Published 3rd July 2025 by Apollo, Head of Zeus.
From the cover of the book:
**PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS MY LADY'S SECRETS**1812...
Following the drum in Spain, rebellious aristocrat Cressida Nightingale has put her tumultuous past far behind her, and with it her short-lived marriage to Lord Greville.
Having escaped the constraints of her previous life and now scorned by society, Cressida has spent years surviving as a spy for her government. Whilst this is a hard life, it's hers and she will fight to keep it. Then her world comes crashing down when she is caught behind enemy lines by none other than her estranged husband.
Betrayed by those who have willingly taken the information she offered, Cressida is offered a deal. Entrap her childhood friend, Lord Byron, now the most famous man in England and one who is suspected of treason, or pay the ultimate price for her own treasonous acts.
Can this nightingale escape the shackles of her past, and what price will she pay for it is she can't?
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1812. Aristocrat Lady Cressida Nightingale has spent years following the drum in Spain, in the heat of battle of the Peninsular War. Secretly, she has spent much of her time spying for the government, but now she has been caught behind enemy lines by her estranged husband, Lord Greville, an officer in the Rifles - the man she has been pointedly avoiding since the collapse of her high society marriage in a flurry of scandal.
Arrested as a traitor, and brought back home in disgrace, Cressida has been betrayed by those who have made use of the information she has supplied. The only way she can save her skin is by taking on a another delicate mission - entrapping her friend Lord Byron, who is suspected of treasonous acts on British soil...
I am a big fan of Katy Moran's writing, having loved her Lamorna Family trilogy, and could not wait to get stuck into The Nightingale Dilemma for more of her gorgeous settings, compelling characters, and slow-burn story-telling rich with luscious detail of time and place.
This stand-alone novel is told from the perspectives of rebellious Cressida and her estranged husband Greville. Driving the story, Cressida's fight for survival gets her into a number of sticky situations that keep you firmly on your satin-slippered toes as she is required to reconcile with family and friends post-scandalous exit from the haut ton, and fight her way out of danger, not to mention negotiate a relationship with Greville that veers wildly between fiery sexual attraction and seething hate. Meanwhile, Greville has to wade through pretty much the same level of family difficulties, scandal, and attempts to decide out how he feels about seeing Cressida again too.
There is a fair amount of backstory to take-on-board about complicated family situations on both sides; their short tempestuous marriage; political unrest; and significant moments from the war, before you can understand quite what is happening in the book - but hold onto your fine-linen shifts and tattered shakos, because all this detail pays dividends once the action really gets going in Scotland. It does help if you know a little about the Peninsular War before embarking on the story as this has major bearing on Cressida and Greville's motives and relationship.
Lush plotlines revolve around political scheming, rebellion, betrayal, blackmail, smuggling, slavery, and the gulf between rich and poor, which show off Moran's skill when it comes to filling out her books with historical context and oodles of social history, and she also knows how to weave in romantic suspense and red-hot passion to stir your emotions. The resulting novel sits nicely somewhere between Bernard Cornwell's excellent Sharpe series (with a lovely nod to the green-jacketed Rifles through swoon-worthy Greville), Regency society yarn, and atmospheric Du Maurier mystery, which makes for a delicious combination. The inclusion of mad, bad, and dangerous to know Lord Byron also provides a lot of salacious fun, and touches on aspects of sexuality in Regency Britain that are quite thought provoking.
Just my kind of spellbinding historical adventure, with a love story between Cressida and Greville that is enemies-to-lovers gold. Another winner from Katy Moran!
The Nightingale Dilemma is available to buy now in paperback, and ebook formats.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
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