A Lady's Guide to Scandal

A Novel

By: Sophie Irwin

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

“Sophie Irwin is an exciting and original voice. She's a must-buy author for me.”―Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Carrie Soto Is Back

Internationally bestselling author Sophie Irwin brings us another delightful, escapist historical romance, led by an audacious heroine who has suddenly inherited a fortune—but it has strings attached…

When shy Miss Eliza Balfour married the austere Earl of Somerset, twenty years her senior, it was the match of the season--no matter that he was not the husband Eliza wanted.

Now, ten years later, Eliza is widowed. Suddenly, she is left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. She’s always lived by society’s conventions, but now, Eliza has resolved to do as she wants. And what she wants is to head to Bath with her cousin Margaret, pursue painting, learn to drive, and flirt with Bath’s most alluring new resident, the infamous Lord Melville.

But when the ripples of Eliza’s behavior reach her late husband’s nephew—who broke Eliza’s heart, years ago--Eliza will learn that freedom does not come without consequences. The only way to ensure she can keep her fortune is to avoid all scandal—but where’s the fun in that?

©2023 Sophie Irwin (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Praise for A Lady's Guide to Scandal:

“Brimming with wit and scandalous hand-touching, A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin will make you yearn for the wrong earl to happen into your life at exactly the right time. An artfully slow burn!”
―Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics

“Sophie Irwin is an exciting and original voice. She's a must-buy author for me.” ―Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Carrie Soto Is Back

“Light and enchanting....It’s a fun, unexpected ride from city ballrooms through country gardens, with a diverse cast, witty repartee, and plenty of laughter to go along with the love.” ―Publishers Weekly

Enjoy

This book was a fun listen. I enjoyed the people and all the drama and delights.

loved it!

Excellent writing and unexpected story. The main and secondary characters' stories were all well developed and compelling and just beautiful.
Looking forward to more from the series.

another Jane Austin wannabe

I usually love novels styled as Jane Austin period pieces. However, in the narrative form at least, I found this one lacking and often irritating. Many of the chapters were not only predictable but tedious in their endless repetition. Luckily there is always fast forward. The narrator softened in the end, but in the early portions of the book she was rather grating with her voice interpretations of the pompous, members of Bath. I was in fact a bit disappointed with this one.

So Clever and Fun

This little gem is fresh. Fresh and clever and fun, with tropes turned on their heads, beginning with a widow rather than a young virginal protagonist. I won’t tell more so that you can discover the rest, but suffice it to say that Regency England never had it so topsy-turvy and it’s about time.

Very Enjoyable!

I really enjoyed listening to this book! At first, I thought the story was going to be predictable and formulaic, and it started out a tiny bit slowly for me. Over time, however, the story unfolded in a way that I really enjoyed. Some of my favorite books are Jane Austin novels, so I can really appreciate that the tone and style of this book are so similar to those. Yes, there are some themes in this story that might not have been written about in the day of Jane Austin, but I would not consider them to be out of place in this book. Did women of that day and age have the same hopes, desires, and dreams that the characters in this book had? Absolutely! And I think the author did a great job of addressing them in a way that felt authentic to how they would have been handled during that time.

Imogen Church did a really great job with the narration. She brought a lot of emotion to the dialogue. I will be looking at other books she has narrated.

Overall, this was a good read - well worth the credit.

A sheer delight!

I adored this story with all of its ups and downs and surprises. It was delightful and the characters were, too. I cannot wait for more!

The only drawback is the narrator. It was terribly overacted. Not every word people speak is so over wrought! But it doesn’t taint the story.

Cringe narration

I loved the first book in this series, and I also loved the narration. I was sorry to see they changed the narrator for this one, but I was VERY sorry that just the voices she used made me dislike every single character. Book narration for a huge cast of characters like this must be difficult, but I found myself skipping ahead because I was writhing with discomfort over voice acting.

Excellent!

Loved it from the first line. Unusual and intriguing story line I haven’t heard before - great twists. Wonderful narration!

Phenomenal character development! Love the love story!

Another very well written regency romance novel! Stayed true to the era and traditions. Written incredibly well. I fell in love with the characters and was amazed at how they evolved. Great story. Great narration. Clean, historical romance. I’ve listened to it twice already and could do so many times more.

Quite the Entertaining and Enjoyable Listen!

An intriguing and endearing story performed by a very talented voice actor. It was such a thoroughly enjoyable listen, I hope to listen to more books by this author and performed by this narrator. Well done!