CAUTION SOME SPOILERSThis book is a bit hard for me to rate. I was really enjoying this book. It captured my attention and it had me turning pages over and over again. I love Ms. Duran's writing. It's mesmerizing and I found myself not able to stop reading every single word. Simon was great. He was funny, charming, hot. And even though he wasn't perfect, I found myself falling in love with him. Nell was good even though she could be a tiny bit annoying. I didn't like how judgmental she was or that she didn't fully trust Simon even when he gave her reasons to. But given the life she'd lead, I understood her a bit. I felt their chemistry and their sex scenes were very hot and steamy.I would have give it a solid 5 stars.However, the last 2 chapters killed it for me. I was not a fan of Nell leaving Simon towards the end. In fact, I hated it and it destroyed the book ending and their happily ever after for me. I thought Nell was stupid and hypocritical. She finds out Simon had a "plan B" in case their plan didn't work. She's heartbroken and upset with him. But it's kind of hypocritical of her since she herself sort of had a "plan B" to use her dresses for money and the stuff she had already given Hannah just in case she went back. But then, even knowing he loves her and hearing him say he doesn't want her to leave, she leaves when the going gets tough. He planned to leave her when he didn't know her, before they married, before they fell in love. But she leaves him after all those things. And even though she comes back and they resolve the issues, their romance was tainted by her giving up on him and running away to save herself. I hated her for it.This part of the book, I'd give 1 star. So, I don't really know what rating to give. Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars, I guess. A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is a terrible, generic title for a book that's really unique. Our heroine is Nell Whitby, a young woman who was brought up in the slums of London but who turns out to be the long lost heiress of an aristocratic family. Simon St. Maur is the current holder of the title, which came to him without any of the money. So the perfect solution occurs to him: if Nell marries him, he'll help her get access to the family fortune, and as her husband, he'll have access to it as well.It sounds like a bit of a hokey setup, but the thing is, it's done with subtlety and characters who have real psychological grounding. Ok, so if a woman really had grown up in the slums and now had the chance to take her place as a heiress, how would she feel about it? How would she react? And how does a cynical man react to someone like her? We get the full thing, complete with complex feelings and motivations. Both Nell and Simon are intelligent and realistic and they fall in love with their eyes wide open. I really enjoyed it.MY GRADE: A B+.
Do You like book Eine Nächtliche Begegnung (2014)?
Meredith Duran is one of my favorite romance authors. Insightful, intellectual, emotional.
—Jordan
Nope. This story bored me and did nothing for me and ugh. I'm done.
—superpaul
August group read for Romance, Historical or Otherwise group.
—Georgia
very entertaining. a guttersnipe, indeed!
—kibble345
