Cassandra’s twin, Charles. This story has humour and passion. The mystery was solved with some help from characters from the previous book. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love a hero with a sense of humour!! George, Lord Northbrook, hires Cassandra Benton to investigate if someone is plotting to kill his father, as well as the other surviving members who, decades before, had formed a wager that would grant a fortune to the last survivor. Cass works with her twin brother as a Bow Street runner but when he's injured, she decides to take on the job Lord Northbrook offers her. I really enjoyed their banter and George really did have a wonderful sense of humour. Amidst danger and suspense, romance and love grows but there are a few issues that Cass has to solve before she gives that love a chance. All in all, an enjoyable read.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

If you like 100% historical accuracy in your Regency romances, this definitely isn’t the book for you. With a female Bow Street Runner (in all but the salary) and the son of a Duke as romantic protagonists, there are aspects of the story that definitely fail the plausibility test.

That said, it was absolutely brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, yes, I know, I’m normally a nitpicky cow about historical inaccuracies, but there’s a difference between implausible and impossible. It’s implausible that a woman was working for the Bow Street Runners as an unofficial investigator in 1818, whereas it’s impossible (I’m looking at you, Marie Force) to have a horse-drawn carriage travel from Essex to Scotland with a single overnight stop. Just imagine this as a parallel-universe Regency England where women could hold down jobs and were treated with respect, and you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.

Cassandra works for Bow Street unofficially as her twin brother Charlie’s (the actual Runner) assistant, but the reality is she’s the mastermind of the pair. When Charlie breaks his leg on a case while climbing a trellis into a lady’s bedchamber because he fancies himself a Romeo, Cassandra takes the case on alone, and is thrust into company with George, Marquis of Northbrook, who believes someone may be out to kill his father.

George is an absolute delight. Yes, he’s the spoiled and pampered son of a duke, but he’s also a smart sort who can see clearly the devastation his father’s love of gambling and his mother’s addiction to laudanum has wrought. He’s fun and likable and nobody really takes him seriously, but Cassandra not only sees through his facade, she makes him want to be more than an heir in waiting. His willingness to try new things, his near-insatiable curiosity about everything and his acceptance of Cassandra for exactly who she was made him honestly one of my favourite romance heroes in ages.

Suspend your disbelief at the door and just enjoy this charming, witty and clever Regency romance with an enlightened hero and an emancipated heroine. I was delighted, and I definitely want to read more by this author, who I hadn’t encountered before. And on that note, this isn’t the first in the series, but I didn’t find it a problem at all to follow along with the plot and the other characters. Five stars for a great fun read.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Lady Notorious by Theresa Romain is the 4th book in her exciting Royal Rewards series. I recommend reading the series as the books are excellent and the characters continue through, but it could be read as a stand-alone. Cassandra Benton is one of my favourite heroines she’s spent most of her life keeping her twin brother out of trouble, keeping a roof over their heads and food in their bellies working for the Bow Street Runners, although she as a woman cannot officially be a runner. When she is asked by George Lord Northbrook what her dreams are she really has no idea. Her careful life of putting one foot in front of the other goes topsy turvy after her twin brother breaks a leg on an assignment. George hires her to move into his family’s home to help protect his father the duke as members of a tontine the Duke was a part of are being murdered one by one. Cassandra pretends to be a wrong side of the blanket cousin to George who is fleeing a terrible marriage and together she and George search for clues through the parties and balls of the season as time is running out to solve the case. I enjoyed this book immensely. Medium Steam. Publishing Date February 26, 2019 #NetGalley #LadyNotorious #KensingtonBooks #ZebraRomance

“The ton is more bloodthirsty than I ever knew as a youth. Fancy betting on one’s survival at the expense of others.”

Fourth in the Royal Rewards series, we have a not quite official Bow Street Runner and a marquess. Cass works with her twin brother Charles at Bow Street but basically shoulders most of the work while George is experimenting with his camera obscura and basically just passing time until he inherits the dukedom. George loves his gambling father, though, and when members of the tontine, a bet his father entered into where the last surviving member gets all the money, start dying in auspicious ways, he hires Cass and her brother to help him uncover who is behind it.

This was a murder mystery and friends-to-lovers, that moved very slowly in both regards. The investigation regarding the tontine was a bit chaotic and confusing to understand in the beginning. I did not read the previous book in this series and I have a feeling our characters were introduced there and provided a foundation for them that was lacking here. Once I got further in the story and began to know Cass and George more, the story began to click better. However, the investigation seemed to stall out here and there as actual investigating seemed to be missing from the pages. We don't get to really know all the characters involved in the tontine, or even if there is anything nefarious going on. The murder mystery began to feeling glaring obvious as a mechanism to get our hero and heroine together and with a pretty quick boom ending with an info dump about the culprit, there wasn't much about it that I found griping.

“I’m always joking a little bit but serious underneath. Once you know that, you can see to my very soul and understand me utterly. It’s a great curse.” He said this, of course, as if he were joking, but his blue eyes were deep and worried. She had smiled then, almost.

I liked George's kind of shy, vulnerable personality. His father is bent on gambling away his inheritance and his mother spends her days laying in bed drunk on laudanum, he seemed very lonely. He does have a sister that he seemed close with but we don't get any in depth scenes with them. His hobby of trying to create pictures was interesting but like the murder mystery, it just seemed there, something listed for the character, given the same weight as his blue eyes. Overall, he seemed a little hapless and I would have liked to have seen his character given more range through conversations with his sister or friends.

Cass was splendid, with her pockets and her weapons and her matter-of-fact ways.

I liked the heroine and her matter of fact ways, she was a cut and dry character. Her twin brother is a little lazy and a little bit of a scapegrace, so it is up to her to be responsible with the money. I was a little thrown when she declares she wants to sleep with the hero. There was definitely ground laid for the reader seeing and feeling George's attraction to her but I didn't completely buy into from her. Even halfway through the book they felt like friends from her side; some appreciating of looks. These two seemed like great friends but their romantic chemistry was a bit dull.

“You really matter to me,” he said, then kissed her neck, bared by her pinned-up hair.

There was a secondary romance involving the heroine's brother but that to felt dropped in out of nowhere, I wasn't connected to the characters to become involved in their romance. The depth and character background was missing for me here, being dropped into their investigation right away didn't give me time or material to really care for them. The romantic chemistry was also off, these two were more believable as friends. I appreciated the shy vulnerability from the hero and practical heroine but I just felt the story and characters were missing some magic, which made the story somewhat dry and a wade to get through.

I have really been enjoying this series because the characters are not typical. Cass and her twin brother have been asked to figure out why someone is killing or trying to kill different members of a tontine. George's father is part of that tontine and George is sure that his life is in danger. After Cass's brother is injured, she continues to find the truth. As they are looking for a killer, they grow so much closer, but since they come from such different backgrounds, she is sure it wouldn't work. She is a Bow Street Runner and he is a member of the aristocracy. Could it work? Maybe, but first they have to find the killer before someone else is murdered.

Cassandra "Cass" Benton and her twin brother, Charles, have lived on their own for so long and do what they can to get by. She even helps him as a Bow Street Runner as their source of income. When Lord George Northbrook asks for Cass and Charles for help, they easily agree.

George thinks someone is out to kill his father the Duke of Ardmore. Years ago, the duke and his friends placed a bet and whoever lived the longest would collect the large sum of money. Now it seems like someone is trying to kill the remaining people alive so they can claim the prize and George wants to find out who before his father is murdered.

When Charles ends up hurt, Cass must investigate on her own and George doesn't even hesitate to help because he is completely enamored with Cass. Together they come up with a plan that Cass is his long lost cousin and the illegitimate daughter of a duke. While spending a lot of time together trying to find the killer, feelings quickly come to the surface except Cass is too afraid to believe in them even if George is ready to throw caution to the wind. It will take a huge leap of faith for these two to end up where they belong....together.

I really enjoyed this story. Cass is a hardened and not easily trusting person because of the life she has lead so far. George is really almost too good to be true...sweet, kind and very good looking. Together they balance each other very well. I really enjoyed the journey they went on to find out who the killer was and was surprised to find out the actual answer. Overall this was a fun, enjoyable story with some mystery and sexy times added in.

This book was just meh for me. I don't know why but I just had a hard time connecting with the characters and I got a little bored with the story. Maybe it is because i am in a reading slump.

I will try it again in a few months and hopefully I will be into the story more.

Lady Notorious by Theresa Romain is book 4 in the Royal Rewards Series. This is the story of Cassandra Benton and George, Lord Northbrook. I have read the previous book, but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Cass's brother Charles is a Bow Street Runner. Because Cass is a women she is not allowed to be a official Bow Street Runner, but she is her brother's partner. Cass does most any and all of the work needed, so she knows what she is doing. This leads her to help take on George's case of someone trying to hurt his father, the Duke of Ardmore. Cass is to pretend to be a distant cousin of George to try to disguise herself into getting information for their case. Overall enjoyed this book and I have been in love with this series! I will be looking for more books from Ms. Romain!

‘Lady Notorious’ is the fourth book in the series and whilst this is the first book that I read in the series, I found the storyline easy to follow. Cassandra Benton works for Bow Street, alongside her brother but an injury, sees her take on investigations to support her family. One of these investigations involves George, Lord Northbrook, who believes someone is plotting to kill his father, the Duke of Ardmore, following on from a wager made during his father’s youth.
Cass’ character as a female Bow Street runner certainly posed a challenge but I was happy to accept this but found that her and George, had little in common. Whilst Cassandra is a great character with a strong sense of honour and duty, I struggled to understand the attraction to George. Whilst a reformed rake, he seemed quite dull and very self-focused. This was definitely a slow-burn romance but did pick up pace towards the end.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is the first in the series for me and for the most part it was good. George and Cass are great characters on their own and their friends to lovers relationship was decent. Something about this one just wouldn’t let me commit fully to it. Other than that it was an okay read.

This is my fair and honest review for this ARC. What a delight to read. The wit of the characters and the banter was just so good. Add a mystery and some love.....what more could you ask for?

3.5 Stars
Cassandra Benton has always survived by her wits and wiles, even working for Bow Street alongside her twin brother Charles. When Charles falls from a trellis & breaks his leg, Cass must support them by taking on an intriguing new case: George, Lord Northbrook, believes someone is plotting to kill his father, the Duke of Ardmore. Four decades before, the duke was one of ten who formed a tontine that would grant a fortune to the last survivor. But someone can’t wait for nature to take its course and members are dying in suspicious circumstances.
Cass relishes the chance to spy on the ton, shrewdly disguised as George's notorious “cousin.”
I was drawn into the story from the first page & really enjoyed Cass working on the case, this was the highlight of the book for me. I liked both George & Cass but I felt that there was chemistry missing from their relationship & I found it hard to believe that they fell in love. Maybe it's me as I find it hard to comprehend a Marquis & future Duke wanting to marry someone who is basically a nobody, no way does it fit with my understanding of society in the early nineteenth century. Apart from this aspect I enjoyed the book
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I liked the book.. This was a new to me author. I enjoy historical fiction, including romance novels. The characters are engaging.

Fans of romance novels will enjoy this book.

Lady Notorious is not your typical Historical Romance (HR) where a low born girl has to make her way in the world with her wastrel brother but in the mean time falls in love with a member of the aristocracy. So far above her, that he is addressed as “My Lord”.
Oh wait that is this story almost exactly. Only so much more, and dare I say it, so much smarter than most of what I’ve read.
If the HRs I usually read were actually people, I would say,” Bless their hearts.” With Lady Notorious I would say “You go, girl!”
Cass Benton’s twin brother, Charlie, is a Bow Street Runner. Cass assists him, and is the actual brains behind their partnership. Charlie is injured on a case they are working for George, Lord Northbrook.
Northbrook is the son Ardmore, a duke who long ago invested in a tontine, a type of insurance scheme where only one survivor collects the proceeds. The investors were mostly men with no expectations of inheriting lofty titles or fortune; second sons, or the spares for the most part. With six survivors, someone is anxious for the scheme to end and seems to be killing off the members in creative ways. With Northbrook’s permission, Cass takes over the investigation along with his help. Of course Cass and Northbrook fall in love and there is the usual sturm und drang .
There are at least three ways in which Lady Notorious differs from most other HRs. There is intelligent social commentary. This book gives the ladies of the aristocracy their due. It emphasizes their power behind their lordly husbands and how they can and do influence social change as the backbone of English society.
I was also delighted by the central premise of murder centered on a tontine. I haven’t seen a tontine mentioned but once or twice since I was a child and read a book by that title. So props galore for an original motive for murder.
Lord Northbrook is also an atypical HR character in that he has a goal in life. He spends most of his spare money and time in research and experimentation with a specific goal in mind. His is not disorganized research, but carefully follows the scientific method.
Most of the secondary characters were from Cassie’s world, therefore far more intriguing and interesting than usual. There is an informant clever and resourceful who recognizes the theme of her life as being needs must. Cass’s boss is a magistrate who is honest and caring but bowed under from the weight of his responsibilities. Charlie is a charming ne’er-do-well who deeply loves Cass but is finally forced to grow up.
Romain’s writing is bright and snappy, her plot inventive and her characters both amusing and clever.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of a fair and honest review

I do love a mystery in a story and the one in this story was very good. The group of possible villains was varied and even though I knew something was off, I did not figure it out. I also loved the two main characters, George and Cassandra. Even though George was nobility, he had a very interesting hobby and of course, Cassandra was a quasi-Bow Street Runner which we knew from the previous story. These types of variances in historical romance make them interesting reads. Why the lower rating? The story was slow and a bit boring and the romance was pretty much non-existent. I hate that because this story had so much more potential.

An enjoyable romance. I had never read this author before and I enjoyed her writing style. This book is part of a series and I felt I did miss a little something having not read the other two. I would like to come back to this one again after reading the others and see if I liked it even more. Had some witty parts and a bit of mystery. Overall I enjoyed it and would love to read from this author again.

I really enjoyed this witty, well-written historical romance. Cassandra Benton works for Bow Street alongside her brother. He's injured and she takes on a case on her own - George, Lord Northbrook, believes someone is plotting to kill his father, the Duke of Ardmore. In the midst of the intrigue Cass and George find a mutual attraction slowly, steadily building. The interactions between the two of them were wonderful as they got to know each other and love slowly developed. This was a very entertaining book and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Theresa Romain is an auto-read for me, and I was pleased to have the chance to read an advance copy of “Lady Notorious”, number 4 in the Royal Rewards series. I thought Cassandra and George were a great couple. As they worked together to protect George’s father, they came to know and respect each other, creating a solid bond of friendship to underlay the obvious first attraction. Cass’s confusion about her ability to contribute was completely believable to me. In this period, women were very limited in their ability to work, especially women without financial resources. I was really glad that eventually Cass was in a position to spend (and most probably increase) George’s hereditary wealth.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.