The Scoundrel's Daughter by Anne Gracie Published by Berkley on August 24, 2021
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Narrator: Christine Rendel
Length: 14 Hours and 28 Mins
Pages: 336
Format: Audiobook
Source: AnyPlay
ISBN: 0593200543
When Lady Charlton is forced into becoming London's most reluctant matchmaker, sparks fly and romance ensues, from the national bestselling author of Marry in Scarlet.
Alice, Lady Charlton, is finally free of her dominating husband, but on the verge of her new life, she is trapped when a blackmailer threatens to publish letters that could ruin her. To protect the secrets of her past Alice must find a lord for his daughter, Lucy, to marry.
Alice reluctantly agrees to find the girl a noble husband but when Lucy arrives, she's difficult and uncooperative and has no interest in her father's scheme. A lord, she says, will only look down his nose at her—and she's having none of that!
Desperate to retrieve the letters, Alice enlists the aid of her handsome young nephew, Gerald, who in turn seeks the help of his former commanding officer, James, Lord Tarrant. James is soon beguiled by the marriage-averse widow and sets out to change her mind. And each time they meet, Gerald and Lucy strike sparks off each other.
To find happiness, Alice and Lucy will have to be brave and trust in each other and the men who are attempting to win their hearts.
The Scoundrel’s Heart is a story that I have been highly intrigued by and it was on the top of my list of the top releases that came out this past week that I wanted to get to but it was a book that took me a bit longer to get through. I will admit that the beginning does start slow, maybe if it hadn’t been an audiobook it might have gone by faster, but I really wanted to listen to this one since it was available in the AnyPlay subscription that I have. I have always been impressed by Anne Gracie, and she writes such authentic regency tales, and you can really tell that she does her research and I respect that especially in the face of the evolvement of historical romance currently.
The Scoundrel’s Heart features two main couples:
- Alice (Lady Charleton)-a widow, destitute, blackmailed and James, Lord Tarrant-military officer retired, single father of three daughters and widower -Mature Pairing
- Lucy and Gerald-Younger Pairing -Lucy a scoundrel’s daughter, a goose girl, but trained in the arts of a lady. Gerald-Young lord and nephew to Alice, Lady Charleton
The Scoundrel’s Heart begins with Alice. She is a widow and is in her late thirties. She is confronted by a man who holds letters from her late husband to his mistress, scandalous ones that demean Alice in the worst of ways. He threatens her that if she won’t get his daughter a titled lord for a husband, he will send them to be printed and the whole Ton would know of the reality of her marriage and what her husband thought of her. So Alice agrees, knowing she has no other choice. When she meets Lucy, she sees a girl that is completely withdrawn, bitter and angry. But soon Alice is able with her warm demeanor and kind heart, to bring Lucy out of her shell and they make a pact and build a friendship. As Alice shows Lucy around to the Ton, she knows that Lucy doesn’t want a titled lord but neither of them have a choice right now of their circumstances. Lucy and the nephew of Alice, Gerald, have some entangled bantering. On the surface they don’t care for each other, but underneath their bantering is a passion they are holding back from each other. Gerald is aware he will have to be crafty and cunning to capture Lucy’s heart. He is determined to turn that animosity into love. But while Lucy and Gerald are working through their issues, so are Alice and James. James is a single father now, having lost his wife while he was away at war. And now he is claiming his children and he is drawn to Alice. But to dig into her secrets, he will have to show he is trustworthy and that he wants her more than just to be his mistress….that he wants to show her passion yes but also what love between a man and a woman can truly become.
The Scoundrel’s Heart is a story that features two couples and at first, I was reluctant and I almost walked away from the book because I really have to know this beforehand and to just walk blindly in the book (why oh why I didn’t read reviews for it before reading/listening I have no clue) but I chugged through it and then it CLICKED. After that, I was so addicted to this book and I honestly couldn’t put it down. I had so much fun with this one and seeing these two couples find their way together. It definitely starts with a rocky beginning for them, but through some alliances that are made, and some fun antics with three little girls and an obsession over cats….these alliances turn into affairs of the heart. I was really drawn into the humor and sweet tones of this book. Now, this is what I love my regency to be. I wanted to take a break from historical’s for a bit, but nope now I have a more burning need to read more of the genre and I thank Anne Gracie for firing me up in her novel. This was exactly what I needed. Her writing can sometimes be a hit or miss for me, however, this book turned out to be a beautiful yet charming read.
I will admit that I was supremely nervous at first with the two couples, but I found that it was really well balanced throughout the story. I was so intrigued in seeing how it would play out, especially the blackmail portion of the plot and it does turn out so well. What I really love about Anne Gracie’s style of writing, is that it may start out slow and rocky but once it builds momentum, then you are hooked into it and you don’t want to let go of the story. If it hadn’t been for the slow beginning, then I would have rating this a five blossom rating.
Overall I found The Scoundrel’s Daughter to be stunning, authentically historic, realistically portrayed in the culture f the Regency era, and a romance that fit my mood in such a perfect way. It’s a story that will captivate the hearts of its reader with each page and touch the soul with its strength and sweetness.
Interesting that there are two couples! I don’t know that I’ve come across that before. Sounds like this was a wonderful story – even with the slow start.