Once Dishonored

August 3, 2020
Putney continues her Regency-era Rogues Redeemed series with this enthralling fifth installment (after Once a Spy), about a pair of outcasts who find comfort with one another. While attending a London ball, Lucas Mandeville, Lord Foxton, overhears insults being aimed at Lady Kendra Denshire, a scandalous divorcée, and mercifully asks her to waltz with him. Lucas reveals that he too is considered a social pariah, as, when he was in the Royal Navy, he was captured by the French and betrayed his honor by escaping. In turn, Kendra reveals the true story behind the dissolution of her marriage: her husband falsely accused her of sleeping with three of his friends in order to win a divorce and is now barring her from seeing her nine-year-old son, Christopher. Lucas offers to help Kendra restore her reputation and reunite with Christopher by introducing her to his cousin’s well-connected wife, Suzanne. Suzanne assembles her titled but open-minded female friends to hear Kendra’s story, and together the women fight to clear her good name. Along the way, the attraction between Lucas and Kendra intensifies until their chemistry becomes impossible to ignore, leading to a believable, sensuous romance built on true friendship. With this emotional romance, Putney again proves why she’s a star of the genre.

Starred review from October 1, 2020

Spurned by the society in which she once flourished, Kendra Douglas seeks justice for the wrongs committed against her by her former husband. With her reputation in tatters and her son kidnapped, Kendra needs allies in order to gain back her standing in the community and have some kind of life. Lord Foxton, Lucas Mandeville, is scarred by his time in war on the continent, but more damaged is his sense of honor after his escape from a French prison. He admires Kendra's determination to face her problems head-on and offers her his assistance. Finding comfort and encouragement in each other, the couple discover that maintaining propriety while fighting the inextricable pull between them becomes as difficult a battle as restoring Kendra's good name and finding her son. VERDICT In her own signature style, paying impeccable attention to period details, Putney continues to vindicate the honor of scoundrels in this fifth entry of the stunning "Rogues Redeemed" series (after Once a Spy). Fans of historicals will root for our brave, intelligent heroine and the hero who stands beside her.--Jenna Harmison, Champaign Cty. Lib., OH

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