A Lady's Guide to Scandal - Sophie Irwin - ★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Sophie Irwin

SERIES: A Lady's Guide, #2

GENRE: Regency Romance

RATING: 3.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: Second standalone novel in ‘A Lady’s Guide’ historical romance series. Fairly entertaining. Has some novel points, but mostly sticks to the tried-and-tested. Not as good as the first book.

Story Synopsis:

1819. When twenty-eight-year-old Eliza is widowed after just ten years of marriage, she is more relieved than grief-stricken. After all, her late husband, more than twenty years her senior, wasn't her choice of life partner.

However, Eliza is still not free to live her own life as she is restricted by social conventions about what widows can do and how widows should behave. Wanting some leeway in her "mourning", Eliza goes with her cousin Margaret to Bath for a break and lives life to the fullest she can while in a widow’s garb. But when news of her "scandalous behaviour" reaches her family, Eliza realises that for a woman, even freedom has consequences.

The story comes to us in the limited third person perspective of Eliza.

This is the second book in the “A Lady's Guide” series, the first book being the delightful “A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting”. The books are standalone, and other than a reference to Lord Radcliffe from book one, I didn’t note any link between the two storylines apart from the common historical setting. The books can be read in any order.

Bookish Yays:

👌 Though the story is mostly typical to the genre, (which is perfectly fine; I don’t look for novelties and twists in romcoms) it highlights some of the prejudiced thinking of historical England. The umpteen number of rules about how to walk/talk/behave are highlighted in an almost satirical way. The story also showcases other serious topics such as the snooty attitude towards outsiders and biracial citizens, the patriarchal laws under which women couldn’t do or own anything without having an approval from the men in their life, and the ruthless obsession of climbing up the social ladder at any cost.

👌 Melville’s character is one of the stand-outs of this plot. Through his biracial background and his Indian mother, he makes for an uncommon historical romance hero. Though not exactly a “good” character, I liked his portrayal, not because of the Indian factor but because his Indianness wasn’t shoved into the plot merely for a dash of exoticism.

👌 Eliza is also an artist, and for once, a plot actually makes use of its FMC’s talent rather than just mentioning it casually. The social mores towards woman artists, which even involved guidelines about the type of paint they could use on their canvases, is written well.

👌 There are some great moments of fun and banter between many characters, especially between Eliza and her cousin Margaret, and between Eliza and Melville.

👌 Most of the story is set in Bath, and the writing seems to make great use of Bath’s attractions to the then-hep crowd.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

⚠ While Kitty from the first book wanted financial security (hence, the “fortune hunting”), Eliza in this book wants freedom. Restrained almost throughout her adult life into doing what she doesn’t want to, she uses her widowhood to test independent waters. Her personality clearly indicates how she was emotionally manipulated into situations not to her liking, and how she now wants to live her own life for once. I liked this aspect of her characterisation. That said, while the first book had me rooting for Kitty throughout, I didn’t feel the same affinity towards Eliza as some of her decisions made me cringe. She also pulls off an abrupt switcheroo of affections after committing to one man – never nice to see this!

⚠ The first book played a nice ode to Jane Austen’s ‘Pride & Prejudice’, and P&P Easter eggs were visible throughout the book. This book is supposed to do the same for Austen’s ‘Persuasion’, but other than a couple of points (such as the old lover returning after almost a decade and stirring up the same romantic feelings), I found barely any connection between the two books. If this is indeed supposed to be a modernised and feminised version of Persuasion, it doesn’t work.

⚠ There is an LGBTQ couple later in the book, a relationship that you will be able to foresee many chapters in advance. But their portrayal doesn’t seem authentic to the era. The relationship seems too smooth for the 1810s setting, and Eliza’s initial reaction to the news didn’t involve even the blink of an eye. Still, the couple was sweet, and they were two of the best characters in the book.

⚠ I liked the ending, not because it offered any surprises (it doesn’t) but because it stops at just the right level of hope, with enough for us to guess how the story will proceed from that point. I just wish the lead-up to it wasn’t so rushed. Most of the plot goes by at a relaxed pace, but the finale zooms with a hurried smoothening-out of all issues.

Bookish Nays:

👎There is a love triangle in the book, but frankly, it was boring. Love triangles are fun only when there is tension across the two suitors, or when we readers can’t make up our mind about whom to root for. But as the triangle was so wonky in this book, we clearly know right at the start who the “winner” of the girl’s hand will be. This kills some of the fun. The ending is quite predictable, as Eliza's choice won't cause any shocks or surprises.

👎The connection between Eliza and Somerset doesn't come across strongly, which is quite surprising as they had known each other for many years. Maybe she had been a naive teen who had supposed herself in love with him but their relationship seems quite flimsy, both in the past and in the present.

👎The other characters (with the exception of Lady Caroline and, to a certain extent, Margaret) are stereotypical. No surprises or shattering of moulds.

👎There is a lot of repetition in Eliza’ thoughts, which get even more muddled and circuitous when she is confused about her feelings.

All in all, this does work if you keep the genre in mind and aren’t looking for Austenesque vibes. Maybe the book might click better if you want a Bridgerton kind of “modernised historical romance”. It offers plenty of mindless entertainment, with “mindless” being the key word. Don’t overthink, and you'll like it better. I did have some fun with it, but as it pales in comparison to the first book, I didn’t love it to the same extent.

My thanks to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Lady's Guide to Scandal”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.