Review: A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin

Title: A Lady’s Guide to Scandal

Series: A Lady’s Guide #2

Author: Sophie Irwin

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 would have chosen.

But ten years later, Eliza is widowed. And at eight and twenty years, she is suddenly left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. Instead of living out her mourning quietly, Eliza heads to Bath with her cousin Margaret. After years of living according to everyone else’s rules, Eliza has resolved, at last, to do as she wants.

But when the ripples of the dowager Lady Somerset’s behavior reach the new Lord Somerset–whom Eliza knew, once, as a younger woman–Eliza is forced to confront the fact that freedom does not come without consequences, though it also brings unexpected opportunities . . .

I loved A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting so grabbed the audiobook of this from the library.

No one warned me it was a love triangle. Oh I loathe them but I wanted to see if it was cushioned by historical romance!

Poor old Eliza hasn’t been able to make a decision about her own life all her life until her husband dies and she inherits money and property and hot foots it off to Bath with her cousin to get away from her money grabbing family.

Then Eliza lives, she breathes, she has freedom and she meets 2 men vying for her affections.

I love reading about this time period and all that goes on but I really don’t think I would’ve survived in that period without being deemed mad! Poor Eliza, I felt so bad for her!

My fave character however was Eliza’s cousin, Margaret. She was so funny and a loyal companion.

I didnt love this as much as the first book but it was still a good read.ย 

Illumicrate Unboxing – October 23: FAIRYTALE FORESTS!

October theme – FAIRYTALE FORESTS!

Step into a fairytale forest where shadows shiver beneath arching trees, and tread the overgrown path through to a lamp-lit cottage where you can rest your feet.

Items inspired by Bitterthorn, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Cruel Prince!

๐Ÿ’› Nightfell Replica – inspired from Cruel Price, designed by @stacey.mcevoy.caunt
๐Ÿ’› Woodland Treasures Tabs – artwork by @veymoth inspired by Bitterthorn
๐Ÿ’› Domus Somnia Deskpad – artwork by @c.e.illo inspired by Last Tale of the Flower Bride
๐Ÿ’› Finding Dreams Notebook – inspiration from OUaBH, designed by @rosdottir



๐Ÿ’› FEATURED BOOK ๐Ÿ’›

After the Forest by Kell Woods

Redesigned cover
Colour printing on hardback @chattynora
Digitally printed edges
Endpaper artwork @lothlenan
Bound in author letter

Hello November!

Happy November – have a great month!

โ€œFear not Novemberโ€™s challenge boldโ€”
Weโ€™ve books and friends,
And hearths that never can grow cold:
These make amends!โ€
โ€” Alexander Louis Fraser, โ€œNovemberโ€

โ€œAutumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.โ€ – Jim Bishop

TTT – Halloween Freebie!!

Top Ten Tuesday is featured by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Topic: Halloween Freebie!

I puzzled over what to do for this topic so I decided to resurrect an old post! A game of This or That!

Let me know in the comments what your choices would be!

๐Ÿ‘ป Skeleton or Ghost?
๐Ÿง™โ€โ™€๏ธDecorating house or not?
๐Ÿง›โ€โ™‚๏ธ Vampire or Witch?
๐Ÿฆ‡Bat or black cat?
๐Ÿ”ฎ Scary movie or go trick or treating?

My choices would be: ghost, decorating, witch, cat and trick or treating!

Let me know in comments what you would choose!

Spooky Review: House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A Craig ๐Ÿ‘ป

Title: House of Roots and Ruin

Series: Sister of the Salt #2

Author: Erin A Craig

In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her familyโ€™s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloemโ€”wife of a celebrated botanistโ€”is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille wonโ€™t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret sheโ€™s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesnโ€™t know it.

Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night andโ€”with nowhere else to turnโ€”makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.

But itโ€™s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet faรงade. . . .

Oh I absolutely loved this! If you enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows then you will be overjoyed with this!

I can recommend the audio, it was fabulous! Absolutely perfect for spooky month!

17 year old Verity escapes her family’s estate to paint a portrait. But she leaves with a secret and basically arrives at the  Chauntilalei manor where things aren’t much better!

I dont want to say much about the plot but what follows was dark, intense, quite disturbing and had me on the edge of my seat.

I honestly couldn’t put it down and the ending was shocking and made me go whaaaaaat! Please tell me there is more!

Do yourself a favour and grab this book!

๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป The Sunday Post – 29th October 2023 ๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer Itโ€™s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received.

Hi everyone, hope you’ve had a good week? ๐ŸŽƒ

We had a really good, relaxing week off work and school, just what the doctor ordered!!

We carved our pumpkins today, well I carved 1 and my son painted Roblox faces on the others….and it didn’t go well so he ended up rubbing it off and carving them!

We just have to decorate and then we’re ready for the ghosts and ghouls to come trick or treating!


What I’ve Read

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas
(reread) โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

๐ŸŽง A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

๐ŸŽง The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ


You might have missed….

Review – Caged Wolf by Caroline Peckham
Humour – Halloween funnies
Spooky Review – Starling House by Alix E Harrow



What have you read lately?

Happy Halloween ๐ŸŽƒ

Spooky Review: Starling House by Alix E Harrow ๐Ÿ‘ป

Title: Starling House

Author: Alix E Harrow

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that itโ€™s best to let the uncanny houseโ€•and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starlingโ€•go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something sheโ€™s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, sheโ€™ll have to fight for it.

Trying to get her and her brother through life, Opal feels the pull to Starling House in Eden, the town she lives in. She decides to give in and go and there she finds the strange, brooding Arthur and the mystery and history of Starling House starts to unravel.

I loved Opal, she was so morally grey but so relatable at the same time. Her love for her brother, Jasper, and the urge for him to succeed was so heartwarming.

Arthur made me want to cuddle him, he had given up everything to end things…until Opal.

It was creepy, dark, gothic, horror lite and full of mystery!

When the story reached its crescendo I read with rapt attention, it was so good! Would totally recommend this for an Autumn/Halloween read!