Heads up: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book and have voluntarily decided to review it.

Rating: 👍🏻

As a reader (and enjoyer) of dark romance, it’s actually surprising to me how recently I’ve found my way to reading (and enjoying) historical romance. Especially so when we’re talking 1800s and 1900s historical romance, when marriage meant a total loss of any autonomy a woman might have (which couldn’t have been much)—not to mention that certain couplings were even illegal. As It turns out, one of my favorite parts of dark romance—the part where a couple finds their happy ending together despite incredibly high stakes—is the bread and butter of historical romance.

Ok, that said, The Confessions of a Lady by Darcy McGuire would certainly not be considered a dark romance by most definitions. But the similarities cannot be dismissed, especially since it doesn’t just deal with the high risks of a woman falling in love, but also the higher stakes of a maid falling in love with a marquess. Not to mention our heroine Penny is also actively investigating said marquess (to the best of her ability) because he might be part of a secret criminal brotherhood, the Devil’s Sons, kidnapping maids and women of the servant class and selling them into sexual slavery. Also there’s the part where her mother is in prison because the marquess signed an act declaring houselessness a crime, and Penny is hoping the money she’s been promised as a reward for finding evidence of his being a Devil’s Son will help her free her mother from her shackles.

But uh yeah, it’s not technically a dark romance.

It’s actually quite a sweet one, made less frightening than it could be because we get to see inside the surprisingly progressive marquess, Liam’s head, as well. So while Penny’s fears and frustrations grow the more she falls for Liam, the reader is spared the majority of the struggle, though we are regularly reminded of the uneven risks at play.

Anyway, this was a fun one. It’s part of a series, though I can confirm it works as a standalone as I haven’t read the other books (though I probably will after this). Liam and Penny have palpable chemistry, and while Liam at times felt like just a guy to me, Penny was remarkable. I loved her wit, street smarts, and the clever ways she used her hat pins (and brass knuckles) in a fight. I absolutely understand why the marquess adored her because I did as well.

I will say I did find the book to be quite repetitive when it came to reminding me of Penny’s station at times. And while I think that was helpful some of the time—as it was a regular reminder of the danger she was in—there did come a point where I was like, “ok I get it, so what happens next???” I also feel like the ending was a bit abrupt and I would have liked a little more following the resolution of the final conflict.

But all in all, I had such a good time with The Confessions of a Lady, and I hope future installments in the series show a bit of Penny’s fire on the side, even when there are other characters at the fore.