He made it home just in time.

She didn't know she would have to be presented at Court?

My sister does that.

His father was charming. Not.

Lady Pickering is no fool.

What is Aldington's problem?

I like how she doesn't give a rip.

Oh-ho, Prudence is secretly naughty!

Prudence and Evie are correct.

Hear, hear!

Dude, how would she be your sister?

If his grandma is trying to help him, she's going about it in a confusing manner.

Haha, Barbara is actually nice!

What is so wrong with Wexford?

Improper by Darcy Burke is the first book in her new series about the Phoenix Club. She tends to write books with fun characters, especially women who do not want to follow the mold of what is expected. In this novel, she also introduces us to a private club that is going to be the connecting factor for this series. The private club breaks all the rules because it's for males and females! How Shocking! Tobais is one of the shareholders.

Unfortunately things do not always work out the way The Earl of Overton, Tobias Powell wants them to. His father has died and left him with all the estate and provisions. However, in order for him to maintain the one part of the inheritance that he wants to keep is for him to get married within 3 months of his father's death. Tobias has certainly been a rogue and has gotten in trouble many times. Who in their right mind would want to marry him? He is going to lose the only house where he felt safe as a child to his father’s ward, Fiona Wingate.

After being kept in a small town forever, the chance to go to London for a season is exciting. Fiona Wingate wants to have fun, see things, do things and live life. Instead she is stuck with a guardian who is determined to see her married right off. Fiona has made a couple of new friends and together they seem to find trouble everywhere. Tobais is constantly trying to keep Fiona safe, but she doesn’t make it easy for him at all.

Darcy Burke’s newest book, Improper is a fun slightly scandalous read!

On the whole I thought the book was fun with an interesting premise. I enjoyed the forbidden romance between Tobias and Fiona, as well as their playful banter. I enjoyed that Burke took the time to build their relationship and sexual tension, however at times both characters came across as naive and immature.

Fiona’s immaturity, which often made her came across as closer in age to 15 than 22, was explained away by her sheltered upbringing in the country. This plot device would have been more believable if she hadn’t seemed to be highly knowledgeable on how sexual relations are conducted between two contenting adults. Of course, Burke explains this as she read a naughty book hidden in the library, but it seems out of synch with her character, who she describes as naive and uneducated. In turn our plucky heroine is the perfectly knowledgeableu virgin for our hero.

Now Tobias, he is supposed to be a rouge, a rake, a scoundrel… or is he? A question Burke repeatedly presents to the reader. He does have a nice character development and I think he is a more fully realized character than Fiona.

The ending however, felt rushed and incomplete. Grand ole’ grandmama rushes in, exposes family secrets, and plots to get our main characters to see that they love each other. How convenient. Overall, I did enjoy the book and found I couldn’t put it down even if I did have to roll my eyes every now and then. If your looking for a feel good story, with a happily ever after and not too much plot beyond two people falling in love, then you’ll enjoy this story.

Is it improper to fall in love with one’s ward? Is it improper to want more from life than an husband?
Of course in Regency era it is!
“Improper” is the first book in Darcy Burke’s new series “The Phoenix Club”, but I recommend to read the prequel book, “Invitation”, which is free on Amazon, because it explains a lot of things.
I must say that I look forward to reading the other books, because I liked this one very much.
The first half of the book is admittedly a little bit too slow and too focused on presenting the club, which undoubtedly will be a great basis for good stories in the future. Therefore in the beginning the characters are sketchy, Fiona in particular, who seems too naive, the typical country girl who can’t behave in Society. And the attraction between the couple is practically nonexistent.
But in the second half the story changes drastically and the main characters, as well as their love story, become much more interesting. And at the end I’ve fallen in love with them and their struggle to overcome the obvious difficulties that Society imposes on both men and women.
I particularly liked the hero, Tobias, understanding his mistakes in wanting Fiona to fit the Society standards for women. And there’s also a delicate touch regarding the late earl, Tobias’ father, that I liked very much… But I don’t want to spoiler it!
In conclusion, I recommend this book heartily. Don’t stop at the first pages and you won’t be disappointed!

I'll admit that this was my first historical romance, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Improper is, in short, a story about a guardian with a scandalous past and the ward his departed father had unexpectedly left under his care.
Tobias Powell, or Lord Overton, is considered a rake (read womanizer or man-hoe). At least, in the eyes of Society. To top it all off, he finds himself in a displeasing situation, one concerning both a lady from the countryside entering society, one under his care no less, and an inheritance. His plan of marrying Fiona Wingate, his ward, off as quickly as possible to then focus on his own issues of finding a wife, proves to be rather difficult. Fiona does not wish to be wed. And he does not wish to lose a certain estate should he not be able to meet his departed father's wishes.

Now on to my thoughts on Improper. Mind you, I read for fun and hardly ever share my thoughts in this manner. This is just my personal opinion.

First off, everything I liked about this book.
I liked the plot. It's basically the protector and protected trope that many love so much. A forbidden element that made this book exciting.
The writing was beautiful, even though third-person isn't my preferred style. It flowed nicely and I had no problem following the story.
I loved how Fiona was able to bond with not only her companion, but the sister of her guardian's friend, someone who grew up in a much different world than hers. Their friendship and adventures were fun to read about, even if it got me nervous FOR them at times.
Another thing I liked was that Tobias was aware and acknowledged his privilege as a man in society. That he genuinely cared about this issue, asked questions and actually tried to help or improve the situation for Fiona.
I also loved the little secret from the past that connects Tobias and Fiona. As someone who lives in the 21st century, it always somewhat surprises me that certain things had to happen behind closed doors. So it was nice to have read about it in this book. It was also nice how they both saw no issue with it.

Now on to the things that made little to no sense to me. Again, these are just my personal opinions. And again, I haven't read many historical romances.
Their entire relationship confused me. It gave me whiplash, really. The beginning was so, so slow but then the last 15% seemed to move so quickly that it confused me. The entire relationship seemed rushed.
I saw no build-up, couldn't see the connection between them as the story progressed. The kiss and improper thoughts caught me completely off-guard in a bad way. I had to go back and see if, somehow, I missed their more-than feelings. But I couldn't find anything.
It was like one minute they felt nothing, but then a switch was turned on and suddenly, feelings were involved.
Their confessions, to me, came out of nowhere.

It was still a good book, but I found myself checking the percentage mark far too often. That and having to look up every other word. I swear, I haven't had to use my dictionary in so long until this book. I feel so, so dumb.

I enjoyed this book. An excellent regency romance. I discovered there is a prequel that's about the Phoenix club. It's not needed in order to understand this book but rather explains the club.

This book is a sweet historical romance. After the death of his father the Tobias Powell, Earl of Overtone, is tasked with introducing a ward in to society. The earl has the last two years led a live of a rake and is largely unprepared for having a ward. His ward, Miss Fiona Wingate is exited to leave her small town and is more than ready to be introduced to society. She viewes it as an adventure but quickly learns that this adventure comes with the expectation of her getting married. Tobias is sett on fulfilling his obligations and seeing Fiona married, Fiona on the other hand have no interest in marrying quickly. They couple buttheads as they try to navigate the season and their new roles. As the season progress so does their feelings for one another, but there is more to this wardship the Fiona is aware of.

This book was well-written, sweet and at times funny. There were some interesting side characters I wanted to know more about. It's clear that the book sets up romances fore the next couple of books. Unfortunately, the romance between Tobias and Fiona fell a bit flat for me. Personally, I would have wanted more chemistry between the two. Still, I found the book to be a good read.

Release date: May 25

This story was just I don’t know very pleasant and enjoyable to read for me. It seemed to have just enough of every aspect I like in a good historical romance book.
This is the first book in The Phoenix Club series so it was great to be starting in a fresh place and set of characters that have not yet had their own stories. Thankfully for this reason I never seemed lost at any time, but it does also mean you get a lot of information given to you throughout this book which is I’m sure to set up future books in the series.
We first meet our hero Tobias who has now after his fathers death inherited his estates and title as the fifth Earl of Overton. There are requirements in his fathers will that states if he does not marry within three months of the former earl’s death he will lose the one estate Horethorne, where he grew up with his mother that he feels is his only true home. He also discovers that his father had promised a good friend to take his daughter in as his ward and sponsor her for a season for her to hopefully make a good match she would not find living in the country. So Tobias continues on as planned and his ward shows up and is not what he had expected and he is drawn to her.
Fiona is excited for all the new adventures she will have but has no real plan to marry. At this point not realizing that is the point and it is expected she will attract a husband. Pretty quickly it seems Fiona is also noticing an attraction to Tobias as well. But they both keep it to themselves as it would most certainly be seen as forbidden between a ward and a guardian.
There is a build up of atmosphere when we learn more about The Phoenix Club, how they are different (they allow both men and woman into the club) and that they have a very exclusive list of members and potential members. Tobias is a part of the group of people that started the club but that is not known to Fiona or anyone.
Fiona is fascinated by the extravagance of everything and then as the season begins she attends balls and events to be introduced into society with a chaperone of course and Tobias is often there as well. She then meets Cassandra and their friendship reminded me a bit of Eloise Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington from Julia Quinns books. So I am interested to see what these two get up to in the future books.
As the attraction grows between Tobias and Fiona she is given information to assure she will receive Tobias mother’s estate as well as her six thousand pound dowry if she does not marry by 25 years old and it is everything she wanted. Freedom and independence, something of her own and not having to be owned by a husband.
I don’t want to spoil anything but it is what I would consider a slow burn romance but has just the right amount of steam to keep it exciting. And the HEA is definitely worth it. I am excited to read the next in The Phoenix Club series Impassioned. Thank you also to NetGalley for the ARC provided for review.

I enjoyed this book, it was well delivered and had a cast of great characters. Tobias is a scandalous rogue with a bad reputation, Fiona his is ward and a country miss entering London society. Tobias father even from the grave is dictating his life, for he must marry in 6 weeks or loss a portion of his inheritance. He aims to marry Fiona off this season, even though she has not desire to marry before she has added some adventure to her life, As they get to know each other, they find they get along well and they find their happy ending. This story also shows what little choices a lady had in this time period. I look forward. to reading the rest of the series.

Love This book. Darcy Burke is one of my top go to romance authors . Hot, intriguing, suspense. Her characters are both lovable and hateable! She weaves a story than brings you into her world .

I really like this story! This is the second book I’ve read written by Darcy Burke, and I’m really enjoying her style.
Tobias Powell, Earl of Overton, has just inherited a sheltered, proper young ward for whom he must find a husband. And that is only the start of his problems. His father’s will demands Tobias marry within the next six weeks, or he’ll lose his mother’s house, a treasure so dear that Tobias can’t consider defeat. Surely he can rehabilitate his scandalous reputation, secure a match for his ward, and find the sophisticated woman of his dreams before it’s too late. Except his ward is a hellion who cannot behave. She can, however, make him laugh.
Provincial Miss Fiona Wingate is eager to swap her boring small town for an exciting London Season. Until she realizes her new guardian, a dashing earl, plans for her to wed with the utmost haste. Fiona has no interest in marriage—she’s only just been liberated from her lifelong isolation! But when she causes a near scandal and Tobias comes to the rescue, an unexpected attraction sparks between them. Except romance between a guardian and his ward would be most improper.
I love stories between guardians and wards. They can be so scandalous! But this one seems almost too sweet. Their attraction is slow and step by step. This book is for romantic souls who doesn´t need too much fire in the relationships. I loved the second half of the story, the first one was a bit dense, but enjoyable all the same.
There are few sexy times, some nice kissing and witty dialogs. The characters are well developed and strong. The side characters are really interesting; I’ll be waiting for the next book in the series!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book had the potential to be a great romance but in my opinion it missed the mark. My main issue is that the relationship between Tobias and Fiona felt really weak. I didn't really care about the characters or their romance. I think this is because the characters didn't feel fleshed out. There really wasn't a plot and the secret club business was honestly boring. I had trouble getting through this book because it was so slow. Underwhelming book and I do not think I will continue with this series or this author in general.

Tobias Powell, Earl of Overton has a short time to find a wife, or he risks losing the one thing that is dear to him. When he takes Fiona Wingate on as his ward and must present her to society so she can attain her own marriage, his life becomes even more complicated. How can he arrange a marriage for his ward when his feelings for her become improper?

Fiona isn’t interested in marriage but knows she doesn’t have much choice. She never expects to fall in love, especially with her guardian. But as they get to know each other, their growing attraction becomes irritable.

Fiona has a fantastic personality, and I love her sense of humor. She doesn’t take herself, or the silly societal rules, too seriously, which is refreshing. As she is from the country, she lacks the polish and refinement of most of the other characters in the story. This does contribute to her problems and highlights the differences between Fiona and some of her new acquaintances.

Tobias is a rake that is desperate for a wife. He has a lot of baggage, especially in relation to his feelings about his father. Theirs was a complicated and seemingly loveless relationship, and it causes problems for Tobias throughout the story. I like that Tobias finds some resolution in regard to his father. I also like how liberal-minded Tobias is. His feelings about women, spinsterhood, and various other topics are very forward-thinking and show that Tobias is a great match for Fiona, who shares his opinions.

The romance is slow-building and forbidden, which leads to a bit of angst and a lot of sexual tension. Fiona and Tobias have great chemistry, and they get along so well. She is interested in maps, and he does everything he can to support her interest. However, he is so distracted by the pressure to find a wife that he doesn’t see the wonderful woman in front of him for much of the story. Fiona, in turn, does not want to rush into marriage and instead craves the freedom that she’s never had. Because of their stubbornness, their relationship doesn’t even begin to develop until about halfway through the book.

There are several parts of the story that I wish were explored more. For example, I wanted to know more about The Phoenix Club and those who run it. I felt like the club and many of the characters had so much potential but were a bit underdeveloped. That being said, there are other parts that are laugh-out-loud delightful, which made up for some of the slower parts. Also, I have a feeling these characters will be the protagonists in future books, which I'm excited about.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Darcy Burke for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

(Will post links closer to due date.)

Improper by Darcy Burke follows Tobias, a notorious rogue of an Earl and his ward Fiona, a newcomer to London from a small country town. Relationship between the two would be improper in most social circles of the time but he two of them find themselves hopelessly drawn together.

This book was throughly enjoyable! The characters were upbeat and fun to read with cute banter and silly, awkward situations to navigate. I admit at about half way through I wasn't able to put the book down! It was refreshing to read Fiona especially. She was in charge of her own mind and body and didn't apologize for being herself.

Overall, I'm very excited to see what is next for the Phoenix Club since I noticed a couple seeds being planted for other future relationships out of their circle! I'll be checking out the next in the series for sure!

This first full-length installment is more or less enjoyable…with a major caveat. Building on some familiar tropes, such as guardian/ward, reformed rake hero, and the hellion heroine new to society, they come together to create a delicious and scandalous historical romance.

I found Tobias fairly sympathetic and easy to root for, both from reading his backstory in Invitation and from the way he reacts as he’s navigating the challenges his father placed in his way. In spite of the reputation he’s gained and that he did view marriage with some element of practicality, I appreciated that he hadn’t given up on the possibility of at least learning to love the woman he would marry, which was a nice change from the overly jaded rakes.

Fiona is also easy to root for, having left her village for the first time to experience her first real taste of freedom. Even as marriage is expected of her, and some of her shenanigans press the issue, I appreciated how she stood her ground.

They have pretty good chemistry, and some of their romantic interludes are really well-written. However, as the story went on, especially towards the end, I feel like something had been lost. It turned into a “he wants to marry her without love, but she won’t have him until he declares it” sort of story, which on its own has always been a pet hate of mine. But the way it just changed the tone of their motivations, especially hers? Like, what happened to not wanting to marry because of freedom? I mean, I understand how life-affirming it can be to find someone who loves you who you happen to love in return, and there’s the whole inheritance plotline to deal with. But I feel like her wanting her independence went out the window, and surely there’s a way that could have been acknowledged while still having her HEA.

I did really enjoy this book, in spite of any flaws with the execution of the ending. This is a great first book in what is projected to be an eight-book series, and one I would recommend to anyone who loves historical romance.

This is my fair and honest review, voluntarily given and in my own words, for this ARC. Darcy Burke is one of my "look for" authors. So, never did I think I would ever be giving a review like this for one of her books. I am sorry to say, I got about 65% through the book and just could not finish it. I could find no excitement in this tale. It was so bland that I forgot who the author was until I decided I couldn't finish it. I hate to write a review like this as I know how much work it takes to write a story. Maybe it is just me and someone else will find differently.

Improper features a delightful romance between an earl trying to reform his reputation and his ward.

Tobias Powell, Earl of Overton, has had nothing but problems since he inherited his title. First he finds out his father's will demands Tobias marry within three months of his father's death or he will lose his mother's house, the place of all of his happy childhood memories. Then he learns he has inherited a ward, a young sheltered woman, along with his title. With less than six week's until his father's deadline for the house, Tobias is sure he'll be able to marry off his ward and then find himself a wife. But Miss Fiona Wingate has no intention of marrying and derails all of Tobias's plans.

Two years ago, Tobias was on the cusp of a betrothal when the woman chose a man of higher rank than Tobias. Since then, Tobias has had a hard time letting anyone else in and has kept his relationships to physical only ones becoming known as a rake in the process. I do recommend reading the prequel novella, Invitation, as you get to see these events firsthand which help you understand Tobias's character. Fiona spent her life in a small village in a family that didn't have a lot of money. She didn't necessarily have a bad life, but her family wasn't one full of affection. Fiona had an unusual interest for a woman, she loves maps, but I enjoyed her clear passion and enthusiasm for it.

Tobias and Fiona's relationship initially starts off as a normal guardian and ward relationship with no impropriety. They both found each other attractive but didn't think of each other as a potential partner. As the two got to know each other, Tobias encouraged Fiona's interests and I liked how he made sure she could experience everything she'd missed out on. Fiona is determined to live life to the fullest while in London and she doesn't want to marry as she believes that would ruin her plan. I liked how much these two frustrated each other with their opposing plans as it led to some great moments between the pair. The change in their relationship to a romantic one did come somewhat out of nowhere but I wasn't bothered by it. Ultimately I was happy with the direction their romance took and thought it was well done.

Overall Improper was an excellent read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a great historical romance.

Tobias has 5 weeks to meet, woo and marry a woman in order to save his mother's house as his father left a condition in his will that gives the house away if he can't, at the same time he has to give his ward Fiona her first season as his father was her godfather and protector and the responsibility has passed to him.
We basically follow Fiona's hijinks as she tries to have as many adventures as possible before her guardian gives up or gets fed up and sends her home.
Tobias however is trying to make sure she can do what she wants to do or learn what she wants to while she's under his care, for example she loves maps so he takes her to see the biggest collection of them in the city.
Tobias is really a romantic and his situation makes him randomly swing between autocratic and sweet after he has time to consider his decisions, Fiona's recklessness frustrates and titillates him adding to the emotional stew.
I really liked both characters, Fiona's spark and Tobias's desperate attempt not to go up in flames.

Improper by Darcy Burke is a delightfully romantic tale. Fiona Wingate leaves the country to have her first season which is provided by Tobias, the handsome Earl of Overton, her new guardian. He wants her to find a husband as soon as possible, but Fiona wants to have a bit of an adventure before settling down and getting married. Can Tobias resist the improper Fiona?

Tobias Powell is now the Earl of Overton. Unfortunately due to stipulations in his father's will, he has a ward to launch into society. At the same time he needs a wife in six weeks or he'll lose his mother's home, the only place of happy memories when she was alive. Miss Fiona Wingate wants her freedom, not marriage to someone she doesn't love. When Fiona enters society, society isn't ready for Fiona. After each escapade,Tobias is angry one minute and laughing the next. Sometimes he and Fiona are laughing together. Can an Earl marry his ward? A funny, witty, charming Regency
Romance
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book