The daughter of a duke, Lady Evangeline could marry anyone. And her father really wants her to marry someone who can strengthen the family connections. But not more than Henry Killam's social-climbing father. So when Lady Evangeline sets her sights on Henry, the third son of a viscount, Henry's father is at first excited, but then super pissed because Henry has published an astrology paper and that smacks of.... working.
I didn't really connect to either Evangeline nor Henry in this story and I was annoyed by all of the machinations. It was fine but not great.
Three stars
A Lady’s Gift for Scandal by Elizabeth Essex
Tamsin Lesley doesn't want to get married. She just wants to live as a bluestocking and to do that she has to be ruined. Or fake ruined. Because there's no reason to be really ruined. When she runs into Lady Evangeline at a ball, that august young woman suggests Simon Cathcart as the perfect man to be her "ruiner."
Simon went to war and came back different. He just wants a simple life so he pretends to be stupid. No one in his family nor his superiors (he worked for Wellington, for goodness' sake) has told anyone any different so everyone assumes that he's incredibly stupid and ignores him. He's only in town to escort his aunt to various affairs. So when Tamsin suggests a fake ruination, it seems like a good plan to him.
This is a good premise but I wish there had been more to it. I think it would have been better in a longer form but felt unfinished here.
Three stars
This book came out October 15th
ARC kindly provided by The Passionate Pen and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
