The Lord Pretender
Series: Red Lion Ladies #1
Author: Sawyer North
Published June 20th 2022 by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Amara)

Goodreads Synopsis
Step 1: Come up with the perfect plan
Emma Watts was almost the perfect lady. That is, until her father joined the notorious Prometheans’ Club and gambled away all her prospects. Now, cast out of society, and with only her name intact, Emma will do what a young, intelligent lady can when she is thwarted by circumstance. Take revenge, of course. And the gentlemen's club, including its members, is first on the list…

Step 2: Find your target
Simon, the Earl of Blackburn, the most prominent member of the Prometheans, knows firsthand how dangerous a wily woman with an agenda can be; after all, his mother is the most devious of the species. But a string of chance encounters with a charming and breathtaking stranger leads him to reconsider.

Step 3: Then watch your plans go beautifully to pieces
Upon learning that a mystery woman is digging up dirt on his club brothers, Simon volunteers to uncover her identity and ruin her by any means necessary. But all it takes is a nasty thunderstorm to completely switch Emma's and Simon's lives. Their perspectives aren’t the only things that change though, when they wake up in each other’s bodies…
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Emma Watts may have been born the daughter of a Baron, but when he loses all his wealth at the Prometheans’ Club, gambled away her prospects, and left her and the rest of the family in poverty on his death, Emma is out for revenge. She blames the Prometheans’, and the Earl of Blackburn the most. So she contrives a plan to meet him, dig up dirt on all the club members, and be their ruin. But after they meet, and realise that the person they were both searching for is right in front of them, a confrontation leads to a unbelievable accident, and they wake in each other's body. Can they discover the remedy to their problem, and fool their family in the mean time?

When I started reading this book, I'll admit, I didn't really read the synopsis. So when the 'Freaky Friday' incident happened, I was shocked, but loved it. Emma and Simon were perfect characters for the roles they played. Emma was the strong, elder daughter, who needed to keep it together for her family, and she was hurt the most by her father's gambling, and death. So needed revenge, and that helped her work through her grief in the mean time. Her first meetings with Simon, before they realised who each other was, were full of longing - on both sides - and I could see that they were kindred spirits. Simon had a public persona - mainly to appease his dragon of a mother - which was standoffish, and aloof, but seeing him with his niece, Dodie, was lovely. Simon needed a partner, and Emma was the right person for the job, but neither really was willing to accept it until they'd been in the other's 'shoes', so to speak. Okay, yes, the plot line was a little too fantastical at times, but it's a story, and one which was gripping, and enjoyable right until the end. I'm hoping this is a series, because the new friends that Emma meets definitely deserve their own tales, and I'd be jumping at the chance to read them.

Dates Read:
May 12-13, 2022

Rating
4 Stars