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Unconventional Ladies #1
The Scandal of the Season
Grey St. Clair, recently created the Marquess of Granbury, has long nurtured a grudge against the aristocracy. Of common origins, he has spent years clawing his way into their exalted ranks, collecting their sins, secrets, and debts to use for his own purposes—all in the service of bringing about the downfall of the earl who destroyed his family nearly two decades ago. At long last, he is perfectly positioned to take from the Earl of Andover everything of value…beginning with the earl’s daughter.
Lady Serena Tyndall has never been less than the perfect lady, of sterling character and reputation...until the day the marquess that polite society calls a demon arrives at her home and demands her for his mistress, leveraging her father’s debts to secure her acquiescence. Worse still, her father—hardly the model of fatherly devotion—agrees to sacrifice her to save himself.
But the marquess has no interest in making her his mistress in truth, so together they strike a bargain: Grey will use Serena’s perceived disgrace as a weapon against her father, and in return for her compliance, he will leave her a wealthy woman when their association ends. While Serena contends with her changed place in society, she learns to appreciate her newfound freedom from the strictures of societal conventions. With no reputation to protect, she is free to pursue her own interests, free to skirt the bounds of acceptable behavior…perhaps free to fall in love with an unsuitable marquess, who—despite the circumstances of their meeting—has given her everything she never knew she wanted.
Lady Serena Tyndall has never been less than the perfect lady, of sterling character and reputation...until the day the marquess that polite society calls a demon arrives at her home and demands her for his mistress, leveraging her father’s debts to secure her acquiescence. Worse still, her father—hardly the model of fatherly devotion—agrees to sacrifice her to save himself.
But the marquess has no interest in making her his mistress in truth, so together they strike a bargain: Grey will use Serena’s perceived disgrace as a weapon against her father, and in return for her compliance, he will leave her a wealthy woman when their association ends. While Serena contends with her changed place in society, she learns to appreciate her newfound freedom from the strictures of societal conventions. With no reputation to protect, she is free to pursue her own interests, free to skirt the bounds of acceptable behavior…perhaps free to fall in love with an unsuitable marquess, who—despite the circumstances of their meeting—has given her everything she never knew she wanted.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2020
152 people are currently reading
901 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
January 31, 2023
3.5-4 ⭐
This is a historical, revenge, slow-drip romance between Grey and Serena. The blurb sets it up, Grey obtains Serena’s dad’s debts and forces him to trade his daughter to be his mistress. I know I read a similar book where the H forced the dad to approve a marriage (between H & h) so he couldn’t sell his daughter off to marry an old pervy dude… I think that scenario worked better. I never really understood how disgracing his daughter (that he didn’t care about) hurt the father. 🤷♀️Regardless, Serena goes to Grey, everyone thinks she’s his mistress and she’s ruined.
Grey has a Derek Craven vibe going on. He pulled himself out of the gutter to becoming a man of great wealth and even purchased a title for himself. Serena has a backbone and pushes back.
Bottom Line- I liked it and would’ve rated higher had the groveling been face-face. (she refused to see or speak with him) There’re a few happenings that felt far-fetched, but I just went with it. The plot wasn’t necessarily unique, but the character growth was spot on. There’s not a lot of external drama going on (no cheating, OW/OM, danger) which made things a smidge dull at times, but I still gobbled it up. The epilogue is used to set up the next book rather than a HEA for the couple.
This is a historical, revenge, slow-drip romance between Grey and Serena. The blurb sets it up, Grey obtains Serena’s dad’s debts and forces him to trade his daughter to be his mistress. I know I read a similar book where the H forced the dad to approve a marriage (between H & h) so he couldn’t sell his daughter off to marry an old pervy dude… I think that scenario worked better. I never really understood how disgracing his daughter (that he didn’t care about) hurt the father. 🤷♀️Regardless, Serena goes to Grey, everyone thinks she’s his mistress and she’s ruined.
Grey has a Derek Craven vibe going on. He pulled himself out of the gutter to becoming a man of great wealth and even purchased a title for himself. Serena has a backbone and pushes back.
Bottom Line- I liked it and would’ve rated higher had the groveling been face-face. (she refused to see or speak with him) There’re a few happenings that felt far-fetched, but I just went with it. The plot wasn’t necessarily unique, but the character growth was spot on. There’s not a lot of external drama going on (no cheating, OW/OM, danger) which made things a smidge dull at times, but I still gobbled it up. The epilogue is used to set up the next book rather than a HEA for the couple.
January 21, 2021
Ok ... I am loving this author ...
My third book of her's and it was just as amazing as the first two ...
I had to suspend belief a little bit as I don't believe a woman in 19th century, once ruined, had any recourse left to her, regardless of the reason she was ruined, no matter how innocent she was ...
But I just put on my rose-tinted glasses!
Amazing and brave h and great H ... I loved their banter and the little games they played ... he calls her Mouse, which I normally detest, but as the story went on, the nickname worked ...
and I love the ending where he gives her the means to be independent and she turns it on him ...
Loved this book ... worth reading ... and I loved the side characters ...
My third book of her's and it was just as amazing as the first two ...
I had to suspend belief a little bit as I don't believe a woman in 19th century, once ruined, had any recourse left to her, regardless of the reason she was ruined, no matter how innocent she was ...
But I just put on my rose-tinted glasses!
Amazing and brave h and great H ... I loved their banter and the little games they played ... he calls her Mouse, which I normally detest, but as the story went on, the nickname worked ...
and I love the ending where he gives her the means to be independent and she turns it on him ...
Loved this book ... worth reading ... and I loved the side characters ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2023
I rarely give 5 stars, my first inclination was 4, but I was too entertained and thoroughly enjoyed the set up of book 2.
Both angsty and funny. Serena and Grey are well matched!
Both angsty and funny. Serena and Grey are well matched!
October 3, 2024
3.5 stars
This book would really benefit if ½ star ratings were allowed on GR. I admired the quality of AR's writing. Rich, meaningful, well thought, sensible and elegant. She obviously did her research and when she wrote this romance it was not just with romance in mind, but also with a profound social commentary on the status of 1800s women. And I can only applaud AR for this.
Serena was an utterly charming heroine, and she was largely responsible for my continuing with the story. Because while I grew to appreciate Grey, it was not a given with the way he treated Serena as an object in the beginning. AR's pen was very smart in developping their relationship in layers.
But I am a contrary reader. As much as I admired the way AR took the time and care to develop her characters, at the same time, I felt very overwhelmed by the abundance of inner monologues. Moreso when the general mood of the book was greyish. I am always one to champion psychological development in a book, but for once, I found it too much with the repetition of feelings. It made for a slow, molasses pace reading. Most probably it was a me thing though: I loved the plot and the characters but the reading pace was not ideal. For this reason, I will round down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2022
4 stars. I'm mad at myself for not writing a review for this book when I finished it earlier this month. This author has quickly become one of my favorites for HR, and this is a really good read. Highly recommend.
Safe; virgin heroine, hero experienced but I don't remember if he was a manwhore, no ow drama, some om drama, no cheating, no scenes with om/ow.
Safe; virgin heroine, hero experienced but I don't remember if he was a manwhore, no ow drama, some om drama, no cheating, no scenes with om/ow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2022
Oooh, oooh I loved this one! It had a lot of angsty goodness because Grey totally destroys Serena. She turns out to have a lot of pluck and she doesn’t feel sorry for herself, which I appreciated. Grey has to do quite a bit of groveling and it’s oh, so satisfying! I really enjoyed this one, despite its far-fetched aspects. That’s why these novels are a form of escapism! Loved the author’s notes at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2024
Wonderful romance with a tricksy H using h to inflict retribution on her father. His goal is public humiliation and while she's shocked first, she makes it a personal opportunity. Loved the heroine's hidden strength and the fun she has with the H. And, finally the author's overview about British titles on the final pages was great.
December 26, 2024
It started well but I didn't like it
The plot: Grey is a man of humble origins who has made his own fortune through business and bought a title of marquee, he is obsessed with getting revenge on Asbury, a count who stole from his father and humiliated them, to get revenge he buys his debts and pressures him so that his daughter Lady Serena becomes his mistress . Obviously Grey only plans for the love affair to be an act to humiliate Asbury, he knows he is unfair to Serena but he plans to compensate her with money when everything is over, Serena moves in with him and Grey realizes his mistake, Serena is apparently submissive, but in reality she is brave, and challenges him, makes jokes and insults him, she does not let herself be intimidated and almost never obeys him, Grey and she fall in love but they should not so they do not know what to do.
Aydra is my safe place at this point, she's the one I turn to when I have a streak of bad books, I don't even have to see what her novels are about to know that I'll like them, and the premise of this story is very good, a lady who is forced to become a mistress for revenge, a commoner grown into a marquis with many enemies and rough ways, BUT... this book didn't work. The first half of the book is fun, entertaining, and interesting, seeing Serena rebel without losing her essence as a lady was very nice, seeing her resist an undeserved revenge, and stay dignified was very satisfying, and obviously nothing is more pleasant than seeing a hero regret being unfair to the heroine and fall in love with her even though he shouldn't. I also liked that he treated her with respect and kindness despite his rough personality and thirst for revenge.
But as usually happens in this books, the "Revenge" is the stupidest thing, no man in the world would consider something so silly as a revenge , when he could kill, have arrested or beat the man he hates, honestly this is something that only a female in her teens would consid a a revenge but it's just a baby pout if you ask me, I mean Asbury doesn't care about his children, he doesn't even love Serena so what revenge is it for Grey to make Serena his mistress? Humiliate Asbury??? He already did that by exposing his debts, making Serena his mistress doesn't hurt anyone, not even Serena because she doesn't care, she doesn't suffer or anything.
But even with flaws and everything, the novel is not boring and feels different but you pass 50% and the novel no longer holds up, the thing is resolved = revenge consummated, Serena already recovered her social position, she and Grey love each other and have no real impediments to be together, so it only drags on with boring nonsense, Grey rejects Serena and sends her away why? He doesn't have a reason, he tells us that she deserves something better, but he is rich, handsome, a marquis, respected, he loves her, so I don't know what could be better... As I said he has no reason, and the next day he looks for her but she doesn't receive him why? She doesn't even has a reason, she loves him and accepts him as he is but the plot needs to be extended another 100 pages so for no reason she will be difficult...
Then Serena's dad comes back to try to kill her, but he is useless and fails... Seriously nothing interesting happens in the second half, rather it seems to me that the author uses that to introduce the characters and the plot of the books that follow in the saga, which bothered me a lot, first because "Sarah" the employee, who will be the protagonist of the next book was UNBEARABLE, she is supposed to serve as Serena's lady, and she is a new employee, but she spends her time calling Serena stupid!!! her new BOSS!!! she insults her, disobeys her, is rude, a bad employee, a liar, even Grey almost kicks her out, but Serena loves her and wants to make her her business partner. Why? She really didn't know Sarah for God sake !!! , she was intolerable to me, no one in her position would have acted so conceited and arrogant, Serena was good and kind, and Sarah never acted like a friend much less as an employee, I don't know why she didn't fire her, and maybe because I had already bought her book but from the beginning I realized who she was, so not mystery there.
Now the epilogue, what the hell? It was all about Sarah... We didn't see that happily ever after that Serena deserved, it surprised me because something I love about this author is that she doesn't fill her books with her other novels, but here she disappointed me too much, I felt that she had run out of ideas, and that she didn't want to take risks, besides everything seems too ridiculous even for a novel and it's out of historical line:
-Serena talks about a change in society in which nobles must accept rich people without royal blood, that happened but about 200 years later
- Serena being welcomed by society again despite having been a mistress? It's not just impossible, but it would have been more difficult than what is being suggested here.
I know that Sererna's father was not the most affectionate in the world, but he didn't hit her, humiliate her, or insult her, he didn't leave her hungry, I mean he wasn't really horrible, he was in many ways what one considered a good father in his time, so why did Sererna behave like that with him? Teasing him, bothering him, insulting him, rejoicing in his misfortune by supporting his enemy, you see? It doesn't make sense, especially in an era when women were taught blind obedience and unconditional affection with their parents.
Now, Why if her father needed money he didn't give Serena in marriage??? if there were other proposals? He could have taken advantage of it but he didn't and it's not explained why.
Serena opening a school to educate the newly rich in the middle of the 18th century seemed implausible to me, it wouldn't have happened unless it had been run by a woman, which by the way we are told throughout the book that Serena is a noblewoman but the truth is she never behaves like one, nor thinks like one.
The plot: Grey is a man of humble origins who has made his own fortune through business and bought a title of marquee, he is obsessed with getting revenge on Asbury, a count who stole from his father and humiliated them, to get revenge he buys his debts and pressures him so that his daughter Lady Serena becomes his mistress . Obviously Grey only plans for the love affair to be an act to humiliate Asbury, he knows he is unfair to Serena but he plans to compensate her with money when everything is over, Serena moves in with him and Grey realizes his mistake, Serena is apparently submissive, but in reality she is brave, and challenges him, makes jokes and insults him, she does not let herself be intimidated and almost never obeys him, Grey and she fall in love but they should not so they do not know what to do.
Aydra is my safe place at this point, she's the one I turn to when I have a streak of bad books, I don't even have to see what her novels are about to know that I'll like them, and the premise of this story is very good, a lady who is forced to become a mistress for revenge, a commoner grown into a marquis with many enemies and rough ways, BUT... this book didn't work. The first half of the book is fun, entertaining, and interesting, seeing Serena rebel without losing her essence as a lady was very nice, seeing her resist an undeserved revenge, and stay dignified was very satisfying, and obviously nothing is more pleasant than seeing a hero regret being unfair to the heroine and fall in love with her even though he shouldn't. I also liked that he treated her with respect and kindness despite his rough personality and thirst for revenge.
But as usually happens in this books, the "Revenge" is the stupidest thing, no man in the world would consider something so silly as a revenge , when he could kill, have arrested or beat the man he hates, honestly this is something that only a female in her teens would consid a a revenge but it's just a baby pout if you ask me, I mean Asbury doesn't care about his children, he doesn't even love Serena so what revenge is it for Grey to make Serena his mistress? Humiliate Asbury??? He already did that by exposing his debts, making Serena his mistress doesn't hurt anyone, not even Serena because she doesn't care, she doesn't suffer or anything.
But even with flaws and everything, the novel is not boring and feels different but you pass 50% and the novel no longer holds up, the thing is resolved = revenge consummated, Serena already recovered her social position, she and Grey love each other and have no real impediments to be together, so it only drags on with boring nonsense, Grey rejects Serena and sends her away why? He doesn't have a reason, he tells us that she deserves something better, but he is rich, handsome, a marquis, respected, he loves her, so I don't know what could be better... As I said he has no reason, and the next day he looks for her but she doesn't receive him why? She doesn't even has a reason, she loves him and accepts him as he is but the plot needs to be extended another 100 pages so for no reason she will be difficult...
Then Serena's dad comes back to try to kill her, but he is useless and fails... Seriously nothing interesting happens in the second half, rather it seems to me that the author uses that to introduce the characters and the plot of the books that follow in the saga, which bothered me a lot, first because "Sarah" the employee, who will be the protagonist of the next book was UNBEARABLE, she is supposed to serve as Serena's lady, and she is a new employee, but she spends her time calling Serena stupid!!! her new BOSS!!! she insults her, disobeys her, is rude, a bad employee, a liar, even Grey almost kicks her out, but Serena loves her and wants to make her her business partner. Why? She really didn't know Sarah for God sake !!! , she was intolerable to me, no one in her position would have acted so conceited and arrogant, Serena was good and kind, and Sarah never acted like a friend much less as an employee, I don't know why she didn't fire her, and maybe because I had already bought her book but from the beginning I realized who she was, so not mystery there.
Now the epilogue, what the hell? It was all about Sarah... We didn't see that happily ever after that Serena deserved, it surprised me because something I love about this author is that she doesn't fill her books with her other novels, but here she disappointed me too much, I felt that she had run out of ideas, and that she didn't want to take risks, besides everything seems too ridiculous even for a novel and it's out of historical line:
-Serena talks about a change in society in which nobles must accept rich people without royal blood, that happened but about 200 years later
- Serena being welcomed by society again despite having been a mistress? It's not just impossible, but it would have been more difficult than what is being suggested here.
I know that Sererna's father was not the most affectionate in the world, but he didn't hit her, humiliate her, or insult her, he didn't leave her hungry, I mean he wasn't really horrible, he was in many ways what one considered a good father in his time, so why did Sererna behave like that with him? Teasing him, bothering him, insulting him, rejoicing in his misfortune by supporting his enemy, you see? It doesn't make sense, especially in an era when women were taught blind obedience and unconditional affection with their parents.
Now, Why if her father needed money he didn't give Serena in marriage??? if there were other proposals? He could have taken advantage of it but he didn't and it's not explained why.
Serena opening a school to educate the newly rich in the middle of the 18th century seemed implausible to me, it wouldn't have happened unless it had been run by a woman, which by the way we are told throughout the book that Serena is a noblewoman but the truth is she never behaves like one, nor thinks like one.
January 30, 2024
Read:1/30/24
3.5 Stars
" I don't eat babies for dinner. They are too hard to find, but maybe the cook can find some kittens. "
In an act of revenge, Grey forces his enemy's daughter to become his mistress. The quiet little mouse he sees at parties will be easy to subdue. He's surprised to discover that this "mouse" is strong, lovely, and will challenge him like no other.
Lady Serene allows herself to be bargained by her father to save her brothers from ruin. Grey has planned his revenge on Serena's father for a long time, but he plans to humiliate him first. However, Grey doesn't know that Serena's father could care less about her. Serena had to be what her cruel father wanted her to be, but now that she's free from Ton's expectations, she can discover who she really wants to be.
Serena hates that Grey calls her useless and a mouse. So she decides to discover a skill. She even tries to do laundry and washing dishes. Serena will also do her best to get back at Grey. Grey hates her in yellow, so she buys 7 yellow dresses for every day of the week. She paints on his walls, waltzes in ink, buys 7 pianos, gets a puppy, creatively embroiderys something on his sheets, and many other delicious pranks. I love that Grey found them hilarious and would retaliate in other humorous ways. This was the best part of the book!
Eventually, Grey falls in love and tries to distance himself from Serena. He tries to di what's best and restore her old life back. He doesn't ask HER what she wants. This martyr complex gets old!🙄 Still, I love this couple and wanted Grey to get his "Mouse" in the end.
Conclusion:
It really took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Grey is the antihero who slowly softens with every prank and act of rebellion his "Mouse" pulls off (my favorite kind of H). I was relieved that while he was willing to ruin Serena's reputation, he didn't actually physically ruin her, and he was always prepared to provide for her when it was over.
This book is definitely worth a try!
3.5 Stars
" I don't eat babies for dinner. They are too hard to find, but maybe the cook can find some kittens. "
In an act of revenge, Grey forces his enemy's daughter to become his mistress. The quiet little mouse he sees at parties will be easy to subdue. He's surprised to discover that this "mouse" is strong, lovely, and will challenge him like no other.
Lady Serene allows herself to be bargained by her father to save her brothers from ruin. Grey has planned his revenge on Serena's father for a long time, but he plans to humiliate him first. However, Grey doesn't know that Serena's father could care less about her. Serena had to be what her cruel father wanted her to be, but now that she's free from Ton's expectations, she can discover who she really wants to be.
Serena hates that Grey calls her useless and a mouse. So she decides to discover a skill. She even tries to do laundry and washing dishes. Serena will also do her best to get back at Grey. Grey hates her in yellow, so she buys 7 yellow dresses for every day of the week. She paints on his walls, waltzes in ink, buys 7 pianos, gets a puppy, creatively embroiderys something on his sheets, and many other delicious pranks. I love that Grey found them hilarious and would retaliate in other humorous ways. This was the best part of the book!
Eventually, Grey falls in love and tries to distance himself from Serena. He tries to di what's best and restore her old life back. He doesn't ask HER what she wants. This martyr complex gets old!🙄 Still, I love this couple and wanted Grey to get his "Mouse" in the end.
Conclusion:
It really took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Grey is the antihero who slowly softens with every prank and act of rebellion his "Mouse" pulls off (my favorite kind of H). I was relieved that while he was willing to ruin Serena's reputation, he didn't actually physically ruin her, and he was always prepared to provide for her when it was over.
This book is definitely worth a try!
February 20, 2023
Tropes:
- Revenge
- Heroine forced to be a mistress
- Terrible/cruel parent
Things I liked:
- Ms Richards is a new-to-me author.
- It has my favourite tropes.
- Lovely prose
- Loved the pranks that the hero and heroine played on each other. They were fun and sweet.
Things I did not quite like:
- Repetitive, making the book feels overly long. E.g. the hero keeps saying he's unworthy of the heroine, and the heroine feels useless. These internal monologues were repeated a few times in the book (it went on and on), and these get old quickly.
- Uneven pacing. It has a great beginning; it really interested me, but it started to suffer in the middle until the end.
- With this kind of storyline, I expected more tension/angst. The whole story feels monotonous/anti-climatic.
The book had a lot of potentials, and it could be better with good editing. Nevertheless, the writing style was good enough to tempt me to try out the author's other books.
- Revenge
- Heroine forced to be a mistress
- Terrible/cruel parent
Things I liked:
- Ms Richards is a new-to-me author.
- It has my favourite tropes.
- Lovely prose
- Loved the pranks that the hero and heroine played on each other. They were fun and sweet.
Things I did not quite like:
- Repetitive, making the book feels overly long. E.g. the hero keeps saying he's unworthy of the heroine, and the heroine feels useless. These internal monologues were repeated a few times in the book (it went on and on), and these get old quickly.
- Uneven pacing. It has a great beginning; it really interested me, but it started to suffer in the middle until the end.
- With this kind of storyline, I expected more tension/angst. The whole story feels monotonous/anti-climatic.
The book had a lot of potentials, and it could be better with good editing. Nevertheless, the writing style was good enough to tempt me to try out the author's other books.
May 1, 2022
I would rather there had been a situation of dubious consent than the constant mental and verbal degradation that this book possessed. Every utterance of “Mouse,” whether uttered out loud or within the mind of the H, felt like a blow to my own feelings and I don’t need that kind of abuse. DNF.
April 16, 2024
Impossibly improbable plot! Lol
December 2, 2022
Ridiculous but very readable.
August 12, 2023
2.5/5. The newly minted Marquess uses his power and wealth to take down the Earl of Andover. Not a fine decision, he aims to humiliate Andover by claiming the latter's daughter as his mistress. Unloved and ignored all her life, Lady Serena sees her father's ready capitulation of her honour as yet another time her family has disappointed her. She takes her new change in circumstances all in stride and in fact slowly embraces her newfound notoriety and fall from grace. Grey, in removing this little non-descript mouse from her family home, inadvertently gives her wings to fly.
Unfortunately, Serena doesn't want to soar. Instead she wants to be his rodent forever. I just hated the name he had for her "Mouse", which started as a term of derision and then became a term of endearment. I abhor rodents and there is really nothing noble or admirable about them. Serena also became too clingy and lost her spirit soon after she started to gain some spunk.
Unfortunately, Serena doesn't want to soar. Instead she wants to be his rodent forever. I just hated the name he had for her "Mouse", which started as a term of derision and then became a term of endearment. I abhor rodents and there is really nothing noble or admirable about them. Serena also became too clingy and lost her spirit soon after she started to gain some spunk.
January 13, 2023
5/5. Fantastic from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It's for books like this that I wade through the 1-2 star reads. I loved every part, every three dimensional character. Every deep conversation. Every confronted & overcome fear. Richards now cemented as one of my favorite authors.
Story: revenge with collateral damage, no ifs about it. Within first few chapters heroine is 'ruined' and in his home. Hero doesn't really want a mistress, he tries to mitigate this giving her carte blanche to do whatever she wants. He regrets this 🤣. This book is actually hilarious.
“I don’t like you in yellow,” Grey said over dinner several nights later, entirely aware that such a remark would stir up trouble. “It doesn’t suit you.”
“It’s a pity, then,” Mouse replied sweetly, as she carved up a bit of fish, “that I don’t particularly care what you like.”
Heroine: from the beginning you could see her suppressing her nature, her sarcasm and her personality to be this perfect docile debutante. After she's ruined she has several reckonings about herself. This book is such a transformative journey of self discovery for her.
“You said I was useless.”
“You’re a lady. Your primary function is to be useless, up until the point you start birthing heirs and spares."
Him calling her useless early one made her realize that she had no skills, no way to support herself, and no likes/dislikes of her own. More than the romance I loved reading her gleefully tear off the expectations of society and make her own path. She was silly and childish sometimes, but brave and determined. She never cowered from him. She didn't hide from her feelings for him either.
Hero; “She deserves a bloody duke, and so that is what I will give her, however it must be done.”
Mr. Gruff and tuff and everyone is a afraid of me but I drink their tears for breakfast. I loved that he was a genius, his mind was always rearranging and considering paths of actions of others, predicting their behavior, manipulating then for his needs and condering risks and benefits in each situation.
Then come Mouse - as he called her - who he completely dismissed and discounted, turns his entire life around and spins his world into chaos.
It was such a joy to read him softening, read him enjoying life for once. Consider a real future for himself. Make new friends - I love Davenport and can't wait for him to be caught!
Dramatically he waved Grey away. “Stay back, if you please—it might be catching.”
“Marriage?” Grey inquired, laughing. “I’ve yet to see a man break out in wedding rings simply through association.”
Richards writes amazing supportive friendships for h and H. I really liked Sarah and I'm not surprised by the end at all!!
Special mentions:
- author could have easily left her family vilified but she came them hope for redemption
- the yellow dress! It's a reoccurring hilarious plot point and one point in the middle of a fight every man pauses to tell her how much they don't like it on her 🤣🤣
Reccomend and will reread.
Story: revenge with collateral damage, no ifs about it. Within first few chapters heroine is 'ruined' and in his home. Hero doesn't really want a mistress, he tries to mitigate this giving her carte blanche to do whatever she wants. He regrets this 🤣. This book is actually hilarious.
“I don’t like you in yellow,” Grey said over dinner several nights later, entirely aware that such a remark would stir up trouble. “It doesn’t suit you.”
“It’s a pity, then,” Mouse replied sweetly, as she carved up a bit of fish, “that I don’t particularly care what you like.”
Heroine: from the beginning you could see her suppressing her nature, her sarcasm and her personality to be this perfect docile debutante. After she's ruined she has several reckonings about herself. This book is such a transformative journey of self discovery for her.
“You said I was useless.”
“You’re a lady. Your primary function is to be useless, up until the point you start birthing heirs and spares."
Him calling her useless early one made her realize that she had no skills, no way to support herself, and no likes/dislikes of her own. More than the romance I loved reading her gleefully tear off the expectations of society and make her own path. She was silly and childish sometimes, but brave and determined. She never cowered from him. She didn't hide from her feelings for him either.
Hero; “She deserves a bloody duke, and so that is what I will give her, however it must be done.”
Mr. Gruff and tuff and everyone is a afraid of me but I drink their tears for breakfast. I loved that he was a genius, his mind was always rearranging and considering paths of actions of others, predicting their behavior, manipulating then for his needs and condering risks and benefits in each situation.
Then come Mouse - as he called her - who he completely dismissed and discounted, turns his entire life around and spins his world into chaos.
It was such a joy to read him softening, read him enjoying life for once. Consider a real future for himself. Make new friends - I love Davenport and can't wait for him to be caught!
Dramatically he waved Grey away. “Stay back, if you please—it might be catching.”
“Marriage?” Grey inquired, laughing. “I’ve yet to see a man break out in wedding rings simply through association.”
Richards writes amazing supportive friendships for h and H. I really liked Sarah and I'm not surprised by the end at all!!
Special mentions:
- author could have easily left her family vilified but she came them hope for redemption
- the yellow dress! It's a reoccurring hilarious plot point and one point in the middle of a fight every man pauses to tell her how much they don't like it on her 🤣🤣
Reccomend and will reread.
October 3, 2021
What a delight. Finished it within 24 hrs. Characters are charming, well developed, with exceptionally satisfying growth. Though, by far, the gem in this book is the sparring between the two main characters/love interests. Fantastic sparring, both verbally and with the pranks they play on one another. Absolute delight to read.
February 22, 2025
It’s not often that I can read an unpredictable character in a romance. Especially a female one. Luckily for me, I never knew how will Serena react. Meek and thoroughly uninteresting at first but then she show us her anger, courage, intelligence, her steel spine and her kind heart.
Grey was a delight too. He’s what I would call a morally gray character. Ruthless in his blackmailing and machinations but actually a softie.
I’ve had so much fun reading this book. 10/10 recommend. I can’t believe he thought “getting it out of his system” would work. And then proceeded to not pull out. 😂
TW/CW: narcissistic father, blackmail, ruination, open door, no pregnancy, death by suicide (in the past, MMC’s parent, briefly mentioned)
Grey was a delight too. He’s what I would call a morally gray character. Ruthless in his blackmailing and machinations but actually a softie.
I’ve had so much fun reading this book. 10/10 recommend. I can’t believe he thought “getting it out of his system” would work. And then proceeded to not pull out. 😂
TW/CW: narcissistic father, blackmail, ruination, open door, no pregnancy, death by suicide (in the past, MMC’s parent, briefly mentioned)
April 14, 2024
what in the Stockholm syndrome
January 3, 2025
4.4 🌟’s
ate this up - always want more groveling tho
ate this up - always want more groveling tho
July 19, 2023
Compelling Read
Well thoroughly enjoyed this. Loved the leads and their banter and the way both their personalities changed. Great story - tool a little too long for the couple to finally unite in their happy ever after. But other than that I loved it.
Well thoroughly enjoyed this. Loved the leads and their banter and the way both their personalities changed. Great story - tool a little too long for the couple to finally unite in their happy ever after. But other than that I loved it.
August 26, 2022
This book had everything that I love in it; a vengeful hero hurting the innocent heroine because of the sins of her father and then feeling deliciously remorseful and groveling. I loved how cruel he was and how regretful he became immediately after. But towards the end, both the hero's and heroine's characters completely changed. He started acting like a self conscious, beta hero and she started acting like an actual cold, wanton mistress.
Overall I enjoyed it.
Overall I enjoyed it.
June 18, 2025
1.25 stars
pros:
- the twist reveal about the relationship between 2 side characters (although this potential goes in the toilet in their book)
cons:
- heroine had no self respect
- book felt totally pointless - no story / no meaningful character growth
pros:
- the twist reveal about the relationship between 2 side characters (although this potential goes in the toilet in their book)
cons:
- heroine had no self respect
- book felt totally pointless - no story / no meaningful character growth
November 7, 2022
I started this with high hopes, but it basically runs out of plot half-way through. The final reconciliation was boring. Ugh I'm in a reading rut.
February 27, 2025
Hero using a heroine as an instrument of revenge is my catnip. In this book her father is a sociopath who did the hero's family wrong. The hero is of course fueled by spite and revenge to become a self made man, uses his wealth to wreak havoc on the evildoer. Part of this revenge is ruining the daughter. He takes her as his mistress in name and yay for forced proximity!
I had previously DNFd another book by this author. I found that there was too much telling and not enough showing. This book is also cursed with telling and not showing but the conflicted morally grey hero made up for the copious paragraphs of inner monologuing. The book is mostly from the hero's POV and I eat that ish up with a spoon especially when he's totally falling a$$ over heels for her and has literally no idea 🤌🏽
I also thought the book lost steam in the third act and I was kind of bored. But I am a hero centric reader and he carried the book for me. I love seeing a dummy bent on revenge fall for his enemy's daughter, it's delicious .
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🔥🔥/5
Tropes:
Forced proximity
Revenge
Self made hero
Slow burn
I had previously DNFd another book by this author. I found that there was too much telling and not enough showing. This book is also cursed with telling and not showing but the conflicted morally grey hero made up for the copious paragraphs of inner monologuing. The book is mostly from the hero's POV and I eat that ish up with a spoon especially when he's totally falling a$$ over heels for her and has literally no idea 🤌🏽
I also thought the book lost steam in the third act and I was kind of bored. But I am a hero centric reader and he carried the book for me. I love seeing a dummy bent on revenge fall for his enemy's daughter, it's delicious .
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🔥🔥/5
Tropes:
Forced proximity
Revenge
Self made hero
Slow burn
August 28, 2022
"The Scandal of the Season" is the story of Serena and Grey.
The hero is a disgraced marquess with one goal in life- revenge from the heroine's father. He spends years plotting, which ultimately culminates in blackmail, and the heroine becoming a pawn. She is given to the hero as a mistress, as her family turns away from her, and disowned. But while the hero thinks she is the "mouse" he calls her, she turns out to be a feisty tigress. From small displays of defiance, she soon makes a place for her at his home, and eventually his heart. But as passions ignite and feelings get involved, will the hero ever be able to repent for his wrongs to her?
Enjoyable read with likable main characters. I really enjoyed how mature and flexible the heroine was to her circumstances, never the victim and honest in love. The hero was broken, but recognized his faults at time. There is sexy lovemaking, good angst and drama, and a satisfying end. Also ties with the Darlings book.
Safe
4/5
The hero is a disgraced marquess with one goal in life- revenge from the heroine's father. He spends years plotting, which ultimately culminates in blackmail, and the heroine becoming a pawn. She is given to the hero as a mistress, as her family turns away from her, and disowned. But while the hero thinks she is the "mouse" he calls her, she turns out to be a feisty tigress. From small displays of defiance, she soon makes a place for her at his home, and eventually his heart. But as passions ignite and feelings get involved, will the hero ever be able to repent for his wrongs to her?
Enjoyable read with likable main characters. I really enjoyed how mature and flexible the heroine was to her circumstances, never the victim and honest in love. The hero was broken, but recognized his faults at time. There is sexy lovemaking, good angst and drama, and a satisfying end. Also ties with the Darlings book.
Safe
4/5
Read
May 29, 2024Heat Factor: Full tingles from this one, there’s some heat to it
Character Chemistry: It’s kind of a reverse morality chain…or a balanced morality chain…
Plot: Grey’s sole life purpose is to ruin the man who was responsible for his father’s death, and utterly ruining his daughter Serena is necessary collateral damage. Only it turns out Grey can’t deal with anything but Serena’s total freedom and autonomy, and it turns out Serena craves the freedom total ruination offers.
Overall: This book was bananas but it WORKS
Read our full review at The Smut Report
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Character Chemistry: It’s kind of a reverse morality chain…or a balanced morality chain…
Plot: Grey’s sole life purpose is to ruin the man who was responsible for his father’s death, and utterly ruining his daughter Serena is necessary collateral damage. Only it turns out Grey can’t deal with anything but Serena’s total freedom and autonomy, and it turns out Serena craves the freedom total ruination offers.
Overall: This book was bananas but it WORKS
Read our full review at The Smut Report
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
January 17, 2024
I really only picked this up as it was free on Amazon for a day and sounded like a fun read that didn't require much thinking or focus (a la the Bridgerton books), so I don't think I can judge it too harshly. That said, the copious amounts of typos were annoying and the character arcs that changed between contradictions from one page to the next and moving in circles across several chapters were frustrating. The female main character is somewhat interesting, but everyone else felt very much one note.
August 3, 2024
Aydra Richards is always mentioned when someone asks about new HR authors worth reading and after reading this I completely agree. I was wary at first because I wasn't sure that I could get over the fact that everything started with Grey forcing Serena to be his mistress, but it turned out better than I expected, although it still doesn't really sit well with me. But Serena's journey of growth and self-discovery was a joy to read, and their relationship followed a natural progression, maybe a bit rushed, but way more organic that the insta-everything we usually get in romance books. Also, the grovelling after Grey inevitably fucks things up was excellent. I can't wait to discover the rest of Ms Richards books.
December 24, 2022
3.75 stars. The plot was unrealistic but entertaining, and the writing was very readable. I really liked Serena, who is really mature... except when she's pulling pranks. Ok I guess she doesn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. Grey on the other hand was a bit more prone to pity parties and needed a smack across the back of his head at times, but thankfully other characters called him out on it. Overall this was an enjoyable read.
July 14, 2023
I was recommended this as a story where "she gets kidnapped but isn't too mad about it", to which I said of course Let Me At It. This was one of those books that I was loving while reading it, but by the time I got to 300 out of the 400 pages I was getting a little exhausted. My dislike of long books that aren't high fantasy are well known though, and I will not go into it here. Suffice to say I liked this very much despite the lenth and the book hit every button I needed it to for a historical romance - grumpy, mean MMC, strong-willed and intelligent FMC, a bit of banter, a bit of clashing and a lot of sexy fun.
The premise is this side of ridiculous - the MMC Grey (for reasons that become known later) is hell-bent on destroying the FMC's father. He does this financially over the years, squeezing until the guy is sweating, but then decides to hurt him more by ruining the reputation of his daughter. So he marches into the house and walks away with Serena - who quickly discovers living with Grey is much more interesting and fun than living in the social cage that the Ton women are kept in. Their growing affection and attraction to one another is evident and there's plenty to like about the story as the writing is good, the plotting fun and the pacing mostly clippy. The spice is medium to high.
There's a heart-rending 3rd act breakup and some good grovel but more in the acts of service style of apologies than actual get-on-your-knees-and-beg-for-forgiveness that I prefer. That said, it was a good historical romantical time.
The premise is this side of ridiculous - the MMC Grey (for reasons that become known later) is hell-bent on destroying the FMC's father. He does this financially over the years, squeezing until the guy is sweating, but then decides to hurt him more by ruining the reputation of his daughter. So he marches into the house and walks away with Serena - who quickly discovers living with Grey is much more interesting and fun than living in the social cage that the Ton women are kept in. Their growing affection and attraction to one another is evident and there's plenty to like about the story as the writing is good, the plotting fun and the pacing mostly clippy. The spice is medium to high.
There's a heart-rending 3rd act breakup and some good grovel but more in the acts of service style of apologies than actual get-on-your-knees-and-beg-for-forgiveness that I prefer. That said, it was a good historical romantical time.
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