A Lady’s Guide to Scoundrels & Gentlemen is one of the best historical romance books I’ve read this year. It has just the right mix of humor, heart, and romance. From the start, I was hooked by Lady Vivian Winthrop’s story. She’s suddenly left a fortune—something that would usually go to her older brother—but there’s one big condition: she must get married within a year. (A smart, independently rich woman in the Victorian era? Yes, please!)

As word spreads, Vivian becomes known as “Britain’s richest spinster,” and a crowd of eager suitors begins chasing after her. But instead of feeling flattered, Vivian is overwhelmed and unsure who she can trust. She doesn’t want to be tricked by smooth-talking men like her own brother. Enter Edmond “Dantes” McNab, a tough former boxer with a rough past and a sharp mind. Vivian offers him a deal—help her figure out which suitors are truly good men, and she’ll pay off her brother’s gambling debt to Dantes. It’s a risky plan, especially since Dantes himself is more scoundrel than gentleman. And, of course, the more time Vivian spends with him, the more complicated her feelings become.

What I loved most about this book is how real the characters felt. Vivian is strong and clever, but also vulnerable. Dantes is rough around the edges, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Their relationship grows slowly and naturally, and I found myself rooting for them the whole time. This story has everything I love in a romance—great chemistry, fun banter, emotional moments, and a love that feels honest and earned. It’s also a fresh take on classic romance tropes like “opposites attract” and “unexpected love.”

If you enjoy historical romance with strong characters and a heartfelt story, I highly recommend this book. It’s charming, easy to read, and left me smiling long after I finished.

Falling in Love with a Scoundrel
Dantes may be a scoundrel, but there’s much more to him than meets the eye. He owns a pub; he’s a skilled pugilist; he carries a mysterious past that he keeps carefully hidden. He’s also deeply superstitious—saying “I love you” in his presence is strictly forbidden, and he refuses to say it himself.
Vivian meets Dantes when she goes to retrieve her brother from Dantes’s establishment. She quickly realizes Dantes might be the perfect guide to help her spot scoundrels among the ton. His experience with the men who drink and gamble at his pub gives him unique insight into their true natures. Vivian, facing a tight deadline to marry within a year of her grandmother’s death in order to keep her inheritance, never planned to fall for the very scoundrel meant to assist her.
Will Vivian be able to protect her inheritance, or will her scheming brother find a way to steal it? And what about Dantes—can a man like him truly find a future with a lady like Vivian?
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone who loves historical romance with a touch of mystery and suspense.

I am also looking for new author's in the Historical Romance genre and Arden Conroy did not disappoint. Looking forward to future reads!! Free ARC from NetGalley for honest review .

Just okay. It could have been good if the language was not so time inappropriate and the pacing a little bit of a hash. The story line was decent and with many class differences trope books had the usual maybe maybe not kind of situation.

I may still pick up the next in the series.

#netgalley #ALadysGuidetoScoundrelsandGentlemen

“A Lady’s Guide to Scoundrels and Gentlemen” is an easy, fast-paced read with likable characters like the shy yet capable Vivian and family-oriented Dantes. However, modern tones, anachronisms, and inconsistent character development disrupt the flow. The silly third-act argument and verbose ending weaken it, though well-researched details shine. Thank you to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for this ARC.

Inheriting everything from her grandmother gives Lady Vivian Winthrop the independence and solitude she's always wanted, but a stipulation in her grandmother's will forces her to marry in a year to keep it. Once word gets out that she's "Britain's Richest Spinster," every single gentlemen in town shows up at her door. Vivian doesn't know what to do. Dantes McNabb is a star attraction as a pugilist at his family's pub. After Vivian meets him, he tells her which men to avoid at the pub. He is just the person she needs to help her find a husband. She makes a deal. It's a relationship that slowly develops into friendship, but there are barriers on both sides that make it difficult to be more. Only dire circumstances and heartfelt decisions can change their feelings for each other. A long book that moves at a steady pace with much confusion, angst, anxiety and pain.
Kisses only.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This is a Victorian historical romance. Our heroine is a wealthy heiress, but she only keeps her fortune if she marries within a year of her grandmother's death. She is a sensible woman who knows what she will not put up with from a husband.
An evening out with her brother introduces her to some unusual characters.
Our hero has not had an easy life , but he and his brothers are working together to make a success of their business.
We get a lot of excitement and surprises in this story. The characters are fabulous with much more to show us in the next books, I hope.
Great fun.

Luck strikes when least expected and Lady Vivian Winthrop finally gets a taste when an unexpected fortune is left to her and not her brother. But there’s a caveat: to keep it, she must marry within one year. As newspapers name her “Britain’s richest spinster,” men swarm her receiving room with hopes of charming her down the aisle. Vivian becomes frustrated by the incessant attention—and unfortunately, Vivian discovers she cannot identify true gentlemen from sneaky scoundrels like her own brother.

I found reading this book a very odd experience. Not much happened but I couldn't stop reading it! Vivian is a good character, her naivety becomes a little bit wearing in the middle of the book, but the narrative keeps you coming back. I adored the McNab brothers and hope we get Victor and his brother's story, Dantes is a fascinating character, whom I enjoyed learning about. The text is largely Americanised which normally bothers me mildly as more and more American authors write historical romances, but this book has it in spades. I can hear the Americanisms from Vivien as her gran was from there, but the rest of the text contributed greatly to my irritation. Please look up an English-American dictionary there is sure to be one somewhere.

I understand this is a debut novel so can only hope the author can sharpen up the vernacular.

Thanks to Dragonblade and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley. I liked this book very much. Vivian's grandmother dies and leaves her everything. Her brother is not happy. Her brother owes a lot of gambling debts. He takes her to meet the McNab brothers who he owes the majority of the debts to and hoping she will pay them off. Dante McNab will not take her money so she makes a deal with him to help her find a good husband. One who does not see women, gambles or drinks. The trouble is Dante is attracted to her. Her grandmother writes her a letter that she has to marry within a year or her brother gets everything. If he was such a scoundrel she would let him have it. The men at her door trying to wed her are driving her crazy. Dante's grandfather is a duke but he didn't like that his son married a commoner. After their parents died the grandfather took the three boys in and educated them. Vivian and Dante are in love but he thinks he is not good enough. Life is not simple for them but love wins out.

An exploration of family dynamics unfolds as Vivian inherits her grandmother's estates and money. Her brother believes it should all have come to him instead. After Vivian meets Dantes, she decides he could help determine which suitors are honorable and which are scoundrels. She assumes Dantes knows this information because he is a scoundrel as well. The experiences that follow make for an enjoyable read!

All around fun, wholesome romance where the chemistry between the leads was off the CHARTS. Alice Coldbreath has left me with a soft spot in my heart for Prizefighters and Dantes McNab certainly did not disappoint. And now I need Vic's book like immediately.

An interesting and entertaining story filled with great characters, regency scenes, family and more. The first book in the series, so I'll be looking to read the entire series. My hope is that by the next book, a bit more editing is taken to ensure proper grammar and sentences. Additionally, I tend to prefer stories that use the language of that time period rather than the abridged version of modern language. I'm assuming this is tough for authors however I think it draws the reader in more to the time frame allowing us to really feel the presence of the characters. This is just my opinion and doesn't take my initial statement away, that I will continue to read this series as it's very entertaining.

If you’re looking for a novel that delivers the Bridgerton vibes—balls, scandal, and dashing gentlemen aplenty—then A Lady's Guide to Scoundrels and Gentlemen certainly delivers. It’s a fast-paced, compelling read with an entertaining romance at its heart. But while the story sweeps you along with its charm, it has its stumbles.

For one, the nods (or similarities) to Bridgerton are hard to ignore. A character named Penelope Findlay, who wears garish orange and pink orange felt a little less like homage and more like a reminder that we could just be rewatching Bridgerton instead.

The pacing is another mixed bag. The story dives right in and moves at a clip, which keeps it engaging, but at times, it rushes through moments that deserve more weight or development. Then, just when you’re caught up in the whirlwind, you hit a stretch of unnecessary detail that reads more like a historical footnote than a novel. For me, this book alternated between too fast and too dry and never quite found its rhythm.

But what truly pulls you out of the story is the language. A Regency novel with modern phrasing can work—but here, it feels unintentional and jarring. Not to mention there were enough typos that it was noticeable.

That said, if you can overlook its Bridgerton déjà vu and occasional missteps, this book is still enjoyable. It has its fun moments, its swoony scenes, and enough drama to keep the pages turning. Definitely a light read - and I'm sure the author is setting up for other characters' romances - which I look forward to reading.

This first book in The Harp & Thistle series was a captivating, unique, and beautifully written historical romance. A grandmothers sneaky last request upon passing, he niece, her brother, a scoundrel, and his two brothers made for a very engaging story. It was full of drama, action, betrayals, nefarious plots, a fire, a near death casualty, and so many emotional issues that kept me very entertained. I enjoyed the humor, wit, their chemistry, but most of all, the love of family. The ending was delightful. I can't wait for the next book. I highly recommend reading!

This book was extremely easy to read. It really does feel like it flew by. I liked Vivian because she was a stereotype. Sure she had some meekness/shyness to her but it was debilitating which I really appreciated. It was nice that she still could do things without always worrying about others. Dantes, I liked that he loved his family and how close he was to his brothers. However, this book had a tone issue. It felt a little modern and also some terms that didn't exist at the time (like slammer) I thought the third act argument cause I don't think it was really a break up was kind of silly. And I did not feel satisfied with her brother. Honestly, he is the worst. I think Ollie and his love interest were in this book but I will have to find out I suppose ^.^ 2.75

I absolutely loved this book I ended up reading it in one go (despite how late at night it was). This might sound silly when I explain but everything that happened made sense, sometimes when books have plots that are a little outlandish they get too ridiculous and it doesn't make sense why anyone does what they do but with this it was always very clear what everyone's motivation was and why they would make their (sometimes really stupid) decisions. It was good seeing how Vivian did grow into her self and become very confident in her new status and not taking any nonsense from anyone anymore including, her own family. Dantes being a very masculine strong man but then being very open about his emotions and his fears was also really nice to see in a genre thats oversaturated with men who refuse to just be honest, and as some whose a little 'stitious I very much related to his belief he is cursed. Their conversations which each other always felt very natural, and most importantly romantic. It did feel like they were organically getting to know each other and falling in love and it wasn't just they get together because the plot says so.

I don't really have any major criticisms beyond little nitpicks, the start was a little info dumpy but once you got past that the pacing was great. There is a point towards the end where it does feel like they shouldve just gotten together but it does wrap up very quickly after that. As far as I can tell anyway this is a debut novel and I think it's a very good first novel for someone to have, I will be keeping an eye out for Arden Conroys future work.

The premise is very interesting and it was nice to read a romance between a (sort-of) working class person and a wealthy heiress. The heiress needs a husband and enlists a boxer/pub-owner to help her weed out scoundrels vs. decent men. The characters are well developed and likeable. You understand their actions and points of view, and there is a LOT of yearning. So much yearning. Give the book a try!

Scoundrel Insurance...

Lady Vivian, age 29, becomes the wealthiest spinster in London, when her American grandmother passes away. Her granny was a money savvy American and preserved her wealth in America, and bypassed British inheritance laws. She put a tiny little caveat in her will though, Vivian has to wed in a year or her fortune and estates will go to her gambling addicted brother, who happens to owe a fortune to Edmond "Dantes" McNab. A pub owner and bare knuckle boxer with a scar on his face. Set in the Victorian times, Vivian enlists Dantes to help her choose a good man to love and wed and not a fortune hunting scoundrel.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from Arden Conroy.
Highly recommend.

First, thank you to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for this ARC. I needed a palate cleanser after the very scary novel I just read, and this “read now” option was the antidote for my unsettled mind.

There are parts of this novel that feel well-researched (Victoria’s diary entries about Albert and polka being taboo). However, the anachronistic tendencies of this novel come down to the conversations had between characters. The first scene where Vivian met with the queen with Anne left me quietly confused by the disjointed dialogue.

Also, I feel like the writer couldn’t decide what kind of person Vivian should be. She is described as meek in the beginning, but then she goes to a pub with her brother, and immediately leaves his side to go to an underground boxing area? She proceeds to have a conversation with Dantes that feels more like a third or fourth conversation than a first. Hello, I just met you and do not know you, but here are some essentials about me that are very on-the-nose.

The ending was very loquacious and could have been made stronger by some subtly. I will now and always reference Elizabeth and Darcy’s reunion. Less is sometimes more. Also, I do not know why the tree nearly striking Vivian needed to be included.
Overall, this was a pleasant read, but it could do with more description (showing) and less obvious statements (telling).

Seeing a woman come into a fortune is always awesome to see. The fact that this woman is a spinster is icing on the Victorian cake.

I had so much fun reading this! Were certain plot points silly? Maybe, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. However, modern language creeping into the story pulled me right out of it at times.

The highlight of the book for me are the McNab brothers. I just love their dynamic and their backstory. I'm hoping the next books in the series are about Victor and Ollie! I will be sat and ready to swoon.

Thank you so much NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.