Lady Scandal by Laura Lee Guhrke

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Scandal at the Savoy, #2

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Thrice widowed, Delia, Lady Stratham has found her calling by working closely with her dear friend, hotelier Cesar Ritz as an events coordinator at London’s famous Savoy Hotel. But things take a drastic turn when she returns from a month-long trip to Paris to find the employees of the Savoy in an uproar and Cesar and his Second in Command out of the country. The hotel’s owners Richard and Helen Carte have hired Simon Hayden, the newly minted Viscount Calderon, to be the hotel’s new administrator to oversee operations and to cut costs, as the hotel has been steadily losing money. Delia is surprised at this turn of events and with her loyalty firmly with Cesar, she at first resists the changes Lord Calderon tries to implement and is especially upset over the dismissal of so many employees. But with time, she decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she at least tried to get along with him. Thinking she might be able to charm him into seeing reason. However, it is Delia who begins to see reason and despite her loyalty to Cesar, she has to admit that Simon’s policies have merit, and he is not the cold, heartless man she thought he was. In fact, he is the first man in years that has captured her interest. But with secrets galore, old fears, past pain and split loyalties, can anything come of her infatuation?

Simon Hayden, was born into the hotel business, his mother was employed as a hotel housekeeper and his father a cashier, and thanks to a scholarship to Harrow, Simon believed he too would be in the business. But scandal struck his family and led him in a different direction. He joined the Army and not only became a hero, but he also made a fortune, which he invested in what else – a hotel. It was during this time he was befriended by Richard and Helen Carte, they became business partners and Simon joined the board of directors for the Savoy. After several quarters of no profits, the investors are angry and want answers, leading Simon to go undercover at the hotel to oversee operations and keep the employees distracted while the Cartes have Cesar and his cronies investigated. At first Simon is sure that Delia is part of the corruption, but soon realizes she is innocent. He is drawn to her and knows that once the truth comes out about Cesar, she will most likely hate him for his part in Cesar’s downfall. But that doesn’t stop him from falling hard for a woman that is sure to break his heart.

I really loved this story, Delia and Simon are wonderful characters whose fictional love story is seamlessly woven into the real-life historical events surrounding the investigation of Hotelier Cesar Ritz, Chef Auguste Escoffier and maître d’hôtel Louis Echenard at the Savoy Hotel in London. This story is filled with secrets, a slow-burn romance, loyalty, betrayal, warm love scenes, great secondary characters, a bit of heartache, delightful dialogue, and a very sweet ending including a heartwarming epilogue. My only complaint is not knowing the final outcome of the two weddings that were both set for the same day – in the grand scheme of things of it wasn’t that big a deal – but it felt like it was going to be something major in the story and then it wasn’t – sigh. Overall, this was an excellent book and I am happy to recommend it! This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title as the books are very loosely connected. I would note that there are some triggers in this book that occurred in the past and off page, that are mention briefly, but might be upsetting to some readers and I would recommend checking out the CW on the publisher’s website.

*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. *