The Undaunted
Series: A Series of Worthy Young Ladies #3
Author: Kate Archer
Published June 22nd 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
A Formidable Lord and a Fearless Lady.

Six highly placed matrons mourn their lack of daughters until they devise a scheme to launch eligible girls in need of assistance, and so The Society of Sponsoring Ladies is born.

Lady Easton had her plans well in hand before her lord suddenly decided to have ideas and opinions. Now, Lord Easton has decided who she will sponsor, and he’s decided on the daughter of a horseracing crony. Worse, Lady Easton is expected to launch the girl in Brighton, of all places. Though she can get no explanation, it also appears that the Regent has somehow concerned himself with the girl’s future.

Miss Caroline Upton is the eldest child of nine and favorite daughter of Baron Dunn. She has often accompanied her father to his horse races and she’s as comfortable in the stables with a cup of gin as she is in a drawing room with a cup of tea. In truth, she is rather more comfortable in the stables. Now she’s to be managed by a lady her father describes as the stickiest of the sticks.

Richard Camden, Earl of Bertridge, is in temperament rather similar to his aunt, Lady Easton. That is, he’s a bit of a stick himself. Though he’d much rather be headed toward the peace of his estate in Hertfordshire, his aunt has need of him. They are somehow to struggle through launching a young lady in Brighton, home to the Regent’s annual summer scandals.

A shocking dinner party, wild boxing match, flying rumors, and an ill-advised swim later, does one carefree and impetuous lady happily coexist with two sticklers who are constantly on the watch?

Not before sending Lady Easton to her fainting couch and driving Lord Bertridge to the edges of insanity.
Goodreads

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

When Lady Easton found the girl she would launch this season, she never expected that Caroline Upton would be more comfortable in a stables or at a horse race than in a society event. As the eldest daughter of a horse mad baron, Caroline had been around horses her entire life, and a bet made between her father, the Prince Regent, and Lord Easton has lead to her becoming Lady Easton's new protegee. Relying on her organised nephew, Richard, Lord Bertridge, to help her survive the season in Brighton, Lady Easton has her work cut out for her.

This book was definitely a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting. When we met Lady Easton in the previous books, she was always a stickler for punctuality and rules, and I thought that would be a little grating, particularly when I saw that Lord Bertridge was to be the love interest, as he was exactly like his aunt. However, Caroline was his opposite in just about every way, and the perfect partner for someone like him. They helped the other to either follow rules more or less, depending on what they needed. The scene of him striding into the sea to 'save' Caroline, while telling himself he didn't love her was so good, and I think Richard is definitely someone who tried so hard to fight his feelings, but it was in vain. The Undaunted was a lovely story in the series!

Dates Read:
May 24-26, 2023

Rating
3 Stars