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Searching... Braintree Thayer Public Library | JOR | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Searching... Plymouth Public Library | JOR | 14 DAY BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
The thrilling second book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's amazing new high concept series, The Scandalous Ladies of London, which chronicles the lives of a group of affluent ladies reigning over glittering, Regency-era London, vying for position in the hierarchy of the ton. They are the young wives, widows, and daughters of London's wealthiest families. The drama is big, the money runs deep, and the shade is real. Life is different in the ton.
"I liked my husband well enough ... but I like him even better dead."
It's been a year since her wretched cad of a husband died and Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, is finally her own woman. Flitting from party to party, freedom is sweet and life should be perfect. Until the new duke surfaces.
Nothing like the haughty noblemen who populate the ton, Rhain, the newly minted Duke of Dedham, is a big brawny Welshman with an accent that makes Valencia's knees go weak as he boldly moves into her home with his six wild unwed sisters. The rude and humorless usurper thinks her vain and spoiled. But with a pittance to her name, Valencia needs his support to remain in London and enjoy all the pleasures her new position as a merry widow has to offer.
So a bargain is struck. Valencia will usher his sisters into Good Society and see them happily betrothed. In return, he'll give her the financial security and independence she craves. But the more time they spend beneath the same roof, the more she realizes it's not safety she wants but the dangerously seductive Rhain. Valencia has vowed never to risk marriage again. And yet how can she resist the tempting man when he might be the greatest adventure of her life
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Jordan's scintillating second Scandalous Ladies of London Regency romance (after The Countess) follows Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, whose freedom is finally in sight as her socially mandated year of mourning the accidental death of her abusive ex-husband draws to a close. Then attractive Welshman Rhain, the new Duke of Dedham, arrives at her London home (now his) with his six unwed sisters and mother in tow. Before Valencia can depart London for the remote dower house in Yorkshire, Rhain, who is unaccustomed to the rules of London society, asks Valencia to help his sisters navigate the social season. Valencia's continued residence at the townhouse puts her and the new duke in close proximity, especially as their quarters share a tempting connecting door. Though Valencia is reluctant to be under any man's control ever again, she can't help her attraction to Rhain, whose good-hearted kindness will make readers swoon. In a plot development that Jordan masterfully utilizes to expose the dark side of glittering Regency society, the stolen moments of happiness between this well-suited duo are marred by blackmail when someone claims to know a scandalous secret Valencia harbors. The resilient heroine, powerful emotional and sexual chemistry, and hint of intrigue make this one to be savored. Agent: Maura E. Kye-Casella, Don Congdon Assoc. (Mar.)
Booklist Review
After enduring years of an abusive marriage and one year of fake mourning, Valencia, the dowager duchess of Dedham, is ready to live life on her own terms. However, just as she is about to immerse herself in a social calendar filled with fun and flirting, Rhain Lloyd, the new duke of Dedham, turns up. Expecting to now be relegated to the dower house in Yorkshire, Valencia is surprised when Rhain proposes something different. In exchange for Valencia's help launching Rhain's six unwed sisters in society, Rhain will give Valencia the money she needs to live the lifestyle of which she has dreamed. However, the more time the two spend together, the more Valencia and Rhain begin thinking about changing the terms of their arrangement. Lively writing, intriguing characters, and a plot seasoned with plenty of sensual steam and a pinch of danger helps power the second entry in Jordan's Scandalous Ladies of London series, following The Countess (2023), to a satisfying conclusion.
Library Journal Review
In the second book of the "Scandalous Ladies of London" series (after The Countess), Jordan focuses on Valencia, the widowed Duchess of Dedham. Her late husband was a high-status but terrible person, so after the customary year of mourning, Valencia decides to enjoy her freedom. Just as she's working up the nerve, her husband's distant relative Rhain arrives, sisters and mother in tow, to take over his title. Valencia seems destined to spend the rest of her life in a remote dower house until she strikes a deal with the handsome but seemingly humorless Rhain to get his sisters ready for society. Along the way, Valencia and Rhain begin to fall for each other, but Valencia is understandably wary of remarriage. Like The Countess, this novel doesn't flinch away from the ugly underbelly of the upper crust. It features some tough moments, including violence against Valencia by her late husband, but it also has a strong dash of drama that makes the book hard to put down. VERDICT The second entry in Jordan's high-society historical romance series is a grimmer tale than the first, but the deserving heroine's HEA will satisfy.--Jenny Kobiela-Mondor