Lady Avely's Guide to Lies and Charms by Rosalie Oaks Series: Matronly Misadventures #2
Published by Parkerville Press on 15 November 2024
Genres: Not An Alternate History Review
Format: eBook
Source: Author, Purchased
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A lady shouldn’t be seen to incite a duel… but Judith wasn’t even there when it happened.
Lady Avely doesn’t know what infuriates her more: that someone used her image to provoke the Duke of Sargen into killing a man, or that the duke actually believed it was her trysting in the maze that night.
Now she and the duke must concoct their own subterfuge to shake out the culprit. Otherwise, Dacian might be arrested for murder, or worse, the shadowy guardians of the Musing might inflict their own cruel punishment for the misuse of his Gift. Judith will need her most respectable mobcap, and unfortunately, the duke will need a false moustache.
With Judith’s ability to detect lies and Dacian’s now carefully contained power, they set out to uncover the truth - but their own hearts make them easy to manipulate. Facing a master of deception, as well as the duke’s renewed determination to win her, Judith will need a stiff drink of chocolate and the help of her cheerful, tiny vampiri companion before she can find her way out of the deadly tangle…
Can Judith and Dacian unmask the killer before more blood is shed? And how many different ways can one disguise a duke?
The Matronly Misadventures feature a mid-life heroine in a slow-burn, second-chance romance (with a duke who has waited long enough), set in a magical version of Regency England.
THE REVIEW
Although the book is entitled Lady Avely’s Guide to Lies and Charm’ I suspect I will always think of it as the that Poor Mr. Wooten story. Wooten, the Duke of Sargen’s tiny vampire companion, is now beset by two female vampires. Marigold (Judith’s vampire companion), and Yvette (possible friend, possible enemy – but someone who is definitely interested in becoming better acquainted with Marigold).
Wooten, a dandy to rival Beau Brummell as being the model British dandy: always bathed and shaved, always powdered and perfumed, always groomed and immaculately dressed in a dark-blue coat of plain style with an elaborately knotted cravat must now put up Marigold’s positive flaunting of her own nakedness everytime she must turn into a bat, or back into her human form. Wooten’s eventual victory in requiring a Marigold to wear a cloak while changing leads to some of the funniest scenes as Marigold is forced to fly while wearing it.
I do concur with the Author’s description of the book as being a slow-burn, second-chance romance. It is a slow burn but I enjoyed the opportunity to watch Judith’s developing awareness of her attraction for the Duke, and with the evolving relationship she has with her dead husband’s illegitimate son.
There is no doubt that I will be reading the book again, and have already pre-ordered Lady Avely’s Guide to Guile and Peril (Matronly Misadventures Book 3) Kindle Edition, due for release late 2025.