Scandal of the Year

Scandal of the Year by Laura Lee Guhrke 215

Aidan Carr is the incredibly proper Duke of Tretham, which is why the entire ton is shocked when he is found in the bed of the very married Lady Julia Yardley. Her husband discovers them and demands a divorce and while Julia becomes the scandal of the ton, Aidan is left by yet another fiance. Julia's marriage to Lord Yardley had been horrific and she had tried desperately for years to get him to file for divorce. Seducing Aidan and being discovered by him was her last resort and though she feels bad for fooling him, she would not change a thing. The two had met when they were younger, right before she was supposed to marry Yardley, and throughout the years they have run into each other at various events. After the divorce is finalized they keep their distance, but they have numerous friends in common so complete avoidance is an impossibility. Their reunion leaves both of them frustrated as Aidan knows Julia is completely wrong and far too scandalous and yet he cannot help but want her, while Julia is confused by the desire she is feeling for the first time in years.

Aidan is trying to look for a wife as he has a duty to provide an heir, yet he cannot get images of Julia out of his head. His memories of their afternoon are shady but the small snatches he does remember are enough to make him hot under the collar. Julia has problems of her own as she is massively in debt as her husband cut her off even before their divorce. She takes it upon herself to help Aidan find a wife and Aidan is stunned at how spot on her observations about his personal tastes are. He realizes that he wants none of the women out there as much as he wants her and sets about trying to prove to her that she wants him just as much. Unfortunately he has quite a bit to contend with as she is haunted by her past with her abusive ex-husband and though Aidan does not know the extent of what she endured, he fears it is too much for them to ever overcome. Julia trusts Aidan and he knows that he will never treat her like Yardley, yet she is still fearful and she must look deep inside herself before she is finally able to let go and take a leap with Aidan.

I got a little peek into Aidan and Julia's relationship in Wedding of the Season and I was very intrigued to discover how Guhrke brought these two together when it was so clear they were each determined not to like the other. This book left a significant gap in time as we jump in after Aidan and Julia are discovered by her husband and after the subsequent divorce. At first this disappointed me, but it would not have added anything to the story and so I let it go. I am not a fan of romances where the characters are attracted to each other through barbing each other and inciting heated arguments that lead to banter. This book walked a very fine line between doing that and successfully writing two characters who were just scared of showing how much they liked each other. Julia's divorce played such a large part in shaping who she was and I wish we had learned earlier what exactly had happened to make her the way she was. The best part of her fear was the way that Aidan was so perfectly suited to help her overcome her fear and support her as much as she needed.

I do like the staid and proper gentleman who is taken in by the scandalous woman and Aidan was so wonderfully proper and it was so obvious that he had a bit of deviltry in him. Julia was the perfect woman to bring it out at first, but then I got rather confused as she started backing away and trying to set him up with other women. It seemed like she became a little schizophrenic in this book, but I will admit it fit with her character who tried to put on such a brave face even while being scared inside. The two of them worked well together overall and the focus of the story was definitely on the development of their relationship, which I always appreciate in a romance novel. There was very little sex in the book and it was just a couple of scenes at the very end and was rather plain and boring overall. This is not really unusual for a Guhrke novel so I was not expecting something hot and steamy. There were some references to previous characters, but nothing too major and I was not overwhelmed with them or anything.

Rating: An even showing by Guhrke, but while there was nothing wrong with it, there was also nothing spectacular either- just a satisfying romance novel.

One Wicked Sin

One Wicked Sin by Nicola Cornick 1117

Lottie Paliser is the most notorious woman in London after her many love affairs ended with a scandalous divorce from her very wealthy husband. Her extravagant lifestyle and spending habits have left her destitute and her entire family has refused to help her. With nowhere else to turn Lottie agrees to become a courtesan in a brothel but her past experience with sex is of no use and she is in danger of being thrown out after leaving several customers unsatisfied. Ethan Ryder is an Irish nobleman who is being held in England as a prisoner of war after being captured fighting for the French. Ethan is planning something big regarding all the other prisoners being held in England and he wants to create a distraction so no one will dig too deeply and Lottie is absolutely perfect. He hires her as his mistress and she agrees because there really are no other options open to her and because she is intrigued by the handsome man who spurned his titled father and ran off to fight for the French.

Ethan escorts Lottie back to Wantage where he is being held and quickly sets her up in her own little cottage. The two begin their affair on a very physical level and neither can deny that there is something more there as Ethan is sweet and attentive and Lottie is strangely reticent. Both of them enjoy this softer side to their relationship but Ethan does not believe he can trust Lottie and Lottie doesn't believe that Ethan wants anything more from her than a bed partner. Lottie is pulled in different directions when her brother offers her a way back into society if she agrees to spy on Ethan and though she agrees she does not want to betray the man she is coming to care for. When she learns that the English have imprisoned Ethan's son, Arland, in a nearby prison just to torment him she is even more determined not to bring harm to Ethan. Ethan is finding that Lottie is nothing like the coldhearted shrew he had been expecting and when she helps his son he knows that he is hopelessly in love with her. But when Lottie discovers that he is hatching the prisoner escape plan she must make a heartbreaking decision and risk losing Ethan forever.

Lottie came across as incredibly awful, shallow, and selfish in Whisper of Scandal and I was a little worried that Cornick had created a character she would not be able to redeem and make worthy of her own book. While I still did not remain convinced that Lottie was an entirely likable character, it was obvious that her divorce and the ensuing scandal had made Lottie recognize her past mistakes and genuinely want to make up for some of her past transgressions. Her past, with her father leaving her and her ex-husband spurning her for other lovers, went a long way toward explaining her promiscuity but not necessarily her flightiness and willingness to betray her closest friend. Her life as a courtesan is rather cloudy and I am not certain she went through with any of her contracts but I admit that I admired her courage and willingness to do whatever she needed to do to survive and I really enjoyed reading about her learning to open up and trust someone and her struggles as she chose between love and country.

Ethan was a new character to the series and not very easy to warm to until we start learning about his son but I very much admired him for fighting for his principles by joining the French. I admit I've never really been a fan of books where the French Revolution is so roundly villain-ized because, although it did take a dangerous turn, it had good intentions and was an important step towards equality in Europe. The most disconcerting aspect of this was his acceptance of Lottie's betrayal as I felt like he should have been much more upset at her for spoiling his plans. I really liked the development of their relationship and how it progressed from sex to feelings and how it was detailed so throughly and so evident throughout the book. Each of them wanted to make the other happy and there were just little moments that made that so clear. I was a little weirded out by the reappearance of Joanna Grant and how she and Lottie were now the best of friends and so happy to see each other after the way things had ended between them, but the other secondary characters were very well done.

Rating: Another really great book by Cornick with an unconventional heroine whom I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.