Review - How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days (A Lady’s Guide, #3) by Sophie Irwin

 

 

 

 

 

Title: How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days (A Lady’s Guide, #3)

 

Author: Sophie Irwin

 

Pages: 404

 

Publisher: HarperCollins

 

Release Date: 31st July 2025

 

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 

 Rich, handsome, and titled Lord Ashford, has every lady in England longing for his hand in marriage.

Everyone, that is, except Miss Lydia Hanworth – the only young woman Ashford wishes to marry.

Pressured into accepting Ashford’s proposal, Lydia has just ten days to free herself from her obligations before the engagement is publicly announced… what can go wrong?

 

 

  

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My Review:  

  

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins*

Miss Lydia Hanworth wants to marry for love, but when the highly eligible Lord Ashford proposes, Lydia finds herself in a predicament. Lydia barely knows Ashford, and certainly doesn't love him, but she has no choice but to accept him.

Lydia now has ten days before the engagement announcement is made to try to convince Ashford to call it off.

Will Lydia succeed?

As a fan of the author's previous books, I was intrigued to read this one.

Lydia was a likeable and relatable protagonist. I liked her determination and wit. The barbed exchanges with Ashford were amusing, as were the lengths Lydia went to attempting to force Ashford to call the engagement off.

I liked Lydia's brother, Pip, and Ashford's cousin, Phoebe.

The plot was enjoyable and held my attention throughout. I found myself smiling several times. I liked the slight mystery element, and the the themes were interesting.

The writing was easy to follow, and I would definitely read another book by the author.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

 

 

Review - The Whisper of Stars by Cristin Williams

 

  

 

 Title: The Whisper of Stars

Author: Cristin Williams

Pages: 448

Publisher: Gollancz

Release Date: 6th November 2025

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 A frozen island.

A monastery turned political prison.

A cipher inked in blood.

When anarchist poet Katya Efremova is transferred to the prison colony on Solovetsky Island, she finds an enigma among her returned possessions - a blood-stained book containing a cipher left by her murdered mother, written on the day she died.

Following her mother's clues, Katya begins to unravel a centuries-old mystery woven into the history of Solovetsky Island. Finding the island's legendary power might be the key to overthrowing the Bolshevik regime, but Katya wasn't sent to Solovetsky by chance. The head of the government's spy network is watching, and there will be no hope of a free Russia if he takes hold of the magic hidden beneath the White Sea snow.

 

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review: 

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group*

Katya is a prisoner and enemy of the state because of her political stance. However, Katya also has a powerful magic that her enemies want to use for themselves.

When Katya is transferred to a prison on an isolated island, she finds a book amongst her returned belongings that contains an encrypted message from Katya's dead mother.

Trapped on the island, Katya will have to form an alliance with the enemy to survive long enough to uncover her mother's last message.

The premise of this book intrigued me, especially the mix of an historical Russia setting with magic thrown in.

There are three protagonists - Katya, Dima, and Natasha. I liked both Katya and Dima, and empathised with them. Natasha was not meant to be a likeable protagonist, but I did enjoy learning more about her and her motives.

The setting of 1920s Russia was interesting, as was the magic and lore in the story.

The plot was mixed for me - I enjoyed it to begin with, but after a while I found it harder to stay interested in the storyline, and was not at all invested. The pacing was a bit off for me, and I felt that some parts could have benefited from a little more fleshing out.

I'm a bit disappointed I didn't enjoy this more, but this was a case where the execution didn't quite work for me.

Overall, this was a mixed read.