Lady Scarlett’s Mysterious Driver by Alice Kirk

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'll award this one a respectable four stars, purely on the strength of its wonderful characters and the glorious assurance that everyone manages to secure their Happily Ever After (or, for the lucky blackguard, avoid a stint in Newgate). The plot is admittedly cagey, serving primarily to support this delightful Cinderfella inversion, where the hero ascends above his station to claim his Lady.

However, we must address the rather large, poorly-tied bow in the drawing-room: Not only should that driver have been instantly dismissed upon discovery, but the entire deception is utterly reliant on the dissolute Duke being astonishingly oblivious. He is actively trying to claim his half-brother's inheritance through deceit, all while employing the very man he’s attempting to fleece! An HEA for the couple, yes, but only at the expense of common sense and the total annihilation of Regency societal norms.