ARC Review: Indecent (The Phoenix Club #4) by Darcy Burke
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Series: The Phoenix Club #4
Author: Darcy Burke
Published January 25th 2022 by Zealous Quill Press
Goodreads Synopsis
Society’s most exclusive invitation...
Welcome to the Phoenix Club, where London’s most audacious, disreputable, and intriguing ladies and gentlemen find scandal, redemption, and second chances.
If Bennet St. James, the Viscount Glastonbury, doesn’t find a bride with a sizeable dowry, he’ll be in the poorhouse along with his interminable number of female relatives—all of whom he loves but are a drain on the negative fortune his father left when he died of a broken pocketbook. Desperate, he hatches a scheme to snare an heiress only to be foiled by a most vexing and alluring—and unfortunately equally destitute—paid companion.
Lady’s companion Prudence Lancaster is single-minded about finding her mother and filling in the missing pieces of her life. But a villainous viscount interrupts her plans, and his surprising charm and understanding tempts her in the most indecent ways. Soon, she’s dreaming of the future instead of wallowing in the past.
But when Bennet shares a dark secret, her hopes are dashed. For he won’t break the promise he made to his family, even if it means losing the greatest love he’s ever known.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Losing the boxing match was one thing, but Bennet St James, the Viscount Glastonbury, can still catch the lovely Lady Cassandra, marry her, and use her dowry to pay off the sizeable debts he inherited. Organising for Cassandra to be abducted from Croydon and brought to him, he's shocked when it's in fact her companion, Miss Prudence Lancaster, who has arrived, and she's not happy. Prudence is angry that she's been kidnapped, but she's glad that her friend is safe. However, after being forced to spend time with Bennet due to the bad weather, she learns why he came up with this inane plot, and starts to care for him. But her position in life is very different from his, and she has no money when he needs to marry a dowry.
After reading book 2 & 3 in the series, I was looking forward to continuing The Phoenix Club, and Indecent was an enjoyable book. Okay, I wasn't too keen on the kidnapping plot, and was fully prepared to hate Bennet, but he grew on me, as he did on Prudence. I liked her from the beginning, just as I had in the previous books, and was glad we learnt more about her, and her family life. I did guess a little at the twists and turns that the book took, and it felt a little long in places, where it could've been at least 50 pages shorter. Even though, the romance between Bennet and Prudence was sweet, and I was happy for them in the final pages. Hopefully they'll be in book 5, and we'll see more of them now as a married couple!
Dates Read:
January 1-2, 2023
Rating
3 Stars
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