Evie Harlow runs a quaint little bookshop in London, which is the biggest adventure an unmarried woman with no prospects could hope for. Until Maximillian Shaw, Duke of Westbourne, saunters into her shop with a proposition: to win a bet with his friends, he’ll turn her into the diamond of the season. The duke might be devilishly attractive, but Evie has no intention of accepting his ludicrous offer. When disaster strikes her shop, however, she’s left with little choice but to let herself be whisked into his high-society world.
Always happy to help a lady in distress, Max thinks he’s saving Evie from her dull spinster’s life. He’ll help her find a husband and congratulate himself on a job well done. But as shy Evie becomes the shining star he always knew she could be, she somehow steals his heart. And when her reputation is threatened, can Max convince her to choose a glittering, aristocratic life with him over the cozy comfort of her bookshop?
Release Date: Jun 20, 2023
Series: Scandal at the Savoy
Book: 1
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Imprint: Forever
Price: $10.99
A duke with a tendency for good deeds, and a bookshop owner who needs a bit of escape, bring us another Pygmalion tale with a twist.
Of course, this story format has been done a million times, and at first, I honestly believed that Guhrke’s Duke of Westbourne was going to make me angry. Any man wagering on a woman’s beauty, lack of or unrealized, should probably be given a good smack. Imagine my surprise when this Duke with a heart of gold decides not only to wager, but to tell the heroine he’s done so! Cue the need for popcorn, a soda, and a comfortable seat. I’m finishing this book in one sitting.
I dug into the tale of Evie Harlow, who runs her father’s bookshop. It’s not a popular one but does provide well-known old books for collectors. To make ends meet, Evie has been running herself ragged with odd jobs on top of the bookshop biz. This woman might be the queen of historical hustle culture. Doing everything within her capable brain, short of selling her body and her bookstore, to successfully pay the bills.
When Westbourne shows up with an opportunity for her, albeit one she should probably refuse, it’s too good to turn down. The offer includes a new wardrobe and a vacation from her real life for a short time. Fully funded with no strings, only to attend a charity ball and dance every dance. Evie does what any over-worked, exhausted woman would do… she says yes.
What unfolds is the slow-burn romance between two people who are not right for each other at all. Definitely an opposites attract, as Evie and Westbourne have many other plans that don’t include being together. Though I loved watching them fall for one another as Westbourne provides private dancing lessons between Evie’s outings among the ton.
While the building of the romance drove me crazy, I respected the evolution as what was needed based on the character’s past. Add in a villain I absolutely couldn’t stand, a true heroine conquering her fears, and I really enjoyed this book. It had similar elements to the Pygmalion trope but gave a completely different twist that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Overall, this worked as a great standalone and is a good entry for the first in a new series. I’m eager to see what comes next and for whom. If you love Victorian-style romance, dukes, and opposites attract, you can’t go wrong with this one.
~ Landra
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