The Lady Makes Her Mark by Susanna Craig

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Goode’s Guide to Misconduct, #3

Release Date: May 27, 2025

When Constantina Cooper, the artist for “Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses”, receives an anonymous letter demanding her attendance of a staff meeting in an unknown hand, she is sure that she has been found out and knows it is time to move on. She goes to the meeting on the off chance that Lady Stalbridge, the magazine’s editor, has hired a new secretary. But that hope is crushed almost immediately when Lady Stalbridge arrives just as bewildered as everyone else. Certain that she is the reason for the odd letters, she bolts and plans to leave London, that plan is also crushed when she collides with a carriage and is knocked unconscious. When she wakes, she is the home of the Earl of Ryland – a man she regularly features in her “What Miss C. Saw” aka “the Unfashionable Plates” cartoons for the magazine. The earl knows who she is and is in the process of leaving London, so she feigns amnesia to enlist his help. But she never expected to fall in love with him or his family, but as a penniless nobody, she has nothing to offer him except the possibility of danger thanks to her family. A possibility that soon becomes reality and may separate them forever.

Alistair Haythorne, the Earl of Ryland is broke and has rented out his London townhouse, so he is in the process of packing up to retire to his country estate with his sisters when a commotion outside draws his attention. He immediately recognizes Constantina and summons help for her. He knows her connection to the magazine and contacts Lady Stalbridge, who informs him that she believes Constantina might be in danger – thus triggering Alistair’s protective instincts. He offers to take her with him and to protect her until she regains her memory. He has always been attracted to her and intrigued by her, but he doesn’t have the luxury of indulging his own desires. His father left the estate in debt and with seven sisters to provide for, he will have to marry for money, which makes his feelings for Constantina inconvenient. An inconvenience that becomes almost unbearable when he asks his aunt to find him a rich bride and she hires Constantina to paint his portrait. Forced to spend time with her, his feelings deepen and soon he doesn’t know how he can live without her. But when her life is in danger, he knows there is no way he can let her walk away.

This installment of Goode’s Guide to Misconduct is a well-written, nicely paced story with very likable characters and a bit of intrigue. This book has a lot going on but manages to stay on track remains primarily a romance with some mystery to keep things interesting. The book held my interest with an artistic heroine with a mysterious background, an impoverished hero with a heart of gold, wonderful secondary characters, a road trip, faked amnesia, lurking danger, warm love scenes, shocking revelations and finally a seemingly impossible HEA. I enjoyed this story and would happily recommend it to my fellow HR readers. This is the 3rd book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

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

The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Goode’s Guide to Misconduct, #1

Release Date: April 25, 2023

In a family filled with extraordinary people, Daphne Burke feels very ordinary, smart but not brilliant, pretty but not gorgeous, in short, nothing special in a family filled with exceptional. But that changes when she stumbles into a secret staff meeting for the popular periodical Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses and gives her opinion of a letter sent to the publication asking for advice about the marriage her father arranged for her – Lady Stalbridge, the head of the magazine gives her a job and Miss Busy B’s advice column is born. But Daphne is not prepared for the ramifications of her advice, nor for the handsome rake whose plans she has wrecked. She will soon find herself in a unique position, blackmailed and courted by the man she still seeks to ruin.

Miles, Viscount Deveraux, is not happy to learn his betrothed has dumped him, but he is far from heartbroken, he is, however, a bit put out as now he has less than a month to find a new bride or he will lose a considerable sum to an ill-advised wager stating he would be married by the end of the June. He sets out to find a new bride, but his reputation as a rake hinders him, that is until he figures out that Miss Daphne Burke is the harbinger of his downfall. When he threatens to expose her as Miss Busy B, she agrees to help him find a new bride and even offers to marry him herself. Intrigued and feeling a bit bewitched, Miles soon decides that Daphne is the bride for him and sets out to win her. Will he succeed or will Daphne hold to her plan to bring this rake down?

What a great start to a new series! I was delighted to realize that the heroine is part of the Burke family, who were featured in a previous series, and that the reader is treated to glimpses of her sibling’s HEAs! And as delightful as Daphne and her family are, they dim next to Miles and his BBF, Alistair. It is not often that I take note of a friendship between characters in a book, but for some reason, the friendship between Miles and Alistair really touched my heart, they were just so good for each other. Not to mention we get to catch up with Lord and Lady Stalbridge as well as her stepson Viscount Manwaring. This book was just filled to the brim with secrets, plans that go awry, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, a mischievous cat, and a HEA that includes a very sweet epilogue. The story did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle, but the ending more than makes up for that. This is the first book in the new series, but there is a prequel novella, Nice Earls Do, that sets up the series and I would recommend reading that first as it will clear up any questions that you might have about Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read that I would be happy to recommend, and can’t wait for the next installment.

*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.*