Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover (Rules of Scoundrels, #4)

by Sarah MacLean

'Fabulous' Eloisa James
'Smart, sexy, and always romantic' Julia Quinn
'For a smart, witty and passionate historical romance, I recommend anything by Sarah MacLean' Lisa Kleypas

RITA Award winning author, Sarah MacLean, reveals the identity of The Fallen Angel's final scoundrel in the spectacular conclusion to her Rules of Scoundrels series . . .

By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking-in London's darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city's most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered . . . until now.

Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by this beautiful woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness and sin. He knows she is more than she seems and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana's secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear . . . including her heart.

This is the fourth novel in the Regency romance Rules of Scoundrels series by New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean - perfect for fans of Lisa Kleypas and Eloisa James

*Goodreads Finalist for Best Romance 2015*

Rules of Scoundrels series:
A Rogue by Any Other Name
One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
No Good Duke Goes Unpunished
Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover

Praise for Sarah MacLean:

'Sarah MacLean has reignited the romance genre with a bolder edge' The New Yorker

'Funny, smart, feminist and roastingly hot' BookRiot.com

'Do yourself a favor and discover the compelling magic of Sarah MacLean' Amanda Quick

'MacLean writes with an entirely unique blend of elegance and ferocity that bursts from every page' Entertainment Weekly

'Great chemistry, intelligence and sparkling humor' RT Book Reviews

• ISBN10: 1410479110
• ISBN13: 9781410479112
• Publish Date: 8 July 2015 (first published 25 November 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 13 September 2021
• Imprint: Thorndike Press
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 490
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I was hoping that Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover would be the awesome, redeeming ending to this series. Sadly, it’s not. It was exciting to finally meet the mysterious Chase, and learn that he’s really Lady Georgiana from the Love By Numbers series! Ten years ago, she was utterly ruined. Then six years ago, she returned to cold stares and hard snubs. She opened The Fallen Angel as a way to exact revenge on those who turned their nose up at her and her daughter, but after a tasteless cartoon is published in the gossip rag, Georgiana knows something must change. She may be the most powerful man in London, but it means nothing when no one can know that it’s her.

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover has an amazing premise! I also loved catching up with a character from the previous series. I was already invested, I should have loved this! Unfortunately, the story is painfully repetitive. The first few chapters are just Georgiana constantly telling us how she’s been ruined, how she needs to marry a titled man for Caroline’s sake, how she’s Chase and knows every secret with the possibility of ruin, but can’t use them. Over and over and over. Then once the romance starts, Georgiana and Duncan have the same arguments. Over and over and over. They get to kissing (and more), and then he wants her to leave Chase, she tells him it’s not that simple, he says it is, she says he doesn’t understand. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was their only source of conflict!

I really loved the idea behind Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover, but I could not get past the repetitive nature of the story. At one point, I honestly thought I had accidentally jumped back a chapter, because it was the same thing in a different setting! There’s a lot of potential here, lots of lies, secrets, deceits, and blackmail! There was really no reason for the same inner monologues and same conversations to be happening in every single chapter. I was also annoyed by Georgiana’s daughter Caroline. She literally only appears to be the voice of reason or to say something way too profound and insightful for a nine year old. Even though everything Georgiana is doing is for her, she’s noticeably absent except for when she’s “needed”. Awkward.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Amanda]

Pretty sure Sarah MacLean is an evil writing genius. If you've somehow managed to remain unspoiled about who Chase is, I highly recommend to not read this review or the book's synopsis. Because Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover's synopsis wasn't even available when I found out (it's in the epilogue of book 3, No Good Duke Goes Unpunished), I had a huge jaw-dropping moment.

Because I didn't see it coming. I also adored MacLean's final comment in her acknowledgments, since it goes along with her evil genius-ness: And finally, to the woman who accosted me in a bathroom in Texas in early 2012 and announced, "I think Chase is a woman!," I'm very sorry I lied you to.

Kudos to that woman for guessing.

If you're new to Sarah MacLean, don't start with this series. Because this book is powerful in the way it wraps up the entire series... and Chase -- Georgiana -- appears first in MacLean's Love by Numbers series. All those characters make an appearance in Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover. And it's glorious.

(This is why I wanted to do a reread of the entire series, but could only find Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord, which is when she first really makes her appearance, though her brother's book, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart is likely even more relevant to her story. Still, Georgiana's premise that people only see what they want to is something she learned from Isabel in Ten Ways. These series overlap in the best of ways.)

Georgiana is, quite simply, brilliant. Ruined at the tender age of 16, she's built a life for herself that's beyond the comprehension of the ton. She is, perhaps, the most powerful person in London. Or Chase is. And if there's a single word I could use to describe her position, it would be: SECRETS. And probably also precarious, but alas, that's the nature of a book. Of course her position would unravel.

Especially with Duncan West, the man with multiple newspapers and a brilliant reporter's nose. Duncan West played a role in No Good Duke Goes Unpunished, and I wanted his story, and I'm so glad we got it. He's driven and he wants to uncover Chase's secrets, and he's also overwhelmingly intrigued and attracted to Georgiana/Anna.

But seriously. These two. The secrets they had to keep were powerful and led to lots of lying, which led to lots of negative feelings and blowups and normally that stuff drives me crazy, and it wasn't untrue here, but the secrets were so entangled with each character that to give them up was to put themselves in an unthinkable position. So even though you wanted the Duncan and Georgiana to spill their secrets to each other, you understood, mostly, why they didn't. Which was good. Otherwise you throw the book across the room, and no one wants that.

And I can't complete this review without mentioning Caroline, Georgiana's daughter, for whom she does much of what she does in this book. Caroline is... well, precocious, as she's described in the book, but in the very best way, and I adored the role she played in the end.

Never Judge a Lady be Her Cover is everything this series ender needed to be. Bourne, Cross, Temple, and their wives were back, and it was gratifying to see their relationship with Georgiana. (Also quite amazing considering the times and how the other scoundrels and Georgiana bonded like family.) I pretty much wanted to reread this book (and all the others) after finishing this one.

[Rowena]

Just as I thought, I enjoyed this book. I thought MacLean did a great job of telling Chase's story. It's hard to really talk about this book without giving much of the story away so I will say this. It's good. MacLean shines in this one and I'm happy that I read it. I think readers of the series and fans of historical romance will be happy with this book. It ended the series on a high note and I was glad for it.

[kimbacaffeinate]

When the long shadow cast from Lady Georgiana’s fall affect those she holds dear, she once again returns to the ton, holding her head high in an attempt to gain acceptance. At a ball, she catches the eye of Duncan West. Duncan is undeniably handsome and the successful owner of London’s most popular rags and the very reason for her return. The chemistry between them is undeniable, but Lady Georgiana seeks a title and must guard her secrets. The tale that unfolds has suspense, heat and risks everything.

Georgiana is such a powerful character, and to think I once swooned. As much as she has uplifted and helped others, she struggles to trust and accept help from those in her tightly knit circle. A young woman was positively delightful and showed wisdom beyond her years. The threats that affect Georgiana and Duncan were well done and added suspense. The romance was delicious, and slow burning with intense physical attraction. The risks and Georgiana’s reasons for returning added some angst, and kept me on edge as I waited to see how I would get the HEA I so desperately needed.

Sarah MacLean’s portrayal of Chase and his many facets was brilliant. I loved seeing the different personalities/characters emerge. I can honestly say I loved them all. Never Judge A Lady by Her Cover was a fantastic conclusion to the series. All of the characters own a piece of my heart and I look forward to seeing what MacLean cooks up next.

Copy provided by publisher.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer