“But you’re— you’re—” “A virgin? True. But just because I don’t believe in poaching out of season doesn’t mean I can’t hunt.”

In Turner #1 (reviewed here), we are introduced to Mark Turner as the baby brother of the Turner family, completely absorbed in writing the definitive tome on chastity.

Fast forward a few years and Mark is now Sir Mark, knighted by Her Majesty for his work, titled A Gentleman’s Practical Guide to Chastity. The work has been incredibly successful and Sir Mark is hounded by the press (in some fun commentary on paparazzi) and pursued by every Mama in London for their daughter. Then there is the group of men who have taken The Guide as gospel, forming a group to protect themselves against the dangers of women (in some fun commentary on MRAs).

Jessica Farleigh is a Fallen Woman. After being taken advantage of as a young woman (girl) by a secret fiance and falling foul of her devout father, Jessica has found protection as a courtesan. (Also some fun commentary on how little it takes for a woman in this period to be regarded as less than chaste.)

Jessica no longer wants the life of a courtesan and is looking for a way out. Her former protector hates Sir Mark and wants him to be destroyed. And what could destroy a famously chaste man but exposing him as not being a virgin?

This is a fun and breezy read – Mark is a great hero (almost perfect, with enough flaws to make him interesting and not irritating) and Jessica is his perfect foil. Their repartee is a thing of beauty, especially when their Scripture-quoting banter goes completely over the head of the lecherous local Pastor. Like all Milan books, this casts some serious shade on hypocrites and gently challenges some accepted behaviours, but that just makes it more likeable.