Oliver Carlyle, Marquess of Ambrose is at the house party to find a wife. What he finds is a diary written by a woman who fascinates him, a woman with whom he can be himself in life and in the bedroom. Lily Layton has lost her diary and is frantic to find it before someone reads it and learns her dark and unconventional desires. Clues in the diary lead him to a tryst (or two) with Lily in a dark secret passage in the manor. Because these wonderful experiences occurred in darkness, neither knows who the other is. The search is on. When they discover each other in the daylight, what will happen?

Stacy Reid has written a sensual and emotional story. Oliver and Lily are both quite likable. Oliver is charming, honorable, a little rowdy, and adventurous in the bedchamber. Lily is twice widowed and is afraid of trying love and marriage a third time. She is sweet, kind, generous, and, according to her diary, wishes to be adventurous in the bedchamber. I like the secondary characters. Lily’s family was wonderful and funny. Radbourne is a wild one, but a great friend for Oliver. Lady Ambrose is staid, as a society matron should be, but loves Oliver and wants him to be happy. The story has a little mystery (for awhile), uncertainty, humor, romance, drama, and hot naughty times in (and out of) the bedchamber. At a time when a potentially devastating disappointment is revealed, Oliver makes a most passionate declaration of love. Grab a fan and a hanky. This one sizzles and has heart!

I Received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The review is voluntary.

enticing historical romance

If you are looking for a book that will bring a blush to your face as you explore the naughty possibilities between men and woman, and are not too worried about the realities of Lily and Oliver, Stacy Reid’s The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton is just the read for you.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

Content warnings: [infertility, inordinate amounts of shaming heroine for having sexual desire (hide spoiler)]

Dissatisfied with his life, Oliver, the Marquess of Ambrose, is attending his mother’s latest house party to find a bride – but he finds something else entirely: a widow’s scandalous diary, full of her explicit sexual desires. Oliver has hoped to find a wife that can handle his varied and immense sexual appetite, and since the writer’s desires closely match his, she’s now at the top of his marriage list – if only he can figure out who she is. Oh, and ignore his attraction to his mother’s lady’s companion. Lily has been widowed twice, and isn’t particularly eager to marry again. Instead, she hopes to use the money she’s making as the Marchioness’s companion to open a shop featuring her fashion designs. But she can’t help sneaking through the hidden passages during the house party to spy on other’s carnal activities. When she meets a mysterious man who has her diary, it seems like all of her hidden dreams have come true, at least for one night. But she’s no lady, and she can’t let the mystery mind find out who she really is. Between that and her strange connection to Oliver, she should be glad to leaving her post soon. How far will Oliver and Lily go to explore what they have between them?

“We all hunger for a taste of something forbidden, only some of us have the audacity or courage to act on those needs.”


Lily was an interesting character. Her previous husband – a vicar – had berated her for enjoying sex, so she’s carrying around a lot of shame related to her desires, and that affects a lot of her relationships with men. I was proud of her, though, for refusing to submit to the Marchioness’ pressure to marry again, and the way she stood up to Oliver. Oliver, well, I didn’t like him as much. He was extremely disapproving of the wrongness of the common practice of having a gently-born wife (and a marriage bed only useful for getting heirs) and a mistress on the side to fulfill all of a husband’s more base desires. While I agree with him, he seemed a bit overly focused on that and the pain and it brought to his family.

“Tell me,” her mysterious stranger coaxed. “I want to know your cravings.”
Lily knew without a hint of any doubt that her life would never be the same if she succumbed to the lust in her heart. But she didn’t want to return to that realm of uncertainty, of restraining of one’s passion and true heart.”


When Lily and Oliver’s sexual relationship starts, they don’t know who the other is, and Oliver assumes she’s one of his mother’s well-born friends. He does, eventually, reveal who he is to Lily-in-disguise, but she still refuses to tell him, asshe doesn’t think he’d take too kindly to figuring out he’s sleeping with the help. While that relationship is going on, he’s also flirting with Lily in her position of his mother’s companion. While he’s aware of the power imbalance between them (another bit of baggage from his father), he still acts in ways that made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like that Oliver offered to pay her £500 – actually a total of £1000 – for “helping” him find a wife. It was thinly disguised charity (what does she know about his mother’s well-to-do guests), and even she realized it at the time. According to this handy website, depending on what year of the regency it was, £500 would be between $45-50k in today’s money! Even with the understanding that that’s pocket change to him, it’s an incredibly odd offer to make to an employee. While she does eventually agree to take the money, it’s in return for giving him a percentage investment in the business.

There was definitely a higher heat level than I was expecting – to give an example, there’s a mention of cunnilingus on the very first page. There’s a lot covered here, from your garden variety sex to oral sex, voyeurism (both ways), even anal. I thought the scenes were well-done, and I appreciated how Ms. Reid handled Lily’s enthusiasm, even though she wasn’t particularly experienced. Despite the power imbalance, I didn’t feel like there were any consent issues between the two in regards to sex.

My biggest issue is with the something that happens in the last quarter of the book. [Lily believes she’s barren, but hides it from him, even after they’re married – so the last three chapters, or about 15% of the book. One of the main reasons Oliver was looking for a wife was because he wants to start a family. Lily has some deniability, as she wasn’t very sexually active with either of her previous husbands, and her brother-in-law, a doctor, points out that it’s hard to get pregnant when you’re only having sex once a month (I assume Oliver thought the same thing, as he doesn’t seem worried that she’s been married twice and has no children). But, the specter of infertility is a huge worry for her, and she doesn’t bring it up with Oliver, casting a pall over their marriage. I was fine with the earlier deceptions about their identities because, well, yes, I thought it perfectly reasonable that she’d be frightened to reveal who she was for fear of losing her job. But hiding her worries about infertility was just inexcusable to me. In addition (another major spoiler, since I can’t do a spoiler tag inside a spoiler), after all the infertility talk and the marriage issues it caused, the book ends with her being pregnant with twins. While I’ve never had issues in that area, I would guess that that might be a slap in the face to readers who’ve experienced that. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I enjoyed the majority of the book, but was disappointed with the resolution. I’ll definitely read books by Ms. Reid again, though, as I love her voice and take on historical romance. I’d cautiously recommend this to someone looking for a very steamy historical.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

3.5 stars

The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton was a hot erotic historical romance with likable, but flawed characters. I've read Stacy Reid before and I always thought her books were high on the steam spectrum, but The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton is definitely the steamiest out of the ones I've read. The premise is a fun and exciting one: Oliver, the Marquess of Ambrose, finds a diary during a house party that his mom is hosting for him to find a bride. The diary contains the fantasies of one of the ladies attending the house party and although there are a couple hints in there about her life, her actual identity is not revealed through the entries. Oliver is determined to find this woman because she matches him perfectly in sensuality. He thinks they would be very good together (and he's right about that).

Now, you must suspend disbelief here because it takes Oliver way too long to finally deduce the identity of the diary's owner. There were moments where he suspected correctly, but he kept deluding himself into thinking it was impossible and I just wanted to smack him lol. What I'm trying to say is that the hunt for the diary's owner is a little convoluted and far fetched and could have been resolved early on. At one point, even Lily should have figured out the identity of the person who has her diary. She just had to put two and two together...but she didn't. That's my main complaint about this book. It's not like these characters are stupid, but they were definitely made out to be stupid just for the sake of the plot.

While I appreciated the lack of conflict in regards to society's acceptance of Lily, I still found it a little hard to believe that everyone (outside of Oliver's friends) so easily accepted her. Even more baffling was Oliver's mom's reaction - it was a complete 180.

There were also some inconsistencies with the characters' motivations and their actual behaviour. Regardless, I enjoyed their scenes together, especially in the last third of the book. I think the author did a great job with the climax and tackling the very difficult issue that Oliver and Lily had to face. Ultimately, despite my complaints, I finished the book feeling happy because the ending was sweet and heartfelt and I was satisfied with the HEA.

WOW! This book was Hot Hot HOT! And I Loved every second of it! This is a story of a twice widow Lily Layton and her coming into her own. Her second marriage to the local Vicar did a number on her, as she was made to feel sinful and unnatural for her sexual urges. Now living as a lady's companion she writes down all of her desires in her private diary, including her longing for her employer's son Oliver Carlyle, the Marquess of Ambrose. The books starts out with Lily searching for said diary as she has unfortunately misplaced it on her walk. While she never mentions her name in the book she fears discovery if it should find its way into the wrong hands. Of course the diary makes its way to the Marquess' hands and lets just say from this point on you will want a glass of water and a fan near by!!! This book is right up my alley, plenty of steaminess with a solid story line. I often find that I end up having to compromise one for the other with most books, but not so with this one!! Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh, this was sooo good! I loved the whole idea of a lost diary that held scandalous secrets and desires, one that is found by a man who longs for a woman to share his own darkest yearnings. Add to that the fact that these two meet in anonymity and neither knows the other. It was quite delicious.

Lily was a wonderful heroine. She had dreams for her future and even though she was a lady’s companion she was fierce and strong. Having been widowed twice in marriages that lacked passion, she did not desire to remarry. However, that did not stop her from fantasizing about the carnal things she longed for. When the opportunity to indulge those fantasies arises she yields to the dark stranger.

Oliver is ready to marry but having watched his parent’s relationship he knows exactly what he wants in his future marchioness. He wants everything. Companionship, love and a passion with his lady that is equal to his own dark urges. When he stumbles across a lascivious diary he is intrigued and determined to find the author of such open wants. And yet, even as he seeks a bride and hungers for the diary owner, he is drawn to his mother’s companion.

I loved how this story unfolds. It was unpredictable and not at all how I thought they would discover each other. Their identities is not the conflict, although they certainly had to travel an unfavorable road to get to a place where they could be together. The true conflict is much more painful and my heart wept for Lily as she carries her burden alone. Once Oliver becomes aware of the situation I felt his own anguish. But holy heck! When he sets out to make things right with her it is one of the most beautiful statements of love I’ve ever read. Ever!

This is a fast paced book and the chemistry between this hero and heroine was scorching as was the smexy times between them. They were perfect for each other! Full disclosure and a bit of a spoiler here that I won’t hide – they partake in two scenes of voyeurism, one where they are being watched and another where they watch. I would rather the hero not want anyone to see his lady or even hear her, but that is my own personal preference. The hero does take a “mine” stance during their scene but it wasn’t enough for me.

Overall, this was a wonderful read that I will reread in the future as it had the perfect amount of wit, steam, angst, romance and one amazing epilogue.

The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton by Stacy Reid is the story of Oliver Carlyle, Marquess of Ambrose and Lily Layton. Lilly is a twice widower who is now a companion with Dowager Marchioness of Ambrose who wants to play matchmaker for her and find her a new husband. In addition the Marchioness is planning to find her son a wife. Lily doesn't want to remarry since neither marriage was fulfilling for her nor her desires. Lily puts her thoughts in desires in a note book that now has gone missing. Oliver is board with his titled life and knows that he has to marry but wishes to find the women who has put such passionate thoughts to paper. Their romance starts in secret but their passion can't stay in the shadows for long. I totally loved their story! I am such a fan of Ms. Reid's romances...they have everything I love to read.

Hot and steamy. Lily and Oliver start an affair as strangers in the dark, without knowing each other’s name. Eventually that changes and they continue to fill their deepest and darkest desires. Once he realizes he can’t live without her they get married. This is definitely a one handed read. You will also need water around to cool down from the steamy heat coming off the pages.

Deliciously decadent chase for the ultimate prize!

Oliver has come to the point in his life where it's time to settle down and marry for the sake of his title. But, he refuses to have an unfulfilling marriage like that of his parents, and that, coupled with his very specific tastes in bedroom activities, makes it practically impossible to find a woman that will meet all of his personal and societal needs. Ah, but then he finds the diary ...

This delightful romance unfolds as Oliver investigates the ladies attending his house party, seeking to identify the author of the scandalous diary. He manages to meet her for a secret tryst that reveals their compatibility but not their identities. At the same time, he finds himself falling for the wholly inappropriate widow, Lily, his mother's companion and therefore completely off-limits.

I was happily absorbed in this rule-breaking, breathtaking love story. Oliver and Lily show that true love supersedes all else, and being happy together is all that really matters. But Lily has a secret, one that threatens the very core of their happiness.

Just when you think they have their HEA, this secret becomes unbearable, and Oliver is forced to make a devastating decision. This was an especially poignant part of the book, and was so beautifully written. After accepting the truth of what he could no longer deny, Oliver's devotion to Lily was unparalleled in its depth and really cemented the bond that these two have.

I loved every angsty, romantic, and oh-so-very-steamy moment of this fabulous book. It checks all the boxes of what a historical romance should be. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Lily Layton is twice a widow but has never experienced romance or love. She is currently a companion to the Dowager Marquess of Ambrose whose son is looking for a wife. Lily doesn't suit--wrong class and all. But Ambrose stumbles upon her diary and really, really, wants to get to know her.

Some humor, some fun, worth a few hours of your time if you are looking for an afternoon killer.

The first book I’ve read by this author and it’s quite excellent. I loved reading Lily and Oliver’s passion for each other. It practically leapt off the page. I was a bit frustrated the mystery of their identities wasn’t figured out sooner but all’s way that ends well.

Thank you Entangled and NetGalley for the ARC!

Lily Layton is a widow living as a companion to the dowager marchioness of Ambrose. She had been married twice, but both men didn’t seem to share her desires. She keeps her innermost, scandalous secrets and desires in her diaries. Until, she lost the diary.

The Marquess of Ambrose, Oliver Carlyle, was wondering who the diary he found belonged to. After reading it, he thought that he finally found his match inside the bedroom. He just need to find who it belonged to. Then, he found a mysterious stranger in the dark, lurking wondering this might be the woman he was looking for. He wanted to know who this person is. But he promised not to look for her.

Problem is, this woman might be forbidden for him.

The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton is scourging hot. I like the mystery that surrounds the diary, and Oliver’s subtle search of trying to find who the real owner is, and how Lily Layton tries to hide the truth about her desires and her identity when they found each other in the dark.

Lily finally embraced her desires, thanks to Oliver and his reassurance that there is nothing wrong with it.

Get your fans out, readers. Lily Layton is hot. After two disappointing marriages, she is ready for a man. Oliver, Marquess of Ambrose is ostensibly looking for a wife and mother to his heirs, but really he is looking for a soul mate and an woman who is ready for his passion. I had a few quibbles (really? they didn’t recognize each other after two nights of hot sex?) but overall this was a great read. I’m looking forward to more from Stacy Reid.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton by Stacy Reid

Simon Carlyle, 9th Marquess of Ambrose has found a diary that has him intrigued. He would LOVE to find the woman who wrote it as she seems made for him. He is in the market for a wife and wants to be true to her...but...he also wants to have a wife who will meet his needs...all of them. This book felt “of the times” and at times reminded me of the book Fanny Hill and yet with a bit more heat and better quality of writing. Clandestine meetings, couplings in the dark secret passages of an estate home, fantasies fulfilled and even though I felt this in some ways more fantasy than reality I truly did relate to Lily and Ambrose as they worked their way toward love and what that could and would mean to both of them with the differences in their stations and having to deal with a secret Lily was carrying.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled – Scorched for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Beneath Lily Layton’s sweet and charming exterior beats the heart of a vixen—one with shocking and scandalous secrets and desires. But as a genteel lady, she confines her forbidden fantasies, like those about her employer’s devastatingly handsome son, to her diary…until she loses it.

Oliver Carlyle, Marquess of Ambrose, has finally found the perfect wife, a woman who will not hide from his dark, carnal cravings. He just needs to figure out who she is. When he has a secret rendezvous with a mysterious stranger, suddenly he starts to believe she might be the author of the diary.

He’s determined to find out who his mystery woman is…

His biggest fear—and deepest fantasy—is she may be the one woman he cannot have.

There was a huge amount to love about this book, the characters were likeable, the connection between them intense, and the sex scenes were very well done, I thought the story overall was well handled and despite the quite raunchy sex scenes, the consent issues were well handled.

I thought the main plot was a good one, Lily Layton, twice widowed, is now companion to the widowed Marchioness of Ambrose. Her family live in the village, and she is determined to save up and start her own dressmaking business to support her family. Her second marriage to the local vicar was a difficult one, as he found her too sensual, and denigrated and punished her for her desires. Now single once more, she is determined not to marry and commits her sexual yearnings and fantasies to a secret diary. The Marquess of Ambrose, Oliver, discovered the diary, and is fascinated by iiimmediately. He is considering finding a wife, and is very keen to find one who will accommodate his sexual preferences as well as be able to cope with the responsibilities and duties of a Marchioness.

This book is not one to read if you are a huge stickler for historical accuracy, it is however a well paced, very sensual and romantic book.

I really enjoyed the interaction between Oliver and Lily, once they were married and in the intimate scenes before they had discovered each other’s identity. I especially liked the way Oliver did not judge Lily at all for her sexual fantasies, and felt their interactions and chemistry were really well described. I thought the way Oliver responded to Lily’ around the infertility issues in the books was so sensitive and romantic, it was incredibly satisfying in terms of the final resolution between them

I did struggle with some of the actions, I couldn’t really understand how or why Oliver would accompany Lily into the village and hang around for her in the gardens etc for the whole day, it didn’t feel likely to me, I also had a bit of a problem with the infertility issues, of course it should feature in romances, not everyone who falls in love can have or wants a child, however, it isn’t clearly flagged on the blurb, and I think it could be triggering to anyone affected by the issue themselves. I also think the resolution to this story element was a bit too neat. I was really torn with this, because it is escapist fiction, but most infertility cannot be resolved in the way it was in the book.

Overall I recommend this book, but would say it’s not for people who are looking for perfect historical accuracy and language.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads

Definitely not historically accurate, but that’d be missing the point. The hero and heroine each have their own reasons for keeping their desires secret, but when they meet as strangers in a dark hidden passageway, they can explore their passions together. But do they want more than an anonymous tryst? A very steamy read!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. So warning if your looking for a nice and clean historical romance this is not it. This is a steamy crazy exotic ride. We have Lily a repressed widow who has lost her diary. Who should find it but the Marquess her employer. Their story was very well done and I just couldn’t put it down. Definitely, not for the faint of heart but a good read.

What a great romance! I’m a new fan of Ms. Reid’s! I think I’ve read 5 of her books in 4 days. I’m an insatiable reader, and her writing is a perfect example of why. Her characters are loveable, the writing is crisp and engaging and the sex scenes are smoking hot!

If you’ve never read anything by her, this is as good a place to start as any. If you have, you already know the pleasure that awaits. Enjoy!

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Lily Layton, twice widowed & only twenty five is now companion to the Marchioness of Ambrose, she’s sweet and charming but confines her forbidden fantasies, like those about her employer’s devastatingly handsome son, to her diary. Then she loses it & the man of her fantasies finds it.
Oliver Carlyle, Marquess of Ambrose, has finally found the perfect wife, a woman who will not hide from his dark, carnal cravings. He just needs to figure out who she is. When he has a secret rendezvous with a mysterious stranger, suddenly he starts to believe she might be the author of the diary.
This story is like your favourite dessert indulgent, naughty but oh so good. I love the author’s books & have yet to be disappointed. The characters always have depth & are likeable. Oliver has been brought up to believe that he should treat his future wife with kid gloves & leave his darker desires to a mistress. However he knows that once he marries he will be faithful so choosing he right wife is extremely important. Lily is a widowed vicar’s wife, which I absolutely adored, in many ways she’s still quite an innocent as both husbands weren’t exactly hot blooded males. Oliver begins to notice Lily & knows he has to control himself as he won’t follow in his rakish father's footsteps. I had to suspend a bit of belief that they didn't recognise each other in the secret passage but it was very dark, it's fiction & it added to the story. I loved how they came to like each other & both hoped that their mystery lover was in fact who it was. A lovely hot read that at times threatened to combust my kindle, it was also quite touching at times & I loved it
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read