The Lady Plays with Fire by Susanna Craig
Goode’s Guide to Mischief series #2. Historical romance.
Julia Addison knows she’ll never be able to fulfill her dream of acting on a stage. Instead she’s a lady’s companion, with a secret life writing stage and theatre reviews for Mrs Goode’s Magazine for Misses. One such review has the Earl of Dunstane, Graham McKay, writing an entire satire about reviewers. When Julia meets Graham, they are both enamored, but Julia more so because he can give her access to a newly created play that she’ll be able to see before it opens. But she needs to be careful not to disclose her hidden agenda or she and the magazine might well be exposed and shut down.

A historical romp of mixed up rolls and hidden agendas. I was waiting for the older companion to be part of the conspiracy somehow, but alas, that was just me, looking for another surprise. We do get a bit of society as well as behind the scenes theater and a meeting with Mrs Goode. Clandestinely, of course. And an improper romance behind the theater curtain.
But don’t let me give away all the secrets. Historical romance is all the rage now, you know.
Appealing and melodramatic in the best way.
4.25

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. ( )

To be or not to be!

It was not the most fortuitous of introductions. Julie Addison goes with her sort of aunt / companion Mrs Hayes to the theatre. They’ve obtained the use of Graham McKay, Earl of Dunstane’s box for the season from the Box Manager. The Earl apparently stayed in the wilds of Scotland.
Imagine her consternation to find the Earl occupying said box. What?
The theatre’s full so there’s no chance of seats somewhere else.
Reluctantly Graham allows them to join him.
Little does he know that Julie is actually “Miss on Scene” who writes theatre reviews for a relatively new women’s publication “Mrs Goode’s Magazine for Misses.”
By the same token no one is aware that Graham is the infamous playwright Randome Blackadder who’s currently writing another scathing play ridiculing his audience, including the reviewer Miss on Scene. Graham is both appalled and struck by Miss on Scene’s latest review of his work.
The doyen of the magazine Lady Deveraux is understandably nervous about the turn of events. After all the magazine is shrouded in secrecy. No one wants their identity revealed.
Much of the tale’s tension is tied up with the secrecy and with the to-ing and fro-ing and even woo-ing between the Earl and Julie.
An interesting conundrum that facilitates some cheeky repartee, perilous moments of near discovery, and delightful scintillating scenes.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. ( )

A Miss and a Lord – both have secrets and secret identities – One wants revenge – and the other wants protection. I loved this book from the meet-cute to the last word in the epilogue and I hope you will love it too.

Miss Julia Addison is the daughter of a clergyman and she always longed for more freedom than a young lady of that period was allowed – especially a clergyman’s daughter. The opportunity to gain a small measure of freedom came when Mrs. Mildred Hayes’s niece (and companion) married Julia’s brother. Julia stepped in to become Mrs. Hayes’s companion – and in doing so, she gained the freedom to become the theater reviewer for Goode’s magazine. Well, no, nobody knows she is the one writing the reviews – it is all done under a secret identity, but she is very happy with that arrangement. At least she’s happy with it until she discovers that Ransom Blackadder, a satirical playwright, is seeking revenge against her for a review she wrote about one of his plays. Oh!

Graham McKay, the Earl of Dunstane, writes satirical plays under the pseudonym Ransom Blackadder. Those plays are always great successes and bring in lots of much-needed money to save his estates. All the reviewers are writing scathing reviews (which he wants as they bring in the audience) – all except one who writes something different. He absolutely cannot have that and he’ll go to great lengths to identify and unmask that reviewer. How dare she!

Julia intrigues Graham from the first time he meets her at the theater. Will their secrets keep them apart even though they care for one another? Can either or both of them come to trust the other enough to share their secret?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fast-paced, witty, entertaining book and can recommend it. So, grab a cup of tea, find a cozy nook, and be prepared for a lovely afternoon spent with Graham and Julia. You’ll be glad you did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

Graham McKay, Lord Dunstane, is a Scottish earl who has lived through too much tragedy and is the last surviving member of his family. He inherited an earldom ridden with debt, and is restoring it to profitability from his earnings as a playwright. He's a sad and bitter man who writes cynical comedies under the name Blackadder (a distracting choice because of the famous British television series). His latest is an attack on literary critics, in particular Miss on Scene who writes for Mrs Goode's magazine for independent young women.

Miss on Scene is Julia Addison, sister of Captain Sterling and sister-in-law of Laura from Better off Wed in the Live and Let Spy series. She has taken over Laura's role of companion to Mrs. Hayes, who is Laura's aunt. Mrs Hayes and Laura share a love of the theatre, and it is at Covent Garden that they first meet Lord Dunstane, who is instantly attracted to Julia. This is a familiar plot, so it needs characters with wit, charm and sparkle to lift it from the mundane. Graham and Julia can't quite manage it.

This was a pleasant read, but I didn't find the characters engaging. I hope that the mysterious, frizzy-haired illustrator, who is potentially much more interesting, will be the heroine of the next book.

Thank to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this ARC. ( )