A Lady’s Guide to Scandal is a new Regency romance by Sophie Irwin that follows the recently widowed Lady Somerset—to her friends, Eliza—as she reenters society with a new lease on life. For ten years, Eliza has been living under the cold, disapproving gaze of her husband, the Earl of Somerset, a man twenty years her senior; her parents pushed her into the advantageous marriage at age seventeen, forcing her to break the heart of her lover, Oliver (the Earl’s nephew), in the process. But now, the Earl has unexpectedly passed—leaving Eliza a generous inheritance—and she is finally free to live life on her own terms. Well, almost on her own terms. Although Eliza is now independently wealthy beyond her wildest dreams, the inheritance comes with a caveat: she must act in a way that brings no dishonor to the Somerset name, or else her yearly allowance will be rescinded. And, the person charged with interpreting her actions is the new Earl of Somerset… none other than her first love, Oliver. Cautiously, Eliza removes to Bath with her cousin Margaret, where the ladies delight themselves with ordering new dresses, attending the opera, and going to the Pump Room. The more time Eliza spends on her own, the more her confidence grows, and she eventually forms a relationship with the provocative Lord Melville. Now, she must walk the line between propriety and scandal, between doing what is expected of her and going after what she wants.
I fell in love with Sophie Irwin last year after reading A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting—#1 on my Top Ten Books of 2022 list—and was beyond excited to hear she had a new book coming out (and it’s a standalone, not a sequel). Although I didn’t think it possible that her second book could be as witty, surprising, and charming as her first, I was happily proven wrong; A Lady’s Guide to Scandal is perfection. I adored Eliza and all her complexity; her transformation from an obedient daughter into a self-possessed woman is artfully done, and Irwin captures all her emotions in exquisite detail. Plus, there’s a fascinating element of Eliza as a portraitist in an era where women were not encouraged to create. And because the characters, even the smaller secondary ones, are so dynamic, the dialogue really sparkles—especially the scintillating exchanges between Eliza and Melville. Irwin pairs modern humor with Regency manners in a wildly entertaining way, but she also manages to sneak in a lot of depth, which isn’t always the case in a Regency romance. I absolutely loved A Lady’s Guide to Scandal, and am crossing my fingers a third book is already in the works.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone looking for a story about second chances at life and love… It’s similar in theme to Persuasion by Jane Austen
- Anyone who loves a romance with a dynamic leading lady and lots of humor… it’s similar in style to The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
- Anyone wanting something uplifting, cheeky, and transportive… it’s similar in tone to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
