DNF at 30%. That being said this was 100% a "me problem" and not the author or the book. This book just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Faye Delacour and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I was so excited for the premise of this book I didn’t realise it was the second book in a series. Typically this would be a reader’s fatal flaw and cause issues with feeling lost within the book, here was an exception to that. While I plan to go back and read the first (while keeping an eye out for the last later this year), I still felt well equipped to understand what was going on without being beaten over the head with prior details.

I enjoyed most of the journey with this novel through the course of Della’s endeavours in writing her guide and the course of the ensuing romance. It was relatable to have a character written as going between hobbies at times and to sometimes have issues with distraction even when dealing with an established goal. A lot of the motivation was Bishop’s and its success. This is perhaps why the ending felt unsatisfying at least in part. I also wish that we had seen more to the romance developing past the conflicts and barriers within the novel as opposed to the rather abrupt ending.

I liked the premise and was excited to read this because I kept hearing about it, but unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I just found Della to be really annoying, instead of "feisty" or "refreshing" like she was meant to be.

Modern-feeling Regency romance with a unique premise. Della and her close friend have created a successful lady's club, and Della is inspired to have their club included in a popular social guide to London. Viscount Ashton, author of the guide, is not as inspired. Della, who seems ADD-coded, decides to create her own guide, despite already being stretched thin with her responsibilities at the lady's club. The publisher teams up Della and the Viscount (much to his dismay), and Ashton's precarious financial situation leaves him with no choice but to participate. There is so much more to the story, including Della's bold younger sister's capers and Ashton's dark past. Read this is if you like forced proximity, strong heroines, and a Viscount that isn't just a randy reformed rake.

Read if you like:

Historical romance
Enemies to lovers vibes
Unconventional storylines
Neurodivergent representation

My thoughts:

A Lady’s Guide to London is a thoroughly unique historical romance that I was so excited to read. I enjoyed the first book in this series and I was eager to see what Faye Delacour would do with this one. Unfortunately, I struggled quite a bit with Della’s story and had to push myself to finish it.

There was nothing about A Lady’s Guide to London that made it a bad book, there were just so many little things I didn’t like about it and they all started to add up.

These characters did absolutely nothing for me. Della was fun and vibrant in book one but none of that personality seemed to be present in this one. I understand that she was forced to take more responsibility at the club but it ended up taking over her life and everything fun about her personality got lost along the way. Add in Lyman and it got even worse. Because of mistakes he’d made in his past, he became rather judgmental and self-righteous. It felt like he judged everyone who drank or gambled or did pretty much anything for entertainment. I get where he was coming from but just because he made a mistake, it didn’t mean everyone else would make the same one. It felt like he snuffed out what little light remained in Della and made her question everything she’d done with her life.

The storyline was non-existent for much of the book and the pacing was off. There didn’t appear to be any kind of conflict until midway through the book. The first half of the story didn’t feel like it was leading anywhere. It dragged on in the beginning and then the ending came across rather abrupt. I was bore for most of the book and then left feeling like I was missing something at the end.

I do want to give credit to the many unique and unconventional aspects of this story. While not directly mentioned, I believe Della had ADHD. I’m basing that solely on my own experience with ADHD but the way Della described things in her head was very reminiscent of my own experience. I could relate to her and I loved seeing that, especially in a historical setting.

I also loved the female-owned gaming club idea. I enjoyed that aspect of the first book but I liked it even more in this one. Faye Delacour did a great job showing the business side of things, both their wins and their struggles. I have a feeling this will feature again in the next book.

Overall, I don’t think Faye Delacour’s books may be for me but there are so many things I can appreciate about them. A Lady’s Guide to London is a fresh take in the historical romance genre but had a few too many flaws for me.

TL;DR

A Lady’s Guide to London did not measure up to my expectations. There were some really original and unconventional aspects to it but altogether, things didn’t work. The romance felt lackluster, the characters were quite infuriating at times, and the story bored me a bit. It wasn’t badly written or even a bad story, it just wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed the premise, and Della’s spirit of writing her own guide to London when Lyman won’t include her ladies club in his guide (for men). But this was a bit all over the place for me, and a lot of the plot points just didn’t match up including when scandal was an issue vs when it wasn’t. I didn’t feel much chemistry between the MCs or from the writing in general.

A Lady's Guide to London is the second book in the Lucky Ladies of London series, following two friends as they work to establish and run a gaming hell for women in 1830s London. In this book, Jane is busy as a new mother, leaving Della Danby to keep Bishop's running almost single-handedly, despite its rapid growth from an informal ladies' card game to a full time operation with its own brick-and-mortar establishment. Della wants to prove that she is up to the task, although she finds herself overwhelmed by all of the plates she must keep spinning. She decides that a mention of Bishop's in a popular tourist guidebook would be just the exposure Bishop's needs to sustain its growth, leading her onto a collision course with the guidebook's author, the delightfully starchy and handsome Viscount Ashton.

I enjoyed the romance in this book! I love a heroine who knows what she wants, both out of life and from her lovers, and is unabashed in her pursuit of both. Viscount Ashton is a recovering gambling addict who writes guidebooks to support his estranged wife after losing his entire inheritance in a gambling debt. I really believed the stakes working against their budding romance, and I appreciated the tension. I found the final act to have a few too many obstacles—so many scandals swirling around them, in addition to their initial task of co-authoring a companion ladies' guidebook—leaving the resolution to be a bit rushed. Even so, the tropes and setup worked better for me than the first in this series. It's cute enough that I'll probably keep reading the series.

This second story in The Lucky Ladies of London series is a fun and entertaining enemies to lovers historical romance. I really enjoyed this delightful and very engaging story. I highly recommend reading!

📣 a solid historical that might have a deal-breaker premise for some

(Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC & the publisher for the free hard-copy. All opinions provided are my own.)

A heroine who knows what she wants, a hero who knows what he can’t (shouldn’t) have…

A Lady’s Guide to London by Faye Delacour is a satisfying historical that’s unconventional in some exciting & also somewhat unsettling ways.

Let’s start with the hero, Lyman, who is married to someone besides heroine Della. This is a big no for me, but l was close to okay with how it’s portrayed here (although not entirely).

ALGTL is the second book I’ve read recently that asks what joy villains or similar characters can grab onto when they’re actively trying to redeem themselves. Lyman has to deal with the fallout of the big mistakes he’s made, & I think part of the point is that sometimes we make big mistakes for not good reasons—even if that wasn’t an entirely satisfactory explanation for me as a reader.

Setting that aside, Della & Lyman are very cute together & I love her equanimity. Despite their rocky beginning, their relationship seems fairly even-keeled & ready to really get started as the book ends.

4 ⭐️. Out now!

📖 what was your last read & what rating did you give it?

[ID: Jess holds the book in front of some roses.]

I liked the idea of this book. HOWEVER there is not a satisfying HEA or even a true HFN which just makes me mad. I like Faye's writing, but good heavens the end of this book was just bizarre. I really don't know what to think.

This was an interesting story and the writer is very skilled. The world-building is solid and at times the plot was quite compelling. It was advertised as enemies to lovers, but it is more a rivalry with instalust. The ending was abrupt, so an epilogue would have been nice.

Thank you to Sourcebook Casablanca for the free book. These opinions are my own.

As the second book in the series, A Lady's Guide to London picks up a few years later focusing on Della, Jane's best friend and partner in the gamin club. When the viscount Lyman refuses to include their club in his guide for gentlemen, Della determines to write a guide for ladies.

I loved all the descriptions of sights and shopping in London. They made me want to visit again, and I reflected on how London has changed over time.

The romance was an interesting one because Lyman is married, but he has been separated from his wife for 9 years. That makes it not quite a love triangle, but also a relationship between Della and Lyman seems doomed from the start.

The ending was rather abrupt and not to my preference. A third book in the series was mentioned in the Author's Note, so it may include more of a true conclusion. But for me, I may not come back for a third book.

3.5 stars rounded up

Honestly, this book was difficult to get through. It felt like the author had a romantic plot in mind but tried to force it into the mold of a historical rom-com, and the result didn’t quite work. While the premise had potential—particularly the idea that the male main character (MMC) faced a historically valid obstacle in pursuing the female main character (FMC)—the execution felt too modern and out of sync with the era.
I understand creative license in fiction, but when setting a story in a specific historical period, there’s an expectation of at least basic accuracy or believability within that context. Here, the blend of contemporary character dynamics and historical setting felt jarring and unconvincing.
The romantic relationship came across as forced, and the MMC lacked any real spark or sense of excitement, making it hard to invest in his journey. The story’s pacing also suffered—some plot points felt underdeveloped, while others were rushed or left hanging. In the end, the narrative didn’t quite hold together in a satisfying way.. Great book cover though.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This one was pretty meh for me. I thought the writing was great along with the worldbuilding which was developed pretty well. The descriptions and writing seemed very accurate to the times but in a very modern way. In other words, I could tell this book was written in 2025, but I liked that about the book.
The first reason this was meh for me was the ending. I lowkey felt like there should have been 20 or so pages more at the end because everything felt so rushed. It just ends so suddenly that it felt jarring to me as a reader. Another reason I didn't love it was that it's coined as an enemies to lovers book which I feel is a gross exaggeration. I would call this more of a rivals to lovers type plot. Lastly, Della just felt like a completely different person in this book than she did in the first book. Even though there was a pretty significant time jump, I still felt like she was two different people.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book did not quite work for me. Loose morals, a very modern view of the historical times and just luke warm MMCs made this just an okay read

#netgalley #ALadysGuidetoLondon

This book is messy, like drama messy. Or maybe Della, our heroine, is messy.

Set in London 1842, Della is a 26 year old, unmarried, co-owner of a ladies gambling club. She’s independent, doesn’t care about society rules, and seems to get away with it. There’s some hints about being scatter brained, maybe ADHD coded. She wants to get her club listed in a London travel guide, but the author Viscount Lyman Ashton, grumpy, strait laced, isn’t interested. Ashton is married, broke, separated from his wife, and clearly is going through something.

Ashton does get roped into mentoring Della on her own book, A Ladies Guide to London. So a begrudging working relationship begins. Slowly Della chips away at Ashton’s rule following, broken heart.

What follows is Della basically not caring about any consequences, taking on way too much between the club and her book, getting into hi-jinx, being late for everything, kissing a man that begs her to stay away from him for her own good, and general shenanigans.

I really struggled through the middle of this book. Just tell us what Ashton did! And Della is so messy, which is a personal thing for me, but if you like a messy character that can’t help herself, this is for you!

I felt left a little hanging at the end. What happens with the sister, and brother, and Jane’s SIL? And Ashton’s ex wife? I believe the two main characters can have an HEA, but what about all these other characters are left hanging.

4 stars for me. I was won over by the heroine in the end.

I really enjoyed it until the ending. It just wasnt my favorite - it felt a bit abrupt and really just left me feeling like the brakes were slammed on an otherwise enjoyable ride.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was unique histrom with the hero being separated from his wife and about to go through a divorce. I’m not sure how I feel about this trope, but the book was enjoyable.

This was a great book! It was very refreshing and I really loved the main characters. They had great chemistry and they had great banter.