Book Review: Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover (The Rules of Scoundrels #4) by Sarah MacLean

SYNOPSIS:

 

She is the most powerful woman in Britain,
A queen of the London Underworld ...
But no one can ever know.

He is the only man smart enough to uncover the truth,
Putting all she has at risk . . .
Including her heart.

                                                                           ******

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.

MY REVIEW:

 
Chase has been a continuous mystery since I started reading this series. And when I found out that Chase was a she, goddamit, I counted every single day until the book came out! AND. OH. MY. GOSH. IT WAS SO GOOD!

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover is an intelligently written book with a whole lot of wit, angst, passion, unpredictable events, and a touch of tenderness enough to threaten your tear ducts. Starting the novel was a pleasure but ending it was harder than I thought! Just the mere fact that this might be the last time I will be able to have a full glimpse of the Fallen Angel men and woman sends a sad quenching in my heart. Might because I am in denial and still holding on the hope that maybe there’s a novella or maybe Langely would have a story just so I could take a glimpse on these characters I’ve been attached to for years.

Sarah MacLean just knows how to make really great characters. Every single one of them was thought out carefully and was adorned with unique qualities that made them stand out from other book's characters. Chase is probably the most badass heroine I have ever read about in a historical romance. She had spunk, power, confidence, and wit that could shame gentlemen higher than her rank. I totally loved her background story from being a teenage mother to the most powerful person in London. She was a woman with a man's mind. It was so amazing how Miss Sarah was able to stabilize Chase femininity despite that character's maleness in the pervious books. I am still appalled by how I wasn't able to detect Chase was a she on the first two books!

West is a character with a facade of success, wisdom, and serenity. But deep inside him hides a man with a dark past and an identity once revealed will threaten his present and his future. Together, as a couple, they had a chemistry that started out as a spark and escalated into a fiery need for each other. I can really tell that Chase and Duncan were made for each other in all aspects. They both have matching wits, a past they both wanted to get through, the same determination in doing anything for the people they love, and the equal amount of a rational and an unconditional love for each other.

A teeeeeeeny tiny drawback that I felt was on the discovery of both Duncan’s real identity and Georgiana’s identity as Chase. Since the first page, the impending revelation of their identities had me intrigued, building a strong and high expectation on the scene when they finally find out about each other’s hidden selves. But when it came there, I felt like my expectations were cut shorter than what I expected. I expected a surge of emotions but what I had wasn’t as strong as I imagined. Nevertheless, this didn’t cause a significant effect on the awesomeness of the book.

The story had me anticipating from page to page but held me back because of the fear that it will end. It’s the kind of story that will consume you so listen when I say you have to reserve a full reading time for this one. The dynamics of the characters will insert a hundred strings through your heart and tug all at the same time. Other than Duncan’s very sweet and possessive relationship with Georgiana, what really melted my heart was how Bourne, Temple, and Cross cared for Chase. How they care for her, love her, protect her, annoy her, and support her was part of the romance of this story. It’s been a great journey with you, Rules of Scoundrels series. But can we please have more?