Spicy, male female, 3rd person dual point of view, historical romance. Slow burn with great chemistry between the leads and an engaging plot with mystery. This is the 3rd book in the Queens Deadly Damsels series but can be read alone. This was a fun perfect length read.

With each successive installment, I have enjoyed this series more and more. FMC Penny is my favorite lead so far. An excellent Victorian romcom with an upstairs/downstairs relationship, an odious brotherhood/fraternity up to dastardly deeds, and a group of women (and the occasional man) working as operatives of Queen Victoria intent on taking them down.

Relationships with obvious power imbalances are very difficult to get right, but the MCs, Liam, the Marquess of Stoneway and Peggy, a maid in his employ, do not fall into problematic patterns. She is too strong willed to defer to him for any reason other than the fact that she wants to, and he respects her too much to use his position to his advantage. This leads to what is probably my favorite aspect of the novel, their banter. The repartee is excellent and every riposte volleyed is both sharp and clever.

A fun, sexy historical romcom that should entertain any Bridgerton fan.

The Confessions of A Lady is packed with witty humor, smart unconventional characters,  steamy scenes and several people working hard to dismantle a very bad organization called the Devil's Sons.

Penny Smith is a maid working at Lord William ( Liam) Renquist' home. She is trying to find evidence against Lord Renquist for Constable Sweet so that her mother can be released from jail. While Penny secretly spies on Liam, she also begins to have feelings for him and he is in lust with her. But it seems that Penny is more preoccupied with helping catch the Devil's Sons, in order to save women from trafficking, serve the queen and set her mother free.
Will Penny catch Liam red handed and turn him in or will love conquer all?

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this action packed historical romance.

I really enjoyed this mystery romance with its enemies to lovers, class disparity, boss-employee, „Cinderella“, revenge and espionage tropes. The plot is very well written and packed with drama, intrigue, action, mystery, suspense, danger and steamy love scenes. Penny and Liam are strong and unconventional characters who both have to face their demons and challenges. I loved their verbal sparring, the sizzling chemistry between them and their inner thoughts.
What I also liked was that the book shows the social hierarchy and the injustices of the time very well.
The book can be read as a standalone, but I recommend starting with the previous books of the series to understand the backstories and the supporting characters.

Former army officer William "Liam" Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway, returns to London after mourning the loss of his brothers to fulfil the Queen's secret mission to track down and destroy the human trafficking organisation "Devil's Sons". He is convinced that there is a beast inside him that makes him as evil and nefarious as his father and brothers.
Penny Smith grew up in prison before becoming a servant. To get her mother out of prison, she accepts an assignment from a constable friend and infiltrates Stoneway's household to gather evidence that he is a member of the Devil's Sons. Jenny blames Liam for the cruel fate of her family and wants revenge on him, but he is different from what she expected and she soon finds herself attracted to him. Liam is also drawn to his unconventional maid, but she is his servant and therefore off-limits to him...

Overall, a captivating romance full of intrigue, suspense and spice that I‘m happy to recommend!

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

Once again, I find myself reading a book partway into a series. Penny is a badass. She grew up scrappy and strong and is the perfect spy. The suspense is perfect - I got physically uncomfortable at parts waiting to see what would happen. And the slow burn was so good.

Highly recommend!

3 stars

Not really for me. Took a long time to get going. I found it incredulous that Queen Victoria is some sort of spymaster general. The heroine had a chip on her shoulder about being unable to read. It was fairly obvious her friend the constable was a wrong un and the hero was too perfect. The sex scenes started half way though the book and were well written though I personally get a bit jaded with lots of oral sex. I jumped into this series at book three in part to try this, to me new author, but I won't be continuing.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions written are completely honest and my own.

I've never been a huge fan of historical romances as I found they tend to be very one dimensional.

This is not the case in The Confessions of a Lady. Here we have not a damsel, but a heroine with a mission.

I did not know there were 2 prior books in the series and only found out by looking up Darcy McGuire to get the names of her books to read. This book very much stands on its own.

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in this series and my favourite so far. We follow Penny in this one, a maid who is tasked with spying on her employer. But, as with all best laid plans, this one doesn’t quite go to plan.

She’s trying to find secrets to feed to her friendly policeman in return for the reward money that will change her life for the better. Along the way, we meet some of the Deadly Damsels from the previous books who try to help but Penny is determined to do this for herself. As you can imagine, things turn ugly.

Well written and nowhere near as much sex education as the previous books, this one had my attention all the way through. After reading this one, I’ll pick up the next if the series continues.

I love a historical romance so this was the perfect read for me, it felt like a great blend of different elements whilst also keeping it exciting and romantic throughout.

I love a historical that is all about the aristocracy. I also love a woman undercover who is too smart for her own good.
It took a bit to connect to the story but I really loved the heroine.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the kickass maid heroine and her mission. I’m also happy to see class difference that’s a bit more grounded in reality and the problems that the heroine would have faced. Her spying mission and skills helps to even out their power imbalance.

Interesting premise: Penny is working for a constable she knew from prison to help gather evidence of human trafficking in the home of William, the Marquess of Renquist, who inherited his title upon the death of his older brother. Although illiterate, Penny can identify the seal of the traffickers, The Devil’s Sons, and is searching for documents bearing this said seal.

When she realises that the Marquess is working as an undercover agent for Queen Victoria on the same matter, they join forces and work together to bring the perpetrators to justice. It was a fun, easy read that kept me engaged.

There are previous books in this series, which I had not read before, but I was able to follow along quite well. I received an ARC from the publishers and NetGalley and submit my honest review voluntarily.

By the end I told myself to just think of this as a fairy tale and don't ask too many questions. Penny grew up in prison from babyhood due to the vagrancy laws Liam's father and now Liam voted for. With the help of a friendly police officer, she eventually left prison to become a maid. Now working in Liam's household, she's hoping to find proof he is part of the Devil's Sons to collect a reward and have her mother released from prison. Liam is secretly working for the Queen to infiltrate the kidnapping and sex trade organization to decimate it from the inside to atone for his father and brother's involvement. Illiterate Penny has an exceptional vocabulary and is incredibly well spoken. This is where the fairy tale aspect came in. There is a lot of talk of equality and autonomy for someone born and raised in the lowest of circumstance for the time. Liam falls hard for his maid and does all that he can to make her life easier which also benefits the other servants. He and the characters from the previous books are incredibly egalitarian for being part of the aristocracy. There was no indication how Penny becoming a Marchioness in the household she worked as the lowliest maid was resolved with the staff or Society. Again fairy tale. I enjoy the mystery and spying and am looking forward to the next book for the continuation of the destruction of the Devil's Sons.

This book was such a fun quick read, and a great palate cleanser.

We follow Penny, a maid on a mission to gather information about a sinister brotherhood the Devil's Sons. ; and Liam (Lord William Renquist) the Marquess of Stoneway and who is also a secret spy to Queen Victoria. Penny of course has no clue that Liam is working for the Queen and is determined to find evidence to prove his guilt and connection to the Devil’s sons.

I actually really enjoyed this book, I think it was just what I needed - a fun, quick read with a mystery element that was interesting albeit a little predictable. I enjoyed the cameos of the characters from the previous books in the series, but I definitely think the book could easily be read as a standalone too!

The book definitely has insta-lust for want of a better way to describe it but I feel that Penny’s internal conflict about her attraction to Liam made things a little more believable.

Overall a short and sweet read that I’d be happy to recommend to readers of the genre!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Confessions of a Lady

Rating 4.5/5 | Spice 4/5

I adored this book! I have not read many historical romances before this book but now I must read some more. I was also a new reader of this author and while this was a third book in a series, it most definitely can be read as a standalone. I will be checking out the two previous books!

The book contains an investigation done by a maid who quickly falls in love with the marquess she investigates and works for. The story is very Cinderella-like but still unique enough to not overshadow the plot of the book. The only ”problem” I had with the book is the timeframe during which Penny and Liam fall in love, that could maybe be rectified with more time jumps but considering the whole story needs to fit one book, I think the story is very enjoyable regardless. I would very much recommend this book to anyone who likes Bridgerton-like romance with a hint of Nancy Drew.

3.5/5 stars! 🌟

This is the first book I’ve read by Darcy McGuire, and I enjoyed it! It’s a really unique and gritty depiction of what life for maids was more realistically like, with Penny’s (the FMC) main motivation to earn enough money for her mother to be released from debtor’s prison. It also alluded to how the peerage would take advantage of their economic power over common fold in really dark ways (the main big bad the characters are working against is a human trafficking ring). All this to say, not topics I would usually see in a book with this cover, but not unwelcome!

Now for the romance: it read with the heat of a mafia novel for the first 40% which i loved!! It kinda turned into unsubstantiated insta-love at the end, which is not my fave….. there was miscommunication but not so much if it that i was annoyed.

TLDR; I liked the idea of it and found it super unpredictable (in a good way) and engaging, but the romance didn’t stick out to me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a cute historical romance. It was cheesy in a comforting way. I think it would appeal to people who liked Bridgeton. I liked Penny's emphasis on maintaining her independence. The author did a good job of writing modern values such as feminism into a historical story in a way that felt natural.

Liam was convinced that he was evil despite not doing anything particularly bad. Some people might find this irritating but I thought it was quite funny.

I think it a lot of the writing needed to be cut. The same plot points were repeated over and over. The main one being that Penny feels confused that Liam is supposed to be a member of an evil society but still treats her kindly. This is an issue with the editing. However, it didn't ruin the reading experience because it was such a quick and easy read.

The romance didn’t leave me feeling particularly attached to the characters but I didn’t dislike them either.

I enjoyed it so it gets three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was my first Darcy McGuire book and I absolutely loved it! I always love a good historical romance and this did not disappoint. The writing style is phenomenal and I honestly did not see the twist coming at the end. I will be adding her other book to my TBR list and can’t wait to see what she writes next.

The Confessions of a Lady was a great read. it is also a great addition to the series. Could not finish it fast enough! :) Free ARC for review.

As a housemaid, spy Penny Smith has access to her employer’s home that will enable her to learn secrets better than most. Penny’s mother has been imprisoned and if she is successful in helping the Prime Minister bring down the evil group known as the Devil’s Sons. A group that has ties to the nobility and the Prime Minister believes that William Renquist, the Marquess of Stoneway is a member. Penny is placed in his home to find evidence of his participation, but the more she gets to know the marquess, the more she wonders if he is actually a member of the Devil’s Sons.

William “Liam” Renquist, the Marquess of Stoneway is not the degenerate that society believes him to be, he is actually a spy for Queen Victoria and is currently working to bring down the Devil’s Sons from within and in the process hopes to prove that he is an honorable man and has overcome the taint of his ancestors. He is making progress, but notices that his maid seems to keep turning up where she doesn’t belong. Once they realize they are on the same side, they will have to work together to bring down their shared enemy. As the attraction between them intensifies, it is clear that they belong together, but their class difference could make a HEA impossible.

This book was a bit more intense than the previous books, but sadly it lacked the chemistry and charm of those books. As much as I liked the idea of the story and enjoyed the intrigue, I was never sold on the romance between Penny and Liam, it just didn’t work for me. If you have been following the series, I was recommend reading this title, but it is not a book I would re-read. This is the third book in the series but could be read as a standalone title. Overall, I enjoyed parts of this book, but I didn’t like it as much as the previous titles in this series.

2.5 stars, rounded up

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *