Lady Lydia Somerset is an earl’s daughter. At the ripe age of twenty-five, she still wears the lavish gowns and dances the dainty steps of the haute ton as if she were pursuing a husband; but her goals are far more personal. Instead, she pursues her tormentors: the men who bet that taking a girl’s virginity–her virginity–really can cure a brothel’s plague. She has her cousins and sister to aid … aid her, but no one can understand what it feels like to be helpless. Pugilism, England’s manliest pastime, is her only relief. Training in secret with a female boxer keeps her sane, but when her instructor is hired away by one of the men she is seeking to destroy, she is in a bind. Her new teacher, a former prizefighter with a ready joke and a quick wit might do more than just correct her technique.
John Arthur is made of money. A street kid who dazzled with his fists, he now impresses as a miracle worker on the London Stock Exchange. But a man can’t forget a boyhood spent in the gutter. Easy-going and affable, John Arthur knows he shouldn’t tangle with bluebloods. He should be happy with a full belly and coin-filled pockets. But when he meets a woman who finds boxing as vital as he does, his life suddenly gets complicated.
Caught between revenge and finding love with a man who might truly understand her, Lady Lydia must commit to opening her heart or closing it forever.
*Winner of the Golden Leaf Best First Book Award 2020
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I’m pretty willing to bet that this Regency romance novel is different from the others you’ve read. While it has the necessary and desired elements of a fascinating and passionate couple, and the obstacles they overcome to finally get together, it has much more. Boxing, and women boxing at that, plays a prominent role in the novel, and not only adds an unexpected historical aspect, but also works to add depth to the two main characters, as their love of pugilism helps them to overcome their inner struggles. I would say that the audience for this novel goes beyond romance readers, and will also be a great read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
I was drawn to this because of the original premise – Regency heroine wants to box (who knew this was a thing?) and get her own back on the men who raped her. Not your average Regency romp. But the research is firm and accurate (I did some of my own) and Lydia is a very interesting character, as she plots to bring about the downfall of those who ruined her while fighting her own panic attacks. John, the hero, is a rough diamond, striving to make his sister a respectable match, despite his poor background. Despite their differences, the relationship between them crackles and this was an original and unusual read and I’ll look out for this author again.
This Historical Regency romance captivated me right from the very beginning with the great character and plot development that I read this book in one sitting!
A Confusing Muddle at First
This book had a prologue that took place a while before the first chapter. This is not uncommon in historical romantic fiction or even in contemporary Fiction. And of course, sometimes a prologue isn’t very clear about why its events are happening or who everybody is, etc. But this confusion, instead of being resolved rather quickly, which is how I prefer it to go, seemed only to get deeper rather than let up in the first couple of chapters. It’s like the author was too afraid of giving away too much, so she gave away too little. Frankly, I couldn’t really get past this confusion; as such, I never really could quite enjoy the book. It does have an unusual concept for Regency, although I have seen it once before in the last couple of months, of a female secret pugilist needing to be brutal with her body because others had been with her. But again, I could not really get past what I considered to be the bizarreness and randomness of the prologue and the first couple of chapters. I actually went back to the book description and reread it to see if that would help me get a better sense of what this book was supposed to be about, just so I could have some sort of a framework. That actually did help, but I don’t think you should have to read the book description to figure out what the book is about!
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
What’s left after revenge? When she was assaulted at ten years of age in her own home by an uncle and his cronies, Lydia, her sister, and cousins made a pact to get revenge. Until then none of them can get married and find happiness. Now their efforts are almost done. Three down and two to go. But Lydia has met the man next door. John Arthur, a pugilist and stock broker. He likes her and she admires him, but she feels she is broken and when her revenge is complete, while her sister and cousins move on with their life, she will remain a bitter, unmarried woman. But John is not just a fighter in the ring. He will fight for her. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review
This is about a lower class finacial investor who started out boxing. He made his fortune and is now trying to move up into the upper class in London to help his sister. He meets Lydia daughter of an Earl who has many secrets she wants revenge for. She tries to helps him traverse the upper class. There are a lot of surprises throughout their friendship.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Unusual and compelling.
This book is immediately fast paced and very unique. It tackles issues never touched upon in historicals abd that’s what sets it apart.
Lady Lydia had a terrible thing happen to her on a bet to cure a brothel’s plague (I had many questions about this). She becomes a lady boxer, it was a thing that I knew about through previous research).
I like strong women and I thought Lydia was incredibly well developed and understood.
She’s extracting her revenge (as she should) and meets John, no title, but wealthy and also a boxer.
Highly recommend.
Book one in the When The Blood Is Up series a well written story by an Author I have not read before and it looks like this is her first book. I will be looking for more in this series. This is Lady Lydia Somerset and John Arthur a Pugilism teacher that comes into Lydia’s life to teach her boxing. I could not put this book down. There is suspense, drama, revenge, twists, turns, boxing, and romance. I did like this sentence “How very unsettling,” John said, whipping off his shirt. “My reputation will be in tatters.” John is saying this to Lydia. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
ONE UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY!!!
Staggering! Edie is kicking ass and taking names, marking off contenders and setting up the next round, blazing this baby together piece by piece seamlessly. Sparks fly as drama, distress, intrigue, turmoil, retribution and soaring suspense, keeps you riveted on a razors edge. Exhibiting impressive, well rounded scenario’s, that punch dead center, ramping up the exuberance and adrenaline with such intensity, blasting this baby into a tailspin with such an unbelievable culmination. Bumbling through the trials and tribulations, along with a boatload of shocking twists and stunning turns, testing our characters in ways they could have never anticipated. The attraction and chemistry builds as each layer is peeled back exposing an undeniable connection and amplifying affections, binding them to one another perfectly. The characters are authentic and realistic with depth and qualities that transform into outstanding personalities. The scenes are so abundantly detailed to give you a full understanding and realism that balance out fluidly. Remarkable job Edie, thanks for sharing this little fella with us.
This historical has a bit of a dark side.
This historical has a bit of a dark side to it the issues it addresses show a depth not usually found in a historical romance. It was a refreshing and interesting read. Lydia has a bit of an unconventional side but after what she had to suffer through it was understanding. John is just awesome, great character. If you are looking for something different then this is the one to pick up. I am looking forward to reading more work by Edie Cay. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
This is an unusually good book! I liked the strength of the main character. This is the story of Lydia, a well-borne young lady that was gang raped as a child but has vowed revenge. With the help of her family she systematically exacted her form of revenge. To do this she has to become stronger and she enlists the aid of Bess to teach her fighting. Her curiosity leads her to John McArthur, a prize-fighter turned businessman. Sparks instantly fly between the two. This book draws you in from the very first conversation. You know something is happening but you can’t put it down until you find out what. The only negative aspect to this book was too many unnecessary characters. I would definitely recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Lady’s Revenge (When The Blood Is Up Book 1) by Edie Cay
Happiness is the ties that binds the hands of pugilist. A love story 4.5 Stars!
This historical romance follows strong characters born on opposite sides of society.
Lady Lydia is a very strong woman with a dark secret she can’t bury until she’s had her revenge on the five vile men involved. She was young and helpless when her innocence was taken from her as the prize to the winner of a faro game played by five brothel plagued men of the ton who, wanted to test the claim that to have a virgin would rid them of their disease… She swore she’d never be helpless again and found empowerment in private pugilist lessons that also helped her as an outlet for her anger and ultimately gave her sanity.
John is a prize fighter never missing an opportunity to make money with his fist although, he now has more money than he can spend thanks to his intelligence and hard work rising from the gutter to a prize fighter and into a gifted stock trader. He knows his money alone won’t change his poor upbringing to guarantee his sister an advantageous marriage but, he’s hoping his new student might make a deal that will help them both. Their shared interest and love of the pugilism sport is the tie that binds them on equal and solid ground.
Their romance is a slow-build although they have a strong attraction towards each other they also suffer extreme insecurities and a dark tragic past that would turn the best of men away if he knew about her. The storyline is well written and digs deep into the concept and beliefs that you can only be respectable if your a member of the ton. Yet, this story also brings out the ugly fact that not all of the ton are respectable and do commit heinous crimes that they virtually get away with it due to their status in society. The story is filled with complex characters, an emotional rollercoaster of angst, anger, sweet revenge, personal and social insecurities and bias, and the healing, compassion, understanding, and acceptance found in this unconventional love story.
I really enjoyed and got into the world and history of pugilism! Well done! There was only one thing I wanted to see more of and that was more interaction and relationship building between Lydia and John’s sister. But, I’m sure that relationship will probably be more understood in the next book!
The author is new and this appears to be the authors first published novel! Well done! She’s definitely one to follow and I look forward to the next book! I enjoyed reading this historical tragic to hea love story and recommend it to others who also enjoy some dark and emotional content.
Happy Reading
Content: Adult, dark content talk of a rape as a child by a pox diseased man (no explicit description).