The Maiden's Court: Book Review: The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen by Victoria Alexander

The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen
by Victoria Alexander
Book 1 in The Lady Travelers Society series
ARC, e-Book, 544 pages
HQN Books
May 23, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Historical Romance

Source: Requested a review copy via Netgalley

Embark on the breathtaking romantic adventures of The Lady Travelers Society in the brand-new series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander
Really, it's too much to expect any normal man to behave like a staid accountant in order to inherit the fortune he deserves to support the lifestyle of an earl. So when Derek Saunders's favorite elderly aunt and her ill-conceived—and possibly fraudulent—Lady Travelers Society loses one of their members, what's a man to do but step up to the challenge? Now he's escorting the world’s most maddening woman to the world’s most romantic city to find her missing relative.
While India Prendergast only suspects his organization defrauds gullible travelers, she’s certain a man with as scandalous a reputation as Derek Saunders cannot be trusted any farther than the distance around his very broad shoulders. As she struggles not to be distracted by his wicked smile and the allure of Paris, instead of finding a lost lady traveler, India just may lose her head, her luggage and her heart.

I can certainly tell you that I did not see this missing person case transpiring and resolving in the way that it did! Curveball to the extreme, but in a really good and unexpected way that I enjoyed immensely! The missing cousin storyline is heavily featured throughout the entire thread of the novel and is not lost at all in the romance storyline, the two elements play together nicely and in this story I don’t think that one could thrive well without the other.

If I had to pick one thing that brought the rating of this book down a little in my opinion it was the early characterization of India Prendergast. She is quite a pain-in-the-neck and unapproachable, not someone I could see myself being friends with at all. While she does grow on you and her transformation is believable, I found her difficult to really get to like through much of the novel. Derek Saunders on the other hand, who is certainly a rouge, has nothing but admirable qualities, from the perspective of the reader, even if India can’t see that until toward the very end.

While this is certainly a lengthy novel, it didn’t feel that way at all as the story kept moving forward and the missing person’s case picked up steam. This novel is certainly a strong stand-alone, and while I haven’t read the other books in the series I think that will define the series, just based on how it appears framed. I look forward to checking out others in this series.

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Also by Victoria Alexander:

The Proper Way to Stop a Wedding in Seven Days or Less (Lady Travelers .5)