Series: Scandalous, #1
Traits & Tropes: titled hero; reformed rake; brother's best friend; spinster
Publication Date: 07.30.13
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England, Spring, 1822
Heat Level: 2
Rating: 4/5
Narration Rating: 4/5
Miss Joan Bennet adores dancing and would rather not be a wallflower at every ball. She’s heard and read enough to know she’s missing out on quite a bit of pleasure as a spinster under her mother’s watchful eye.
Tristan, Viscount Burke, sees immediately that his best friend’s sister, Joan, is nothing but trouble. She always seems to catch him off guard and his best method for winning at their verbal sparring is to simply kiss her into silence. He’d love to see her out of the unflattering gowns she always wears, but that means he has to decide if he’s ready to give up the hedonistic bachelor’s reputation he carries.
This was quite a slow burn story, but I found it charming in the end. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but I came to appreciate it because this story is completely driven by and focused on the development of the relationship between Joan and Tristan. They knew one another as children thanks to Tristan’s friendship with Joan’s older brother, but had had no contact for years. Tristan had received a bad rap that was mostly undeserved, with Joan’s mother and much of society set against him without really knowing why. He’s the one man Joan’s mother has forbidden her to interact with, but she can’t help her feelings for him and is interested in seeing where they take her, so the moment she has a chance to stretch her wings out from under her mother’s thumb. This means Joan finally chooses what she wants to wear for herself and begins to become her own person. It also leads to some pretty delicious banter with Tristan. He also happens to be one of those heroes who’s never been loved. His parents died when he was young, and he was mostly ignored by his uncle and reviled by his aunt. Having little experience with the emotion, it was heartwarming to see Tristan welcome his feelings for Joan without trying too hard to question them, even if he didn’t really know how to demonstrate them to her. This vulnerability made him endearing, as did the underdog status he projected despite his title and fortune. His unconventional courtship of Joan and his creativity of method was enjoyable as well. I also loved the fact that Joan finally stood up for herself to her mother and Tristan went after what he wanted despite a lack of encouragement from that quarter. I quite enjoyed the relationship-focused aspect of this story and I’ll read more of the series.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3835227450
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5177633887
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