Review: A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn McNamara

This is a book review for "A Most Scandalous Proposal" by Ashlyn McNamara.  (I am really sorry about the formatting but I can't get it to work with me so I apologize in advance for words being cut off, etc.)

"William Ludlowe wagers five thousand pounds that Miss Julia St. Claire will become the next Countess of Clivesden." And with that, our story begins. Benedict Revelstoke reads this in White's infamous betting book and is livid over the fact that an infamous rake like William would be interested in his long time friend, Julia. Julia has no interest in William but her sister Sophia has had a crush on him for  years. It all comes together one disastrous night at a ball where William makes advances towards Julia but she does everything she can to encourage him 
towards Sophia. In Historical Regency novels, we often hear of how a lady's reputation can be ruined by being alone with a man in a room for any period of time. In this novel we actually see that come to fruition as Sophia, after fainting, is left in a room for a matter of seconds with the Earl of Highgate who is trying to help the young girl.  That's  just enough time for William to jump in and create a scandal for Sophia and Highgate. 

This book highlights the worst qualities of a mother who is hellbent on marrying off her daughters to the highest title possible. The mother seizes the small chance of Sophia being compromised  by the Earl and refuses to let either of them out of the situation. She insists that they now must marry and she demands satisfaction for her daughter's ruined reputation. It doesn't matter that Sophia has no interest or desire in the Earl of  Highgate who has a checkered past. Julia and Sophia's mother sees her chance to get one of the girls married off as a countess and to save her and her husband from financial ruin. This mother has no qualm's about throwing both of her girls to whatever man that she can find in order to save themselves. It's not a very good  story regarding maternal affection and love for your children.

Julia has watched her sister pine away for a man she can't have and has witnessed the pain and tears caused by his dismissal. Bearing witness to that pain was enough to make any girl guard against more tender feelings. This is why Ludlowe wants to marry - because she is seen as hard hearted and not capable of love. 

Our hero, Benedict, doesn't particularly enjoy town or the doings of the Ton but now he is compelled to keep Ludlow away from Julia and he's not sure why. Benedict has been with Ludlow at Eton and is not particularly impressed with the man's character or the things he did while at the school. 

There's a lot going on in this book - you have Sophia with a crush on Ludlow. Ludlow is chasing Julia using whatever means possible. The mother is throwing both daughters away as fast as possible, a father with a gambling problem and Benedict trying to make sense of all of it.

All in all, it's a pretty good story. It's rather fast paced so it holds your attention. There are a lot of characters each with their own back stories and set of problems. Everyone in this book seems to be imperfect with baggage or misunderstandings. Most of the book is sorting out what is rumor, what is true and what each character wants from life. I liked the mother the least. I think the author, at the end of the book, tries to redeem the mother in some small way but it doesn't fly with me. She has only her own interests in mind and that makes Julia have to take matters into her own hands and present Benedict with "a most scandalous proposal." You'll have to read the book to find out what that is!

A Most Scandalous Proposal rating: 6 out of 10

Review: The Scoundrel Takes a Bride by Stefanie Sloane

This is a review of the Scoundrel Takes a Bride by Stephanie Sloane. My book reading has been hit or miss lately. I'll read a good book and then I'll read a book that's not so good and then I have to review them both. I feel bad that not all my reviews can be positive and upbeat but I try to highlight the good points of each book that I do read. Fortunately for me, and you, I thought that this was a pretty good book. The Scoundrel Takes a Bride is unique to me because I don't read a lot of mystery romance novels so this book was different in that way. I really liked the heroine in this book. She breaks the normal heroine role by being part of the team that helps solve the murder mystery of her mother. She doesn't step aside and let the men do the job. Instead she is a budding criminal psychologist. 

She has worked with the Bow Street runners and has become a criminal psychologist by working on cases, reading personal interviews, books by authorities in the field at that time and interviewing criminals and the people who hunt them down. She is quite skilled. In fact she does a better job of interrogating the criminal in the book than the men do. She is reminiscent of a regency era "Brenda Lee." She is strong but not willful. She is very caring and loving of the family that she has created after her mother was murdered when she was very young. She's made a family out of her staff and the boys that were her neighbors. Growing up she knows that she is intended to marry the eldest child, Langdon Bourne, the Earl of Stonecliffe, but she has fallen for the second son Nicholas. Nicholas is definitely a tortured hero. We find him at the beginning of the book so drunk that he misses his best friends wedding. It's not that Nicholas doesn't care for Lady Sophia. It's quite the opposite. He's always loved her but knows that he can't have her because she is betrothed to his brother. I like the fact that Sephia takes Nicholas as a project and basically decides to slap him out of the funk that he's been living in the last couple of years. 

The secondary characters in this book almost steal the show. If you like books with street wise children, there is a young ruffian named mouse and Nicholas literally runs into him in a dark alley. Thugs are chasing him down and Nicholas recognizes him as an informant that he's paid before and he saves Mouse's life. There is also Pavan Singh. Oh what a hilarious character. He's sort of an Indian holy man that provides all the comic relief. He comes in and out of the picture at various times in the story doing odd things like incapacitating two thugs but simply touching their inner thighs. He astounds everyone arounds him but he is a pure and simple man who happens to want a better life for Nicholas. Their conversations are hilarious. He redesigns Nicholas' entire house, rearranges his staff, and hires a new cook so that she can learn to cook curry. It is a family dynamic of an Indian holy man, a street-wise child and a battle weary gentlemen that you don't see in most romantic novels. 

As Nicholas slowly gets his life together he realizes his love not only for Sophia but also the extended family that he's created with Singh and Mouse. There is so much to like in this book from the minor characters to the major players there's always something going on. It's rarely boring with all the twists and turns as the investigation gets closer and closer to the end. I will say that the murder mystery is not wrapped up in a nice, neat little package, just in case those things bother you. I can't wait for Book 2 which is Langdon's story.

Scoundrel Takes a Bride: 6 out of 10

Review: There's Something About Lady Mary by Sophie Barnes

There's something about Lady Mary and there is something about this book that I can't put my finger on. It started off with a lot of potential and then went downhill for me until I was forcing myself to read to the end so I could review it properly. Unfortunately, I just can't figure out exactly what went wrong. I liked the premise a lot. Lady Mary didn't know she was a lady. We find out at the beginning that her father had once been a Marquess and had walked off and left it to become a doctor which is certainly unusual for the time period.

 He was the best around and taught his daughter everything he knew. She was very good at her craft and research but she was also disobeying the law by practicing medicine as a female. This is all very interesting. Somewhere along the way though, Mary starts to get on my nerves. I think it is because she feels wishy washy and inconsistent to me. She is stubborn, forceful, intelligent, in-command woman to be reckoned with.

Then she becomes a tearful, indecisive, emotional woman who one minutes loves her guy, Ryan, but then is aggravated by him for being able to practice medicine even though he is inferior to her in the medical profession and social rank. She is worried about what people think of her riding a horse in breeches at a country estate but doesn't give a lot of thought to being in breeches at night when she is called to a patient's home. Given her background of a commoner, you'd think she would retain more of her common behavior and attitude but she feels like a "lady of quality" from the beginning of the book.

She is too trustworthy of people who waltz into her life although she had witnessed unspeakable casualties in the army with her father. She is also continously finding out that her father lied to her but yet she trusts most people around her without a lot of thought. The medical mystery part of the book was good even though it seemed to stretch on into a rather unbelievable ending. Also, I think a big part of the issue with this book was the language and the way it is written. The language is more like a BBC production and less casual conversation. Not necessarily flowery but grandiose like "Must you always mock me?" and "Don't do anything untoward."

The love scenes happened rather quickly and Mr. Summersby's behavior was kinda' all over the place too. It might be that I am not used to reading medical mysteries that take precedence over the building of the character and their love affair. I am sure that there are people who would enjoy this book very much - like my best friend who is a nurse. I think she'd enjoy it more than I did and I plan on recommending it to her.

Rating of There's Something About Lady Mary: 4 out of 10

Review: The Lady Most Willing by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway

This is a novel in three parts each written by some of my favorite authors. I love Connie Brockway and have read almost everything she has written. (I only have 2 more books left to read of Brockway's and I am savoring them like fine chocolate.) I also very much like Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. How can you go wrong with a book by these immensely talented authors? You can't! 

And that is what makes this an enjoyable and fun read. I started laughing at the prologue and didn't stop. It was hilarious to read about the mighty Laird Taran Ferguson with his motley crew of men in kilts intent on storming the castle party to steal a couple of women to take back home to his nephews so they can pick out brides. Scottish brides, of course. The writing is so funny. Anything Taran does ends up going astray in some way so he ends up kidnapping three ladies, a common girl and the Duke of Bretton. None of them want to be "kidnapped" and snowed into the castle but they all make the best of it knowing that help will be on the way when the snow melts. Hilarity ensues! 

I loved all the stories in different ways. One was more sensual. One was more comical but they were all great stories with a different approach to the romance of the Hero and Heroine. The second act has Lady Fiona hiding out in the study and intently reading Persuasion by Jane Austen which kinda' mirrors her own life story. I love the book Persuasion so this was really cool. Also, it is so cute to see her snuggled in the study for hours, slouching on the couch with her shoes off and feet propped up on the end. I think it is easy for us to relate to a character who wants to finish a book so badly that she will hide herself away in order to read a good novel. I loved this character. I also enjoyed the commoner, Catriona Burns when she interacts with the Duke of Bretton and her practical view of life.

The book does move a little fast so if you want a long, slow buildup of feelings, emotions and back story then you might not enjoy the pace of "Lady Most Willing." It's easy enough to suspend belief and root for the couples to find their "happy ever after" even if it is quickly done. They only have a couple of days before the snow melts, after all! This book is funny, sensual and light hearted. I loved it!

The Lady Most Willing: 7 out of 10.