A Lady's Guide to Scandal is a cute, light, and funny historical piece. Author Sophie Irwin adds a few too many unnecessary characters, but otherwise smoothly intertwines the lives of a variety of personalities into a well written and easy to follow story.

I want to thank penguin and netgalley for my copy of the Arc.

Eliza is recently widowed and her first love promptly appears in her life and none too happy in her presence. She drags her cousin along with her and moves to bath to avoid him.

There she meets lord Melville and his sister Caroline, both disreputable in front of the ton.
The first half has a very Persuasion like storyline to it and Lord Melville and his sister reminds you of Mansfield Park, both by Jane Austen.
Therein, the similarities end. Eliza has 2 love interests and both equally interesting at first. Then, the prejudice start to show up and the Eliza's path and who you root for, becomes clearer.
It is well-paced story and the intrigue of how she chooses as her partner keeps you on the edge on your seat.

My only gripe being that I would have preferred that the choice was a tad more expected. I am going to go and read her prior work since this was so much fun.

This book solidified the delight I have in Sophie Irwin's work. I feel that she successfully managed to bring a delightful mix of humor and Jane Austen era fiction to life in her book.

An unforgotten romance and a (potential yet arguably cryptic) new love interest serve as a large push and pull of the novel. I did see the similarities to Persuasion, and those who enjoy that book will appreciate some of the baseline plot similarities. However, Irwin weaves her own take on it and does so successfully.

I think this is the ideal coffee shop read--light-hearted and neatly wrapped up regency romance.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with a copy of this arc.

I had read Sophie Irwin's first and only other novel - A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting - so I was ecstatic to be able to read and review this follow-up.

This is a Regency Romance that contains many of the tropes of the genre, but done in a way I have not seen before. The writing is superb, the pace and flow are flawless, and the

I loved SO MUCH about this novel, but I will detail the aspects that brought me the most delight:

- the HUMOR. Oh my god, the humor. I just know Sophie Irwin is genuinely hilarious in real life, to be able to pen the hilarity and dry witticisms that jump off the page. Melville, one of the male main characters, and Mr. Fletcher, a side character, are particularly hilarious, as are the inner musings of Eliza, our main female protagonist. I loved it.
- the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. So often in stories when authors want to show that a character has grown, I feel that it's almost too quickly done and it feels false for it, but Sophie Irwin developed Eliza, our main character, so gradually and so naturally that it felt incredibly true to life and made Eliza a vibrant and realistic person who I felt was almost real.
- the ROMANCE. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply say that there are two main male characters and love interests in the story, and both storylines and relationships felt natural. The person with whom Eliza ends up, though, was someone I was rooting for from the start, and while he is realistically flawed, he and Eliza had such a swoony romance. I absolutely felt the depth of their feelings for each other, and the angst and tension were *chef's kiss*.
- the WRITING. I was pulled in from line 1 and not released until the last page. I read the entire novel in one day. I have not felt this captivated by a novel in a long time, and I know that this author is one to watch.

I will definitely be recommending this novel to friends, family, students, and others, and I can't wait to see what the author delivers next.

A Lady’s Guide to Scandal starts out making you think it’ll be a Persuasion retelling., it most certainly is NOT! Eliza is underfoot of an overbearing mother, and recently widowed to a man she didn’t love. When Somerset, the man she did love, returns, she is in a constant state of overwhelming despair.

She decides to take her inheritance and her cousin Margaret off to Bath for a change of scenery and Al song the way meets Lord Melville and his sister Caroline,

Eliza continues to be oppressed by the people around her and hunks herself still in love with Somerset, while Melville starts up a flirtation. She is then left thoroughly confused.

Both these men ought to be smacked. Their behaviors are appalling , yet Eliza winds up with one of them in the end.

All the heart eyes!! I wish I could read this again for the first time! the idea caught me off guard and I loved it!

Absolutely loved this book!! I felt like I had traveled back to Victorian England. The way it was written was so immersive and enthralling. I really enjoyed how even the language was time period oriented. I also loved that I got to know the main characters. I did not see the plot twist coming AT ALL. Normally feel as though I can predict the twist but not this one. Overall very well written and wish I could read it again for the first time.

Would love a sequel to have a continuation of the story!

After reading hundreds of Regency titles, I still get a jolt when the modern mores of today are anachronistically inserted.

If a person wants to re-write history into a welcoming gay/lesbian view, why bother putting in the work of other historic details? This novel should be classified as LGBTQ+. Do readers a favor and don’t waste their time by selling them something they aren’t looking for.

Thank you Penguin Books for the gifted eARC

3.5 stars

Sophie Irwin’s debut, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting, has been one of my favorite books so far this year, so I went into Scandal with very high hopes. Sadly, this book did not grab me in the way Fortune-Hunting did. Maybe it was partially the different format (ebook as opposed to audio), but I unfortunately found myself glancing at my percentage progress on my kindle more often than I’d like.

The premise of this sounded fantastic - a loose Persuasion retelling set in Bath. There is a love triangle with our main character’s young love and a much rumored rake that has shown up in town, but it’s never a good sign when you aren’t cheering for either of the men. My favorite relationship in this book was the friendship Eliza had with her closest friend, which really was such a sweet part of the story.

I definitely don’t regret reading this, but it wasn’t memorable for me in the way Fortune-Hunting was and while I will gladly reread that (and any future Irwin novels), Scandal wasn’t a favorite.

Sophie Irwin strikes again! I loved "A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting" and this was another favorite for me. The title is a bit of a misnomer though, as this is more "A Lady's Guide to Self Discovery" but I suppose for the early 19th century, those may be synonymous. We follow Eliza after the unexpected death of her wholly unpleasant husband and the more unexpected generous inheritance he leaves her. She now has to decide: will she continue her life of meekly following the guidance of her parents or will she go out on her own and learn who she really is? Clearly the blurb spoils that conclusion, but the journey of self-discovery is more than worth reading. This is also a true love "wishbone" - she has her first love, now returned and haunting her days with memories of their broken match and a new interest who encourages her freedom and bucks convention himself. Paired with her absolutely scene-stealing cousin Margaret, Eliza fumbles and flails on her new legs but when she finds her footing - oh the end is so sweet.

**Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for the eARC**

I don't know if it's just me but I couldn't get into the writing style. I've read other historical fiction romances and the language and dialogue flowed better. The characters are great and the romance is swoon-worthy but the plot got boring. However, I feel that someone else might enjoy this.

Things I loved about this book:
-I love Margaret! Such a good wingwoman. Always has a snappy comeback and Elizas back.
-kinda like a Persuasion situation going on, but add a love triangle with a misunderstood rake
-Melville is a delight, Margaret and Caroline as well
-I laughed so much! So witty
-Eliza slowly coming out of her shell and standing up for herself is chefs kiss

Wow, this book was a bit slow in the beginning, but it really picks up! I thought I would dislike Eliza throughout the whole book, but she quickly shines and discards all notions of how to act in society. It was very liberating to read about Eliza taking her life in her own hands. It made me so angry reading about her family and "friends" waiting and prompting her to fail and lose her inheritance. I felt so much reading this book - frustration with historical society as a woman; anger on behalf of Eliza for the way she gets treated; hope and love for Eliza and Margaret.

Can't wait to read more by Sophie!

A fun little historical fiction romp. The leading character arc was too extreme and unrealistic in my opinion. I liked the relationships with both men but wasn't surprised by the choice. She did a nice job building the setting and what life as a female would have been in that era, I did crave wanting to pick the book back up. Thanks to Net Galley for letting me preview the book.

In A Lady’s Guide to Scandal, we meet our heroine waiting for her late husband’s will to be read. Eliza is also waiting for his nephew and heir, with whom she has been in love for the past ten years. After finding out she has inherited much more than what was promised, Eliza now finds herself a wealthy widow with the freedom to do what she pleases. Heading to Bath with her cousin Margaret, Eliza finds herself, rediscovers her passions, and meets a host of interesting new friends, including the dashing Lord Melville.

Going into reading this book, I found myself struggling to get invested in the characters until I was around 30% of my way through the book. I thought Eliza was lacking in strength and had a difficult time trying to root for her. However, by the end of the book, I was fully invested in the story that Sophie Irwin was telling and was cheering Eliza on as she fought for what she wanted. There was a point in time that I thought I’d actually get whiplash from the quick changes in emotion that I was experiencing as the reader. There is romance in the book, but it’s much more of a story of self-discovery and standing up for what you want rather than complying with what others believe you should do. The story ended exactly how I wanted it to and I couldn’t be happier than to have read this book.

This book has a catchy title, but it doesn’t really match the content, in my opinion. Eliza finally started gaining a backbone at around 75% and it became a lot more interesting. I enjoyed the banter between Eliza and Melville, but again, we didn’t see much of that until the end. It was a good read, but I think I was expecting something a little more exciting because of the title. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

After the death of her husband, the late Earl of Somerset, Eliza is shocked to learn that she was left an unexpected fortune. However, this fortune is subject to a morality clause whose arbiter is none other than the man she jilted ten years previously, the new earl of Somerset. When her childhood sweetheart, Somerset, returns from abroad, Eliza knows that their time has passed but secretly hopes to rekindle their previous romance. However, after a frosty re-introduction and rising pressure from those around her to control her new fortune, Eliza does something completely out of character and moves to Bath. There she establishes her own residence and starts to build a life for herself. She establishes new friendships, begins painting again, and begins to rethink what she wants out of life and who she wants to share it with.

I had been craving a regency romance for a while when I read the blurb for a Lady’s Guide to Scandal. I hadn’t read a Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting but decided to give this book a shot. I am so happy that I did. Sophie Irwin did an amazing job of instilling her story with whimsy and humor, while slowly ratcheting up the tension and conflict. She also left the reader as conflicted as Eliza—do we root for Somerset or Melville or both (for a minute there I wasn’t sure if I had accidentally found myself in a RH regency romance)? Because I was conflicted about who she should end up with, it made it easier to relate to Eliza’s feelings and emotions. This was especially true in the second half of the book. Like Eliza, I was disappointed and angry with Somerset and Melville. And like Eliza, I hoped that somehow she could be proven wrong. Thankfully Eliza gets the ending she deserves… though I do wish we got more of her happy ending.

All in all, this was a fun book that I am so glad I read. I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Read if you like:
🎨regency romance
🎨love triangle

Will post to Instagram in June.

If you are looking for a good historical romance, I highly recommend the newest by Sophie Irwin! Eliza is a recent widow who finds herself in a love triangle with her first love and a famous poet with a scandalous past. The story takes a couple chapters to really get going, but then I couldn’t put it down. This book was a fun story of learning to follow your dreams even when they come with consequences.
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️/5
I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Lady's Guide to Scandal follows Eliza as she navigates the newfound freedom and fortune she's found as a widow still in mourning. This is a delightful romance with witty banter, likeable characters, and a journey of growth.

Melville's banter is so charming and he steals every scene he's in. The romance in this book is so sweet and the love triangle is done in such a way that has you rooting for each of the MMC's at different parts of the story. Eliza's growth and her friendship with Margaret were both also highlights of the story.

While it was a delightful story with delightful characters, there just wasn't much about it that made it a truly spectacular read.

All in all, A Lady's Guide to Scandal is a sweet historical romance for anyone and everyone.

If you're a fan of Bridgerton (books or Netflix) and similar period dramas / romances, then you'll likely enjoy A Lady's Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin, which I am giving a solid 4.0 stars.

What you can expect is "ton" life with a bit of rebellion as Eliza (fmc) learns to take control of her life's newest circumstances; no longer just a widow, but a rich one. And doing all that while trying to stick to Society standards and prevent scandal. There's also a love triangle, secret affairs, betrayals, and some great character growth.

My docking of a star comes from the first third of the book really dragging for me. I didn't start to truly feel invested and engaged until closer to halfway through. Also I'm not a huge fan of love triangles because they can be very hit or miss, and the beginnings of it were very much a miss, in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Books, and Sophie Irwin for allowing me to read A Lady's Guide to Scandal in exchange for an honest review.