The Lady Sparks a Flame (The Damsels of Discovery #2) by Elizabeth Everett – touching and joyful historical romance

The Lady Sparks a Flame is a touching, layered, and joyful historical romance. It tackles trauma, redemption, and the resilience of women with grace and heart.

Previous Book in Series

The Love Remedy (Book 1)

Other Books I read by the Same Author

A Lady’s Formula For Love (Book 1)

A Perfect Equation (Book 2)

A Love By Design (Book 3)

Synopsis

A Lady with a past. A man with ambition. A romance far from London society that might bridge their divides.

Lady Phoebe Hunt never anticipated returning from exile. A fatal choice drove her from England, but the death of her father—and the revelation of his debts—has brought her home. Once she settles her father’s estate, she will return to America, where she has reinvented herself. There’s no reason to remain, not even for one gravitationally challenged but deliciously tempting Sam Fenley.

Samuel Fenley is all ambition. Rising from shop boy to wealthy investor, he’s left knocking on doors that open only for those with a title. Unless he buys the damned door itself—and the estate that goes with it. Sam offers to relieve Phoebe of her burdens, but is her crumbling mansion all Sam wants? Or is it the Lady herself?

When threats from Phoebe’s past spark new dangers, Sam and Phoebe discover that neither is what the other expected. Standing on the edge of disaster, the disgraced Ice Queen will have to decide if she wants to forge through life alone, or let an unlikely hero melt her heart.

Review

Set in 1845, The Lady Sparks a Flame follows Lady Phoebe Hunt—former founder of Athena’s Retreat, daughter of a tyrant Marquess, and infamous exile. After betraying her friends Violet and Letty, Phoebe was banished to America. But now, with her abusive father dead and her family drowning in debt, Phoebe returns to London—uncalled but determined—to settle the estate, secure her mother’s future, and find a respectable match for her sister, Karolina. She fully intends to return to America, where she’s carved out a life of her own… until Samuel Fenley offers help too good to discard.

Sam is charming, clumsy, and wildly successful in business. But in a world obsessed with titles, he sees marrying Karolina as his ticket to true power. Falling for “the Villainess of Majestic Proportions”? Definitely not part of the plan. And then there is Anti-Corn Law unrest throughout the London that wouldn’t let Phoebe free of her past crime.

What unfolds is a slow-burn, emotionally complex romance, with a heroine one can root for and a hero who earns every inch of her trust.

The Lady Sparks is wrapped in themes of redemption, abuse, resilience, and perseverance. The question isn’t just whether Sam can melt the ice queen Lady Phoebe, but whether Phoebe can forgive herself, trust and choose love. This installment leans less into the Women in STEM vibes the series is known for, focusing instead on Phoebe’s haunted past and how deeply it shaped her.

Much of the story is set in Prentiss Manor—gloomy, cold, decaying, and dripping with ghosts both literal and emotional. The atmosphere is eerie and claustrophobic, mirroring the pain runs in veins of Hunt women. It’s heavy to read their past and it was painful to see how dire women’s situation was in that era, living under men’s boot, where all their dreams and happiness were squashed and if they dared to remove from that position they were dismissed under the term female hysteria and threatened to be sent to asylum and only way out for a daughter was either marriage or death.

But the author knows when to let you breathe. Sam brings light and levity, and their banter is filled with wit and warmth. There’s enough comic relief to balance the darkness, and the romance itself becomes a lifeline—for both Phoebe and the reader.

Phoebe is phenomenal. She’s smart, sharp-tongued, brave, and deeply scarred. Her time in America changed her for the better, and her refusal to revert to the woman society tried to break is admirable. Her apology to Violet and Letty is sincere and moving. Watching Sam slowly chip away at her defenses is incredibly satisfying.

Sam, meanwhile, is a golden retriever in human form. His initial obsession with status rubbed me the wrong way, but his arc is handled beautifully. It’s clearly very early he found his match in Phoebe rather than her sister. Her truly sees her and her world. His persistence, tenderness, and unwavering belief in Phoebe won me over.

The secondary cast is excellent. Lady Hunt’s quiet endurance is powerful. Karolina is much sharper than she first appears. The returning characters—Grantham, Greycliff, Arthur, Violet, Letty—all bring depth and heart. And Sam’s family? Pureness in love and support.

The climax is thrilling, with a runaway sequence that finally gives Phoebe and Sam more time together and that made them take leap (literally) and find happiness together in the end.

Overall, The Lady Sparks a Flame is a touching, layered, and joyful historical romance. It tackles trauma, redemption, and the resilience of women with grace and heart.

What to expect in The Lady Sparks a Flame –

– Fallen heroine
– Gumpy/Sunshine trope
– Gothic vibes in a haunted, decaying manor
– Redemption, sisterhood, and second chances
– Past trauma, ghosts (metaphorical and possibly literal)
– Political unrest (Anti-Corn Law riots simmering in the background)
– Realistic dialogue and soft moments
– Supportive side characters

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Have you read any book by this author or wish to read?
What is your favorite women in STEM book?

Just in case you missed,,,

• Dharmayoddha Kalki: Avatar of Vishnu (Kalki Trilogy #1) by Kevin Missal – mythology-inspired fantasy
• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry – emotionally layered friends to lovers romance
• The Greatest Champak Stories: Volume 1 by Champak Magazine – delightful collection for children age 6+

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | WhatsApp Channel

---