The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman

 

What is one of your favorite books you’ve read so far this year?  The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman was my favorite read of August and is sure to be in my top ten books for 2025.

Lady Augusta (Gus) Colebrook and her twin sister Julia are in their forties and firmly on the shelf in Regency England.  They put their minds and hearts to good use by protecting vulnerable women and children.  When Lord Evan, a highwayman that captured Gus’s heart in Book 1 needs help hiding his sister Hester from his evil brother, Gus and Julia are on the case. Will they be able to hide both Lord Evan and Hester from those that pursue them?  Will they be able to clear Lord Evan’s name?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved this book and couldn’t put it down!

·       This was one of the JASNA Northwoods Book Club selections for August.  We all enjoyed it!

·       This novel picks up right where the first book ended.

·       There was a great romance between Lady Augusta and Lord Evan.  It was a kisses only romance but looks between them mean everything.

·       There was a great look at social issues of the day.  It had a feminist spin on historical fiction.

·       There was a lot of action and adventure.

·       It most have been very hard for educated and ambitious women to live during such a time and to be under the control of men who didn’t appreciate them and unable to challenge themselves intellectually.

·       I would recommend reading this series in order as I think you are missing a lot if you just pick up book 2 without reading book 1.

·       Gus and Julia make an excellent pair of twin sisters to work through their adventures.  Gus is more than flamboyant and ready to plunge into adventures.  She does not care much for the feelings of others.  Julia is quieter and much more in tune with people’s feelings.  I like how they both have slow burn romance in this novel.

·       This novel has both humor and suspense.

·       I loved the character of Beau Brummel.  It’s fun to have a real person as a character in a novel.  I like how he used his societal power for good and was an ally.  I liked the silent conversations between characters.

·       I enjoyed the detailed authors note at the end of the novel.

·       I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Overall, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman is an excellent novel with great characters, romance, and adventure all with a feminist spin.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com.

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

 

Title: The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

Author:  Alison Goodman

Narrated by:  Kristin Atherton

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 33 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible

What was your favorite audiobook of 2024?  One of my favorites was The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman.

Lady Augusta Colebrook is a spinster at 42 and the eldest child of an Earl.  Her father has passed away and her brother has taken over.  Jealous of Augusta, he has decided he will put her in her place.  Augusta, along with her twin sister, Julia, use their wits and place in society to help other women in peril.  When they meet a handsome highwayman on their way to rescue a lady, Lady August cannot stop thinking about him.  Has she finally met her match?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was the JASNA Northwoods Book club selection for April, but I sadly missed the meeting and I’m also very behind on posting my review.

·       I LOVED this book.  I listened to it mostly on audiobook and it was very entertaining.  It kept me riveted during long drives for work.  The narrator, Kristin Atherton, was great and she brought the characters to life.

·       I liked how the plot does not have one moment of climax and adventure.  There are three distinct adventures in this book. 

·       There was a bit of romance, with just enough to make me want to see where this relationship could end up.

·       There were great characters in this story.  I adored Lady Augusta.

·       The story had a feminist spin.  They rescued women who had no one else to help them as they had no rights in Regency England.  They could be locked away at home or in an insane asylum by their husbands for any reason.  The novel was graphic on the fates of mistreated women and girls.

·       I wanted to know at the end who falsely framed Lord Evans.  Luckily this will be a series with a new book out in 2025.

·       In the author’s note, it stated that this was submitted for Alison Goodman’s PhD.  Wow!

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman was an engaging novel with great characters and a feminist spin on Regency tales.  I highly recommend it.

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

 

Title: The Dark Days Club

Author:  Alison Goodman

Narrated by:  Fiona Hardingham

Publisher: Brillance Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 59 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.

What’s the last series you started?  I just read The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman last month for the JASNA Northwoods Book Club.  I sadly missed the meeting due to being ill, but I enjoyed reading this first book in the Lady Helen Trilogy.  I am ready to read the next book in the series!

It’s 1812 and Lady Helen Wrexhall is preparing for her presentation to Queen Charlotte.  Her mother, Lady Catherine, mysteriously died when Helen was a child, and she has been labeled as a traitor to England.  Lady Helen’s uncle and aunt hope that all can be forgotten and that she will make an excellent match.  At her presentation, she meets the mysterious and scandalous Lord Carlston.  As she searches for her family’s missing housemaid, she must enlist his help.  Along the way she also finds out secrets within her family.  Will she be ale to embrace who she really is?  What does she want to do with her life?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a historical fantasy novel with paranormal elements.  It’s a perfect book for fall reading.

·       This novel was a world building novel.  I look forward to the other books in this series that build on this novel.

·       There was a love triangle in the story, but it was obvious who would end together.  The focus of the story was on the world building and not on the romance.

·       The fantasy elements are that there are creators (Deceivers) living among the humans in Regency England that use energy tentacles to suck the life force out of unsuspecting humans.  Reclaimers use magical items and can see the Deceivers and use their powers to battle them.

·       I loved Lady Helen and her intelligence and independence.

·       This novel has great secondary characters and friends.  I especially liked her maid, Darby, and their relationship.

·       There was a great author’s note at the end of the novel.  Author Alison Goodman did a lot of research on the Regency period, and it shows in the historical detail in this novel.

·       I still want to know what exactly happened to Lady Helen’s parents and Lord Carlston’s wife.  Hopefully this will be explored in future novels.

·       I did feel that this novel could have been trimmed down to focus more on the action.

·       Fiona Hardingham was a great narrator on the audiobook.  She had unique voices for all the characters.

Overall, The Dark Days Club was an entertaining and interesting historical fiction novel and the great start to a new series.