Once Upon a Scandal Series by Liana De la Rosa / Historical Romance Book Series

To Love a Scandalous Duke by Liana De la Rosa (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Once Upon a Scandal series. Childhood friends who were separated by tragic circumstances (and possible family betrayal) are reunited here. Declan has returned to England after being sent away for the past twelve years following the tragic death of his father; upon his return, he finds that his brother has died and is now the duke. Lady Alethea is the daughter of an earl, Declan’s childhood neighbor and friend, and is instantly drawn to Declan again, despite his hurtful accusations about her father before he left the country. There’s definitely a bit of mystery here between the two families, with Declan’s father being blamed for a huge financial scandal before killing himself, and Declan’s older brother dying under suspicious circumstances. While Declan is trying to uncover the truth, he’s distracted by Alethea’s presence. Alethea is mostly just trying to get by and assert her independence, not believing her own father capable of the misdeeds Declan suspects of him. The romance part of this book was fairly straightforward, and I was mostly captivated by the mystery element and wanting to know the truth of the scandal that happened all those years ago. And with our luck, we got to uncover another juicy secret in the meantime.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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To Resist a Scandalous Rogue by Liana De la Rosa (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Once Upon a Scandal series. After the scandal that Alethea uncovers in the previous book, her twin brother Finley is at a bit of a loss of direction. At an earl’s debaucherous house party, he meets a woman in the garden and spends one night with her before she disappears on him. Charlotte is a widow who was left with no money, no family, and no protection. She ended up at an earl’s house party thinking to get a maid’s position, but was dismayed to learn that her cousin has offered her an opportunity to be a courtesan. Although she rejects that role, she ended up in Finley’s bed anyway, and runs off before she’s tempted to become his mistress. A year later, Finley is seeking a position in Parliament and Charlotte has become a schoolteacher at a foundling home, and the two cross paths again. With their social class differences, his secrets, her secrets, and his political aspirations, this match is certainly unwise. We get to see them both slowly bring the other person into their confidence and become emotionally entangled. I enjoyed reading this one too and it was a great follow-up to the first book in the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Tame a Scandalous Lady by Liana De la Rosa (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Once Upon a Scandal series. Lady Flora, daughter of a duke and sister to a marquess with political ambitions, disguises herself as a man to become the assistant trainer at a horse racing operation. While she has set herself up to learn how to run a racing stable, she is surprised to find herself attracted to the marquess who owns the place. Christian aims to rebuild his family’s legacy after a stable fire took the lives of his father and many prized racehorses; after spending all his money to rebuild the stables, he needs this new horse to win in order to recoup the costs. When he finds out his horse trainer is actually a woman, he first wants to dismiss her, but keeps her on after Flora stubbornly defends her actions. They start a dalliance while they aren’t busy with the horses, but the truth of Flora’s identity could leads to scandal for them both if she’s caught. I loved reading about the defiant and competent Flora here and how she doesn’t cower to the men in her life.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Tempt a Scandalous Lord by Liana De la Rosa (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Once Upon a Scandal series. Flora’s older brother Niall is in the race for Prime Minister, but is being maligned in a series of political articles. He’s focused on his work and wants to find the culprit of the articles, but is suddenly distracted when he meets Alicia, the widow of an earl. When she experiences a wardrobe malfunction which may lead to potential ruin, he declares them engaged to save both their reputations. While the two are most definitely attracted to each other, Alicia is keeping secrets from everyone. She’s actually the anonymous writer of the political articles that are meant to provoke thought and incite action from the politicians. With such a big secret hanging over her head, we’re just waiting for the fallout. I liked reading about Niall’s interactions with the orphans from the foundling home he supports and how Alicia softens towards him when she realizes his care for the children. I also liked seeing all the men from the previous books of the series rally around Niall and support him. Excellent ending to an enjoyable series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.