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A review by lassarina
Love in the Time of Scandal by Caroline Linden
4.0
Penelope Weston is outspoken and brash, but also an heiress with quite a dowry. Benedict Lennox, who formerly offered for her sister, infuriates her, which is just as well as he is looking for a demure and quiet wife, not a passionate firebrand like Penelope. Naturally, since they (think they) want nothing to do with each other, circumstances conspire to throw them together and allow them to fall in love.
Penelope has good reason to dislike Benedict: loyalty to her friends is absolutely paramount with her, and from her perspective, Benedict violated this sacred contract when it came to Sebastian Vane, the hero of the previous book in the series and Penelope's brother-in-law. As the reader, of course, we know that Benedict had reason—his father is hideously abusive and Benedict was too afraid to defy him—but to Penelope this is inconceivable, since she comes from a loving and supportive family. This tension between their family expectations (and their expectations of friendship) twines constantly around their interactions and what they expect from each other.
Benedict, meanwhile, wants a quiet wife with a fortune—the latter being necessary not because his family is headed for penury, but because the aforementioned abusive father enjoys using money to enforce his desires on his son. From Benedict's perspective, if he can acquire a comfortable living that isn't tied to his inheritance, then he can at least stay away from his father, if not get over the fear.
For all that he didn't want a woman of fiery temperament for his wife, and for all that Penelope disdains him for choosing her quiet, better-behaved sister over her, obviously they still can't stop staring at each other. When Penelope finds herself in a threatening situation after trying to help a friend, and Benedict rescues her, they cause a scandal, and the only way to alleviate it is to marry and learn to live with it as best they can.
Like the other Scandalous books, this one weaves around the mystery of the shocking pamphlet series 50 Ways to Sin, which good unmarried young ladies are absolutely not supposed to know about (so naturally they all do, which pretty much matches with my memory of being a teenager). I like the way the stories are alluded to and the way it plays into each heroine's relationship with her hero.
This book adds a mystery that seems set to play out in a later book, by making it clear that Penelope's friend Olivia is in a very bad situation having to do with the primary villains of this book, Benedict's father and Viscount Clary. For all that the seeds being planted here are obviously for the sequel, I felt that the plot of this book was resolved in a quite satisfactory manner: the part that touched on Penelope and Benedict's relationship is complete.
I think that to some extent, Benedict undergoes more growth than Penelope in this story, but I think he also had farther to go. A lot of this book is about him coming to terms with how incredibly warped his childhood was, and the ways that has caused spreading ripples of harm to those around him. Penelope's development is more related to both empathy and security—the former in the sense of her needing to truly understand that not everyone has a comfortable and secure home life emotionally (vs. financially, which she is already aware of and generous while not being obnoxious). As much as Penelope has always been cherished and protected, to a large degree that also meant from her own choices, and this book has a lot of her making less-than-wise choices and having to deal with the consequences of those. It works for the book, and for the character.
I really enjoyed this and look forward to more books in the series.
Penelope has good reason to dislike Benedict: loyalty to her friends is absolutely paramount with her, and from her perspective, Benedict violated this sacred contract when it came to Sebastian Vane, the hero of the previous book in the series and Penelope's brother-in-law. As the reader, of course, we know that Benedict had reason—his father is hideously abusive and Benedict was too afraid to defy him—but to Penelope this is inconceivable, since she comes from a loving and supportive family. This tension between their family expectations (and their expectations of friendship) twines constantly around their interactions and what they expect from each other.
Benedict, meanwhile, wants a quiet wife with a fortune—the latter being necessary not because his family is headed for penury, but because the aforementioned abusive father enjoys using money to enforce his desires on his son. From Benedict's perspective, if he can acquire a comfortable living that isn't tied to his inheritance, then he can at least stay away from his father, if not get over the fear.
For all that he didn't want a woman of fiery temperament for his wife, and for all that Penelope disdains him for choosing her quiet, better-behaved sister over her, obviously they still can't stop staring at each other. When Penelope finds herself in a threatening situation after trying to help a friend, and Benedict rescues her, they cause a scandal, and the only way to alleviate it is to marry and learn to live with it as best they can.
Like the other Scandalous books, this one weaves around the mystery of the shocking pamphlet series 50 Ways to Sin, which good unmarried young ladies are absolutely not supposed to know about (so naturally they all do, which pretty much matches with my memory of being a teenager). I like the way the stories are alluded to and the way it plays into each heroine's relationship with her hero.
This book adds a mystery that seems set to play out in a later book, by making it clear that Penelope's friend Olivia is in a very bad situation having to do with the primary villains of this book, Benedict's father and Viscount Clary. For all that the seeds being planted here are obviously for the sequel, I felt that the plot of this book was resolved in a quite satisfactory manner: the part that touched on Penelope and Benedict's relationship is complete.
I think that to some extent, Benedict undergoes more growth than Penelope in this story, but I think he also had farther to go. A lot of this book is about him coming to terms with how incredibly warped his childhood was, and the ways that has caused spreading ripples of harm to those around him. Penelope's development is more related to both empathy and security—the former in the sense of her needing to truly understand that not everyone has a comfortable and secure home life emotionally (vs. financially, which she is already aware of and generous while not being obnoxious). As much as Penelope has always been cherished and protected, to a large degree that also meant from her own choices, and this book has a lot of her making less-than-wise choices and having to deal with the consequences of those. It works for the book, and for the character.
I really enjoyed this and look forward to more books in the series.