First I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC of this book. While it took me forever to get to I am so happy I did.

The forbidden romance, the thrill of finding the Devil’s Sons bosses, the fun quippy wit between the main characters, this was a fantastic read! I found myself truly rooting for Penny, our maid. And loved seeing Lord William (Liam) come into his own. I highly recommend if you enjoy historical pieces.

📖 Genre: Historical Romance, Victorian Spy Thriller ⭐ Rating: 4/5

📚 Overview
The Confessions of a Lady is the third installment in Darcy McGuire's "Queen's Deadly Damsels" series. Set in Victorian England, the novel follows Penny Smith, an illiterate housemaid with a tumultuous past, who becomes an undercover agent for the Prime Minister. Tasked with infiltrating the household of Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway, suspected of involvement with the nefarious Devil's Sons, Penny navigates a world of espionage, danger, and unexpected romance.

🧐 What I Loved
✔ Unique Protagonist: Penny's background as a housemaid and her evolution into a spy offer a fresh perspective in the historical romance genre. Her resilience and resourcefulness make her a compelling character.

✔ Engaging Blend of Genres: The fusion of historical romance with spy thriller elements creates a dynamic and suspenseful narrative that keeps readers invested.

✔ Authentic Victorian Setting: McGuire's meticulous attention to historical detail immerses readers in the Victorian era, enhancing the story's authenticity.

🤔 What Could Be Better
🔹 Character Development: While Penny is well-developed, some secondary characters, including Lord Renquist, could benefit from deeper exploration to enrich the narrative.

🔹 Pacing Variations: Certain plot points progress rapidly, potentially leaving readers desiring more gradual development in the romance and espionage elements.

✨ Final Thoughts
The Confessions of a Lady is a captivating addition to the "Queen's Deadly Damsels" series, offering a unique blend of romance and espionage set against a richly depicted Victorian backdrop. Penny's journey from a humble maid to a daring spy is both inspiring and entertaining, making this novel a worthwhile read for fans of historical romance with a twist.

📌 Would I recommend it? Yes, especially for readers who enjoy historical romance intertwined with elements of intrigue and adventure.

What I really liked about this book was that I got exactly what I was expecting. I was expecting romance, spice, intrigue and mystery, and that's what I got. What really put the icing on the cake was the discussion/ fears and angst associated with marrying someone outside of your class. Sometimes these types of books make this trope feel just a little too easy but not this book and I loved it. I also really enjoyed the friendship and found family aspects. Realising that you don't have to do things alone and that you can ask for help is a fabulous life lesson for us all. I look forward to continuing to read this series and find out who is behind the devil's sons.

Big thanks to Netgalley and @authordarcymcguire for a copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC

The Confessions of a Lady is the third book in this series and they continue to entertain and impress. What I love about this novel is our FMC. She's a maid who falls for the marquess which she works for. Everyone knows the aristocraty looks down at class difference marriages theresfore it made it more intriguing and forbidden. I also liked reading about a heroine that wasn't born into status and money. The romance was really good, though a bit quick. Otherwise I enjoyed the mystery aspect and how fast it read. An enjoyable historical romance

Fun upstairs downstairs historical romance. The author displayed a lot of the harsh realities of a women from a lower class at the time with Penny. Liam finally has his privilege checked as a marquee by her. Was kind of surprised Penny wasn’t given an accent considering she was supposed to be from st guile’s. The plot with the devils son moves forward from the previous book but this could be read as a standalone.

Rating: 3.8 /5
This book is perfect for those readers that, like me, love to read forbidden romance in historical settings. The class division is always a hit and this was no exception! Penny and Liam know that the stakes are high, but they can’t help themselves to feel that attraction as well as that if-possibility that is so reminiscent of old fairy tales. However, Penny is no Cinderella, nor she wants to be, and Liam is no Prince Charming which is what made their characters so interesting: they felt like real people trying to navigate as best as they could the constrictions of the 19th century society. Their dynamic was just delightful to read and the mystery plot just added even more engagement to it. I recommend reading the first two books to better understand the events & all the characters involved (I was confused at first because I started reading it as a standalone). Oh, and there is a little bit of spice there to heat things up.

The Confessions of a Lady is the third book in The Queen's Deadly Damsels series by Darcy McGuire. If you haven't read the first two books, you should still be able to pick this one up with no issue but I would still recommend picking the others up. Not only because this book has characters that crossover from those books but also because there is a plotline that winds through all of the books linking the series.

In this installment, our fmc is Penny Smith, a housemaid who easily blends into the background which is helpful in her current mission as she has been tasked to find evidence that the Marquess of Stoneway is a member of the Devil's Sons and she is determined to do whatever it takes to do it if it means freedom for her mother. The problem is that when she meets the Marquess, his actions don't match anything she's been told (or the evidence she has found) against him and she can't help but be drawn to him, no matter what.

Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission is to bring evil men to justice while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honor is stronger than tainted blood. The only problem is his maid. She challenges him at every turn and always seems to be in the right place at the wrong time - he knows she is up to something but he doesn't know what. And no matter her place in the world, he can't seem to help being attracted to her but he is determined to not be like his father so he tries to fight his feelings at every turn.

I enjoyed how McGuire built the relationship between these two characters and I thought it was well done in how the secondary characters were integrated into the story. It helped to tie Liam and Penny into the fold of the characters from the other books which was needed as the plotline around the Devil's Sons moved forward.

Overall, I enjoyed this installment and if you're looking for a new regency romance with a bit of mystery, I recommend you pick this one up. I'll definitely pick up more from McGuire in the future.

The writing was a little clunky, and the amount of repetition was tedious. The author did a lot of telling, but less showing. I did not find the story particularly engaging, and did not end up finishing.

This was such a fun read and the characters were lovely. Penny was such a resilient and thoughtful character that did her best to change her own biographical storyline while struggling with the sins of of her mother. A very fun read.

I'm not going to lie- the first chapter took me several tries to get through. Once I did though I enjoyed this romp quite a bit.. A quick read, not groundbreaking but worth taking a look at if the premise intrigues you or you've been reading the series.

I just couldn’t get into this story and stopped about 15% in. There was a lot of repetitive language that I just couldn’t get past and I won’t be reviewing this book on any other platforms.

I enjoyed the book very much. The attraction between Liam and Penny is explosive. Penny infiltrates the marquess' home looking for evidence of his participation with the Devil's Sons. Unbeknownst to Penny, he wants to infiltrate the Devil's Sons and destroy it from the inside. Liam wants to do it by himself, but he discovers there is nothing wrong with help from friends and the woman he loves.
An upstairs and downstairs romance mystery.
Explicit sex. Some violence.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.

3.5 stars rounded up and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC!

"I hate this man, he's evil, and vile. Oh he's hot? I forgive all his errors!"

The plot was interesting, a woman becomes a maid in some well-to-do lord's house to find out if he's a member of a sinister group selling women to the "flesh markets of Europe." Without fail, the man is not as she assumed and he's actually THE NICEST BOY EVER TO EVER NICE and how dare she think different.

Please, for the love of god, please use another word other than "cunny"

3.75 stars

I'm fairly new to reading historical fiction, but I did really enjoy this book! It was a bit too slow for my liking at certain parts of the story, then picked back up reeling me back in. I thought it was a well thought out story and I enjoyed that both MCs were on the same wavelength. Penny did not think she was better than Liam and Liam did not think he was better than Penny. Penny and Liam both were perfect for each other in so many ways. Will definitely look into reading others from this series!

What a delightful read. It hit all the good spots of historical period pieces but added a more modern element with the Queen's deadly damsels. Penny's character was fun to read and you found yourself rooting for her and her happy ending. I appreciated Liam's respect and caring for Penny's freedoms and decisions. This book also avoided many of the miscommunication tropes that can get overplayed with a storyline like the one in this book. While I have not read the first two in the series it did not seem fully necessary to follow the storyline.

McGuire's latest Damsel book is a quick and cute upstairs downstairs romance. I love how confident and determined the FMC even when faced with hardship throughout her life. The MMC was great as well. Determined to not be everything his family determined he should be. I laughed and cried while reading this. I also liked getting to see the MCs from the other two books and look forward to more. Even though this is a third book in a series it can easily be read as a standalone. If you like historical romance with a bit of mystery and intrigue, then this is the book for you!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really fun read! Can easily be read as a standalone.

I loved the quiet strength and smarts of the female lead - especially considering the time period the story is set in. You get a healthy dash of intrigue to go with the romance in this one.

It took me a while to finish this book, so I can’t say it was great, but I did finish it, so it was good. I didn’t really like the main character as I usually do, and the spicy scenes were a bit too much. Historical romance with spy elements seems to be popular lately and I love it.

I struggle with this series because I can never really remember the previous book's plot line. That doesn't matter enormously as these books can pretty easily be read separately (although there is a main plot running through them all) but it is always a jarring experience. Overall, this book was good. It wasn't great but it was fine.

I absolutely love Regency and historical romance, but this one just wasn’t for me. I was intrigued by the spy elements and the upstairs/downstairs dynamic, but the spicy scenes were a bit too much for my taste, and I didn’t really like the main character so I almost ended up DNFing. That said, if you enjoy steamy historical romance, this might be right up your alley.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!