A Lady Most Wayward is book 5 in Darcy McGuire’s series, The Queen’s Deadly Damsels, and it was a solid entry in the series.
The main characters in this book are Philippa, Duchess of Dorset and the one I would call the leader of the Deadly Damsels, a group of women who secretly investigate for Queen Victoria, and Olivia Marchioness of Smithwick, a woman somewhat wrongly accused of being a part of her husband’s evil schemes.
Philippa has vowed to bring Olivia to justice, despite her strong attraction to her. Throughout most of the novel the two fight their feelings, and fight constantly (both verbally, and sometimes physically) so if you like some angst in your romance, this may be the book for you.
In addition to Olivia, Philippa is after an underground ring of men who are kidnapping children and selling them into sexual slavery, but despite the threats to Olivia’s daughter, I didn’t really feel a sense of urgency in catching their leader until almost the very end of the book.
The romance between Philippa and Olivia was, as already stated, quite volatile. Philippa felt cold and judgemental for a lot of the book, and I didn’t warm up to her until late in the story.
I did enjoy A Lady Most Wayward, it was the second book that I’ve read from the series, and while not my favourite, it was a good read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A Lady Most Wayward will be available on October 13 2025.
Life, Tea, and Everything 