ARC Review: A Scandalous Bargain (The Pretenders #2) by Darcy Burke
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Series: The Pretenders #2
Author: Darcy Burke
Published November 10th 2020 by Darcy Burke Publishing
Goodreads Synopsis
From USA Today bestselling author Darcy Burke, your next Regency obsession: The Pretenders! Set in Burke’s popular world of The Untouchables, indulge in the saga of a trio of siblings who excel at being something they’re not. Can a dauntless Bow Street Runner, a devastated viscount, and a disillusioned Society miss unravel their secrets?
Tricked into marriage five years ago, Thomas Devereaux, Lord Rockbourne is suddenly a widower. Rumors abound that his wife’s death may not have been an accident and given the troubling secrets Thomas keeps buried, even he isn’t entirely sure. But when a woman sees what happened, he agrees to accept her help to disguise the facts in exchange for not divulging her suspicious behavior. Their arrangement grows more complicated under the force of a scorching mutual attraction.
Abandoned by her father—a duke—after the death of her mother—his beloved mistress—Beatrix Linley has fought to become a daughter he could be proud of, that he would regret leaving. She becomes the toast of the Season until her penchant for pilfering pretty things threatens to expose the illicit past she needs desperately to remain hidden. Soon the scandal and darkness both Beatrix and Thomas fear comes to light, compelling them to finally face their demons—and potentially driving them apart forever.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
After her mother died, Beatrix Linley was abandoned by her father to a school, and ignored after more. As the illegitimate daughter of a duke, she had been raised in some form of comfort, but at school, was ridiculed for her birth, and only had her friend, Selina Blackwell, to support her. Since then, they have made their way through life, stealing to survive and gain enough in order for Beatrix to have a season as Miss Whitford, the younger sister of the widowed Lady Gresham, so that she can get close to her father, the Duke of Ramsgate, but she's no closer now, and there's only a month or so left of the Season. Stealing away to the home of Lord Rockbourne, the neighbour of Ramsgate, she watches her father from a tree, and overhears an argument between Lord and Lady Rockbourne, in which Thea runs at her husband with a pen knife, and falls to her death from a low balcony. Spotted by Rockbourne in the aftermath, they become friends, and she soon discovers that Tom has been living a life of hell with his now late wife. They think everything is sorted, and once Tom starts to re-enter society, can make their friendship public, but when his mother-in-law starts stirring up a fuss, and claiming her daughters death was murder, it will take all of Tom and Beatrix's wits, and their friends and loved ones, to help them get through to the other side, and possibly be together.
This one was even better than book 1, which I didn't think was possible. I think it was because of the friendship and camaraderie between Beatrix and Tom, and their chemistry and love for each other, that just kept me hooked, and unable to put it down. They just have a connection which is instant, and their start from friends in a difficult situation, to lovers, was a perfect progression. I felt for Beatrix so much too, after being loved by a father who then abandoned her, and ignores her in society, it's hard to imagine that she will be loved by anyone but Selina, but Tom, and his daughter Regan, so obviously do. The whole plot line with Ramsgate was heartbreaking, but it allowed for Tom and Beatrix to meet, and was a catalyst in them getting together. Tom, though, had been tricked into marrying the heartless Dorothea Chamberlain five years ago, and her whole family were wicked. Just weeks before her death, her brother was arrested on his wedding day for extortion, and is due to be transported, so he's well shot of the whole family, but then the mother-in-law decides that she needs to twist the story, claiming he was violent and adulterous - when actually that was her daughter - and ruin his reputation further. Only with Beatrix's new family connections to Harry, can she help, and she does everything she can - even ruin her reputation - to see him go free. I was so invested in their story, and overjoyed at the epilogue, which also helps set the scene for book 3. Another wonderful Regency read.
Dates Read:
Rating
4 Stars
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