Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas
Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Release Date: October 20, 2026
Reina Martin has never let her circumstances hold her down. The illegitimate daughter of a renown Spanish dancer and a wealthy English businessman, some could say that her life started out on the wrong foot, but thanks to her mother, Reina was given an exceptional education and encouraged to follow her dreams. To that end she attended college and earned a law degree, but was refused the right to practice, so she turned her sites to finance, becoming a respected economist and published a financial guide for women as well as writing articles for Bankers’ Magazine and The Economist. Upon that success, she tried to open a bank account and was initially denied, but her arguments drew the attention of William Farlow, the bank administrator. With William’s guidance, Reina learned the intricacies of investing and banking and became a very wealthy woman with a new dream, opening a bank for women.
With her goal set, Reina purchases a house and with the help of June, her dearest friend and now her cook, she tries to hire a staff. Which leads her to Second Chance Employment Agency, a staffing agency that hire out criminals released on license (aka parole). Determined to give these people a fighting chance to succeed, she hires a full staff, including a very pregnant woman as her housekeeper. But it soon becomes clear that this staff needs more guidance than she can supply, leading her to hire and Ticket-of-leave prisoner, a Welshman by the name of John Pembroke as her butler. But what she doesn’t know is John is not who she believes him to be, and as this motley crew becomes a family, she is in danger of losing more than just her dreams…
After a five-year break, Lisa Kleypas is back and better than ever! This book is a bit different than her previous works, primarily as it is a woman’s fiction novel with some romance rather than a straight up romance. I loved it and was completely invested in the story. Reina is a brilliant woman in a man’s world, but she doesn’t let that stop her from chasing her dreams, she is also a caring and generous with everyone. John is the perfect match for her, as he is not intimidated by an intelligent, successful woman, he too is self-made and intelligent, with a heart of gold and a desire to see Reina’s dreams come true. This book is filled with amazing and diverse characters (including some familiar faces), a “sausage dog”, emotion, some laughter, found family, discrimination, injustice, triumph, love, friendship, heartache, betrayal, vindication and finally a happy ending. This book was more than just a good read, it was a journey and I loved every minute of it. Definitely a keeper and a book I look forward to reading again and again.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for a DRC/ALC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *
