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Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: The Fourth Rule of Scoundrels
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: The Fourth Rule of Scoundrels
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: The Fourth Rule of Scoundrels
Audiobook11 hours

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: The Fourth Rule of Scoundrels

Written by Sarah MacLean

Narrated by Justine Eyre

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

RITA® Award-winning author Sarah MacLean reveals the identity of The Fallen Angel's final scoundrel in the spectacular conclusion to her New York Times bestselling Rules of Scoundrels series . . .

By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking—in London's darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city's most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered . . . until now.

Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness and sin. He knows she is more than she seems, and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana's secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear . . . including her heart.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateNov 25, 2014
ISBN9780062333742
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: The Fourth Rule of Scoundrels
Author

Sarah MacLean

A life-long romance reader, Sarah MacLean wrote her first romance novel on a dare, and never looked back. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romances translated into more than twenty languages, a romance columnist, and the co-host of the weekly romance novel podcast, Fated Mates. A graduate of Smith College and Harvard University, she lives in New York City.

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Reviews for Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover

Rating: 4.014545381818182 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    *sigh* I am bummed writing this review. I've loved pretty much every story from S.M. however I can't get emotionally invested in this one. I'm 3/4 through so maybe I will alter my overall opinion. But Duncan West has a backstory with so much potential to make you care about him, but not enough time is spent on it. Georgiana is, at her best, bland, and at her worst, unlikable and shallow. Her whole goal is ridiculous, because achieving it will obviously make no logical difference (she needs a weakly titled viscount to marry because Georgiana being a viscountess will save her daughters future? But yet she is from a family in the highest echelon of society, who are fully supportive and stand by her, but with her brother a Duke and providing a huge dowry how will a marriage gain her societal approval if those other factors haven't?) And this is supposed to be a romance. West has no title but is one of the richest, most powerful men in the country who wants her and she wants him...what is the problem here? It feels like there's no real obstacle but so much repetition about why Georgiana has to marry and why this person is suitable and this other is not. For a romance there is no relationship building. There's an attraction, and a pretty superficial one at that. Sadly it wasn't worth reaching my Scribd limit and being left with no audiobooks for the next 3 weeks. Sorry Sarah Maclean, you are still one of my faves!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A wonderful conclusion to this series. I enjoyed the "non-traditional" story line and aspects such as Duncan's townhouse. The banter between Duncan and Georgiana was well done and several times I laughed out loud. If I were to have a complaint, it would be the overuse of the words "long" "lovely" and "lush" when the author describes kisses. I could almost make a drinking game out of it. Especially in the third book. Overall this was a very good read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lady Georgiana, daughter of a duke and sister to the Duke of Leighton, was ruined at the age of 16. Having spent several years in hiding with her daughter, Georgiana is now ready to return to Society with the goal of marrying a titled man to secure her daughter's future.Ready and willing to help Georgiana accomplish her goal is Duncan West, a self-made London news magnate. Though he is very much attracted to Georgiana, he realizes he would not be a good match for the lady as he is not titled and has a dark secret past that can bring further ruin to the lady and her daughter. What Duncan doesn't realize is that Georgina has a secret of her own, one that could potentially threaten him and his secret.You can always judge a good book by it's lead characters and I absolutely loved both the leads. Duncan was very sweet and understanding. He treated Georgiana with respect even when the rest of society thumbed their noses at her. All he wanted to do was help her and her daughter, even when Georgiana kept resisting his offers. Georgiana is very strong and resilient, secretly making herself into the queen of London. The two work together really well and the chemistry is sizzling.There's not much I didn't like about this book, but I certainly thought Duncan did not have enough interaction with Caroline. He was going to be the girl's step-father and I'm not sure what their connection is like. There were also a few unbelievable moments, but this did not ruin the well-written story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love Georgiana character as Chase and Anna. Love it when a woman reigns as "King," or rather Queen of London's most infamous underworld like The Fallen Angel. Not very often we'd see a female protagonist such as this. Good one!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent book. Fun twist to end the series.Enjoyed Thoroughly. Sad to see series end
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4th book in the series. Finally finishing up with the owners of the Fallen Angel and their mysterious founder.. Chase.
    Still liked the book, but I wished she wasn't so damn stubborn throughout the book and maybe entwined a bit more of the other characters from the previous books, but still a great read and closer to this series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Never Judge A Lady Be Her Cover, is Chase's story, the one I have definitely been waiting on since this series first started. I have adored Sarah Maclean since her first book came out, which wasn't that long ago. And to this day I still have sweet memories of reading Nine Rules. In the previous three books of the serious, we have had some powerful romances done, but you see Chase and her strength, and I totally think that this last and final installment is the best book of the series. I don't even know why I enjoyed this one more than the others (and I enjoyed those quite a bit), but there was such a connection between Georgiana and Duncan, a connection that has always been there, but never acted upon until now.The main focus of the story, is on Lady Georgiana, also known as owner and founder of London's famous gaming hell. Georgiana was once as a young girl, fell in love, abandoned, found herself pregnant and forced out by her family. She decided to make a name for herself, and get her revenge on those that scorn her, but knowing their secrets. Georgiana has a daughter, Caroline, who is a precocious nine year old, charming and sweet and doesn't let rumors get her down. Georgiana is determined to marry a man that is titled and give her daughter a future that they won't have without the protection of it. After seeing her partners and closest friends find love with their wives, she knows that her daughter comes first, and that she may never find love again. But then enters the hero of the story, Duncan, who is just as determined to uncover all of her secrets, including the real identity of Chase and setting Georgiana free from his "clutches".The set up of the story is quite humorous, and trust me when I tell you that the moment you start reading you will find it near impossible to set this one down. It will worm its way slowly into your heart and refuse to let go until you finish it. I have to say that Sarah Maclean has outdone herself once again!!! But I am far from surprised, only delighted that every time she writes she only gets better and wins my heart every time! Duncan is one powerful male....I just get tingles thinking about his character. He has his own power just as Georgiana does. He owns and runs a newspaper with all the latest gossip, that anyone that is anyone in London reads and devours...he has the power to redeem or ruin. He is intrigued with Georgiana, and is fascinated by her, and can't deny needing her. At first he just wants to bed her, because she is lovely and spirited, but there is so much more to her and he wants to uncover every layer one inch at a time. I loved seeing his slow pursuit of her, and seeing how sparks ignite and the connection they have starts to build. The heroine....well I just adored her character. She is strong and has a tough cover, but Duncan gets beneath her skin. It was quite a hoot to see these two get along and work through the rough spots and secrets that they keep from each other.A charming romance with a plot that will leaving you breathless at the end. A story that is original, lively and amusing with each page turn. Buckle your seats, boys and girls, because this story will give you the most delicious ride....with depth and pleasure. INCOMPARABLE!!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found this book a bit of a slog. While the plot was a clever idea it kinda jarred for me. I thought it introduced a lot of plot holes, especially when you look at the series as a whole. Overall this series was a disappointment to me. Each book was too long and too repetitive.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While I didn't find it to be quite the triumph of some of the other Scoundrel books, it was only off by a teeny hair and the pairing of Chase with West is just brilliant. A very satisfying end to the series!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    2nd read- I originally gave this 4 stars, but on reread I was often annoyed with the characters being a bit daft. I'm never really a fan of that quality, but especially not here when they're both touted as being so exceptionally smart. They both have reasons for thinking they can't just choose love, but they're brought up so many times, even when they only vaguely apply, that I just feel tired of that reasoning after a while. It's not a bad story, just not especially great either.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'd been looking forward to this conclusion to the Rules of Scoundrels series, especially since the author shifted the rules a bit and made this scoundrel a lady. Georgiana, who has not one but two alternate identities, makes for an interesting character and she is evenly matched with a newspaper magnate seeking to uncover her secrets. Overall, this made for a fun, quick read, and it was exactly what I needed to read this week.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this conclusion to the series the most of all the books in it, I think. Super quick reads, all of them, and likable, witty characters. I don't love them quite as much as Gail Carriger's more progressive/modern-ish Parasol Protectorate books, but they're fun.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The final book in the series did not move me the same way the others did, but I still enjoyed the story. I do think a lot of complicated trouble could have been spared had people been honest or asked the opinion of the right person. Glad to see that everyone got their HEA.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    3.5 stars

    I liked it, I didn't like it. I don't know you all, a lot of repetitiveness, melodramatic moments, and the big identity reveal didn't happen until the ending of the book.

    Loved the characters just no so much the story they were in.

    I really hope the heroines in the next series are Sophie (well I can see she is and looking forward to her book), Cynthia, and Caroline.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this one. Great characters and a fun story. I was a little bugged by the ridiculousness of having a child outside of marriage and still having a way to reenter society, but otherwise I was engrossed and amused. A solid 3.5.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover
    4 Stars

    Masquerading as Chase, the mysterious owner of a notorious gaming hell, Lady Georgiana Pearson enacts vengeance on a society that shunned her by exposing their most decadent sins and vices. But now the ton has turned its attentions to her daughter, and Georgiana realizes that she must marry to protect her child. Intrigued by the beautiful yet unattainable Georgiana, Duncan West, owner of the most read scandal sheets in London, vows to uncover her secrets even as he risks his heart in the process.

    While rather far-fetched and unrealistic, this is, nevertheless, a satisfying conclusion to the series.

    Let's begin with the problems. First, there is absolutely no way that a woman with Georgiana's past would EVER be accepted back into the ton no matter how flattering the newspaper accounts of her return. Second, it is also highly unlikely that three titled aristocrats, no matter how down on their luck, would enter into a business enterprise with a woman who conceals her identity.

    However, if one is able to suspend their disbelief to accept these premises, Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover is a rather engaging romance. Georgiana and Duncan are both appealing characters although Duncan is a bit too beta for my taste and Georgiana a bit too self-sacrificing - whatever happened to the strong, confident and manipulative Chase?

    Even though the book contains the despised keeping secrets trope, it actually works here for some reason. Perhaps it is due to the fact that both Duncan and Georgiana are aware that the other is hiding something, and this prevents the angst from going too far.

    The real highlight of the book is the cameo appearances by the other couples from the series. Bourne and Penelope, Cross and Pippa, Temple and Mara - all get to put in their two cents about Duncan and Georgiana's relationship and perhaps even get a little payback after her interference in their romances.

    In sum, although not the best installment in the series (that goes to One Good Earl Deserves a Lover), this book is entertaining overall and the ending is sweet and satisfying. Looking forward to continuing with MacLean's next series Scandals & Scoundrels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I guess it's true what they say. The author saved the best story for last, and gave us all a shock with this one.

    I liked everything about the plot, which had plenty of twists and turns, and the characterization of both, hero and the heroine.

    If you're in a mood for entertaining and complex characters, I recommend this one whole heartedly.

    Melanie for b2b

    Complimentary copy provided by the publisher
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah Maclean is a 2014 Avon publication. I’ve only recently discovered this author, and while I enjoyed the first book in the Scandal & Scoundrels series well enough, it was this series I was the most curious about. First of all, I was relieved to find the book is not about a young girl trying to fight against the rules of society or the TON, or peerage trying to avoid marriage. Instead, we have Georgiana, who makes a mistake at sixteen, becomes an unwed mother, and is unceremoniously cast out of society despite her father’s title. Now, ten years later, a cartoon appearing in a scandal sheet has forced her to attempt to merge herself back into society to find a titled husband for the sake of her daughter. Enter Duncan West, the owner of the scandal sheet that forced Georgiana’s hand. Mortified that the cartoon was printed, Duncan is determined to right that wrong via his vast newspaper empire. However, he is stunned to discover that Georgiana is living a double life inside the notorious gambling club “Fallen Angels”.Believing her to be under the thumb of the infamous “Chase”, Duncan finds himself frustrated in the extreme, his hands tied due to his own dark secrets, so, he can only help her reenter society, find a suitable match, all while the two fall hopelessly, but helplessly in love, but with no possibility of a future together. Naturally, the reader knows that Georgiana is not living a double life, she is living a triple life, which was funny to an extent, but turns serious with each passing day as Duncan becomes more concerned for Georgiana’s welfare and future. I loved the political intrigue in this story, and the secrets are pretty heavy, leaning toward the dark side, as did a few other situations, which is far more realistic to the times, and so more points are rewarded for daring to address some uncomfortable subject matter. Georgiana and all her alter egos are smart, strong, but also have vulnerabilities, with Georgiana having the most to gain or lose, although there were some tense moments in the last few chapters, concerning her other endeavors. I could understand her actions sometimes, in others, not so much, but overall, she was pretty darned impressive. Caroline is a young woman mature beyond her years, which is probably a bit of a stretch, but was also refreshing. I enjoyed the other minor characters too, all of whom played key roles in the way things eventually turned out. The villain is written very well, is truly despicable, vile, and of course quite dangerous to a great many people. Sometimes, the villain is not fleshed out enough, but in this case we certainly do get a nice peek into his black soul and that makes the victory that much sweeter. I saved Duncan for last, because he stole my heart. Almost from the beginning, even before I was sure his motives were pure, I thought he was dreamy and honorable, despite hints to the contrary and a few moments of real doubt that cropped up later in the story. Sometimes, a hero I don't quite trust is a little fun, because it adds to the suspense. Duncan has a sad aura around him, but is a little darker in nature than is the norm for regency historicals, but not too dark. I liked him immensely and think he is an awesome hero. Although there were a few times when the switching back and forth between alter egos got just a little a tiresome, I liked the way this story was constructed, it flows evenly and is steadily paced, with the right amount of chemistry and sexual tension, and a nice build up of suspense, behind an interesting storyline. I enjoyed this one far more that the first book I read by this author, and am now able to see why this author and her books are so popular. Overall, this one gets 4 stars
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4 stars but only because I loved the first half or so of the book and because I just can't bring myself to click the three stars. I was gripped from the first page watching poor Georgiana be an utter idiot and ruin her life... all for the sake of feeling she was cared for by someone since her world/family didn't provide that. I get that. I believed that. I'm also making allowances for my high expectations of this book and giving a higher rating because MacLean's writing is generally great. She gets bogged down belaboring scenes from time to time, but I give her a pass on that because I can feel what her characters feel. The end of the book was a huge let down.

    Spoilers.




    I believed that her brother might bankroll the start of the gaming hell so she'd have something to do and a place where she could earn a living (putting it mildly) and get her revenge on the people who ostracized her. I loved the cleverness that was making the membership fee the divulging of your deepest darkest secrets. I loved seeing her interact with Bourne and Temple and Cross and finding out that Bourne had looked at her as a woman once upon a time. I even loved the twist that she was Anna so she could appear in public and keep tabs on her business. But I didn't love the entire premise of her coming back into society so that she could give her daughter a respectable life. She, of all people, should know that there's really not much difference in having people behave badly to her face versus be civil and restrainedly polite while talking badly about her behind her back. I complete understand why she'd want to find a way to make it different for her daughter, but entrance into society with or without a husband and with or without a title won't make a difference. Also, I cringed almost every time the daughter was in a scene. Yes, she was adorable, and it would be awesome if her personality and vocalization thereof could remotely be possible. But she's 9. And I know she might have had to mature faster because of her circumstances, but 9 year olds are nowhere near as mature as the author made her. 12, maybe. But 9 is still teacup sized.

    I loved watching Duncan fall for Georgiana, but I didn't buy that she would be so stupid as to go straight to her club from a ball. So his finding out who she is after she has been SOOOOO careful after all of these years was really contrived for me. That said, their chemistry was awesome. You could feel the electricity coming off the book when they interacted. I loved watching them go at each other when they were each standing in a position of strength... which is really who those characters are. And I would gladly pay for another book doing this over where they both stayed more or less "true" to what I see as their real characters. I could not stand when they dealt with each other as weak victims with secrets so terrible it would destroy them and they were terrified and certain they'd come to life. I don't think Duncan would be the newspaper mogul he was if he was really a spineless weenie in the way he seemed with Tremley. I think Duncan would have sent well-paid untraceable assassins to Tremley to kill him and make it look like a political thing. I think Georgiana would have never tried to go back to society if she was using her "chase" brain. Maybe it would have worked better to have made the story say 8 or more years later when the daughter needs to come out and get a husband. That would have been far more believable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover is nice conclusion to a great series and a must read for fans of The Rules of Scoundrels series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Listened for Fun (Audible)Overall Rating: 4.25Story Rating: 4.00Character Rating: 4.50Audio Rating: 4.50First Thought when Finished: Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean was an excellent end to this series. Pippa/Cross is still my favorite couple in the series but I loved Chase/Duncan's story. It was true to her character and emotionally fulfilling! Overall this will go down as a favorite series and I look forward to the spin-off!Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Justine Eyre / Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins I love Justine Eyre's narration of this series. It has been an awesome ride and I am sad to see it end!Part of the Read It, Rate It, File It, Done Reviews
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fantastic conclusion to the series. Lady Georgiana has three identities: she is Georgiana, disgraced sister of a duke, she is Chase, founder of The Fallen Angel gaming club, and she is Anna, the head prostitute of the club and believed to be Chase's mistress. No one except her co-owners knows that Chase is actually a woman. She has been content to live her life as it is until now. But a recent cartoon in a scandal sheet has included her nine year old daughter and Georgiana realizes that if she wants Caroline to have a chance at a respectable future she needs to marry a man with a title.Duncan West is a newspaperman who has made a success of his life out of nothing. As the owner of five papers he wields quite a lot of power himself. He feels badly that it was one of his papers that published the cartoon as he doesn't believe is going after children. He meets Georgiana at a ball, and apologizes to her. He is intrigued by the strength of her determination to do whatever she must to make her daughter's life better. He is also attracted to her, but knows that he doesn't have what she needs - or does he? When he accidentally discovers her connection to Anna, he realizes that they can help each other. He offers to use his papers to make her acceptable to society, if she will use her connection to Chase to get him some information he needs on the man who is blackmailing him.It was interesting to see the relationship that developed between Georgiana and Duncan. Both are using each other to get what they want, but something more begins to grow between them. Unfortunately, neither can see a way to make it happen. Georgiana needs the respectability of the title, something that Duncan doesn't have. Duncan would love to make her his, but he has a secret in his past that ensures that he will never be able to do so. It doesn't stop Duncan from being insanely jealous of the relationship between Chase and Georgiana. She can't tell him the truth because she is unable to trust that he would keep her secret.There were times that I really wanted to smack her and tell her to trust him, that he wouldn't betray her. I could also understand why she wanted the title, but if she had just trusted him she would see that he could give her more than the title. Meanwhile, for such a smart man, Duncan could be pretty oblivious. With as well as he was getting to know her, he really should have been able to see the truth. I really ached for the two of them because the love that grew between them was so strong, but neither could see a way to make it possible to be together.The story of the secrets that brought them together was really good. Duncan desperately needed that information about Tremley, not just to save himself, but because of what that information was. Tremley was definitely a nasty piece of work, and I enjoyed seeing how the information was acquired, and the determination Georgiana had to protect the source. Unfortunately, Duncan's blindness about Chase's identity made it possible for Tremley to prey upon Duncan's own fears. The resolution of the problem was pretty intense and I wasn't sure how they were going to pull it off. Everything was very complicated.I really enjoyed seeing the men from the previous books and how well they all worked together. It was fun to see that Georgiana was now on the receiving end of their help when it came to her relationship with Duncan. The scene with her and their wives was pretty funny. I also loved Georgiana's daughter Caroline, and her way of looking at the world. I especially liked her words to her mother at the end, as she pointed out the truth about what she wanted for herself. I liked the epilogue and seeing where they were a year later.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Read from December 20 to 29, 2014Sometimes when you're really looking forward to a book, it just can't live up to your own expectations. I was frustrated by the characters in this one. Sometimes I think a story would be more interesting if characters told the truth WAY sooner than the last 20 pages. There were so many secrets here...maybe too many.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    There was so much lead up to this book that it ended up being disappointing - not bad, just not meeting all the expectations. I was completely surprised in the last book when Chase was revealed to be a woman and was very excited to see how the story would unfold. I was also excited when I realized this would be about Lady Georgiana - she was a great character in early books. However, those two items together led to my first issue with the book. So I'm to believe that Lady Georgiana is able to build a gentleman's club on her own with just her brother's money? She's portrayed in the book as the leader and mastermind. Why would the other Scoundrels work with her and how would she even have the knowledge to do this? She hadn't been to London and had spent most of her life in the country. And why would she want to? If she desires freedom, it seems like there are many other businesses she could start that she would have knowledge of and that would allow her to spend more time with her daughter.Once I got past that first issue (by basically just accepting it regardless of the implausibility), I had a hard time with the fact that she left her daughter with her brother for most of the time. For someone who was so fiercely dedicated to her child (or just the idea of her child) in the St John's series, I find it very hard to believe that she lets others raise her for the last six years.Then, concerning her third identity, which is active on the floor of the Angel. OK, I believe no one noticed the similarity between Anna and Georgiana at the beginning. But once Duncan starts showing attention to both, no one figures it out? Even when they make a love match and he is still paying attention to Anna? Really, no one figures it out?I also had a big issue with Duncan as a hero. I love a hero who makes it on his own but he was blackmailed for years and printed false information for years in his paper as a result of blackmail. That seems very weak to me and not hero-like at all. I could accept for a smaller time period but 10 years? That's a total betrayal of his profession. A big issue for me.So, I liked this series and this was well written but there were just way too many plot lines that were unbelievable to me. I wish Georgiana had a better story. I think Chase's story could have been amazing but it didn't fit for me as Georgiana's story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    5 "Rulers of the Dark" Stars! Wow! What an incredibly witty, engaging, and well written historical romance! Having not previously read the prior books in this series, I was not sure what to expect, but my curiosity was piqued by the book blurb. The idea of a ruined woman being freed to become the ruler of the underworld in order to exact her revenge on the same people who had ruled her demise, seemed counter-intuitively clever. By being free to clandestinely gain access to their deepest, darkest, seediest secrets, the heroine, in turn, controlled the ton's ruin in the process. Sheer brilliance, and such a unique story line! Moreover, I love that Ms. MacLean challenges the typical convention of historical romances that generally render the heroine powerless and the hero almighty. By creating a heroine that wields power that men can only dream of, Ms. MacLean challenges the standard "damsel in distress" convention.Ruined at just sixteen, Georgiana's concept of love and faith in men would forever suffer from mistrust. Although she was born a daughter of a Duke and sister to one too, she abandoned all hope of ever overcoming her transgression, which yielded her greatest love ever--her daughter Caroline. Georgiana instead creates an alter-ego (Madam Anna) who is free to travel in society's most debauched circles gathering society's darkest secrets, purportedly on behalf of Chase, the creator of the Fallen Angel, London's most scandalous and popular gaming hall. One of the men who greatly aided Georgiana in her efforts was Duncan West, the owner of a number of newspapers, including one of London's most well read gossip rags. However, for 10 years Duncan traded secrets with her, on behalf of Chase, without even realizing that Anna was Georgiana. Then shortly upon her timed reentry into society, in the hopes of landing respectability for her daughter via a titled marriage, Duncan makes the connection. Duncan, however, knows only part of Georgiana's truth and has his own secrets. So instead of following his desires, desires which he soon finds are mutually shared, he alternatively endeavors to help Georgiana with her quest to land a titled husband in exchange for information from Chase. Duncan himself could never fulfill Georgiana's wishes as while he is financially loaded, he is untitled, and moreover suffers under the shackles of his own deep dark secrets. As their mutually beneficial relationship flourishes, however, so does their passion and feelings for one another. Soon Duncan is unable to restrain his jealousy of Chase who he believes has ruined Georgiana in his own way. He wants to save her from Chase, but little does he know that no one can be saved from themselves. Perhaps even more devastatingly, however, in a world where knowledge is the greatest power, neither Georgiana nor Duncan can afford to reveal their secrets to the other. Can a HEA ever be possible under these circumstances?Powerful, intriguing, passionate and addicting--there are no end of adjectives to describe this great read. Now I need to read the three prior books in The Rules of Scoundrels series!Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.