*I received a copy of this book in eBook format in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Confessions Of A Lady blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: The Confessions Of A Lady
Author: Darcy McGuire
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: ★★★★★
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)
Dare she risk her secrets?
In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny
Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making
her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected member of the
Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his
actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her
every expectation and sets her traitorous heart racing.
Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret
spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the
brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice
while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than
tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the
right place at the wrong time and who deliciously challenges his every order.
Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game
from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction
burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into daring
confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam
can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs
marquess?
The Confessions
Of A Lady is the latest historical romance from author Darcy McGuire and the third
instalment of her series The Queen's Deadly Damsels. This is another brilliant
spicy Victorian romance with a fantastic crime element to it too.
Darcy McGuire has
quickly become one of my favourite historical fiction authors as she has an
incredible storytelling ability and always crafts a perfectly paced narrative
which beautifully blends romantic moments with the high tension crime elements
that are also central to the plot.
At the heart of
this series is really strong female characters and Penny was no exception. She
was a total badass and I really liked the choice to make her illiterate because
she was really smart and this really showed that there’s so much more to
intelligence than literacy. The scene where Penny demands that Liam treat her
as his equal – far from the norm in Victorian society – was particularly impactful
and showed beautifully how much she grew in the novel into an even stronger
woman who really understood her own value.
I’ve said it
before but the absolute feminist icon that is Lady Philippa Winterbourne, the
mentor to all of the Queen’s deadly damsels, is one of my favourite strong
female characters to have ever graced the pages of a historical fiction novel.
I didn’t think it was possible but I fell in love with her even more in this
novel. Although this book works well as a standalone story, I’d recommend also reading
the rest of the The Queen's Deadly Damsels series as the protagonists
from both earlier books feature heavily within this one and I personally really
enjoyed being familiar with them prior to reading this book.
Liam was also a
brilliant MMC, who I challenge any reader not to fall completely in love with
particularly if you’re a fellow sucker for the ‘touch her and you die’ trope.
Penny and Liam had
brilliant chemistry and there was a great dynamic between the two of them. I’ve
not read anything focusing on this upstairs/downstairs trope before but found
it really interesting and it worked really well in the context of this book.
We have several brilliant
spicy scenes and they navigated the contrast of experience between Penny as a
virgin FMC and Liam as a more experienced and older MMC very well. I particularly
enjoyed the emphasis on consent, which was great to see within a historical romance
and very important given the power imbalance that naturally existed with Liam
being Penny’s employer.
Overall, this is yet
another incredible historical romance novel from Darcy McGuire and a must read
for fans of the historical romance and historical crime genres alike,
particularly if you’re after something with an overall really feminist feel.
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