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Holiday Pleasures #3
Season for Scandal
Unladylike Risk
Jane Tindall has never had money of her own or exceptional beauty. Her gifts are more subtle: a mind like an abacus, a talent for play-acting—and a daring taste for gambling. But all the daring in the world can't help with the cards fixed against her.
And when Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, unwittingly spoils her chance to win a fortune, her reputation is ruined too. Or so she thinks, until he suggests a surprising mode of escape: a hasty marriage. To him.
On the surface, their wedding would satisfy all the demands of proper society, but as the Yuletide approaches, secrets and scandals turn this proper marriage into a very improper affair.
Jane Tindall has never had money of her own or exceptional beauty. Her gifts are more subtle: a mind like an abacus, a talent for play-acting—and a daring taste for gambling. But all the daring in the world can't help with the cards fixed against her.
And when Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, unwittingly spoils her chance to win a fortune, her reputation is ruined too. Or so she thinks, until he suggests a surprising mode of escape: a hasty marriage. To him.
On the surface, their wedding would satisfy all the demands of proper society, but as the Yuletide approaches, secrets and scandals turn this proper marriage into a very improper affair.
347 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
72 people are currently reading
1562 people want to read
About the author
Theresa Romain
41 books661 followersTheresa Romain is the bestselling author of more than 20 historical romances, including the Holiday Pleasures series, the Matchmaker trilogy, the Royal Rewards series, and the Romance of the Turf series. Praised as “one of the rising stars of Regency historical romance” (Booklist), her books have finaled for the RITA® award, received starred reviews from Booklist, and been named to the Best Books of the Year list by NPR. Theresa is hard at work on her next book from her home in the Midwestern USA.
To keep up with all her book-release news, please visit her online at theresaromain.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, or find her on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/there....
To keep up with all her book-release news, please visit her online at theresaromain.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, or find her on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/there....
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
October 1, 2013
My first thought upon completing this novel was: how can I send some flowers to Mrs. Romain?
Contrary to what the cover may suggest, this book is not in the least light-hearted, nor does it contain untamed passions. Rather, this is for me analogous to a game of chess (which is also a motif in the book) and the slow unraveling of complex characters. It is mentally intense, utterly gripping, and will monopolize your time once you pick it up.
Jane Tindall is the country cousin of the Earl of Xavier (Season for Surrender). She has no money of her own, so she earns it through gambling in disguise. One particular unlucky night she was outsmarted by a cheater, and just when she planned to recoup her losses, her longtime acquaintance Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, unwittingly revealed her identity and thus landed her in heavy debt. Being the quintessential gentleman, Edmund offers to pay off Jane’s debt, except he can’t procure that colossal sum. Jane’s inheritance, however, is just that amount, though she can only get it when she marries or gains her majority. As the debt is being called in a few days, Edmund proposes a marriage-of-convenience to pay the debts, and also solve his problem of needing an heir as Turner, an unsavory adversary from his past, had just turned up and looking for revenge.
At first glance, Edmund seems like a typical good-natured, nice fellow. He is good to everyone, divides his care to those needing it, but doesn’t spend time on flattery and instead employs honesty as his emotional shield.
“Because Xavier was right: Edmund was good to everyone. He had developed the habit long ago. It was…atonement.” (Loc 357/4067)
Edmund is stoic, reticent, controlled, and always composed. He developed the traits of a dependable person due to tragic events in his past, but in being good to everyone, he is never true to anyone. All of Edmund’s inner turmoil, struggles, hopes and dreams are all safely locked away in his neutral manner, and the more Jane tries to find the key, the more Edmund pushes her away with his indifference. It seems almost contradictory that a man who is constantly sensitive to helping others can be so indifferent, but precisely because every action Edmund does is controlled, he never lets a part of himself go; his acts of rebellion are mere thoughts fighting in his mind, no the wiser but for the readers, and Jane, albeit late in the story. The saddest thing is, Edmund knows it too, and he stubbornly contains himself not for guilt, as he believed, but for convenience. It is convenient for him to believe that he cannot love anyone as an excuse of not trying, just as it was convenient for him to ignore Jane’s feelings for him because he feels burdened by them. More than convenience, Edmund’s behaviors stem from a deeply rooted fear of any disruption to the small world in which he reside, emotionally closed off from the world. His world was comfortable, it was nice. A safety maneuver in not giving himself up for the disappointment of others; it was nice not to try to love anyone because he doesn’t know how, and he is both aware and satisfied of this fact.
“Of course, my lady, I’m good to everyone – except the people who deserve it the most.” (Loc 866/4067)
Dear Jane, poor Jane who had always loved Edmund and just wanted a piece of his attention, his love, got the worse bargain with their marriage-of-convenience. Jane is young, slightly wild, and lacking in interpersonal perspicacity, qualities which make her somewhat immature at the beginning of the book. She is impatient, impulsive, and in love with Edmund, all of which contribute to her inability to truly understand Edmund. She wants him to be the doting, loving husband, but he can’t do that, and when Jane realizes that, she bolts. Just like Edmund, she is likewise too comfortable in her own small world, knowing that if she fell, she can depend on her cousin Xavier and his wife Louisa to support her always. In her case, though, she could not take the plunge emotionally with love as she had not known the Edmund she professed to love, and the truth that Edmund was unable to love anyone devastated her.
“You’ve left your heart behind somewhere long ago, but you’ve never gone back to get it. You look for little pieces of it in everyone you meet. You make everyone love you, just a little. But what do you feel in return? Nothing, because you’re always looking for what’s next.” (Loc 2843/4067)
As for Edmund, he doesn’t quite know what he wants from Jane. It certainly isn’t affection, nor love, and that is something he eventually figures out, albeit belatedly.
“Well, I want to give you more, but you don’t want what it is I can give. You want some – some fake me. The real Edmund – he’s not who you want at all.” (Loc 2890/4067)
The real issue is that for a long time, neither of them knew what the other needed, and neither could give what the other wanted. A constant struggle both externally and internally for Jane and Edmund of themselves, of each other, and with the world. I should say that the romance element of the book takes second place to each character’s individual transformations – Edmund’s growth into a man who can truly care and love others, and Jane into a woman of understanding and acceptance. For that fact Edmund’s love confession at the end seems unbelievable, for his journey primarily focused on self-exploration and stepping out of self-imposed misery, instead of say, having his heart healed by Jane.
The one big issue I had with this book is concerning why Edmund did not tell Jane of Turner’s identity. Edmund knew Turner came back for revenge on him, and Turner even said he planned to seduce Jane and turn her against Edmund, so why didn’t Edmund warn Jane to beware of Turner when he started to occupy a place as her friend under a false identity? Now, he could very well have been logical and omitted his past and simply warned Jane that Turner is a villain from his past, but he didn’t, and that was problematic for the plot and his characterization.
There is much parallelism between Jane and Edmund’s pasts, though few little was mentioned of Jane’s except that she wanted to find a better opportunity. Edmund, too, sought to escape from his, which he did in the form of neglect for many years. Another note of interest is the application of a reverse Hamlet theme in regards to Edmund’s past – which is made more apparent in Edmund quoting passages from Hamlet.
This is undoubtedly the longest review I’ve written to date, and kudos to Mrs. Romain for crafting such a thoughtful story worthy of much analysis and in-depth study. Her It Takes Two to Tangle had evoked a Cyrano de Bergerac theme, and this one of Hamlet, so I’m expecting another classical motif in her next work. If you’ve read this far, you can see how intricate and complex these characters are, and I highly, unreservedly, recommend this absolutely fantastic book for all readers, for it is not just about romance, it is about understanding a person’s true character and appreciate that for what it is.
*Review copy from the publisher via Netgalley.
Contrary to what the cover may suggest, this book is not in the least light-hearted, nor does it contain untamed passions. Rather, this is for me analogous to a game of chess (which is also a motif in the book) and the slow unraveling of complex characters. It is mentally intense, utterly gripping, and will monopolize your time once you pick it up.
Jane Tindall is the country cousin of the Earl of Xavier (Season for Surrender). She has no money of her own, so she earns it through gambling in disguise. One particular unlucky night she was outsmarted by a cheater, and just when she planned to recoup her losses, her longtime acquaintance Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, unwittingly revealed her identity and thus landed her in heavy debt. Being the quintessential gentleman, Edmund offers to pay off Jane’s debt, except he can’t procure that colossal sum. Jane’s inheritance, however, is just that amount, though she can only get it when she marries or gains her majority. As the debt is being called in a few days, Edmund proposes a marriage-of-convenience to pay the debts, and also solve his problem of needing an heir as Turner, an unsavory adversary from his past, had just turned up and looking for revenge.
At first glance, Edmund seems like a typical good-natured, nice fellow. He is good to everyone, divides his care to those needing it, but doesn’t spend time on flattery and instead employs honesty as his emotional shield.
“Because Xavier was right: Edmund was good to everyone. He had developed the habit long ago. It was…atonement.” (Loc 357/4067)
Edmund is stoic, reticent, controlled, and always composed. He developed the traits of a dependable person due to tragic events in his past, but in being good to everyone, he is never true to anyone. All of Edmund’s inner turmoil, struggles, hopes and dreams are all safely locked away in his neutral manner, and the more Jane tries to find the key, the more Edmund pushes her away with his indifference. It seems almost contradictory that a man who is constantly sensitive to helping others can be so indifferent, but precisely because every action Edmund does is controlled, he never lets a part of himself go; his acts of rebellion are mere thoughts fighting in his mind, no the wiser but for the readers, and Jane, albeit late in the story. The saddest thing is, Edmund knows it too, and he stubbornly contains himself not for guilt, as he believed, but for convenience. It is convenient for him to believe that he cannot love anyone as an excuse of not trying, just as it was convenient for him to ignore Jane’s feelings for him because he feels burdened by them. More than convenience, Edmund’s behaviors stem from a deeply rooted fear of any disruption to the small world in which he reside, emotionally closed off from the world. His world was comfortable, it was nice. A safety maneuver in not giving himself up for the disappointment of others; it was nice not to try to love anyone because he doesn’t know how, and he is both aware and satisfied of this fact.
“Of course, my lady, I’m good to everyone – except the people who deserve it the most.” (Loc 866/4067)
Dear Jane, poor Jane who had always loved Edmund and just wanted a piece of his attention, his love, got the worse bargain with their marriage-of-convenience. Jane is young, slightly wild, and lacking in interpersonal perspicacity, qualities which make her somewhat immature at the beginning of the book. She is impatient, impulsive, and in love with Edmund, all of which contribute to her inability to truly understand Edmund. She wants him to be the doting, loving husband, but he can’t do that, and when Jane realizes that, she bolts. Just like Edmund, she is likewise too comfortable in her own small world, knowing that if she fell, she can depend on her cousin Xavier and his wife Louisa to support her always. In her case, though, she could not take the plunge emotionally with love as she had not known the Edmund she professed to love, and the truth that Edmund was unable to love anyone devastated her.
“You’ve left your heart behind somewhere long ago, but you’ve never gone back to get it. You look for little pieces of it in everyone you meet. You make everyone love you, just a little. But what do you feel in return? Nothing, because you’re always looking for what’s next.” (Loc 2843/4067)
As for Edmund, he doesn’t quite know what he wants from Jane. It certainly isn’t affection, nor love, and that is something he eventually figures out, albeit belatedly.
“Well, I want to give you more, but you don’t want what it is I can give. You want some – some fake me. The real Edmund – he’s not who you want at all.” (Loc 2890/4067)
The real issue is that for a long time, neither of them knew what the other needed, and neither could give what the other wanted. A constant struggle both externally and internally for Jane and Edmund of themselves, of each other, and with the world. I should say that the romance element of the book takes second place to each character’s individual transformations – Edmund’s growth into a man who can truly care and love others, and Jane into a woman of understanding and acceptance. For that fact Edmund’s love confession at the end seems unbelievable, for his journey primarily focused on self-exploration and stepping out of self-imposed misery, instead of say, having his heart healed by Jane.
The one big issue I had with this book is concerning why Edmund did not tell Jane of Turner’s identity. Edmund knew Turner came back for revenge on him, and Turner even said he planned to seduce Jane and turn her against Edmund, so why didn’t Edmund warn Jane to beware of Turner when he started to occupy a place as her friend under a false identity? Now, he could very well have been logical and omitted his past and simply warned Jane that Turner is a villain from his past, but he didn’t, and that was problematic for the plot and his characterization.
There is much parallelism between Jane and Edmund’s pasts, though few little was mentioned of Jane’s except that she wanted to find a better opportunity. Edmund, too, sought to escape from his, which he did in the form of neglect for many years. Another note of interest is the application of a reverse Hamlet theme in regards to Edmund’s past – which is made more apparent in Edmund quoting passages from Hamlet.
This is undoubtedly the longest review I’ve written to date, and kudos to Mrs. Romain for crafting such a thoughtful story worthy of much analysis and in-depth study. Her It Takes Two to Tangle had evoked a Cyrano de Bergerac theme, and this one of Hamlet, so I’m expecting another classical motif in her next work. If you’ve read this far, you can see how intricate and complex these characters are, and I highly, unreservedly, recommend this absolutely fantastic book for all readers, for it is not just about romance, it is about understanding a person’s true character and appreciate that for what it is.
*Review copy from the publisher via Netgalley.
February 2, 2017
I got about 80% of the way through this before I stopped.
While the writing is good, the characters and the plot just weren't my style. The characters had too many things that weren't in common and no spark. They fought all the time, said dreadful things, didn't communicate, and had unrealistic expectations for each other. There was too much pain, awkwardness, and miscommunication for me to enjoy it. I kept reading because I typically adore Theresa Romain's work, but after I got to 80% and I realized that no matter the ending, I knew I wouldn't believe it was a HEA, I decided to stop.
This is not a sweet story about a marriage of convenience where the characters slowly fall in love. There is awkward sex, one-sided emotions, secrets, and great unhappiness for both parties. This continues for at least 80% of the book without any hope...and that is too much for me.
I typically love Theresa Romain so I will continue reading her books, but this just was a miss when it comes to my taste.
While the writing is good, the characters and the plot just weren't my style. The characters had too many things that weren't in common and no spark. They fought all the time, said dreadful things, didn't communicate, and had unrealistic expectations for each other. There was too much pain, awkwardness, and miscommunication for me to enjoy it. I kept reading because I typically adore Theresa Romain's work, but after I got to 80% and I realized that no matter the ending, I knew I wouldn't believe it was a HEA, I decided to stop.
This is not a sweet story about a marriage of convenience where the characters slowly fall in love. There is awkward sex, one-sided emotions, secrets, and great unhappiness for both parties. This continues for at least 80% of the book without any hope...and that is too much for me.
I typically love Theresa Romain so I will continue reading her books, but this just was a miss when it comes to my taste.
August 21, 2016
Jane Tindall loses £10,000 in a game of cards. Edmund Ware, Baron Fitzpatrick, saves her from leering card sharks with a hasty marriage. There are approximately ninety gadjillion conversations about feelings and gifts and love before we finally get resolution for Edmund's looming angst storm.
1. In the first 10% of this book, Jane loses, gets married, gets laid, and admits she is in love with Edmund. It's very sudden and it's all setup so that we can spend the next 90% of the book philosophizing and arguing about love. Important things--like why Jane is in love with Edmund--are completely left out. It makes the entire foundation of the novel feel very underdeveloped and difficult to care about.
2. The fact that the marriage of convenience thing goes through growing pains is actually something I was really interested in: communication and figuring out how to share a life with someone and feelings--it's ripe with promise is what I am saying. But this? Didn't exactly land for me. I guess I didn't always understand why Jane and Edmund were fighting (especially when they seemed to fight about the same thing again and again), so when they managed to make up just in time for their happy ending, I was left a bit confused. It didn't feel fully developed to me in some ways?
I'm probably not explaining that well, but I'm a rather direct person and having an entire book devoted to two people fighting about stuff that ultimately gets summed up in a chapter or two kinds of frustrates me as a person. COMMUNICATION, MAN!
3. Romain introduces Jane in the midst of a card game gone horribly wrong; she's wearing 'borrowed' jewels and is masquerading as a woman with more experience than she actually has. She can count cards and has just discovered one of her opponents has cheated and she is attempting to play her way out of the situation when Edmund barges in and ruins everything.
I was deeply intrigued by the idea of a con woman attempting to go straight through marriage. What sorts of troubles would she find herself in? Would she help her husband with his card games? What other fascinating corners would her mind--'like an abacus'--have? Would she struggle to fit the mold of a perfect Baroness, struggle to remove the vestiges of a life more free than that of a married noblewoman?
I got precisely none of that, and disappointed is too light a word. Jane struggles only because she does not have 'polite' manners. As soon as she discovers someone to ape, she is set. She has no problems setting aside her card playing, her so-called acting. The woman from the first chapter of the book disappears into a shell that is there only to profess love for Edmund and then feel betrayal when he recoils from the admission.
4. There is literally a section in which it is implied that men can't decorate for shit and it's better left to their wives to do the decorating because ??? I don't fucking know; it was sexist as shit and pretty annoying.
5. I honestly just didn't enjoy this that much. Edmund needed a few swift kicks and Jane needed to unknot herself from the twist of contradictory emotions that made up her narrative. It was just jumbled and messy and yes, absolutely, that is probably what a marriage of convenience would look like but it's not what I wanted to read and it's not a very enjoyable story to watch two bland Saltine people struggle to figure out how to communicate effectively.
Try honesty, idiots. It costs less than therapy and shopping.
1. In the first 10% of this book, Jane loses, gets married, gets laid, and admits she is in love with Edmund. It's very sudden and it's all setup so that we can spend the next 90% of the book philosophizing and arguing about love. Important things--like why Jane is in love with Edmund--are completely left out. It makes the entire foundation of the novel feel very underdeveloped and difficult to care about.
2. The fact that the marriage of convenience thing goes through growing pains is actually something I was really interested in: communication and figuring out how to share a life with someone and feelings--it's ripe with promise is what I am saying. But this? Didn't exactly land for me. I guess I didn't always understand why Jane and Edmund were fighting (especially when they seemed to fight about the same thing again and again), so when they managed to make up just in time for their happy ending, I was left a bit confused. It didn't feel fully developed to me in some ways?
I'm probably not explaining that well, but I'm a rather direct person and having an entire book devoted to two people fighting about stuff that ultimately gets summed up in a chapter or two kinds of frustrates me as a person. COMMUNICATION, MAN!
3. Romain introduces Jane in the midst of a card game gone horribly wrong; she's wearing 'borrowed' jewels and is masquerading as a woman with more experience than she actually has. She can count cards and has just discovered one of her opponents has cheated and she is attempting to play her way out of the situation when Edmund barges in and ruins everything.
I was deeply intrigued by the idea of a con woman attempting to go straight through marriage. What sorts of troubles would she find herself in? Would she help her husband with his card games? What other fascinating corners would her mind--'like an abacus'--have? Would she struggle to fit the mold of a perfect Baroness, struggle to remove the vestiges of a life more free than that of a married noblewoman?
I got precisely none of that, and disappointed is too light a word. Jane struggles only because she does not have 'polite' manners. As soon as she discovers someone to ape, she is set. She has no problems setting aside her card playing, her so-called acting. The woman from the first chapter of the book disappears into a shell that is there only to profess love for Edmund and then feel betrayal when he recoils from the admission.
4. There is literally a section in which it is implied that men can't decorate for shit and it's better left to their wives to do the decorating because ??? I don't fucking know; it was sexist as shit and pretty annoying.
5. I honestly just didn't enjoy this that much. Edmund needed a few swift kicks and Jane needed to unknot herself from the twist of contradictory emotions that made up her narrative. It was just jumbled and messy and yes, absolutely, that is probably what a marriage of convenience would look like but it's not what I wanted to read and it's not a very enjoyable story to watch two bland Saltine people struggle to figure out how to communicate effectively.
Try honesty, idiots. It costs less than therapy and shopping.
August 12, 2015
This book was ruined by rushing two characters into marriage and then centering an entire plot around a misunderstanding. If Edmund had just told Julia what was going on from the beginning, and if she had just told him what he was doing that upset her, nothing else would have happened in the book. That makes for a deeply frustrating and unsatisfying read. Not to mention it leaves everything feeling very flat, from the characters to the tension to the romance. All of it was so very blah and dull and...sigh. After how much I enjoyed the last in this series I at least expected to be entertained. Instead, I went beyond bored and onto annoyed.
October 11, 2013
We've previously met Jane Tindall in
Season for Surrender
, she's Xavier's cousin and a bit wild. Now Jane has reached her majority and received a major disappointment: she has been informed by her cousin that he does not trust her with the sum of money that he has been keeping in trust for her. Xavier has, instead, reverted the amount to a dowry and Jane can only access the money when she gets married.
But who would marry her? She's a poor relation, with very little social connections and is socially awkward -- so Jane does what Jane always does: she makes an outrageous plan to win herself a sum of money that would guarantee her independence.
Except, the plan goes awry and Jane is now ten thousand pounds in debt -- she's already gritting her teeth in anticipation of a lecture from Xavier, further confirming her unreliability.
Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, was not in the market for a wife. He just happened to be at the same house party as Jane was and had stepped in when the situation was getting out of hand. In order to save Jane, Edmund announces their betrothal -- and, in order to honor Jane's debt, Edmund offers to marry her in truth.
It should have been an easy arrangement: Jane and Edmund enter into an amicable marriage, pay off Jane's debt and live contently ever after. Except that Jane has always loved Edmund and makes the mistake of telling him of it -- this in itself shouldn't be a problem but, apparently, for Edmund, it is.
In most romance novels, love is the answer but, for Theresa Romain's Season for Scandal, love is the question because Edmund Ware doesn't believe he deserves love. Our hero is burdened by his mistakes and has spent his entire adult life atoning for such sins. He has become the perfect gentleman: attentive to the quietest wallflower, solicitous to the unpopular ladies, and gracious to the everyone else. All of London loves him for this, but Jane hates being at the receiving end of such kindness. This forced goodness, this cruel kindness, this suffocating politeness isn't what Jane needs from her husband -- what she needs from him is honesty. Jane wants to see Edmund and know Edmund beyond what he shows to the world but, while Edmund shares a little bit of himself with the world, he is unwilling to give more to the person who deserves it: his wife.
I enjoyed the irony of Edmund's life: the epitome of generosity and goodness is also the most selfish person in the world. While he is busy atoning for the mistakes of his past, making time for everybody, he is overlooking Jane and creating a newer problem. But Jane isn't a victim or a martyr, either -- at the beginning, she struck me as a bit self-serving with no sense of the consequences of her action. It irritated me that, when her plan failed, she immediately thought/assumed Xavier would save her. She's perfectly fine making rash decisions because there's always her cousin to fall back on. Jane needed to learn that she was liable for her own mistakes: and she learned it in the most spectacular way through her marriage to Edmund.
This was a wonderful story about two characters, growing, developing and discovering themselves. True connections and discovery of self are the central explorations of the story: while Edmund was content with his regular doses of adoration, they never seemed to satisfy him. All the good he was doing, all the acts of atonement were all an attempt to fill an unfillable hole -- and the only way to escape it was forgiveness. But whose? Jane's been trying to find her place in the world, a place where she can rest her own possessions, which are few. She was making strides in this direction when she was allowed to paint Edmund's hall green but, her progress was stopped cold when Edmund went back to his old ways and left his wife alone to her own devices.
It is also interesting how the word self- is used to prefix many other words, both with positive and negative connotations: self-assured vs. self-conscious, self-belief vs. self-doubt, etc. In that we see that the human self is a dichotomy: that we straddle a line between right and wrong. Though there is a villain in the story (Turner), the greater conflict is internal: Edmund must face the demons of his past and Jane must battle with her present emotional needs if she and Edmund would have a chance of a good future.
There is a sadness to Edmund and Jane's situation and a helplessness: because only the two of them can fix their marriage -- and it isn't something that can be fixed by a grand profession of love. Season for Scandal reflects on what makes a marriage work: love is a decision.
This was another wonderful, wonderful addition to Theresa Romain's Season series. There is one line in the whole novel that continues to haunt me and wring my heart a little bit each time I remember it:
But who would marry her? She's a poor relation, with very little social connections and is socially awkward -- so Jane does what Jane always does: she makes an outrageous plan to win herself a sum of money that would guarantee her independence.
Except, the plan goes awry and Jane is now ten thousand pounds in debt -- she's already gritting her teeth in anticipation of a lecture from Xavier, further confirming her unreliability.
She would have to tell her cousin Xavier what she had done. He would pay the debut, but he would box her up forever. She had proven him right; she could not be trusted. Like a lapdog, she would be leashed and admonished, and she would have no money and never travel away or be anyone else besides poor and plain Jane.
- Chapter 1
Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, was not in the market for a wife. He just happened to be at the same house party as Jane was and had stepped in when the situation was getting out of hand. In order to save Jane, Edmund announces their betrothal -- and, in order to honor Jane's debt, Edmund offers to marry her in truth.
It should have been an easy arrangement: Jane and Edmund enter into an amicable marriage, pay off Jane's debt and live contently ever after. Except that Jane has always loved Edmund and makes the mistake of telling him of it -- this in itself shouldn't be a problem but, apparently, for Edmund, it is.
So this was what the truth would do. She had meant to keep her feelings a secret until she was sure of his, but she hadn't expected the revelation to kill his pleasure so completely.
She shivered with what should have been the remnants of passion, but instead felt like a bone-deep chill.
He pulled in a long, deep breath, pressing a fist against his abdomen. "I didn't know."
Then he turned back to her, drew the sheet up over her nude body, and sat back against the high wooden headboard.
"I didn't know," he repeated, eyes fixed upon the bed hanging. "I'm so sorry."
Jane had not thought anything could increase her humiliation. It had grown so large and palpable, it was almost like a third person in the room. Lying between the,, laughing at her. Oh, you foolish girl.
But she was wrong: the apology made the humiliation worse. The apology meant that he had not expected her to love him. That he didn't want her to love him. And why would that be?
Because there wasn't a prayer of him returning her feeling.
- Chapter 4
In most romance novels, love is the answer but, for Theresa Romain's Season for Scandal, love is the question because Edmund Ware doesn't believe he deserves love. Our hero is burdened by his mistakes and has spent his entire adult life atoning for such sins. He has become the perfect gentleman: attentive to the quietest wallflower, solicitous to the unpopular ladies, and gracious to the everyone else. All of London loves him for this, but Jane hates being at the receiving end of such kindness. This forced goodness, this cruel kindness, this suffocating politeness isn't what Jane needs from her husband -- what she needs from him is honesty. Jane wants to see Edmund and know Edmund beyond what he shows to the world but, while Edmund shares a little bit of himself with the world, he is unwilling to give more to the person who deserves it: his wife.
I enjoyed the irony of Edmund's life: the epitome of generosity and goodness is also the most selfish person in the world. While he is busy atoning for the mistakes of his past, making time for everybody, he is overlooking Jane and creating a newer problem. But Jane isn't a victim or a martyr, either -- at the beginning, she struck me as a bit self-serving with no sense of the consequences of her action. It irritated me that, when her plan failed, she immediately thought/assumed Xavier would save her. She's perfectly fine making rash decisions because there's always her cousin to fall back on. Jane needed to learn that she was liable for her own mistakes: and she learned it in the most spectacular way through her marriage to Edmund.
This was a wonderful story about two characters, growing, developing and discovering themselves. True connections and discovery of self are the central explorations of the story: while Edmund was content with his regular doses of adoration, they never seemed to satisfy him. All the good he was doing, all the acts of atonement were all an attempt to fill an unfillable hole -- and the only way to escape it was forgiveness. But whose? Jane's been trying to find her place in the world, a place where she can rest her own possessions, which are few. She was making strides in this direction when she was allowed to paint Edmund's hall green but, her progress was stopped cold when Edmund went back to his old ways and left his wife alone to her own devices.
Edmund counted to ten before he spoke. "Do you mean that you were trying to please me by agreeing to attend tonight? And that I have not yet found an activity that will please you?"
"Not an activity, exactly." She looked up at him, her eyes tawny as topaz. "You give a piece of yourself to everyone who sits at the edge of a ballroom. But ... Edmund ... you married me."
"True."
"So. Don't you think we ..." She trailed off. When she spoke again, her voice was carefully flat. "I thought we'd be together this evening. Not for the whole evening. Just part."
"I'm with you right now."
"Are you?"
- Chapter 7
It is also interesting how the word self- is used to prefix many other words, both with positive and negative connotations: self-assured vs. self-conscious, self-belief vs. self-doubt, etc. In that we see that the human self is a dichotomy: that we straddle a line between right and wrong. Though there is a villain in the story (Turner), the greater conflict is internal: Edmund must face the demons of his past and Jane must battle with her present emotional needs if she and Edmund would have a chance of a good future.
There is a sadness to Edmund and Jane's situation and a helplessness: because only the two of them can fix their marriage -- and it isn't something that can be fixed by a grand profession of love. Season for Scandal reflects on what makes a marriage work: love is a decision.
This was another wonderful, wonderful addition to Theresa Romain's Season series. There is one line in the whole novel that continues to haunt me and wring my heart a little bit each time I remember it:
If only she didn't love him, he could have made her so happy.
- Chapter 7
January 26, 2016
‘Season for Scandal’ is the third book in Theresa Romain’s Holiday Pleasures Series of which I read none before. Actually, it wasn’t necessary for me to read the other two books to understand and enjoy this one.
That said, I have to say that I’m new to this author and her voice and style are nothing as I expected it to be. I thought this would be one of those lighthearted and witty tales, but I was pleasantly surprised by what it actually was, a character driven love story of two completely different human beings that had to work hard at finding out what makes the other tick.
As I was reading this story, something just felt off…For the longest time I couldn’t put my finger on it…I even discussed it with my hubby! Something about the story kept bugging me and I was so frustrated for not being able to pinpoint the reason behind my frustration … and then it hit me!
I was uncomfortable! I was uncomfortable with their feelings, their dialogue, and their actions toward each other. The feeling of awkwardness that the characters were going through just made me cringe! I couldn’t understand why the author or her editor hadn’t tried to ‘fix’ this problem…you know, to make the story ‘flow’ more smoothly. The developments of this story had started to hit too close to home [& no I’ll not elaborate!].
That’s when I realized that Ms. Romain did this on purpose! If she did what I expected her to do, and had the story ‘flowed’ as I thought it would, the ‘feel’ of emotional struggle that Jane and Edmund went through would have never been felt by me. She’s made both of these characters flawed, yet she gave them real depth, dimension and they felt very real to me, too real at times. In the end, I came to care and appreciate both characters, their story and the author who took a chance in telling this story of two eccentric souls that were meant for each other.
She also took a very predictable plot and turned it on its head, and that I appreciated to no end!
If you’re looking for a light and fun read, this might not be for you, although it does have lighthearted moments. This is more of a character driven and emotionally charged true love story and I highly recommend it you read.
Now off I go to my local book store to pick up the previous two.
Melanie for b2b
*Book provided by publisher through NetGalley.
That said, I have to say that I’m new to this author and her voice and style are nothing as I expected it to be. I thought this would be one of those lighthearted and witty tales, but I was pleasantly surprised by what it actually was, a character driven love story of two completely different human beings that had to work hard at finding out what makes the other tick.
As I was reading this story, something just felt off…For the longest time I couldn’t put my finger on it…I even discussed it with my hubby! Something about the story kept bugging me and I was so frustrated for not being able to pinpoint the reason behind my frustration … and then it hit me!
I was uncomfortable! I was uncomfortable with their feelings, their dialogue, and their actions toward each other. The feeling of awkwardness that the characters were going through just made me cringe! I couldn’t understand why the author or her editor hadn’t tried to ‘fix’ this problem…you know, to make the story ‘flow’ more smoothly. The developments of this story had started to hit too close to home [& no I’ll not elaborate!].
That’s when I realized that Ms. Romain did this on purpose! If she did what I expected her to do, and had the story ‘flowed’ as I thought it would, the ‘feel’ of emotional struggle that Jane and Edmund went through would have never been felt by me. She’s made both of these characters flawed, yet she gave them real depth, dimension and they felt very real to me, too real at times. In the end, I came to care and appreciate both characters, their story and the author who took a chance in telling this story of two eccentric souls that were meant for each other.
She also took a very predictable plot and turned it on its head, and that I appreciated to no end!
If you’re looking for a light and fun read, this might not be for you, although it does have lighthearted moments. This is more of a character driven and emotionally charged true love story and I highly recommend it you read.
Now off I go to my local book store to pick up the previous two.
Melanie for b2b
*Book provided by publisher through NetGalley.
January 13, 2022
actual rating: 3.5 stars
sooOOOOoooOO... similarly to my thoughts on book one, i couldn't properly be invested in the characters despite liking the storyline. i think for this it's because the one of the character could never be openly honest and trusting of the other. there were so many secrets and unnecessary things because the person didn't want to say anything. also, said person is scared of love and is worried about the repercussions on others.
books in the series:
1. season for temptation: ✰✰
2. season for surrender
3. season for scandal: ✰✰✰½
4. season for desire
sooOOOOoooOO... similarly to my thoughts on book one, i couldn't properly be invested in the characters despite liking the storyline. i think for this it's because the one of the character could never be openly honest and trusting of the other. there were so many secrets and unnecessary things because the person didn't want to say anything. also, said person is scared of love and is worried about the repercussions on others.
books in the series:
1. season for temptation: ✰✰
2. season for surrender
3. season for scandal: ✰✰✰½
4. season for desire
July 23, 2016
Up until about three-quarters of the way through, this was going to be a 4.5 star read, possibly a DIK for AAR. But the last 20% or so didn't live up to the early promise, so I've downgraded it a bit.
I've given this a B at AAR, so that's 4 stars.
Season for Scandal grabbed me immediately and had me tearing up by about a quarter of the way through. The characterisation of the hero and heroine was excellent and the story was well-written with plenty of humour and wonderful dialogue along the way – but I’m sorry to say that the final twenty per cent or so didn’t live up to the promise of the rest of the story. The author had so beautifully captured the emotions and longings of two people who had such capacity for love but were unable (for different reasons) to express it, that the dénouement felt simultaneously rushed and lacking in momentum.
Jane Tindall is cousin to Alex Edgeware, Lord Xavier (hero of the previous book). She is possessed of neither beauty nor fortune, but she has a mind like a steel trap and a longing for independence and a life that is something “more” than the one that would seem to be laid out before her.
Jane has been in love with Edmund Ware, Lord Kirkpatrick, for years and when circumstances arise that threaten her social ruin and he steps in to offer her his hand in marriage, she has no choice but to accept, even though she knows her feelings are not returned.
But she is hopeful. Edmund is a kind and considerate man, and she thinks that perhaps love will grow from their friendship in time.
The problem, however, is that Edmund is kind and considerate to everyone. He dances with wallflowers, flirts with widows and does his best to make everyone he meets feel valued – and believes it will be enough to treat his wife in the same manner. But what nobody knows is that Edmund’s kindness to all and sundry masks deeply-rooted self-disgust and guilt, and that he sees his consideration and generosity as a way to atone for the past deeds that tore his family apart.
Edmund’s spur-of-the-moment proposal to Jane came of selfish reasons as well as a desire to help a woman in distress. He is haunted by his past, a past which is about to catch up with him in the form of a man named Turner who, Edmund has just learned, has recently returned to England after twenty-years spent in a penal colony. Being Edmund, his immediate instinct is to protect his mother and sisters, despite the fact that he has next to no contact with them at all, and in order to do that, he determines to secure his estates by producing an heir as quickly as possible.
The Marriage of Convenience is a favourite trope of mine, and I think that the author has put a slightly different spin on it which made the heroine’s longing for her husband’s affection especially poignant and heart-wrenching. On their wedding night, in the throes of passion, Jane blurts out her true feelings – which horrifies her new spouse. He had no idea that Jane was in love with him – he hadn’t wanted love, given that he is unable to return it.
Jane is mortified – both at Edmund’s reaction to her confession and her own carelessness in making it. She attempts to shrug it off, insisting that it doesn’t matter, that she doesn’t expect a return and that it won’t make any difference.
But she very quickly realises the error in that statement when she begins to see that Edmund behaves towards her in much the same way as he does to everyone – he’s kind, courteous and solicitous of her comfort, but in exactly the same way he is kind and courteous towards every other woman he meets, whether it’s in a ballroom, or on the street rescuing a blown-away bonnet. She quickly finds that Edmund’s insistence on giving her gifts, or in trying to do and say things that he thinks are what she wants – incredibly frustrating, because what she really wants is something of him, his time, his companionship, to be his significant other rather than just an other woman.
But Edmund locked away his “self” a long time ago, after the events that led to the death of his father and destroyed his family. Believing himself to have betrayed them all, Edmund has cultivated an air of dependability, ruthlessly controlling his emotions and hiding them beneath his outward veneer of composed affability. It’s clear that guilt is part of the reason for his desire to be kind to everyone he meets. He has separated himself from his mother and sisters because he believes it to be the best thing for them; and as he can’t help them in person, he helps them by proxy, in bestowing his attentions on others instead.
A hero possessed of a dark and dirty secret in his past who has voluntarily separated himself from his family is not an unknown character – type in romance. But here, Ms Romain has done something more than just present the reader with a tortured, self-sacrificing hero; she has also shown the negative side of Edmund’s ruthless self-control, and not just in the sense that it is causing his wife distress and heartbreak. Edmund the good Samaritan would have been rather a one-dimensional and somewhat unlikeable character, I think – nobody could be that good! Countering that is the fact that what Edmund sees as his “atonement” is actually a very selfish and convenient way of giving nothing of himself to anyone. Real feeling is too difficult and painful, so he has chosen to close himself off to it in favour of things that are easier to give – kind words and attentions to random strangers or minor acquaintances which cost him nothing.
While Jane is, for the most part, a more sympathetic character, she is not without her faults, either. Her impulsiveness and her determination, as she says, not to live a ‘small life’ initially blind her to the fact that Edmund’s emotional detachment is not some sort of passing phase – and when she realises that he isn’t able to be the husband she wants him to be, she leaves him, after a mere few weeks of marriage.
The fact that she could simply remove herself to her cousin’s house meant that it was easier for her to run away than to try to make something of their marriage or to attempt to understand her husband. It’s true that he did not seem willing to share his troubles with her, but it struck me that ultimately, it was Jane who opted to take the easy way out rather than stay around a little longer to see if she could find a way to get Edmund to open up to her.
Fortunately however, her action does precipitate a positive development in that after she has left, both she and Edmund start to think more deeply about their respective situations, and at last find that they are able to properly talk to each other. These ‘talks’ are not pleasant, as Jane tells Edmund:
“You’ve left your heart behind somewhere long ago, but you’ve never gone back to get it. You look for little pieces of it in everyone you meet. You make everyone love you, just a little. But what do you feel in return? Nothing, because you’re always looking for what’s next.”
– while he tells her that what she wants is some imagined, unreal version of himself who doesn’t exist.
The roiling emotions that Jane and Edmund were both working so hard to conceal came across beautifully on the page, especially in the way that neither of them wanted to hurt the other while having absolutely no idea about what they really wanted from each other. The things that hurt Jane so deeply were things that might, on the surface, seem fairly small things. Edmund didn’t beat her, he didn’t betray her with another woman or steal from her – instead it seemed he wanted to kill her with kindness, because it was all he was prepared to offer her.
Coming on the heels of such incredible emotional insight, I can’t help feeling that Ms Romain dropped the ball in the final section of the book, which felt almost commonplace by comparison. Edmund decides he has no alternative but to confess his ‘sins’ to Jane and they concoct a plan to force Turner abroad once more, this time never to return. And I couldn’t help thinking: “if he’d done this a couple of hundred pages ago, neither of them needed to have been made so miserable”. Which, of course, would have led to a much shorter book.
In the end, it wasn’t about one of the protagonists ‘giving in’ to the other, or finally being prepared to do what it took to salvage things between them – and I felt that fact set this story apart from many other romances with similar storylines. Both characters had to grow as people before they could grow together as lovers. Edmund finally realises that his life hasn’t really been his for the past twenty years and knows he needs to tell Jane the truth, even if it means she will never return to him. But he tells her because it’s the right thing to do, not because he thinks it will bring her back; and because he has faced the truth about his selfishness in not wanting her to love him because love was too difficult for him to deal with.
Despite my reservations about the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Season for Scandal and would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a book filled with warmth, humour and with just enough angst to tug at the heartstrings.
I've given this a B at AAR, so that's 4 stars.
Season for Scandal grabbed me immediately and had me tearing up by about a quarter of the way through. The characterisation of the hero and heroine was excellent and the story was well-written with plenty of humour and wonderful dialogue along the way – but I’m sorry to say that the final twenty per cent or so didn’t live up to the promise of the rest of the story. The author had so beautifully captured the emotions and longings of two people who had such capacity for love but were unable (for different reasons) to express it, that the dénouement felt simultaneously rushed and lacking in momentum.
Jane Tindall is cousin to Alex Edgeware, Lord Xavier (hero of the previous book). She is possessed of neither beauty nor fortune, but she has a mind like a steel trap and a longing for independence and a life that is something “more” than the one that would seem to be laid out before her.
Jane has been in love with Edmund Ware, Lord Kirkpatrick, for years and when circumstances arise that threaten her social ruin and he steps in to offer her his hand in marriage, she has no choice but to accept, even though she knows her feelings are not returned.
But she is hopeful. Edmund is a kind and considerate man, and she thinks that perhaps love will grow from their friendship in time.
The problem, however, is that Edmund is kind and considerate to everyone. He dances with wallflowers, flirts with widows and does his best to make everyone he meets feel valued – and believes it will be enough to treat his wife in the same manner. But what nobody knows is that Edmund’s kindness to all and sundry masks deeply-rooted self-disgust and guilt, and that he sees his consideration and generosity as a way to atone for the past deeds that tore his family apart.
Edmund’s spur-of-the-moment proposal to Jane came of selfish reasons as well as a desire to help a woman in distress. He is haunted by his past, a past which is about to catch up with him in the form of a man named Turner who, Edmund has just learned, has recently returned to England after twenty-years spent in a penal colony. Being Edmund, his immediate instinct is to protect his mother and sisters, despite the fact that he has next to no contact with them at all, and in order to do that, he determines to secure his estates by producing an heir as quickly as possible.
The Marriage of Convenience is a favourite trope of mine, and I think that the author has put a slightly different spin on it which made the heroine’s longing for her husband’s affection especially poignant and heart-wrenching. On their wedding night, in the throes of passion, Jane blurts out her true feelings – which horrifies her new spouse. He had no idea that Jane was in love with him – he hadn’t wanted love, given that he is unable to return it.
Jane is mortified – both at Edmund’s reaction to her confession and her own carelessness in making it. She attempts to shrug it off, insisting that it doesn’t matter, that she doesn’t expect a return and that it won’t make any difference.
But she very quickly realises the error in that statement when she begins to see that Edmund behaves towards her in much the same way as he does to everyone – he’s kind, courteous and solicitous of her comfort, but in exactly the same way he is kind and courteous towards every other woman he meets, whether it’s in a ballroom, or on the street rescuing a blown-away bonnet. She quickly finds that Edmund’s insistence on giving her gifts, or in trying to do and say things that he thinks are what she wants – incredibly frustrating, because what she really wants is something of him, his time, his companionship, to be his significant other rather than just an other woman.
But Edmund locked away his “self” a long time ago, after the events that led to the death of his father and destroyed his family. Believing himself to have betrayed them all, Edmund has cultivated an air of dependability, ruthlessly controlling his emotions and hiding them beneath his outward veneer of composed affability. It’s clear that guilt is part of the reason for his desire to be kind to everyone he meets. He has separated himself from his mother and sisters because he believes it to be the best thing for them; and as he can’t help them in person, he helps them by proxy, in bestowing his attentions on others instead.
A hero possessed of a dark and dirty secret in his past who has voluntarily separated himself from his family is not an unknown character – type in romance. But here, Ms Romain has done something more than just present the reader with a tortured, self-sacrificing hero; she has also shown the negative side of Edmund’s ruthless self-control, and not just in the sense that it is causing his wife distress and heartbreak. Edmund the good Samaritan would have been rather a one-dimensional and somewhat unlikeable character, I think – nobody could be that good! Countering that is the fact that what Edmund sees as his “atonement” is actually a very selfish and convenient way of giving nothing of himself to anyone. Real feeling is too difficult and painful, so he has chosen to close himself off to it in favour of things that are easier to give – kind words and attentions to random strangers or minor acquaintances which cost him nothing.
While Jane is, for the most part, a more sympathetic character, she is not without her faults, either. Her impulsiveness and her determination, as she says, not to live a ‘small life’ initially blind her to the fact that Edmund’s emotional detachment is not some sort of passing phase – and when she realises that he isn’t able to be the husband she wants him to be, she leaves him, after a mere few weeks of marriage.
The fact that she could simply remove herself to her cousin’s house meant that it was easier for her to run away than to try to make something of their marriage or to attempt to understand her husband. It’s true that he did not seem willing to share his troubles with her, but it struck me that ultimately, it was Jane who opted to take the easy way out rather than stay around a little longer to see if she could find a way to get Edmund to open up to her.
Fortunately however, her action does precipitate a positive development in that after she has left, both she and Edmund start to think more deeply about their respective situations, and at last find that they are able to properly talk to each other. These ‘talks’ are not pleasant, as Jane tells Edmund:
“You’ve left your heart behind somewhere long ago, but you’ve never gone back to get it. You look for little pieces of it in everyone you meet. You make everyone love you, just a little. But what do you feel in return? Nothing, because you’re always looking for what’s next.”
– while he tells her that what she wants is some imagined, unreal version of himself who doesn’t exist.
The roiling emotions that Jane and Edmund were both working so hard to conceal came across beautifully on the page, especially in the way that neither of them wanted to hurt the other while having absolutely no idea about what they really wanted from each other. The things that hurt Jane so deeply were things that might, on the surface, seem fairly small things. Edmund didn’t beat her, he didn’t betray her with another woman or steal from her – instead it seemed he wanted to kill her with kindness, because it was all he was prepared to offer her.
Coming on the heels of such incredible emotional insight, I can’t help feeling that Ms Romain dropped the ball in the final section of the book, which felt almost commonplace by comparison. Edmund decides he has no alternative but to confess his ‘sins’ to Jane and they concoct a plan to force Turner abroad once more, this time never to return. And I couldn’t help thinking: “if he’d done this a couple of hundred pages ago, neither of them needed to have been made so miserable”. Which, of course, would have led to a much shorter book.
In the end, it wasn’t about one of the protagonists ‘giving in’ to the other, or finally being prepared to do what it took to salvage things between them – and I felt that fact set this story apart from many other romances with similar storylines. Both characters had to grow as people before they could grow together as lovers. Edmund finally realises that his life hasn’t really been his for the past twenty years and knows he needs to tell Jane the truth, even if it means she will never return to him. But he tells her because it’s the right thing to do, not because he thinks it will bring her back; and because he has faced the truth about his selfishness in not wanting her to love him because love was too difficult for him to deal with.
Despite my reservations about the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Season for Scandal and would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a book filled with warmth, humour and with just enough angst to tug at the heartstrings.
July 4, 2019
Oh boy, I wanted to like this so much more than I did; I was so excited to have Jane as a heroine, after how much I adored her as a supporting character in the prior book! Especially when I realized we'd seen her and her hero in action during the house party-- I was really looking forward to how this would play out in light of that!
And then the book started and... that never got brought up? In fact, what got brought up instead was AN ENTIRE HISTORY that was just... barely mentioned in the prior book?? What??? Like, I actually felt like I was crazy for ages being like "didn't?? they just?? have a house party together??? in which Jane kissed him a bunch???", because it didn't come up AT ALL until almost the end!! It was like Theresa Romain just made up the rest of the backstory and then remembered last minute that she'd actually included them in the prior book, but decided she didn't want to rewrite the entire thing she'd already written. It was just SUCH a bizarre experience, and even if it had been perfectly written, it would have made the whole thing ring a sour note for me.
... unfortunately, it is NOT perfectly written. In fact, it's written in a deeply irritating way that boosts an otherwise fun read down to two stars. I absolutely love Jane as a character, but good lord is she frustrating here, and Edmund is no better! They are just CONSTANTLY talking at cross-purposes -- they absolutely cannot communicate in any kind of reasonable way, and even in a genre where miscommunication is a frequent trope, this was one of the worst, most hair-pullingly unbearable iterations of it I'd ever read. I didn't even UNDERSTAND why they were so unable to actually talk to each other like adults and instead chose to play all of these ridiculous games with each other!! What was wrong with these people that they were so bad at what should have been such simple human interactions?! Both of them were pretty much equally at fault -- Jane completely bratty and Edmund wildly reticent -- and it completely put me off of both them as characters and them as a couple.
I will also say that it is always a tall order to write "I've always loved you," even if the reasoning is clear and the chemistry is intense and the writing is excellent; here, though, NONE OF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN. There's absolutely no reason for Jane to be so into Edmund; he exemplifies absolutely no qualities that would appeal to her, and she clings to so many traits about him that just ARE NEVER SHOWN AT ALL. He's so frustrating throughout this book, and as usual with frustrating love interests, I sort of liked and respected Jane less for being so into him! And, of course, it made her more frustrating in dealing with him -- as I said, both of them just communicate SO TERRIBLY and behave incomprehensibly, and I couldn't even remotely relate to either of them. There were some fun scenes, especially near the end... but oof, for the most part, this was such a miserable, bewildering, frustrating slog. Boo. BOO.
And then the book started and... that never got brought up? In fact, what got brought up instead was AN ENTIRE HISTORY that was just... barely mentioned in the prior book?? What??? Like, I actually felt like I was crazy for ages being like "didn't?? they just?? have a house party together??? in which Jane kissed him a bunch???", because it didn't come up AT ALL until almost the end!! It was like Theresa Romain just made up the rest of the backstory and then remembered last minute that she'd actually included them in the prior book, but decided she didn't want to rewrite the entire thing she'd already written. It was just SUCH a bizarre experience, and even if it had been perfectly written, it would have made the whole thing ring a sour note for me.
... unfortunately, it is NOT perfectly written. In fact, it's written in a deeply irritating way that boosts an otherwise fun read down to two stars. I absolutely love Jane as a character, but good lord is she frustrating here, and Edmund is no better! They are just CONSTANTLY talking at cross-purposes -- they absolutely cannot communicate in any kind of reasonable way, and even in a genre where miscommunication is a frequent trope, this was one of the worst, most hair-pullingly unbearable iterations of it I'd ever read. I didn't even UNDERSTAND why they were so unable to actually talk to each other like adults and instead chose to play all of these ridiculous games with each other!! What was wrong with these people that they were so bad at what should have been such simple human interactions?! Both of them were pretty much equally at fault -- Jane completely bratty and Edmund wildly reticent -- and it completely put me off of both them as characters and them as a couple.
I will also say that it is always a tall order to write "I've always loved you," even if the reasoning is clear and the chemistry is intense and the writing is excellent; here, though, NONE OF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN. There's absolutely no reason for Jane to be so into Edmund; he exemplifies absolutely no qualities that would appeal to her, and she clings to so many traits about him that just ARE NEVER SHOWN AT ALL. He's so frustrating throughout this book, and as usual with frustrating love interests, I sort of liked and respected Jane less for being so into him! And, of course, it made her more frustrating in dealing with him -- as I said, both of them just communicate SO TERRIBLY and behave incomprehensibly, and I couldn't even remotely relate to either of them. There were some fun scenes, especially near the end... but oof, for the most part, this was such a miserable, bewildering, frustrating slog. Boo. BOO.
December 14, 2019
Boring Book. I made it to chapter six. The hero has a secret and I love secrets, but I couldn't battle through the boringness to find out the secret. I also didn't care too much for either the hero nor the heroin.
January 22, 2020
I didn’t realize it was such a racy book, as I purchased the bundle for my kobo. It kept me guessing until the end just exactly what Kirkpatrick’s family secret was and why he felt he could never go home... definitely a couple PG 14 moments.
March 3, 2021
I tend to be lenient in my ratings of romance novels. When starting them, my expectations are generally very low. This one was not so ridiculous that I laughed my way through it, and the characters weren’t complete caricatures, so I give it a solid three stars.
September 6, 2013
My Rating: 4.5/5
Lovely, sweet, and surprising, this book is a historical romance you don't want to miss. Season for Scandal was a wonderful romance, one that I really enjoyed. Loved this book!
Jane was a very sensible heroine. And I mean that in the best of ways because, after reading so many historical romance, you get a little frustrated with the melodramatic, overly emotional heroines. They're wonderful, but they can get to be a bit much. Jane was actually reasonable. I really liked that, when she realized her marriage was not working in the way she wanted it to, she did something about it rather than just sulk. But, that is also my only issue with the book. Jane knew what she was getting into when she got married and she said she would be okay with it, but it wasn't long before she went back on her word. And, because of that, she hurt Edmund. Other than that, I really liked her. She was a lovely, likable heroine and I thought she was great.
Edmund was the sweetest! I don't think it's even possible to find someone kinder, sweeter, or more honorable than him. It took all of two pages for me to adore him. Edmund's family has a very scandalous past that involves treason, adultery, and several other crimes. And, he blames himself for part of it. So, he tries to make up for that by being a true gentleman. And, he feels like he can't be loved, so he does his best to make other people happy to make up for it. I can't stress enough how absolutely sweet this man was. He was wonderful and adorable and absolutely amazing. Loved him!
The romance was lovely. It was definitely sweet, with Edmund's inability to be anything other than adorable and Jane having been in love with him for years. And, the chemistry between them was undeniable. Though, I would say in a way that's more sensuous than hot, which I really liked. These two were lovely together.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. The secrets of Edmund's family were a huge shock. To say they were a scandalous family would be an understatement. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was wonderful.
Season for Scandal was a fantastic historical romance. I really enjoyed reading this lovely book. Lovers of the genre, you don't want to miss this book because it's absolutely wonderful.
*Thanks to Netgalley and Zebra for a copy!
Lovely, sweet, and surprising, this book is a historical romance you don't want to miss. Season for Scandal was a wonderful romance, one that I really enjoyed. Loved this book!
Jane was a very sensible heroine. And I mean that in the best of ways because, after reading so many historical romance, you get a little frustrated with the melodramatic, overly emotional heroines. They're wonderful, but they can get to be a bit much. Jane was actually reasonable. I really liked that, when she realized her marriage was not working in the way she wanted it to, she did something about it rather than just sulk. But, that is also my only issue with the book. Jane knew what she was getting into when she got married and she said she would be okay with it, but it wasn't long before she went back on her word. And, because of that, she hurt Edmund. Other than that, I really liked her. She was a lovely, likable heroine and I thought she was great.
Edmund was the sweetest! I don't think it's even possible to find someone kinder, sweeter, or more honorable than him. It took all of two pages for me to adore him. Edmund's family has a very scandalous past that involves treason, adultery, and several other crimes. And, he blames himself for part of it. So, he tries to make up for that by being a true gentleman. And, he feels like he can't be loved, so he does his best to make other people happy to make up for it. I can't stress enough how absolutely sweet this man was. He was wonderful and adorable and absolutely amazing. Loved him!
The romance was lovely. It was definitely sweet, with Edmund's inability to be anything other than adorable and Jane having been in love with him for years. And, the chemistry between them was undeniable. Though, I would say in a way that's more sensuous than hot, which I really liked. These two were lovely together.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. The secrets of Edmund's family were a huge shock. To say they were a scandalous family would be an understatement. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was wonderful.
Season for Scandal was a fantastic historical romance. I really enjoyed reading this lovely book. Lovers of the genre, you don't want to miss this book because it's absolutely wonderful.
*Thanks to Netgalley and Zebra for a copy!
August 27, 2015
DNF at page 172. Partly my fault. I picked this up right after several books by Mary Balogh who is one of the all-time greats...so almost anything would suffer in comparison.
That said. WTF? It starts with a plot hole big enough to sink a house. The heroine is shown being a super clever impersonator of a type of sophisticated society lady. She knows just how to flirt and act to get the strangers -all men - she's playing cards with for high stakes (10k Pounds which is $250k in today's dollars) to let her place crazy bets, and think she is who she acts like.
So, clearly, she's met and watched plenty of sophisticated society ladies so she knows how act this way. And how to get into high stakes games in London.
Then, two weeks or so later she is at her first society ball and has absolutely no idea how to greet various nobles properly (nod vs curtsy), how to dance, how to modulate laughter in public, how to use a fan for anything beyond fanning oneself from the heat, how to make polite small talk, etc. It's explained that she grew up as very impoverished gentry in a small rural village. So, how did she pull off that card game?
We are also told she LOVES her new husband and has since she was 3 years old due to his kindly character. Then she spends the next 100+ pages secretly seething at him because he is so damn kindly. Um, I don't think that's love.
Meanwhile her handsome, well-connected, rich new husband, who marries her without a dowry, out of the blue for really no good reason beyond momentary drama, has a Big Deep Secret so awful and scary that he can't eat anything, hasn't for ages. (How are his shoulders so big and buff then if he is starving?) We are not told the secret outright, we are made to guess at it from ongoing hints and clues....
Infuriatingly, I bet it's the kind of secret that if he had only told his friends or wife from the start, they could have helped him. But no! We need this secret and worry for drama for the rest of the book! So it can't be told!
Done and done. Stupid.
That said. WTF? It starts with a plot hole big enough to sink a house. The heroine is shown being a super clever impersonator of a type of sophisticated society lady. She knows just how to flirt and act to get the strangers -all men - she's playing cards with for high stakes (10k Pounds which is $250k in today's dollars) to let her place crazy bets, and think she is who she acts like.
So, clearly, she's met and watched plenty of sophisticated society ladies so she knows how act this way. And how to get into high stakes games in London.
Then, two weeks or so later she is at her first society ball and has absolutely no idea how to greet various nobles properly (nod vs curtsy), how to dance, how to modulate laughter in public, how to use a fan for anything beyond fanning oneself from the heat, how to make polite small talk, etc. It's explained that she grew up as very impoverished gentry in a small rural village. So, how did she pull off that card game?
We are also told she LOVES her new husband and has since she was 3 years old due to his kindly character. Then she spends the next 100+ pages secretly seething at him because he is so damn kindly. Um, I don't think that's love.
Meanwhile her handsome, well-connected, rich new husband, who marries her without a dowry, out of the blue for really no good reason beyond momentary drama, has a Big Deep Secret so awful and scary that he can't eat anything, hasn't for ages. (How are his shoulders so big and buff then if he is starving?) We are not told the secret outright, we are made to guess at it from ongoing hints and clues....
Infuriatingly, I bet it's the kind of secret that if he had only told his friends or wife from the start, they could have helped him. But no! We need this secret and worry for drama for the rest of the book! So it can't be told!
Done and done. Stupid.
dnf
October 15, 2013Quit on page 55.
Another case of "I will constantly obsess about this dilemma, but in a completely vague and abstract way so as to reveal NOTHING about it to the reader until probably five pages from the end of the book." If you want me to believe a character has an Insurmountable Problem, I'm going to need more information. Hide it from everybody else in the book. Have him lie to himself about it if you must. But the reader needs to know the truth to provide context for the character acting like a dumbass; without it, it appears simply a congenital affliction.
Also another case of emotional remove. He does something and then he observes her reaction and then he has some trite physical symptom in response, but there is no PROCESSING of goings on to make them personally relevant or resonant. For all the TELLING me he's full of silent angst and she's been secretly in love with him forever and this marriage is a dream come true for her, there's no sense these people are actually FEELING these feelings. Sex should be pretty emotionally fraught (especially if one person is supposedly desperate to get an heir out of it and the other person is supposedly desperately in love as well as doing it for the first time), but when Sex Happens in Chapter Four, I almost missed it because I was snoozing through the chitchat about fashion and soap until being jarred alert by my own laughter upon reading, "It was too much, this lust for him; she was certain to forget herself." Honey, if you call anything that happened in the past 38 pages "lust," UR DOIN IT RONG. I got more excited than that when I found fresh cranberries in the produce department yesterday, and I've had to wait only ten months to get my hands on them and they don't fondle me back.
Another case of "I will constantly obsess about this dilemma, but in a completely vague and abstract way so as to reveal NOTHING about it to the reader until probably five pages from the end of the book." If you want me to believe a character has an Insurmountable Problem, I'm going to need more information. Hide it from everybody else in the book. Have him lie to himself about it if you must. But the reader needs to know the truth to provide context for the character acting like a dumbass; without it, it appears simply a congenital affliction.
Also another case of emotional remove. He does something and then he observes her reaction and then he has some trite physical symptom in response, but there is no PROCESSING of goings on to make them personally relevant or resonant. For all the TELLING me he's full of silent angst and she's been secretly in love with him forever and this marriage is a dream come true for her, there's no sense these people are actually FEELING these feelings. Sex should be pretty emotionally fraught (especially if one person is supposedly desperate to get an heir out of it and the other person is supposedly desperately in love as well as doing it for the first time), but when Sex Happens in Chapter Four, I almost missed it because I was snoozing through the chitchat about fashion and soap until being jarred alert by my own laughter upon reading, "It was too much, this lust for him; she was certain to forget herself." Honey, if you call anything that happened in the past 38 pages "lust," UR DOIN IT RONG. I got more excited than that when I found fresh cranberries in the produce department yesterday, and I've had to wait only ten months to get my hands on them and they don't fondle me back.
December 22, 2013
“You see,” Edmund began, “certain people have entrusted their . . . er . . . trust to me. And I must fulfill that trust. And now is the time that the trust which they have entrusted –”
“Oh, stop,” Jane cut him off. “You’ll do yourself an injury if you try to end that sentence.”
I’m resisting the urge to quote all the good bits, because they’re better in context anyway, right? But if you’re looking for something light and Christmasy, but neither too fluffy nor too sentimental, then you could do worse than SEASON FOR SCANDAL by Theresa Romain.
Jane is a delightful protagonist: confident and bold when she borrows her cousin’s rubies and sneaks off to a gambling hell to raise a stake so she can be independent, but wistfully insecure about how to cope when her kind, considerate, unfailingly polite husband doesn’t love her.
Edmund really doesn’t feel that he has the right to love anyone, considering what a trick he played on Jane by marrying her without telling her about his clouded past.
And from there you can immediately see the broad outlines of the plot, right? The ton is glittery; the villain is quite villainous; the secret buried in Edmund’s past, when we finally learn the details, is definitely dark; the secondary characters are truly appealing; and the dialogue made me laugh out loud several times.
All that, plus holly and mistletoe and brown paper packages tied up with strings.
I've already picked up SEASON FOR TEMPTATION.
“Oh, stop,” Jane cut him off. “You’ll do yourself an injury if you try to end that sentence.”
I’m resisting the urge to quote all the good bits, because they’re better in context anyway, right? But if you’re looking for something light and Christmasy, but neither too fluffy nor too sentimental, then you could do worse than SEASON FOR SCANDAL by Theresa Romain.
Jane is a delightful protagonist: confident and bold when she borrows her cousin’s rubies and sneaks off to a gambling hell to raise a stake so she can be independent, but wistfully insecure about how to cope when her kind, considerate, unfailingly polite husband doesn’t love her.
Edmund really doesn’t feel that he has the right to love anyone, considering what a trick he played on Jane by marrying her without telling her about his clouded past.
And from there you can immediately see the broad outlines of the plot, right? The ton is glittery; the villain is quite villainous; the secret buried in Edmund’s past, when we finally learn the details, is definitely dark; the secondary characters are truly appealing; and the dialogue made me laugh out loud several times.
All that, plus holly and mistletoe and brown paper packages tied up with strings.
I've already picked up SEASON FOR TEMPTATION.
September 11, 2013
This romance was different. I can't say all the ways it was different because that would be to spoil things, but yes it was different.
First we have Jane who marries Edmund after a certain thing she was involved in. They are not in love, he does try to treat her well. But yes the whole marriage is kind of blah. I wished for love but after a while I knew the truth. If these two want a happy loving marriage they will have to work for it. And so they did.
Jane was strong, again I can't say the situation I am thinking of. She also wanted a bit too much. But she was cool. Edmund was kind and was the guy who danced with spinsters at the balls. But he has a secret and it could tear everything apart. And then there is danger hidden in the darkness.
So do not expect a whirlwind romance at once. No, expect two people, one wanting more, the other one all self-sacrifice. Two people who eventually will find love and happiness.
First we have Jane who marries Edmund after a certain thing she was involved in. They are not in love, he does try to treat her well. But yes the whole marriage is kind of blah. I wished for love but after a while I knew the truth. If these two want a happy loving marriage they will have to work for it. And so they did.
Jane was strong, again I can't say the situation I am thinking of. She also wanted a bit too much. But she was cool. Edmund was kind and was the guy who danced with spinsters at the balls. But he has a secret and it could tear everything apart. And then there is danger hidden in the darkness.
So do not expect a whirlwind romance at once. No, expect two people, one wanting more, the other one all self-sacrifice. Two people who eventually will find love and happiness.
October 25, 2014
I give it 3.5 of 5 Cupcakes
It started out good and it stayed good till bout the 40% mark, that's when it started to drag a little! I do think the story would of been better if some things would of been taken out of the book and it wouldn't of effected the story at all!
Jane, she annoyed me throughout the whole book. She was never happy with anything, even when she got what she wanted she pushed it away. Anytime anybody would pay her a compliment she would automatically assume they were lying to her for some type of gain on their part.
Edmund, was weak in a sense he let others dictate his life so much that when he married he was still letting his fears rule his life. He didn't even seem that bothered when Jane left him, he didn't do much on trying to bring her back.
In the end its an okay read but it dragged in places and could of done without other scenes.
Till next time - Sweets Books
It started out good and it stayed good till bout the 40% mark, that's when it started to drag a little! I do think the story would of been better if some things would of been taken out of the book and it wouldn't of effected the story at all!
Jane, she annoyed me throughout the whole book. She was never happy with anything, even when she got what she wanted she pushed it away. Anytime anybody would pay her a compliment she would automatically assume they were lying to her for some type of gain on their part.
Edmund, was weak in a sense he let others dictate his life so much that when he married he was still letting his fears rule his life. He didn't even seem that bothered when Jane left him, he didn't do much on trying to bring her back.
In the end its an okay read but it dragged in places and could of done without other scenes.
Till next time - Sweets Books
December 3, 2015
Good story. Loved the details of the plot to capture the villain. Very much admire this style of writing from TR. I felt sorry for Edmund in a way - but he needed a kick up the tush!
Not the light read I thought from the cover - the story had gravitas!
Not the light read I thought from the cover - the story had gravitas!
December 26, 2019
Smart, strong-willed and not a little bitter at the patriarchy, Jane has recently been told that even though she’s of age, she’s not responsible enough to get control of her own money. Now she _has_ been gambling; but how else is a woman in 18xx supposed to get any money without begging her cousin for it? And she only plays when her skill at counting cards means she’ll ultimately win.
So. Because she’s been deemed irresponsible, she has no choice but to play for higher stakes. She wants to win as much money as should have rightfully been hers to control. She sneaks into a club, where she’s doing well ... until she plays against a man with a literal ace up his sleeve, and loses 10000 pounds. The entirety of the money which was meant to be hers.
Into the melee steps an old family friend, one on whom she’s had a crush forever, and he offers to pay her debt. Unfortunately this friend, Baron Kirkpatrick, doesn’t know it’s for 10000 pounds — and doesn’t have that much; so he offers to marry her and use her own money to pay it off. It’s the perfect plan, especially because he’s been wanting to get married anyway because he’s being threatened and thinks that though he can’t keep himself safe, begetting an heir will keep the barony safe.
I took 3 paragraphs to set this up, but most of the story takes place after the wedding. The emotional growth here is where Jane learns that she needs to curtail her fearsome independence if she’s going to share a life with someone; and he learns that when he hugs the crumbs of love so tightly to himself, he doesn’t have hands free to hold on to something larger.
But. OK. The last book in this series had a couple plot holes but the romance was so lovely, I didn’t even notice the holes until I started writing my review. In this one, the holes distracted me from the start. Jane has a fantastic relationship with her cousin and his wife: why doesn’t she just explain her motivations to them? Would Xavier really be so high-handed as to keep her money from her? If he were, wouldn’t Louisa fight him on it? And what makes Kirkpatrick think marriage is any kind of solution to his problems? Why think that the man who’s threatening him wouldn’t also threaten his wife and child? If he’s dead, how in the heck is everything made better just because he has an infant son?
So. Because she’s been deemed irresponsible, she has no choice but to play for higher stakes. She wants to win as much money as should have rightfully been hers to control. She sneaks into a club, where she’s doing well ... until she plays against a man with a literal ace up his sleeve, and loses 10000 pounds. The entirety of the money which was meant to be hers.
Into the melee steps an old family friend, one on whom she’s had a crush forever, and he offers to pay her debt. Unfortunately this friend, Baron Kirkpatrick, doesn’t know it’s for 10000 pounds — and doesn’t have that much; so he offers to marry her and use her own money to pay it off. It’s the perfect plan, especially because he’s been wanting to get married anyway because he’s being threatened and thinks that though he can’t keep himself safe, begetting an heir will keep the barony safe.
I took 3 paragraphs to set this up, but most of the story takes place after the wedding. The emotional growth here is where Jane learns that she needs to curtail her fearsome independence if she’s going to share a life with someone; and he learns that when he hugs the crumbs of love so tightly to himself, he doesn’t have hands free to hold on to something larger.
But. OK. The last book in this series had a couple plot holes but the romance was so lovely, I didn’t even notice the holes until I started writing my review. In this one, the holes distracted me from the start. Jane has a fantastic relationship with her cousin and his wife: why doesn’t she just explain her motivations to them? Would Xavier really be so high-handed as to keep her money from her? If he were, wouldn’t Louisa fight him on it? And what makes Kirkpatrick think marriage is any kind of solution to his problems? Why think that the man who’s threatening him wouldn’t also threaten his wife and child? If he’s dead, how in the heck is everything made better just because he has an infant son?
July 24, 2021
This one just did not work for me. The heroine was a mess, I don’t even know who she is. First she’s bold and daring, gambling at a scandalous party, then she’s a country miss who’s never been to a ball and doesn’t know any social protocol. She’s also been in love with the hero forever but there is no evidence as to why and having agreed to a marriage of convenience she’s angry that that is all she gets. Then there’s the hero who hides his past behind excessive kindness to anyone with breasts and a vagina except his wife who he doesn’t want to get attached because … why … I don’t know past stuff.
The only thing that kept me going was that the author is actually an engaging writer. Her dialogue was well written, too bad the characters and story in this one were a hot mess. I’m willing to give her another chance… maybe
The only thing that kept me going was that the author is actually an engaging writer. Her dialogue was well written, too bad the characters and story in this one were a hot mess. I’m willing to give her another chance… maybe
December 2, 2018
This is a tricky book to rate; I can see how well constructed the characters and the conflict between them are, and I admire how much Romain made them work to get to a happy marriage in the end. But that also made it frustrating, and the flirty banter and wordplay I love in her novels felt a bit out of place. I also wish we'd seen more of the daring and mischief Jane is said to have; I get why it doesn't come up exactly during the story but when so many characters allude to schemes and plots in her past, I want details! Anyway, I'd recommend this if you know and like what you're getting into - a gradual breaking down of walls between two people who are kind of comically bad at this whole love thing, not checking a ton of boxes on the fun, flirty romance list though.
November 29, 2017
This wasn't badly written (which is often the case for books I only give 2 stars to), I just really didn't like it. I didn't understand the heroine a lot of the time. She spent a lot of the book genuinely upset by the hero, but a lot of the time it didn't make sense to me why she was so upset. There were definitely a few times where I understood why she was upset, and wanted to bop the hero one. But mostly it was a lot of anger for very little reason, and while the ending was sweetish, I'm not convinced that they'll be happy ever after.
December 10, 2017
So, this was solidly in the "I cannot understand how you are failing to disclose this" style of romance which are one of my least favorite types. I mean, just talk! problem solved! That said, I loved Jane so very dearly. She was not perfect or stunning or born to her role in life. She was just her. Good parts and bad. At times trying to hard to please, at other times trying to prove her strength. She was wonderful. I wish Edmund had risen to the occasion and really proved himself worthy of her.
July 26, 2016
This may be the most unique regency romance I have ever read. The feelings I felt as I read this story were unlike the feelings I normally feel while reading these sorts of books. I really took some time to evaluate my feelings about the main characters. There were times when I wasn't sure if I LOVED this book or absolutely hated it. Eventually I came to an understanding with it and was able to award it four stars ... but it was a journey, one that I am unaccustomed to taking when I pick up a historical romance novel. So what made this unique?
Many romance novels end with a Happily Ever After wedding. The struggles between the main couple have occurred. They have overcome whatever had been keeping them apart, and then they head off into the sunset together, full of absolute joy. Not this story. This story begins with a wedding, but happily married bliss does not soon follow. Edmund and Jane are in for a rough ride, and it was a pretty difficult ride for me to take with them as I read. After reading the second book in Theresa Romain's Holiday Pleasures series we knew that Jane adored Kilpatrick, but it was also clear that he was pretty oblivious to her feelings. In this story we get to see that obliviousness up close and personal, and it isn't pretty. It all starts with an overwhelmingly kind act as Edmund rescues Jane from a horribly placed wager, offering to marry her so that she can use her dowry to pay off her debt to an unscrupulous player. For Jane this could be a dream come true. She can escape the confines of her current life, rid herself of the debt she foolishly incurred, and marry the love of her life. Edmund is kind to her. What could go wrong?
Well ... everything.
Edmund was a hard character to like for at least 80% of this novel. 80%!!! Normally when I can't stand the hero of a novel it is because of his "roguish" ways. He is a womanizer, or a glutton, or unkind ... you know, the normal sort of rogue behaviors you encounter in regency romances. But you always stick with the guy because, like the heroine, you can see the heart underneath his roguish ways. Not so in this story. Edmund is nice ... REALLY nice. He is nice to everyone. He is that guy that dances with all the widows and wallflowers at the dance. He valiantly runs to save anyone who seems to be in need. The people love him. They cannot imagine how anyone could be unhappy as Edmund's wife. But this nice behavior is just his way of atoning for the sins of his past. He is nice, yes. But he will not allow anyone close to his heart. He buys Jane gifts because she asks for them. He caters to her every need. Seems like it is a good deal, right? But HE is not there. He is just performing an act. His heart does not belong to Jane. He is the love of her life, and he appears as if he will never, ever love her in return. And it is torture for her. And it was torture for me. Oh, how I felt for Jane! There were scenes written in this story that were absolutely brilliant. Their bedroom scene on their wedding night was an example of this brilliance. Theresa Romain was able to write a bedroom scene that had every single element that you always find in these stories, but instead of feeling the passion and romance of it, it seemed absolutely cold and heartless. Brilliant. It may have been one of the most disturbing scenes of this nature I have ever read, and I knew that this marriage was in trouble.
Seeing this couple go through their (basically) loveless marriage was difficult, but it never seemed totally hopeless. I kept reading, hoping, for Jane's sake, that she could find her Happily Ever After with the man of her dreams. The big scandal keeping these two apart takes awhile to reveal itself. That was a bit frustrating. To be honest, the most difficult thing to handle in this story was Edmund's dishonesty with Jane. Why couldn't he just come out and tell her what was wrong? It would have solved so many problems for him. But, to be a bit realistic, this was a marriage of convenience for him, despite Jane's feelings. He really had not taken the time to get to know Jane at all, so he had no idea how his new wife would respond to his gigantic scandal. And Jane didn't truly know the man she was in love with. They didn't really begin to communicate with one another until late into this story. This is a cautionary tale about why it might be important to get to know your spouse a bit before you jump into a hasty marriage.
Overall, I appreciated this story so much because of its unique nature. I felt different as I read, and it made me think a bit deeper about the themes presented. I normally grab a romance novel in order to escape and not have to think so deeply. This one took me by surprise. There might be some who will have a harder time appreciating this story because it may come across as a bit darker than some romances, but if you can see past Edmund's horribly uncaring behavior I think that you will find a satisfying and well-constructed romance that leaves you satisfied at the end. As unloving as Edmund could be, he does come to figure things out eventually. I did end up loving him as a character. If I have any huge complaint it is that I really hoped to get more time to spend with this couple after they finally worked things out and truly fell in love. But the Happily Ever After, or at least the beginning of it does arrive, thank goodness. Bravo for a somewhat daring approach in this genre, Theresa! Four stars!
Many romance novels end with a Happily Ever After wedding. The struggles between the main couple have occurred. They have overcome whatever had been keeping them apart, and then they head off into the sunset together, full of absolute joy. Not this story. This story begins with a wedding, but happily married bliss does not soon follow. Edmund and Jane are in for a rough ride, and it was a pretty difficult ride for me to take with them as I read. After reading the second book in Theresa Romain's Holiday Pleasures series we knew that Jane adored Kilpatrick, but it was also clear that he was pretty oblivious to her feelings. In this story we get to see that obliviousness up close and personal, and it isn't pretty. It all starts with an overwhelmingly kind act as Edmund rescues Jane from a horribly placed wager, offering to marry her so that she can use her dowry to pay off her debt to an unscrupulous player. For Jane this could be a dream come true. She can escape the confines of her current life, rid herself of the debt she foolishly incurred, and marry the love of her life. Edmund is kind to her. What could go wrong?
Well ... everything.
Edmund was a hard character to like for at least 80% of this novel. 80%!!! Normally when I can't stand the hero of a novel it is because of his "roguish" ways. He is a womanizer, or a glutton, or unkind ... you know, the normal sort of rogue behaviors you encounter in regency romances. But you always stick with the guy because, like the heroine, you can see the heart underneath his roguish ways. Not so in this story. Edmund is nice ... REALLY nice. He is nice to everyone. He is that guy that dances with all the widows and wallflowers at the dance. He valiantly runs to save anyone who seems to be in need. The people love him. They cannot imagine how anyone could be unhappy as Edmund's wife. But this nice behavior is just his way of atoning for the sins of his past. He is nice, yes. But he will not allow anyone close to his heart. He buys Jane gifts because she asks for them. He caters to her every need. Seems like it is a good deal, right? But HE is not there. He is just performing an act. His heart does not belong to Jane. He is the love of her life, and he appears as if he will never, ever love her in return. And it is torture for her. And it was torture for me. Oh, how I felt for Jane! There were scenes written in this story that were absolutely brilliant. Their bedroom scene on their wedding night was an example of this brilliance. Theresa Romain was able to write a bedroom scene that had every single element that you always find in these stories, but instead of feeling the passion and romance of it, it seemed absolutely cold and heartless. Brilliant. It may have been one of the most disturbing scenes of this nature I have ever read, and I knew that this marriage was in trouble.
Seeing this couple go through their (basically) loveless marriage was difficult, but it never seemed totally hopeless. I kept reading, hoping, for Jane's sake, that she could find her Happily Ever After with the man of her dreams. The big scandal keeping these two apart takes awhile to reveal itself. That was a bit frustrating. To be honest, the most difficult thing to handle in this story was Edmund's dishonesty with Jane. Why couldn't he just come out and tell her what was wrong? It would have solved so many problems for him. But, to be a bit realistic, this was a marriage of convenience for him, despite Jane's feelings. He really had not taken the time to get to know Jane at all, so he had no idea how his new wife would respond to his gigantic scandal. And Jane didn't truly know the man she was in love with. They didn't really begin to communicate with one another until late into this story. This is a cautionary tale about why it might be important to get to know your spouse a bit before you jump into a hasty marriage.
Overall, I appreciated this story so much because of its unique nature. I felt different as I read, and it made me think a bit deeper about the themes presented. I normally grab a romance novel in order to escape and not have to think so deeply. This one took me by surprise. There might be some who will have a harder time appreciating this story because it may come across as a bit darker than some romances, but if you can see past Edmund's horribly uncaring behavior I think that you will find a satisfying and well-constructed romance that leaves you satisfied at the end. As unloving as Edmund could be, he does come to figure things out eventually. I did end up loving him as a character. If I have any huge complaint it is that I really hoped to get more time to spend with this couple after they finally worked things out and truly fell in love. But the Happily Ever After, or at least the beginning of it does arrive, thank goodness. Bravo for a somewhat daring approach in this genre, Theresa! Four stars!
October 3, 2017
This was the first book I read of Theresa. I really liked it. Jane and Edward marry but don't know how to deal with each other.
They like each other. Jane loves Edward. He is unsure what to do with that. They have difficulties.
They separate for a time until finally Edward realizes just how important Jane is to him.
They find their love for each other and realized they belong together.
I will read more of her books.
They like each other. Jane loves Edward. He is unsure what to do with that. They have difficulties.
They separate for a time until finally Edward realizes just how important Jane is to him.
They find their love for each other and realized they belong together.
I will read more of her books.
March 12, 2020
Boy, I did NOT like this book! Really surprising because I enjoyed it's predecessor. I'm not giving it 1 stars for bad writing, because the writing was fine. The book was just... so, so unsatisfying. Jane was reduced to a shell of herself, Kirkpatrick was an annoying "nice guy" trope. The weaving and faux-mysterious plot was tedious and tiresome. I didn't root for either character, or for anyone in this book. Ever page was a trudge to the finish.
August 20, 2022
THIS WAS A KINDLE BOOK
I enjoy Ms Romain’s books. This one not so much. Her writing talent comes through. But, I could not warm up to either Jane or Edmund.
Neither one of them were particularly interesting And for me the premise at the first of the book was very convoluted. I kept asking myself “what the heck?”
There is a plot. There is a villain. There is lots of lust. But, for me there was not much warmth or charm.
I enjoy Ms Romain’s books. This one not so much. Her writing talent comes through. But, I could not warm up to either Jane or Edmund.
Neither one of them were particularly interesting And for me the premise at the first of the book was very convoluted. I kept asking myself “what the heck?”
There is a plot. There is a villain. There is lots of lust. But, for me there was not much warmth or charm.
April 27, 2021
Totally fine (in a good way.) I swear, though, old school romance has a lot of scenes where I used to yell, “OMG, USE YOUR WORDS!” This one has a spin on that which is, “OMG, USE DIFFERENT WORDS!” There’s a lot of set up in the first couple of chapters (a lost fortune, a marriage of convenience, secrets, a villain) which mostly comes together at the end.
September 6, 2020
This was really good, but it does not need my review. I read this because of the Smart Bitches Trashy Books review, and it was spotless. Nothing to say save for- you should read this (and the sbtb review).
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