Lady Sophia Barnes, daughter of a marquess and bluestocking extraordinaire, has made it her life mission to help women without recourse: whether prostitutes or servants, she will do everything in her power to help them, all the while going about her business disguised as a man. One evening of February 1820, after one of her protégées goes missing, she surmises only one man can help her: Damien Beecham, Viscount Quint. It's a bit tricky as she rebuffed him three years previous, but when she hears he is at death's door, she is determined to save his life, which she does, only he never knew. A few months later Sophie, as Lady Sophia is commonly known, again comes knocking at Quint's door, this time with a most outrageous proposal.

THE LADY HELLION is a fabulous, wonderful book! Quint and Sophie have a friendly relationship; both have come to terms that they will never marry, for different reasons, and there lies the beauty of the story and where the remarkable character development plays a significant part. Both Quint and Sophie have secrets which add many layers to the already fascinating main characters. Sophie is a formidable woman: she is a true bluestocking, and not a poor excuse from the author in order to explain her unconventional behaviour. Sophie's heart is in what she does, she is brave, reckless even; she is full of life and ebullient. Sophie is a superb heroine, the kind little girls dream of being. Quint is known as an eccentric; he's a recluse with a brilliant mind and Sophie is a perfect intellectual match for him, which he appreciates. It is also refreshing that Quint is neither a rake nor a rogue, but he is most definitely a brooding hero, and it is totally relevant to the story arc.

THE LADY HELLION is built upon a very clever premise, and Ms. Shupe crafts an exciting and meticulously researched story fraught with suspense, startling plots twists, combined with frissons of sexual tension, and a beautiful, tender love story, and what an ending! The fictional world in which THE LADY HELLION takes place is depicted so realistically that I didn't feel as if I were outside looking in but rather as if I had been transported to 1820. Joanna Shupe's prose is exquisitely simple and quietly elegant, yet very evocative and I'm positive the dialogues reflect precisely how people conversed at that time; the conversations are not stiff but sound entirely natural. THE LADY HELLION is absolutely terrific!

Book Summary

Lady Sophia Barnes doesn't take no for an answer. Especially when she's roaming London's seedy underground...dressed as a man.

A rabble rouser for justice, Sophie's latest mission is to fight for the rights of the poor, the wretched--and the employees at Madame Hartley's brothel. She's not concerned about the criminals who will cross her path, for Sophie has mastered the art of deception--including the art of wearing trousers. Now her fate is in her own hands, along with a loaded gun. All she needs is instruction on how to shoot it. But only one person can help her: Lord Quint, the man who broke her heart years ago. The man she won't let destroy her again...

The last thing Damien Beecham, Viscount Quint, needs is an intrusion on his privacy, especially from the beautiful, exasperating woman he's never stopped wanting. A woman with a perilously absurd request, no less! For Damien is fighting a battle of his own, one he wishes to keep hidden--along with his feelings for Lady Sophia. Yet that fight is as hopeless as stopping her outlandish plan. Soon all Quint knows for certain is that he will die trying to protect her...