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A Scandalous Situation
Her past was a dark country and lantha Kethley was trapped at its borders, never quite able to escape the one defining moment of her life. Until the day she held Lord Duncan at gunpoint, and he offered her a future she'd never dared imagine! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
299 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 19, 2015
3.5 stars
I thought the heroine’s issues were handled really well, despite it being somewhat dark, obviously. But I didn’t like how convoluted the mystery of who was threatening her became. There were just too many people to keep track of—with similar names and I couldn’t remember how they were related to the main couple. I also didn’t like that the hero mentally pined for his late wife for so long…even if it was realistic. Plot: Hero rescues the reluctant heroine from an avalanche and takes her to his home. She insists someone with her background can’t be compromised, but he hopes to heal her and have her for his own.
I thought the heroine’s issues were handled really well, despite it being somewhat dark, obviously. But I didn’t like how convoluted the mystery of who was threatening her became. There were just too many people to keep track of—with similar names and I couldn’t remember how they were related to the main couple. I also didn’t like that the hero mentally pined for his late wife for so long…even if it was realistic. Plot: Hero rescues the reluctant heroine from an avalanche and takes her to his home. She insists someone with her background can’t be compromised, but he hopes to heal her and have her for his own.
September 15, 2017
I'm not quite sure why but I couldn't put this book down. I didn't really like much about it and think I just wanted to finish it to be honest. The diolouge was a bit too formal for me. I liked the main characters except that he was a little too sensitive and her past was a horrific nightmare, but despite her past he took her anyway making him more noble than most men would be. The mystery was just plain off. It never really explained who the bad guy really was or why he did what he did...it just ended.
September 2, 2017
Carino, nel suo genere, ma niente di memorabile.
August 9, 2023
A racy regency novel with an intense plot set against a wintry background of an old castle in the snow. This was great.
September 8, 2021
I liked this, partly because it handled PTSD and rape better than most romance novels tend to, but it's an odd mixture of a romance that tightly focuses on the hero and heroine, and a spy/detective story. Because of the focus on hero and heroine you never get to know the secondary characters worth squat, and because it's got the mystery subplot there are a boatload of them. Even the author seems to lose track of the secondary characters a bit, for example the heroine thinking she never liked or trusted one of them for a specific reason only after he's been exposed.
The hero is ridiculously perfect, and the heroine is cured of her PTSD awfully fast, however on the PTSD thing that's not as unlikely as some may think. While PTSD is often connected to a traumatic experience, it also has a cumulative aspect, meaning a lot of people who suffer from it dealt with a lot of minor "abuses" before the event that sets them off, meaning they may need to work through childhood abuses or losses or just unfortunate parenting along with the event that triggered such an extreme reaction, and that can take a long time. In this case, however, the heroine seems to have had a very healthy and supportive relationship with both parents, and seems not to have suffered much "ordinary" trauma (loss of close relatives or friends, etc.) as a child.
While what the heroine experienced was extreme and layered, it didn't have the aspect that can cause the most lasting damage -- personal betrayal by someone she loved -- and the "secondary wounding" afterwards seems to have only come from the abusers themselves. Her family was apparently very supportive, and allowed her a lot of control over her own recovery, and the hero comes along and starts giving her a little push right about the time she's ready to start the hard work of healing. While the hero sees her recovery as "one step forward, one step back," in reality she's made considerable progress before he shows up, and she progresses quite rapidly after, but it didn't seem unrealistic to me in light of her situation.
A few anachronisms, including the bad guy repeatedly using "slut" in its modern sexual sense, when at that point the word much more commonly meant a sloppy or slovenly woman. And much more satisfying as a romance than as a mystery, although I should have predicted a particular twist in the mystery plot and did not (I rightly guessed the main bad guy, I just couldn't figure out why he was being characterized in such an odd way until his past was revealed). Early in the story it's implied that the assault on the heroine is one of many and I would have liked to have had that plot point followed up on.
At one point it's maybe indicated that the other women were all killed, leaving me wondering why the heroine was not, although it would have made sense if the heroine were the first one raped instead of them seemingly being a cluster of attacks about the same time. Since the hero has a vendetta against the heroine, it would make sense that she would be the first attack, but since there's blackmail involved it'd make sense that later attacks would add murder to the mix. At any rate, despite the flaws of the mystery subplot, I did think the bad guy's motives were clear, both when it came to the worst of them and when it came to a few others. But their motives, like their characters, were a bit "by the numbers," since none of them become rounded characters.
The hero is ridiculously perfect, and the heroine is cured of her PTSD awfully fast, however on the PTSD thing that's not as unlikely as some may think. While PTSD is often connected to a traumatic experience, it also has a cumulative aspect, meaning a lot of people who suffer from it dealt with a lot of minor "abuses" before the event that sets them off, meaning they may need to work through childhood abuses or losses or just unfortunate parenting along with the event that triggered such an extreme reaction, and that can take a long time. In this case, however, the heroine seems to have had a very healthy and supportive relationship with both parents, and seems not to have suffered much "ordinary" trauma (loss of close relatives or friends, etc.) as a child.
While what the heroine experienced was extreme and layered, it didn't have the aspect that can cause the most lasting damage -- personal betrayal by someone she loved -- and the "secondary wounding" afterwards seems to have only come from the abusers themselves. Her family was apparently very supportive, and allowed her a lot of control over her own recovery, and the hero comes along and starts giving her a little push right about the time she's ready to start the hard work of healing. While the hero sees her recovery as "one step forward, one step back," in reality she's made considerable progress before he shows up, and she progresses quite rapidly after, but it didn't seem unrealistic to me in light of her situation.
A few anachronisms, including the bad guy repeatedly using "slut" in its modern sexual sense, when at that point the word much more commonly meant a sloppy or slovenly woman. And much more satisfying as a romance than as a mystery, although I should have predicted a particular twist in the mystery plot and did not (I rightly guessed the main bad guy, I just couldn't figure out why he was being characterized in such an odd way until his past was revealed). Early in the story it's implied that the assault on the heroine is one of many and I would have liked to have had that plot point followed up on.
At one point it's maybe indicated that the other women were all killed, leaving me wondering why the heroine was not, although it would have made sense if the heroine were the first one raped instead of them seemingly being a cluster of attacks about the same time. Since the hero has a vendetta against the heroine, it would make sense that she would be the first attack, but since there's blackmail involved it'd make sense that later attacks would add murder to the mix. At any rate, despite the flaws of the mystery subplot, I did think the bad guy's motives were clear, both when it came to the worst of them and when it came to a few others. But their motives, like their characters, were a bit "by the numbers," since none of them become rounded characters.
November 14, 2016
There was nothing about this that really worked for me. The author drops the reader right into the action but provides zero build-up with the characters. One hopes for backtracking and layering to fill out the portrait, but it never happens. Hence, I didn't know these people and didn't really care what happened (or had happened) to either of them.
The tone of the plot is all over the place. Given the heroine's past trauma and that several murders occur, it's sometimes dark. But there's no urgency to solving those murders and then things like their engagement, a house party, and the news that heroine writes a "Dear Abby"-like newspaper column feel weird and out of place. The "light" and the "dark" do not mix well.
When it didn't feel awkward, it came off as boring. On the bright side, I had this in my TBR pile FOREVER and now it's finally extricated. So there's that.
The tone of the plot is all over the place. Given the heroine's past trauma and that several murders occur, it's sometimes dark. But there's no urgency to solving those murders and then things like their engagement, a house party, and the news that heroine writes a "Dear Abby"-like newspaper column feel weird and out of place. The "light" and the "dark" do not mix well.
When it didn't feel awkward, it came off as boring. On the bright side, I had this in my TBR pile FOREVER and now it's finally extricated. So there's that.
March 15, 2015
If I were to describe this book in one word I'd simply say it's boring. It has some mystery, sex and intrigue, true... but it's boring (or at least it was for me). It gets a little bit interesting at some point, but then it gets boring again. I just wanted it to end so I could get started on something else.
I also didn't care much for the oversensitive hero. Don't get me wrong, I like sensitive men, but did he really have to shed and wipe a tear off his face so many times? He cried more times than the heroine, and she'd been raped for God's sake!
I got tired of reading "after several heartbeats" a thousand times, and thought alot of the characters and details mentioned to be pointless and useless.
I also didn't care much for the oversensitive hero. Don't get me wrong, I like sensitive men, but did he really have to shed and wipe a tear off his face so many times? He cried more times than the heroine, and she'd been raped for God's sake!
I got tired of reading "after several heartbeats" a thousand times, and thought alot of the characters and details mentioned to be pointless and useless.
June 14, 2013
This book should be made into a movie. It has everything you want: romance, sex, intrigue, espionage, murder, mayhem...etc! The only thing that got in the way of it earning four stars from me was the author's need to insert a long dissertation about the religious beliefs of India. She provided it through one of the characters, an Indian Prince. The Prince's role did not have any connection to the plot of this story. If you left him out, he would not have been missed...except for about 50 or so pages less to read to get to the real story. Therefore, three stars is the only rating I deem appropriate. I think I'll read another one of Ms. Rowell's stories. I enjoyed this one.
February 23, 2014
This was the first romantic novel I ever read and is my absolute favourite, my book is falling apart yet I still have to read it over and over again. A definite recommendation for those who are exploring the genre of romance, a fabulous story of passion and crime. It's definitely my go to book when I cant find anything else or when im feeling down , you cant help but smile at it and feel happy when reading it. I love the progression that the novel has as it takes you along the emotions and the journey that the characters travel. A must read x
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April 17, 2012Loved it - romantic, suspenseful, insightful and gently amusing at times. Most highly recommended!
June 18, 2012
For a book that started with a gang rape, not bad.
June 26, 2019
This book really impressed me. It's honest and indepth look at rape and how devastating it can be to any future relationships you may have.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews