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
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