Review - - The Lady Makes Her Mark

The Lady Makes Her Mark

by Susanna Craig

Goode's Guide to Misconduct - Book 3

Publisher: Zebra Books

Release Date: May 27, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

Known only as “Miss C.” Constantia Cooper creates satirical cartoons for Mrs. Goode’s. But her anonymity hides a more shocking secret—one that requires she remain elusive. When a scandal at the magazine threatens to expose her, Constantia packs up and flees. But in her haste, she is struck by a carriage and suffers a blow to the head. Fortunately, she’s rescued by a gentleman. Unfortunately, he is all too familiar. Feigning amnesia seems Constantia’s best strategy . . .
 
Alistair Haythorne, Earl of Ryland, would never turn away a lady in distress—even if he’s often the target of said lady’s biting satire. In fact, while “Miss C.” recuperates, he will have her teach his sisters to draw. Perhaps it will inspire a more flattering portrait of him . . .
 
But secrets make interesting bedfellows and as Constantia and Alistair grow closer, their opinions of one another change—drastically. With love in the air, two things stand between them: Alistair’s need to marry an heiress to keep his family’s estate intact . . . and a series of threats that endanger Constantia’s life. Can what keeps them apart ultimately bring them together?

PJ's Thoughts:

Susanna Craig has penned a charming, tropetastic (yes, I know it's not a word but it fits), historical romance that engaged my emotions and kept me eagerly turning pages from start to finish. 

In this third installment of her Goode's Guide to Misconduct series, we turn our attention to artist Constantia, an unconventional woman with a secret, and Alistair, Earl of Ryland, a man who is more than his public reputation would indicate. The circumstances that bring them together (feigned amnesia on her part following an accident in front of his London home) and lead him to offer her a position as art teacher at his country estate (he has several sisters; he knows when a woman is lying but also when she's afraid) put them on the road (yay, road romance!) to forced proximity (I do so enjoy that trope). This, of course, gives ample opportunity for them to slowly reveal themselves to one another amidst lively banter, a slow-burn attraction, and deepening feelings. 

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Constantia and Alistair while watching them slowly fall for one another. Craig uses the supporting cast of characters (his mischievous sisters and snobby aunt) to great effect in revealing the true natures of both Alistair and Constantia. I'd love to see more of his sisters in future books. 

These characters - Alistair, Constantia, the sisters, and even the despised aunt - as well as the obstacle keeping our lovebirds apart and the way each of them reacts to it, feel realistic and authentic to time and place. And, while Constantia is most definitely ahead of her time in thought and deed, she never feels too modern for the time in which this book is set. That is a facet of Craig's writing that I always appreciate. Her research is impeccable and her stories always feel both authentic and relatable, whenever and wherever they are set.

If you enjoy well-researched historical romance with humor, passion, heart, lively banter, engaging characters, and happy (didn't see that coming!) endings, give this one a go. It's a fun read. 

While The Lady Makes Her Mark is book three in Susanna Craig's Goode's Guide to Misconduct series and there are characters from earlier books who make an appearance, it can absolutely be enjoyed on its own. I do however, also recommend book one, The Lady Knows Best and book two, The Lady Plays With Fire. Click on the title to read my review.