Veena’s review of Never Judge A Lady By Her Cover (Rules of Scoundrels, Book 4) by Sarah Maclean
Historical Romance published by Avon 25 Nov 14

Being a woman I am completely on board with a woman who can achieve anything she sets her heart on. The character of Chase being a woman? Now that one I definitely did not see coming, and while I haven’t gone back and reread the earlier books in the series, I believe Sarah MacLean has done a great job of keeping the readers guessing and hasn’t dropped any veiled hints, especially with the other surprise yet to come between the pages of this book that I refuse to reveal, because I want readers to get the same kick as I did when I discovered it. It’s somewhat ironic that Chase is the secret keeper, considering the magnitude of his – or should that be her – own secrets.   With a few minor pinpricks, I have thoroughly enjoyed this series as each of the scoundrels has moved out of the shadows to find happiness.

There are allusions in this story to a cartoon that outs Georgina to the ton, forcing her out of her chosen seclusion into the drawing rooms this season. I don’t think I’m getting senile, but I absolutely do not remember this cartoon in the previous book. But, anyhow, that’s the trigger that gets Georgina out of her seclusion and into society, where, needless to say, her task to win a proposal from a titled peer is fraught with challenges.

The ton, and especially the debutantes and their mothers, are not ready for competition from a less-than-respectable duke’s sister.  As Georgina is considering her options, one of which is using Chase’s secrets to force a proposal, Duncan West, the premier newspaperman in London, comes to her rescue in handling a particularly vicious debutante.

Fortunately for the gentlemen of the ton, Duncan is willing to wield the influence of his pen to win Georgina acceptance in exchange for some very particular secrets he needs. At the beginning of each chapter, the author uses these tidbits from the society pages to highlight how powerful Duncan’s pen is in shaping and changing the ton’s perceptions.

Georgina also meets her end of the bargain, resulting in multiple meetings – not all of them in secret – and a growing attraction between them, which definitely needs tending so it doesn’t blaze out of control.  It is ironic that they are willing to sacrifice each other’s needs in order to provide a future for two people who would rather see them happy. It takes Georgina’s daughter to point out that she’s trying to box her daughter into the very box from which she herself once fought to escape.

Duncan is an admirable character who’s succeeded, against all odds, in forging  a great life for himself and his sister.  I admire his tenacity as he struggles to protect his ideals in the face of blackmail by a very dastardly villain whom most readers will wish to kill without the blink of an eyelash.  His end is quite masterful and almost biblical in nature. The villain that is, not Duncan…

Georgina’s back story is what I have the most problem with in this book. She’s a young, impressionable girl in love with a groom who works for her family, and she gives him her virginity.  Clearly it doesn’t suit the plot for him to seek wealth and privilege through marriage, but abandoning his position and his heiress after availing himself of her virginity that one time just rings so false it’s jarring.  Once you put that behind you and move on, the rest of the story is quite entertaining.

All in all, a great series and a very fitting conclusion indeed.

Grade: B

Summary:

By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a Duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking—in London’s darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city’s most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered . . . until now.

Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness and sin. He knows she is more than she seems and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana’s secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear . . . including her heart.

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