Lady Armstrong’s Scandalous Awakening by Marguerite Kaye ~ Book Review.

I am absolutely delighted to be sharing my review of the utterly gorgeous; Lady Armstrong’s Scandalous Awakening by Marguerite Kaye, I am incredibly excited to share this gorgeous book with you all.

About the Book

Lady Armstrong’s Scandalous Awakening

Be swept into a world of passion and emotion in this sexy Victorian romance!

Hers was a body of marble…

Until he brought it to life

After her tyrannical late husband ruined her reputation, Lady Mercy Armstrong is longing to reinvent herself. The perfect opportunity presents itself when rebellious self-made man Jack Dalmuir has a daring proposition—a fake dalliance that will change society’s view of her! Only, cavorting with the handsome Scotsman ignites a passion that could change both their lives forever…

Review

Before I start this review, can I say how much I would love to go on a night out with Jack!! Close romantic dancing, pie in gravy/chip butty in newspaper – yup, Jack you have stolen this Yorkshire gal’s heart!!

This is the second book in the gorgeous Revelations of the Carstairs Sisters, I do think you can read each of the books as stand-alone’s, but why would you want to miss out on the first book – definitely sinful if you do, as The Earl who See’s her Beauty is stunning – I love that book so much, I have to admit that I was worried whether this second book could live up to The Earl who See’s her Beauty as that book is utter perfection, but I worried for nothing after all when has Marguerite Kaye ever disappointed? That is a rhetorical question, btw!

This tells the story of Mercy Armstrong who after years of living with a vile and tyrannical husband is finally free to basically do as he pleases, now her year of mourning is over she can stop pretending and be the woman she wants to be – the only problem is what exactly is who is that woman? She is sitting in limbo that is until she meets the ridiculously handsome and enigmatic jack Dalmuir, who ignites something within her that she never thought she would feel. He opens her eyes and allows her to be the very person he has always wanted to be; herself!

I instantly liked Mercy, you can’t help yourself but get behind her from the moment she steps onto the page, especially once her awful late husband’s will is read and we hear the additional note he had made, making her appear to the world to be a cold and heartless harpy – and the equally awful nephews…well, I had a sudden urge to hiss like a snake whenever they were mentioned. Mercy is such a lovely, kind, generous and sensitive woman who needs some lightness and laughter in her life. She needs some kindness and a little love threw her way, that creature she called a husband didn’t show any kindness or humanity towards her.

Walk in our gorgeous, self-made, beautifully blunt Scotsman, very handsome; Jack Dalmuir – swoon!!

Jack, oh Jack!!! 🔥😍

My goodness, I love this man!! I have always been drawn to a self-made man, who doesn’t suffer fools, knows what he wants and goes and out and gets it, doesn’t fall in with what the ton says he should/shouldn’t do and does his own thing, plus who is brutally honest – all Jack in a teacup! I adore Jack, he is everything you could ever wish for in a historical hero; swoon-worthy, sexy, seductive, intelligent, hardworking, kind, generous, cheeky, charismatic, seductive, no air-and-graces just a good solid and down-to-earth a who knows his worth. I will admit that I have always preferred a self-made man to an aristocrat – don’t get me wrong I love a dashing Duke and enigmatic earl or luscious Laird as much as the next red-blooded woman with a pulse, but men who don’t have titles and have made their own way in the world appeals far more to this working-class girls heart than a man who has had everything given to them on a silver platter. And that is Jack Dalmuir, this seductive Scot speaks to my rapidly beating heart, and positively makes my knees go wobbly.

By chance comes upon Mercy, they instantly hit it off, they have a drink (or three for her) she get’s a wee bit tipsy and makes a vow that they will meet up in London where she can let her hair down and go for a proper dance – the Scottish way, which is a lot closer and way more fun than the ‘proper‘ way of the ton, plus cause a wee bit of scandal in the process, in the process they come to an arrangement which will get those gossiping tongues wagging (let them talk, mercy and Jack are having way too much of a good time to care).

I loved the relationship between Mercy and Jack, there is instant chemistry, I love that he takes his time to woo her, there is no rushing off to the bedroom, and he is quietly gentle and ever encouraging (again my perfect man). But you can’t deny that the air crackles around them, theirs is very much a friends to lovers/second chance romance. There are a fair few hurdles to overcome, both Mercy and Jack have a past story which is both heartbreaking and incredibly moving, I loved the journey they go through and of course the ending which is beautifully fitting for these characters s and the story.

The writing is (as always) exquisite, Marguerite’s writing is second to none, she brings every scene to life and ignites your imagination, you feel as though you are right there within the pages standing beside these gorgeous characters as they find their happy ending. I was completely invested in the story and flew through the pages, at times I was on the edge of my seat and other times I wanted to give Jack and Mercy a good old talking to (can’t they see the great things before them) and most of the time I was smiling contentedly – which is what I usually do whenever I read a Marguerite Kaye book her stories never fail to make me happy and fill my heart with wonder and romance.

Lady Armstrongs Scandalous Reawakening is a story of second chances, or brushing off the cloak of the past and reinventing your new future, of friendship and loyalty of opening your eyes to what’s in front of you to allow yourself to be happy.

Overall (if you didn’t know) I loved this book!!! A definite must-read for anyone who loves historical romance, I cannot recommend this one enough. Sexy, sensual, fun, heart-warming, emotional, engaging and oh-so-romantic! I can’t wait to see where this series is going to go, roll on book three!!