A Scoundrel’s Secret by Jane Charles

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Revenge of the Wallflowers, #16 & The Knight Family, #3

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Once upon a time, Miss Carina Leonelli’s life was good, she was the daughter of an Italian Barone and attended a girl’s school where she met her best friend, Lady Gaia Evans. But then tragedy struck, and a scandal left Carina with no family to support her. Gaia’s mother, the Marchioness of Dargate hired her to be Gaia’s companion, a position she kept even after Gaia married and became the Marchioness of Lydell, it is a position she believes she will keep for years, even though Gaia continues to treat her like an equal and hopes she will find a love of her own. But Carina doesn’t feel worthy of a society marriage and as a servant of sorts, knows that marriage to a fellow servant, like coachman Felix Knight, won’t get her a home of her own. Besides, Felix is a rake and not a man she can take seriously, no matter how handsome and charming he seems. But when Felix is injured and she fears he is dying, she finally admits her feelings for him, not that it will change anything. But with a little help from her friends, HEA may be within reach, until long kept secrets come out and everything changes!

Felix Knight is the second son of Viscount Ormonde and the grandson of the Earl of Chedworth, two and a half years ago, his grandfather made a demand that Felix refused to bow to and resulted in Felix leaving home and cutting himself off from his family. He met and befriended the newly minted Marquess of Lydell who had been born and raised in America, he helped Lydell acclimate into London society and accepted his offer of employment, as his coachman, stable master and even sometimes footman. Felix never lied about his name, but neither did he offer information about his family and with the exception of Lydell’s new brother-in-law, it doesn’t seem like anyone knows who he is, which is perfect for hiding from his grandfather and his outrageous demands. At least it was until he feel in love with Carina and is desperate to convince her that they could marry and that they could be happy all while keeping his secrets. But he should have known that secrets have a way of coming out at the worst possible moment and secrets like his could easily crush new love.

As always, this was a well-written, nicely-paced story filled with wonderful characters. This book is a slow-burning romance, with no-steam love scenes, secrets, hidden identities, surprising revelations, fake courtships, matchmaking friends, a duel, heartache, revenge, reunions and finally a HEA that didn’t seem possible as well as a very sweet epilogue. This book is part of a series, but can easily be read as a standalone (be sure to read the author’s notes!). I am looking forward to the next book about the Knight Family!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *