emilyhei's review against another edition
4.0
After scandal has left Lady Annabelle Marchant without a fiancee and her reputation tarnished, she is left to live life the way she sees fit. One of those ways is investigating a potential haunting of a widow who is certain her husbands spirit is walking the halls. Belle’s first encounter with Lord Rufus Marlesbury, the Earl of Terrance goes from seductive to full out icy when he learns who she is.
Rufus doesn’t want to hear a muttering of the word ghost, he certainly doesn’t want Belle in his home especially when he can’t stop thinking about her lips. Rufus has an agenda of his own, trying to clear his name from being falsely accused of his father’s date. If Rufus can learn to trust Belle, he may just find a way to clear his name and find his own happily ever after.
Full review on Single Titles
http://singletitles.com/?p=8666
Rufus doesn’t want to hear a muttering of the word ghost, he certainly doesn’t want Belle in his home especially when he can’t stop thinking about her lips. Rufus has an agenda of his own, trying to clear his name from being falsely accused of his father’s date. If Rufus can learn to trust Belle, he may just find a way to clear his name and find his own happily ever after.
Full review on Single Titles
http://singletitles.com/?p=8666
angielisle's review
3.0
A rainy day Regency-romance. I'm admitting out-right, this isn't a genre I normally read because I'm not a fan of straight-up romance but I won a free copy of this book, in exchange for a review, during a book-club giveaway so I read it.
In the first couple chapters of the book, I expected sex galore, à la Harlequin-Romance style, but the book surprised me because sex is implied and left to the imagination - which I appreciate because I didn't have to skim pages.
Some of the descriptions in this story remind me of Wilkie Collins (The Haunted Hotel is foremost in my mind), with a dash-more romance flavored by Disney whimsy. With the way sex is handled, this story is appropriate for a younger audience, perhaps girls too old for Disney princesses but too young to be hard and cynical (like me).
The story does utilize a mystery but I solved it quickly because...well, I can't tell you. But, it was an obvious clue that someone who knows how to read the format of a mystery book will spot immediately. Someone less acquainted with detective/mystery/horror novels -like a younger audience- might not catch the clue so easily.
I don't read this genre very often because most of the romance doesn't feel real to me. That holds true for this story but, keep in mind, I'm biased as h-e-double hockey sticks. If you want a nice rainy afternoon regency-romance to cuddle up with in a chair by the window, disregard my bias. This book fulfills that purpose.
In the first couple chapters of the book, I expected sex galore, à la Harlequin-Romance style, but the book surprised me because sex is implied and left to the imagination - which I appreciate because I didn't have to skim pages.
Some of the descriptions in this story remind me of Wilkie Collins (The Haunted Hotel is foremost in my mind), with a dash-more romance flavored by Disney whimsy. With the way sex is handled, this story is appropriate for a younger audience, perhaps girls too old for Disney princesses but too young to be hard and cynical (like me).
The story does utilize a mystery but I solved it quickly because...well, I can't tell you. But, it was an obvious clue that someone who knows how to read the format of a mystery book will spot immediately. Someone less acquainted with detective/mystery/horror novels -like a younger audience- might not catch the clue so easily.
I don't read this genre very often because most of the romance doesn't feel real to me. That holds true for this story but, keep in mind, I'm biased as h-e-double hockey sticks. If you want a nice rainy afternoon regency-romance to cuddle up with in a chair by the window, disregard my bias. This book fulfills that purpose.
artemishi's review
4.0
I'm not normally much of a romance reader, but I do love me some history, especially Regency history. And in A Beastly Scandal, Shereen Vedam has written a fun little romp through Regency romance.
It's a quick read, and a lighthearted one. Belle is a woman who knows her own mind, and doesn't bend to the will of others (although she attempts to live within the rules of her society). Her supernatural senses give her an edge when communicating with others, which seems to have replaced her need to be a critical and analytical thinker.
Lord Rufus is a man who worries too much, and wears his emotions on his face (unknowingly). In the stern patriarchal society that was Regency London, I can well believe Rufus' harsh self-criticisms and bullying of others. He's a bit ham-fisted and trusting in his quest, but then, if you were brought up to believe everyone else was there to take care of you and do as you say, I suppose you would be trusting.
This book has more in it than I expected: love, yes (and instalove, which is my least favorite thing but in a short romance novel I expected it), but also espionage and intrigue, supernatural stuff, a fair amount of historic detail, and characters whose external visage is at odds with their internal desires.
Belle's abilities meant that the usual journey of discovering someone's motivation was cut short, but at least everyone in the book had motivations and fears, and the concept of "no one is fully who and what they seem" was carried off with success.
I recommend this book for lovers of regency romance, fairy tale retellings, supernatural romance, regency ghost stories, beach-read historic fiction, and lighthearted romps.
It's a quick read, and a lighthearted one. Belle is a woman who knows her own mind, and doesn't bend to the will of others (although she attempts to live within the rules of her society). Her supernatural senses give her an edge when communicating with others, which seems to have replaced her need to be a critical and analytical thinker.
Lord Rufus is a man who worries too much, and wears his emotions on his face (unknowingly). In the stern patriarchal society that was Regency London, I can well believe Rufus' harsh self-criticisms and bullying of others. He's a bit ham-fisted and trusting in his quest, but then, if you were brought up to believe everyone else was there to take care of you and do as you say, I suppose you would be trusting.
This book has more in it than I expected: love, yes (and instalove, which is my least favorite thing but in a short romance novel I expected it), but also espionage and intrigue, supernatural stuff, a fair amount of historic detail, and characters whose external visage is at odds with their internal desires.
Belle's abilities meant that the usual journey of discovering someone's motivation was cut short, but at least everyone in the book had motivations and fears, and the concept of "no one is fully who and what they seem" was carried off with success.
I recommend this book for lovers of regency romance, fairy tale retellings, supernatural romance, regency ghost stories, beach-read historic fiction, and lighthearted romps.
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