Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover (Rules of Scoundrels Series #4)

by Sarah MacLean

Overview

RITA® Award-winning author Sarah MacLean reveals the identity of The Fallen Angel's final scoundrel in the spectacular conclusion to her New York Times bestselling Rules of Scoundrels series . . .

By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking—in London's darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city's most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered . . . until now.

Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness and sin. He knows she is more than she seems, and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana's secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear . . . including her heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062068514
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/25/2014
Series:	Rules of Scoundrels Series , #4
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	178,325
Product dimensions:	4.19(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.96(d)

About the Author

A life-long romance reader, Sarah MacLean wrote her first romance novel on a dare, and never looked back. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romances translated into more than twenty languages, a romance columnist, and the co-host of the weekly romance novel podcast, Fated Mates. A graduate of Smith College and Harvard University, she lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/27/2014
MacLean's fourth and final Scoundrels historical (after No Good Duke Goes Unpunished) proves that romance can happen in the most unusual circumstances. In 1830s England, Lady Georgiana Pearson, a duke's sister, has been forced to reinvent herself after being ruined by a stable boy. She is respectable Georgiana by day, but by night, she has not one but two secret identities: Anna, the most powerful madam in London, and Chase, Anna's crafty business partner, who's widely believed to be a man. Georgiana is determined to marry a titled gentleman, and newspaper magnate Duncan West agrees to help her seal the deal. But Duncan is drawn to Georgiana himself, and she to him. Soon they form an intimate connection, with many deep emotional developments that propel the story. Though they eventually decide to act on their attraction, they struggle with the knowledge that they can never wed; Duncan fears the revelation of buried secrets that could destroy him, and Georgiana believes that only a title can help her daughter escape the stain of bastardy. Series readers will be blown away by the revelation of Chase's identity, and will cheer on Duncan and Georgiana as they bring their complex relationship to a riveting conclusion. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

MacLean wraps up her popular Rules of Scoundrels series with the clever plotting, exquisite writing and lush sensuality she is known for. A worthy conclusion to an extraordinary series.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Series readers will be blown away by the revelation of Chase’s identity, and will cheer on Duncan and Georgiana as they bring their complex relationship to a riveting conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“RITA Award-winning MacLean again successfully woos readers with another entrancing literary merger of sophisticated sensuality and scintillating wit as she wraps up her exquisitely written Rules of Scoundrels quartet in splendid fashion.” — Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

RITA Award-winning MacLean again successfully woos readers with another entrancing literary merger of sophisticated sensuality and scintillating wit as she wraps up her exquisitely written Rules of Scoundrels quartet in splendid fashion.

Booklist (starred review)

03/01/2015
Georgiana has always exploited society's secrets and kept her own, but when she decides she must wed to give her illegitimate daughter a chance at a different life, she turns to newspaperman Duncan West for help. Although there are rewards for longtime readers of MacLean's historical romance series, this could easily be enjoyed by anyone who loves watching a woman succeed despite the restrictions of her gender. (LJ 12/14)

Library Journal

★ 2014-10-23
After she's spent the last decade incognito, posing as the most enigmatic (male) casino owner in England, a ruined lady re-enters society to secure her daughter's rightful place in the beau monde, attracting suitors, enemies and the attention of a handsome newspaper magnate.Lady Georgiana Pearson has been happily free of the strictures of Victorian society since she ruined herself at the hands of a man she thought she loved and bore a daughter, scandalizing polite society and setting herself firmly beyond the pale. Since then, she's partnered with three other titled social pariahs to create The Fallen Angel, the most successful gaming club in London, which deals in scandal and secrets as much as gambling. Under the guise of the mysterious "Chase," who works in the shadows and is represented by yet another alter ego, Anna—whom every assumes is Chase's mistress—Georgiana is secretly one of the most powerful figures in England, though none but her partners know her true identity. Blissfully disreputable, she is suddenly aware of her limitations when society's scorn turns toward her beloved daughter, and she decides to seek an aristocratic husband to raise her daughter's social standing. However, her return to society draws more than a few eyebrows, as well as the interest of all the scandal sheets, including one published by newspaper magnate Duncan West. Understanding there are layers to this story, West digs into Georgiana's past and realizes Georgiana and Anna are one and the same, then misreads the hold "Chase" has on her, even as he finds himself falling for her. West has dangerous secrets of his own, ensuring he can never offer her the security or respectability she wants, but he intends to free her from Chase's influence and pave the way for her happiness, realizing too late how misguided that plan is. MacLean wraps up her popular Rules of Scoundrels series with the clever plotting, exquisite writing and lush sensuality she is known for. A worthy conclusion to an extraordinary series.

Kirkus Reviews

Lady Georgiana Pearson, daughter and sister of a duke, who was ruined as a girl, is the focus of this fourth Rule of Scoundrels offering. Now secretly ruling London's underworld as "Chase," one of four owners of The Fallen Angel, London's most exclusive gaming hell, Lady Georgiana must try to keep her secrets, guard her heart, and yet risk all for handsome and determined newspaper kingpin Duncan West. The voice that Justine Eyre gives to each character is spot-on for that character's personality and traits. Using a quiet, whispery tone, Eyre hits the mark in her portrayals of London's elite. A.C.P. 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2015 - AudioFile