If I had one word to describe it, I would use "rushed". I love regency romances because there is a build-up, a romance to the story. This book did not have that quality at all. The story has so much potential. It felt like all the right plot points were present but the execution did not live up the expectation.

This was an enjoyable romance with a point to make. The second in a series, the story picks up on some indefatigable women who spy on behalf of the Queen and take no prisoners when they find their villain. The romantic male lead is a tough, ruthless, slightly embittered character who has no interest in marriage yet finds film self captivated by the feisty female lead. As the story reaches its climax and the both decide to devote themselves to each other their relationship has to be based firmly on equality rather than a woman being controlled by a husband. I would have liked to see more action rather than contemplation of the state of the relationship, one thing did not ring true. The female lead submits herself to a severe whipping as a punishment from her stepmother. Someone who is otherwise intelligent and at times aggressive, this seemed unlikely and unnecessary. If you are put off by a lot of swearing, this book will not be for you. This however did not prevent me from enjoying this book.

I enjoyed this Victorian romance. And it improved upon some of the things that frustrated me in the first installment.

Having met both of the main characters in the first book, I couldn’t have begun to tell you how they would work as the leads in this one. But I was proven wrong, and I like them even more than the original main couple.

Under no circumstances would Millie ever be considered a wallflower, but I like that she doesn’t even pretend to be for the comfort of society. Beau took me a little longer to warm up to, but he has perfectly valid reasons for acting the way he does.

A few more pieces have been added to the puzzle that is the overarching mystery of this series, but I do feel that this plot point is still almost too secondary to the romance. But I can get behind this pairing. Millie and Beau have excellent chemistry and their tension is written so well.

Whereas in the first book, I felt that some big conversations never managed to happen between our leads. I think that more was resolved in this one and I appreciate that.

A fast, enjoyable read (I finished it in an afternoon) for anyone looking for a spicy historical romance that gives you more than just bodice ripping.

Random note- I enjoyed the Viking/valkyrie motif woven throughout and wish it had been worked in more.

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire is the second book in a series called The Queen’s Deadly Damsels. The novel’s premise is that the Queen has asked some strong women to find out who is responsible for trapping young women in coffins and leaving them to die. It is in the second novel that the women discover that there are many women, not just a couple.

Millicent Whittenburg is in training and has been on the front line of the investigation. However she is constantly besieged by Major General Beaufort Drake after trying to get him to ruin her so she can focus on her investigation. Not only does Drake offer for her, he is also investigating the same situation. Drake however is hired by the Prime Minister.

Millicent and Drake are HOT together and share some of the same scars. Their determination and strength make them a force of nature. The house party put on and prepared by her step mother is something!

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire was a good read.

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire is the second book in the "The Queen's Deadly Damsels" series.

Set in Regency England, the novel follows the adventures of Millicent Whittenburg, a spy in training for the Queen.

Lady Phillipa has very recently started training Millie, to be part of her secret cadre of undercover agents, all working on the orders from the Queen herself. Millie is just hours away from being forced to marry a man the same age as her father - all instigated by her power hungry, horrible step-mother Patricia.

Together with Lady Phillipa, a plan is put in place, but it doesn't seem like it'll go as expected..

Major General Beaufort Drake is way more decent than they expected.

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is another fab story and I'm guessing there'll be at least one more instalment to come. Highly recommended.

I loved the first book and I the 2nd is just as amazing.

Strong female characters who you really root for. The charm history time mixed with the feminine kick makes the perfect combo

If Bridgerton and Mr and Mrs Smith had a baby you would get this book!
Such a brilliant concept! This was a great continuation to the first book. While you could definitely read this as a stand alone, reading in after the first book in the series lets you in on some of the inside jokes and references. I feel like some of the scenes in this book seemed forced or laid out too easy for the reader. My assumption is that the author wanted to keep the book short but I feel like other things could have been cut to give more room for the more important "ah hah" scenes to feel fuller.
I still think this was a great read and I'm hoping the series continues!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is book two in The Queen’s Deadly Damsels series (read in order!) and is a marked improvement from book one which unfortunately fell flat for me.

A historical romance with a mystery subplot (it’s buried somewhere, I promise). The overarching plot of our FMCs working for the Queen in taking down a trafficking ring continues. The balance between romance and mystery was once again weighted much more heavily towards romance. I found myself often forgetting about the subplot altogether. But I felt the build up of the romance here was much better done and had a satisfying payoff.

Millicent (Millie) and Major General Drake (Beau) find themselves in a marriage engagement neither of them were looking for. They both use the house party in the country leading up to their wedding to try and smoke out a suspect in the trafficking ring from book one.

There is a great build up in the relationship between Millie and Beau. A lot of tension and a lot of yearning. Both have been hurt in the past in different ways and must learn to trust and love again.

I find myself looking forward to (hopefully) reading more in this series.

Millie doesn't want to get married, especially to the man her terrible step-mother picked. She'd rather live alone fighting crime in the name of the Queen. That is until she meets Major General Drake and comes up with a new plan.
Think Bridgerton vibes with more female espionage. This is the second book in the series, but you don't need to read the first to understand the story. Although I will now be reading the first one to hear Hannah's story The Secret Life of a Lady.

I thought this was fun! It was a quick, easy read that had me hooked from the beginning.

What I liked:
1. Body positivity
2. Banter
3. Unlikely partnership
4. Millie’s feminism and the fact that she didn’t care what others thought. I love a powerful FMC

What I didn’t like
1. I wish the POV switched every chapter instead of randomly in the middle of the chapter.
2. Instalove/instalust is not my favorite trope and I felt like that delayed the chemistry of the characters

I would definitely recommend this book and series to anyone who likes historical romance with spice.

this was everything you could ever want in a book. regency romance, spice, drama and a bit of murder mystery.

i devoured this book, it was so easy to read and it was the most fun storyline i’ve actually had the honour of reading in what feels like forever

i loved the characters. and i loved how millie is described as being plus sized. it was a breath of fresh air. millie and drake are adorable and i loved how they shared their fears and all things intimacy with each other. even the side characters were chefs kiss and i hope they all get their own books

the mystery plot was also amazing albeit a little bit of a side plot, didn’t see the twist coming but it was really well written

i genuinely had so much fun with this book and im so ready for more. thank you netgalley & boldwood books for this e-arc

Thanks for the opportunity to read a book on Mac gallery. The premise of this book I liked the writing is bunker using the word nipple and cock and breasts is deplorable. I would not recommend this book unless it was rewritten. I would’ve appreciated a warning about the language in the explicitness before attempting to read this book.

3 ⭐️
This was a cute historical romance with a side plot of mystery. While I did enjoy elements of the story, such as watching the relationship between Millie and Beau develop. Alongside seeing them solve the mystery of their secret mission. I found this book a bit hard to get into due to some of the dialogue at the beginning, but carried on as I was intrigued by the mystery and hints about the future relationship between our main characters.

I would have liked to have seen more of Millie’s training and seen them actively investigating rather than the author just telling us information. But overall found this to be an easy read.

I’m loving this series of witty adult racy books where the Ladies show the Lords they have met their match in every sense. Match in love, match in intrigue, match in the Ladies knowing what they want in life and the bedroom, and not being beholden to a husband. In book two: Millicent Whittenburg just wants to spy for the Queen, rather than being foisted off in marriage to a decrepit aged Lord by her truly appalling stepmother. Millicent’s plan to be ‘ruined’ in standing by Major General Beaufort Drake (a kiss meant much more then) then escaping into the background of a life of espionage comes unstuck. Better watch out Beau her knives are much sharper than you might imagine, but also Millicent because she realises Beau looks very nice to her from every angle. Beau slowly comes to realise that he wants to ‘ruin her’ (read in a truly adult sexy way) after all - and not just a dalliance but for every more. What will he be willing to give up for that? Because Millicent knows what she wants, or does she completely know what she wants after all? Thank you to Boldwoid Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Mystery and romance come together at the home of Major General Beaufort Drake, Earl of Tetly.
Millicent Whittenberg is being forced to marry a man the same age as her father by her truly horrible step-mother Patricia. Truly, truly horrible...
Millie needs a quick out and the major is the perfect route. A quick moment (planned) on the veranda and Millie is freed from the horrible connection, only to find herself now tied to the major, who rather than leaving her a ruined woman, has decided they must wed!
Both Millie and Beau have secrets (secret skills secret work, secret missions), major trust issues, and horrible relations, but they fight through it to each other.
The mystery definitely took the back burner here, which is fine, the romance was lovely and certainly spicy.
As this was the second in the series, I feel I would have had a better grasp of the supporting characters if I read the first, but it really didn't detract from the story.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Darcy McGuire, and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this book!

A spicy Regency (well, Victorian, it looks like) romance with wallflower femme fatales? Sounds like a fun time. The book's first half was quite entertaining, though the evil stepmother trope felt somewhat overdone. Millie, the main female character, was interesting. I liked that she was not some delicate English rose, and the main male character, Drake, was an actual war hero with the scars to prove it.

Unfortunately, I didn't like many of the other elements of this book. The book was fast-paced when it came to the romance, to the detriment of the criminal investigation subplot, which felt more tacked on and didn't seem to have a clear resolution at the end. The main characters' inner thoughts regarding their love interest were repetitive, with maybe some throwaway lines about the investigation to remind us it's still going on. Actually, it felt like, aside from the romance, many of the other characters and situations felt more like throwaways. The best friend from the start of the book doesn't make another appearance until more than halfway, and only so she could trauma-dump on our FMC, and it's never explored again. The evil stepmother exists pretty much to be evil and not add much else. Our main characters obviously finally get together in the end, but what of the investigation? Eh, who knows? Certainly not the reader.

Another nitpick that had me nearly deciding to DNF this book was the author's preference to cut sentences into sentence fragments for emphasis. For example: He was in the mid­dle of a com­plete mess. Thanks to his lack of con­trol. Which was clearly Miss Mil­li­cent's fault.

It very much smacks of amateurish writing I've seen from some fanfiction. Surely there are other ways one can write to make some kind of point?

Second in the Deadly Damsels series, but you don't need to have read the first (it's a good read, though).

Millie plans to ruin herself in public so she doesn't have to marry the choice of her horrible stepmother, and can continue to train with the duchess as one of Queen Victoria's 'deadly damsels'. But her plan backfires when she chooses Major General Drake, because he offers to marry her.

They both have secrets and have to come to terms with past betrayals; what neither of them expects is to fall in love with the other.

There's lots of banter and steaminess along the way. They also continue working on a case from book 1 (though it's explained well enough so you know what's going on). Romance, mystery and adventure all wrap up very nicely together - great fun (though I did wince at some of the violence).

A well written regency romp. Not my usual book so I'm not best placed to review in more detail but of it's genre it is a good read.

BOOK: A LADY LESSON WITH SCANDAL
AUTHOR: DARCY MAGUIRE
PUB DATE: OCTOBER 2024
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REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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THINGS I LIKED
1. I liked the empowerment of women and training to be security operatives
2. The marriage of convenience and the house party. I like the tropes
3. The FMC, Milicent, was amazing when she actually stood up for herself.
4. Millicent and Beau's relationship was okay.
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THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
1. Millicent is trained to defend herself, and she doesn't protect herself from her horrible stepmother and her betrothed.
2. That the MMC was an Afghan soldier, just another British soldier who planned to colonise Afghanistan. He should have just blamed his country for going through what he experienced.
3. The cliches. I just wanted something to spice it up. Something different.
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This book was not my favorite.

I usually don’t say this, but I loved A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal way more then the first book! I loved the banter, steam, and love between the two main characters. They were such an opposites attract couple and I loved how they both didn’t want to get married but still somehow fell for each other anyway. Also, I’m usually really good at figuring out the bad guy’s identity in books, but this one came out of left field and I was just like WTF??!! The way McGuire revealed his identity caught me completely off guard. I am loving this series and really hope Ivy gets her own book. READ THIS WHEN IT COMES OUT OCTOBER 12!