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Ladies and Scoundrels #1
Scandalous Endeavors
Lady Amelia has only known the comfort of life in mid-eighteenth century English aristocracy. But when her father dies, she finds herself alone, grief stricken and not of age. Her appointed guardian, an American uncle, has ordered her to relocate to America where she must remain until she comes of age.
With the help of Grace and Sarah, Amelia gets her uncle to agree to give her four weeks to settle her affairs and unbeknownst to him…find an English lord to marry. Despite her mourning period she endeavors to trap one of London’s eligible bachelors in matrimony so she can remain in her beloved England.
The Duke of Goldstone is devilishly handsome, but a Scottish Duke is entirely unacceptable as a possible husband. After all Scotland is not her beloved England. He has a nasty habit of showing up at all the wrong moments and thwarting her carefully laid plans to ensnare a suitable husband. Sparks fly as the pair find themselves at odds with each other and drawn to each other at the same time. Can they find a way to stop arguing long enough to explore their growing passion?
With the help of Grace and Sarah, Amelia gets her uncle to agree to give her four weeks to settle her affairs and unbeknownst to him…find an English lord to marry. Despite her mourning period she endeavors to trap one of London’s eligible bachelors in matrimony so she can remain in her beloved England.
The Duke of Goldstone is devilishly handsome, but a Scottish Duke is entirely unacceptable as a possible husband. After all Scotland is not her beloved England. He has a nasty habit of showing up at all the wrong moments and thwarting her carefully laid plans to ensnare a suitable husband. Sparks fly as the pair find themselves at odds with each other and drawn to each other at the same time. Can they find a way to stop arguing long enough to explore their growing passion?
145 pages, ebook
First published December 1, 2014
501 people are currently reading
1097 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Mariel
243 books417 followersAmanda Mariel, an accomplished wordsmith, holds dual master's degrees in liberal arts and education, specializing in the captivating realms of history and literature. Beyond her academic pursuits, she embraces the joyful chaos of motherhood, tending to both her cherished teenagers and her trio of adored fur babies. Among them, a noble Bernese Mountain Dog named Blaze, and two cats of distinct character, Ezra and Puff, share their home.
A USA Today Bestselling luminary, Amanda Mariel conjures vivid tapestries of eras long past, drawing inspiration from the languid cadence of days gone by. With pen poised and imagination unfurled, she traverses the annals of time, weaving tales that illuminate historical landscapes with finesse and flair. Her creative spirit finds respite in reading, traversing new horizons through travel, and capturing moments through the lenses of both her camera and artistic endeavors. Yet, it is in the embrace of family that she finds her truest sanctuary.
To delve deeper into Amanda's captivating world visit www.amandamariel.com. While there, an invitation to join her newsletter promises a gateway to the latest from Amanda Mariel's literary treasury, and an opportunity to claim a complimentary eBook.
Amanda's passion extends to her readers, welcoming their voices and stories into her narrative realm. Engage with her through email at amanda@amandamariel.com, or connect via her social Media channels.
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorAmandaMarie1
Twitter: twitter.com/AmandaMarieAuth
BookBub: bookbub.com/authors/amanda-mariel
Instagram: instagram.com/authoramandamariel
TikTok: tiktok.com/@amandamarielromance
Amidst the prose and parchment, Amanda Mariel etches a profound connection, bridging eras, hearts, and minds, creating a legacy that resonates through the corridors of time.
A USA Today Bestselling luminary, Amanda Mariel conjures vivid tapestries of eras long past, drawing inspiration from the languid cadence of days gone by. With pen poised and imagination unfurled, she traverses the annals of time, weaving tales that illuminate historical landscapes with finesse and flair. Her creative spirit finds respite in reading, traversing new horizons through travel, and capturing moments through the lenses of both her camera and artistic endeavors. Yet, it is in the embrace of family that she finds her truest sanctuary.
To delve deeper into Amanda's captivating world visit www.amandamariel.com. While there, an invitation to join her newsletter promises a gateway to the latest from Amanda Mariel's literary treasury, and an opportunity to claim a complimentary eBook.
Amanda's passion extends to her readers, welcoming their voices and stories into her narrative realm. Engage with her through email at amanda@amandamariel.com, or connect via her social Media channels.
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorAmandaMarie1
Twitter: twitter.com/AmandaMarieAuth
BookBub: bookbub.com/authors/amanda-mariel
Instagram: instagram.com/authoramandamariel
TikTok: tiktok.com/@amandamarielromance
Amidst the prose and parchment, Amanda Mariel etches a profound connection, bridging eras, hearts, and minds, creating a legacy that resonates through the corridors of time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
March 25, 2015
Book – Scandalous Endeavors
Author – Amanda Mariel
Publication Date – December 12, 2014
Genre –Historical Fiction
Type – Stand Alone
Cliffhanger – No
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Complimentary copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts - Story
It’s been awhile since I’ve read any type of Historical Fiction and I’m so happy this was the one that broke my dry spell with. It wasn’t ‘in your face’ historical information – instead, it was a cute story about a girl who will do anything to stay in England.
There were so many times, I found myself snickering at the crazy banter between Amelia and Lord Goldstone and her crazy antics.
This was a quick and funny read and I’m so happy I was offered to step out of my comfort zone and read this book.
Re-Cap
Lady Amelia finds herself alone without parents and still not at the age of being on her own. Her guardian wants to bring her to America but Amelia doesn’t want to leave her precious England – with only 2 months, Amelia must construct a scandalous meeting to snatch a husband. What she doesn’t expect is her friend’s handsome nephew, Lord Goldstone!
Reason for Reading – Author Request
Story – 4 out of 5 Stars
Steam – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Angst – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Writing – 4 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow – 4 out of 5 Stars
Told In – Single POV
Heroine/Personality – Amelia – a bit quirky, immature but makes for a funny story
HEA (Spoiler) – Yes
Would Read More from Author?
Recommend To – Anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction with humor
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
Author – Amanda Mariel
Publication Date – December 12, 2014
Genre –Historical Fiction
Type – Stand Alone
Cliffhanger – No
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Complimentary copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts - Story
It’s been awhile since I’ve read any type of Historical Fiction and I’m so happy this was the one that broke my dry spell with. It wasn’t ‘in your face’ historical information – instead, it was a cute story about a girl who will do anything to stay in England.
There were so many times, I found myself snickering at the crazy banter between Amelia and Lord Goldstone and her crazy antics.
This was a quick and funny read and I’m so happy I was offered to step out of my comfort zone and read this book.
Re-Cap
Lady Amelia finds herself alone without parents and still not at the age of being on her own. Her guardian wants to bring her to America but Amelia doesn’t want to leave her precious England – with only 2 months, Amelia must construct a scandalous meeting to snatch a husband. What she doesn’t expect is her friend’s handsome nephew, Lord Goldstone!
Reason for Reading – Author Request
Story – 4 out of 5 Stars
Steam – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Angst – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Writing – 4 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow – 4 out of 5 Stars
Told In – Single POV
Heroine/Personality – Amelia – a bit quirky, immature but makes for a funny story
HEA (Spoiler) – Yes
Would Read More from Author?
Recommend To – Anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction with humor
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
August 17, 2015
I am giving this book 2.5 stars - I think that is being overly generous!
Apparently, I am the odd man out here. I didn't really care for this book. I thought the writing was juvenile and the characters under developed. This review is going to be spoilerish - so don't read any further if you don't want to know!!
Amelia is grief stricken, she has just lost her father and has found out that her new guardian has decided that she will return to America with him. Amelia doesn't want to leave England and hatches a plan to stay in her beloved England. She decides to trap a husband.
Enter Fredrick, the Duke of Goldstone. He is the nephew of Amelia's chaperone and Amelia falls in to lust with him immediately. In fact she becomes like a cat in heat whenever he is around. It just seemed out of character and awkward. But he can't be considered husband material because he is from Scotland.
Anyway, Fredrick foils Amelia's plans to trap her chosen target on more than one occasion. And said target ends up engaged to someone else. Amelia devastated by this news, runs away. She is found by Fredrick. Fredrick is on his way home and takes Amelia with him. He tells her he will find a chaperone to take her back to London once they get to Leeds.
One thing leads to another and they end up in bed together. Amelia realizes that she loves him?!? But before she can tell him, he tells her that he has found someone to take her back to London and leaves.
She returns to London and has decided to go to America. But of course our hero shows up at the last moment and declares his love.
Here are my major issues with this book:
1 - The authors lack of knowledge about the British nobility is apparent. Incorrect usage of formal address is one of my biggest pet peeves and this book is overrun with it.
2 - The entire story was told from the heroine Amelia's POV. The reader is never privy to the hero's thoughts.
3 - The romance was practically non existent - how, when or even why they fell in love is a mystery to me.
4 - The heroine was annoying, deceitful and immature. And if that isn't bad enough, she is either giggling, crying or stomping her foot the entire book.
I believe this is the authors debut book and I think there is potential. The idea of this book was good but the execution was lacking. Perhaps with time, experience and a better editor she could be an author I would enjoy reading. I will be reading the next book because it was gifted to me by an author I respect and I promised to read and review it.
Apparently, I am the odd man out here. I didn't really care for this book. I thought the writing was juvenile and the characters under developed. This review is going to be spoilerish - so don't read any further if you don't want to know!!
Amelia is grief stricken, she has just lost her father and has found out that her new guardian has decided that she will return to America with him. Amelia doesn't want to leave England and hatches a plan to stay in her beloved England. She decides to trap a husband.
Enter Fredrick, the Duke of Goldstone. He is the nephew of Amelia's chaperone and Amelia falls in to lust with him immediately. In fact she becomes like a cat in heat whenever he is around. It just seemed out of character and awkward. But he can't be considered husband material because he is from Scotland.
Anyway, Fredrick foils Amelia's plans to trap her chosen target on more than one occasion. And said target ends up engaged to someone else. Amelia devastated by this news, runs away. She is found by Fredrick. Fredrick is on his way home and takes Amelia with him. He tells her he will find a chaperone to take her back to London once they get to Leeds.
One thing leads to another and they end up in bed together. Amelia realizes that she loves him?!? But before she can tell him, he tells her that he has found someone to take her back to London and leaves.
She returns to London and has decided to go to America. But of course our hero shows up at the last moment and declares his love.
Here are my major issues with this book:
1 - The authors lack of knowledge about the British nobility is apparent. Incorrect usage of formal address is one of my biggest pet peeves and this book is overrun with it.
2 - The entire story was told from the heroine Amelia's POV. The reader is never privy to the hero's thoughts.
3 - The romance was practically non existent - how, when or even why they fell in love is a mystery to me.
4 - The heroine was annoying, deceitful and immature. And if that isn't bad enough, she is either giggling, crying or stomping her foot the entire book.
I believe this is the authors debut book and I think there is potential. The idea of this book was good but the execution was lacking. Perhaps with time, experience and a better editor she could be an author I would enjoy reading. I will be reading the next book because it was gifted to me by an author I respect and I promised to read and review it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2021
Lady Amelia'a father dies leaving her unable to obtain her title as a Viscountess. {I didn't know females could hold titles of Viscountess in England} Ann Boylen I know was the first Marchioness that's the only titled I knew that could be passed down to females in England. I must study the history to see if this title is correct. Amelia's Uncle Lewis demands she comes with him to live in America. But Amelia loves England and is determined to stay. She will find a English Lord to Marry.
Richard the Duke of Goldstone is a Scottish Duke who is escaping Scotland running from the Marriage trap. He goes to visits his aunt Grace Dowager Duchess of Abernathy in London. Once there he meets Amelia who has managed to stay in England living with the Duchess.
Immediately Richard and Amelia are at loggerheads. The dislike between the two Makes No Sense. The angst seems forced and petty!! The other problem I had was there are a lot of different scenarios that happen in the story. There is not straight forward consistent storyline. The ending was Abrupt!!
Richard the Duke of Goldstone is a Scottish Duke who is escaping Scotland running from the Marriage trap. He goes to visits his aunt Grace Dowager Duchess of Abernathy in London. Once there he meets Amelia who has managed to stay in England living with the Duchess.
Immediately Richard and Amelia are at loggerheads. The dislike between the two Makes No Sense. The angst seems forced and petty!! The other problem I had was there are a lot of different scenarios that happen in the story. There is not straight forward consistent storyline. The ending was Abrupt!!
January 19, 2015
A humorous and engagaing historical romance. I really enjoyed this book. For a short novel, the characters were surprisingly well developed and the story didn't feel rushed. Although the story is about Amelia, Lord Goldstone stole the show for me. His thwarting of Amelia's plans were funny and I could understand Amelia finding his arrogance annoying! I would have liked Lord Goldstone to have had a real rival for Amelia with some jealousy driven meddling on his part.
The side characters made nice comedic additions to the story.
I was expecting Lady Grace to have played more of a part in the match making schemes and when her nephew, Lord Goldstone arrived on the scene I was anticipating that to be a deliberate act on her part to throw the couple together. However, she wasn't much involved and all the matchmaking schemes were plotted and executed by Amelia.
I found it surprising that in all her machinations to trick a gentleman into compromising her and thus forcing a marriage proposal neither she nor Lord Goldstone appeared overly concerned that they were in fact creating that same dilemma for themselves by travelling and staying over night together. And then they decided to ride on to Scotland without letting anyone know where they were. Lady Grace did not seem to be too bothered about their disappearance either.
Nevertheless, the story came to a fitting conclusion with all working out nicely in the end.
This is a well written and entertaining romance from an author I will definitely be reading more from in the future
The side characters made nice comedic additions to the story.
I was expecting Lady Grace to have played more of a part in the match making schemes and when her nephew, Lord Goldstone arrived on the scene I was anticipating that to be a deliberate act on her part to throw the couple together. However, she wasn't much involved and all the matchmaking schemes were plotted and executed by Amelia.
I found it surprising that in all her machinations to trick a gentleman into compromising her and thus forcing a marriage proposal neither she nor Lord Goldstone appeared overly concerned that they were in fact creating that same dilemma for themselves by travelling and staying over night together. And then they decided to ride on to Scotland without letting anyone know where they were. Lady Grace did not seem to be too bothered about their disappearance either.
Nevertheless, the story came to a fitting conclusion with all working out nicely in the end.
This is a well written and entertaining romance from an author I will definitely be reading more from in the future
May 8, 2015
5 stars
*******WARNING THIS BOOK HAS A FEW ADULT SCENES*******
I was given this book for my honest review.
This is a historical romance.
Fan and lovers of gone with the wind this is the book for you. I was blown away. Amelia has lost both her parent, and been left in the care of her uncle. Her being born and raised in England makes it all she's ever known. Her uncle is living in America, so it's assumed she will move there with him. Amelia has another plan in mind though. It's simple really. First make sure when her uncle leave she gets to stay promising she will follow as soon as her affairs are in order. Second find a man to marry, so she never has to leave England. Third put herself in a scandalous position so the man has to marry her. Easy right, until her guardians nephew shows up and ruins everything. Duke Goldstone has no clue what lady Amelia is up to, but he's going to find out. In his journey to find out he may just be setting himself up as well.
This is an amazing story full of foiled plots, and finding true love you won't be disappointed. I loved this book, and can't wait for the next book from this amazing author. Full of laughs and a stubborn female not only the historical romance lover will find this book entertaining.
*******WARNING THIS BOOK HAS A FEW ADULT SCENES*******
I was given this book for my honest review.
This is a historical romance.
Fan and lovers of gone with the wind this is the book for you. I was blown away. Amelia has lost both her parent, and been left in the care of her uncle. Her being born and raised in England makes it all she's ever known. Her uncle is living in America, so it's assumed she will move there with him. Amelia has another plan in mind though. It's simple really. First make sure when her uncle leave she gets to stay promising she will follow as soon as her affairs are in order. Second find a man to marry, so she never has to leave England. Third put herself in a scandalous position so the man has to marry her. Easy right, until her guardians nephew shows up and ruins everything. Duke Goldstone has no clue what lady Amelia is up to, but he's going to find out. In his journey to find out he may just be setting himself up as well.
This is an amazing story full of foiled plots, and finding true love you won't be disappointed. I loved this book, and can't wait for the next book from this amazing author. Full of laughs and a stubborn female not only the historical romance lover will find this book entertaining.
February 18, 2015
With the death of both of parents, she only has one living relative. An uncle who lives in America. Amelia does not wish to leave her beloved England. In order to remain in England, she must find a husband. She set her goal to marry Lord Roseington, however Amelia has an attraction toward Lord Richard Goldstone. Lord Goldstone is a man with very few words, but you can't help yourself to like him. Miss Amelia is determined and childlike in some ways. It was a great read. You can feel the sorrow and pain from Amelia Then you will laugh and feel joy with Lord Goldstone. I would love to read more on this author. I received a complimentary copy from the Author for an honest review.
July 5, 2016
This was a cute story, and good narration by Stevie Zimmerman (audible review)
I enjoyed it. I liked all the characters. The heroine was strong, witty and smart. The hero was handsome and smart, the two had some good chemistry together.
The story line and plot were good. Nothing mysterious or any villains. Just a cute regency romance story. It wasn't full of angst, which I liked. She needed a husband to stay in England and was on a mission. There was lots of dialogue throughout the book.
As for the narration, it was good. Stevie Zimmerman is getting better and better. The men sound like men and she does give everyone their own voice. She has a nice reading voice too.
I enjoyed it. I liked all the characters. The heroine was strong, witty and smart. The hero was handsome and smart, the two had some good chemistry together.
The story line and plot were good. Nothing mysterious or any villains. Just a cute regency romance story. It wasn't full of angst, which I liked. She needed a husband to stay in England and was on a mission. There was lots of dialogue throughout the book.
As for the narration, it was good. Stevie Zimmerman is getting better and better. The men sound like men and she does give everyone their own voice. She has a nice reading voice too.
June 15, 2017
I hate to say bad things about books because there's probably someone out there that loves it even if I don't, but this was one of the most insipid and ridiculous books I've ever touched.
January 24, 2015
Scandalous Endeavors by Amanda Marie was a pleasant read. The beginning was a bit slow in pace but I really started getting involved when the love interest was introduced. He's every bit the kind of man I like in my romance. There isn't much given away about who he is other than his dukedom and where he lives. He generally seems like the kind of guy who waits for good opportunities to enjoy his prey and I very much believe Amelia was his prey. Despite his mystery, I think he's a good match for the protagonist, Amelia. They have good dialogue when they are around each other, which really sucked me into the story.
Amelia as a character seems mostly well rounded. She's strong willed, which is something I truly enjoy in female lead characters. She wasn't a damsel in distress kind of woman which made this a better read. Though there were times I did wonder about her age due to how she rolled her eyes, much like a teenager would, or running off when she's upset, though in the book she is said to be two years away from one and twenty which is majority age. Her search for a husband truly lands her in a few interesting predicaments and they don't go as expected. The pain she feels over the loss of her parents came across very real for me as a reader.
The plot as a whole while it seemed like it has been used before, the author carefully calculated some great twists in the whole idea of trapping a husband. Which I don't intend to get into because I don't want to spoil it for anyone.
There are many times I felt the author over described peoples appearances or the setting, skipping over these section which were usually about a paragraph long, helped me get back into the story faster. As a historical romance, I understand the need for authors to describe certain aspects, but feel as a reader some of it wasn't needed for me to picture how things were. One of the descriptions I enjoyed best was of her father's study. The author included memories, sight, and smell in the section which really made the setting come to life- which is what lead me to believe she could do better at describing instead of listing what things looked like.
There are minor editing errors, as most books have, like a redundant phrase, or word, and sometimes using he instead of her and my instead of her- but otherwise the book seems well put together.
As a whole, I'd say this read was enjoyable. I was able to read most of it in one sitting, which shows me I become engrossed in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance with a little twist here and there. The authors best ability was to keep the reader guessing.
Amelia as a character seems mostly well rounded. She's strong willed, which is something I truly enjoy in female lead characters. She wasn't a damsel in distress kind of woman which made this a better read. Though there were times I did wonder about her age due to how she rolled her eyes, much like a teenager would, or running off when she's upset, though in the book she is said to be two years away from one and twenty which is majority age. Her search for a husband truly lands her in a few interesting predicaments and they don't go as expected. The pain she feels over the loss of her parents came across very real for me as a reader.
The plot as a whole while it seemed like it has been used before, the author carefully calculated some great twists in the whole idea of trapping a husband. Which I don't intend to get into because I don't want to spoil it for anyone.
There are many times I felt the author over described peoples appearances or the setting, skipping over these section which were usually about a paragraph long, helped me get back into the story faster. As a historical romance, I understand the need for authors to describe certain aspects, but feel as a reader some of it wasn't needed for me to picture how things were. One of the descriptions I enjoyed best was of her father's study. The author included memories, sight, and smell in the section which really made the setting come to life- which is what lead me to believe she could do better at describing instead of listing what things looked like.
There are minor editing errors, as most books have, like a redundant phrase, or word, and sometimes using he instead of her and my instead of her- but otherwise the book seems well put together.
As a whole, I'd say this read was enjoyable. I was able to read most of it in one sitting, which shows me I become engrossed in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance with a little twist here and there. The authors best ability was to keep the reader guessing.
January 15, 2015
Amelia has a huge problem. She has lost both of her parents and with only being 19, has to move to America with her remaining family until she is of age. The only thing is she doesn't want to go. She loves England and needs to find a way to convince her Uncle to let her stay. Amelia along with her friends, Lady Sarah and Lady Grace, hatch a plan so scandalous that if anyone found out she would be the talk of the town.
She needs to snag herself a husband - and fast. Two months to be precise. The problem is that she is in mourning and it is a major faux pas to try to court anyone during this time. But Amelia doesn't have time to worry about social graces, she needs to find an eligible bachelor, now. With the help of her friends they construct a plan Now, they just have to make it happen.
What Amelia didn't account for was the devilishly handsome Lord Goldstone to show up and throw a wrench in her well laid plans. The Scottish Lord is not only beautiful but also infuriating. Every time Amelia makes a move to snag herself an English Lord, he seems to be just in time to kibosh the whole thing. He also seems to be enjoying himself way too much.
Amelia must figure out what she wants before her times runs out. Does she want a marriage of convenience or one of love?
I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I give this book 4 stars out of 5. This was a great read. Short, fun and very entertaining. Amanda paints a vivid picture of Amelia's world.
The only reason I didn't give Scandalous Endeavors 5 stars is I wish we got to see more of Amelia and Lord Goldstone's interactions. Their witty banter was highly entertaining and I would have loved to see more. Also, I would have loved it if Lord Goldstone had a Scottish brogue, but I'm assuming that since his land is so close to England that he picked up an English accent.
I look forward to reading more from Amanda Marie in the future
She needs to snag herself a husband - and fast. Two months to be precise. The problem is that she is in mourning and it is a major faux pas to try to court anyone during this time. But Amelia doesn't have time to worry about social graces, she needs to find an eligible bachelor, now. With the help of her friends they construct a plan Now, they just have to make it happen.
What Amelia didn't account for was the devilishly handsome Lord Goldstone to show up and throw a wrench in her well laid plans. The Scottish Lord is not only beautiful but also infuriating. Every time Amelia makes a move to snag herself an English Lord, he seems to be just in time to kibosh the whole thing. He also seems to be enjoying himself way too much.
Amelia must figure out what she wants before her times runs out. Does she want a marriage of convenience or one of love?
I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I give this book 4 stars out of 5. This was a great read. Short, fun and very entertaining. Amanda paints a vivid picture of Amelia's world.
The only reason I didn't give Scandalous Endeavors 5 stars is I wish we got to see more of Amelia and Lord Goldstone's interactions. Their witty banter was highly entertaining and I would have loved to see more. Also, I would have loved it if Lord Goldstone had a Scottish brogue, but I'm assuming that since his land is so close to England that he picked up an English accent.
I look forward to reading more from Amanda Marie in the future
December 31, 2014
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I rated this a 3.75 but rounded up. I loved the story but felt it was a little rushed in parts and would have loved it to be a little more flushed out!
I received this book from the author for an honest review.
I am a fan of hsitorical. I love getting lost in the Regacy of them. I love the corsets and dresses, balls, schemes and all that jazz. When I was asked to read this short 140 page novel, i jumped. To read of a girl scheming to get a husband so she can keep her title and stay in England vs go live in America with her distant Uncle made me giddy.
This book is about Amelia who is left without her parents. Both have died by the time she is 19. She cannot stay in England alone or that would be a SCANDAL so she must go to America. Well her and her bestie Sarah manage to get Lady Grace to chaperone Amelia until she can get a husband. She is going to force a SCANDAL on a Lord she has chosen to marry. Well as her and her friends are planning, in walks the Lady Grace's nephew. He is a HOTTIE but , darn, from Scotland. Tooo bad right? Uhm welllllllll, he might have heard the ladies scheming and has decided that Amelia might be the one for him????
I had a few giggles at Lord Goldstones attempt to ruin Amelias plans to trap a husband. I loved it. He is sooo funny and arrogant. Plus when he admits to ruining her plans, it infuriates her beyond imagine.
The two end up having to travel together and that is when things REALLY heat up. Amelia has fought her attraction to Richard. However she realizes she might LOVE and sets out to snare him as her husband!!!
www.Twinsietalk.com
www.facebook.com/Twisnietalk
@twinsietalk
I rated this a 3.75 but rounded up. I loved the story but felt it was a little rushed in parts and would have loved it to be a little more flushed out!
I received this book from the author for an honest review.
I am a fan of hsitorical. I love getting lost in the Regacy of them. I love the corsets and dresses, balls, schemes and all that jazz. When I was asked to read this short 140 page novel, i jumped. To read of a girl scheming to get a husband so she can keep her title and stay in England vs go live in America with her distant Uncle made me giddy.
This book is about Amelia who is left without her parents. Both have died by the time she is 19. She cannot stay in England alone or that would be a SCANDAL so she must go to America. Well her and her bestie Sarah manage to get Lady Grace to chaperone Amelia until she can get a husband. She is going to force a SCANDAL on a Lord she has chosen to marry. Well as her and her friends are planning, in walks the Lady Grace's nephew. He is a HOTTIE but , darn, from Scotland. Tooo bad right? Uhm welllllllll, he might have heard the ladies scheming and has decided that Amelia might be the one for him????
I had a few giggles at Lord Goldstones attempt to ruin Amelias plans to trap a husband. I loved it. He is sooo funny and arrogant. Plus when he admits to ruining her plans, it infuriates her beyond imagine.
The two end up having to travel together and that is when things REALLY heat up. Amelia has fought her attraction to Richard. However she realizes she might LOVE and sets out to snare him as her husband!!!
August 12, 2015
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 4 Stars
I don't generally go for historical romances as I typically don't get sucked into the story as quickly as modern day romances. But I found myself enjoying this one.
The idea of Amelia willing to "compromise" herself in order to trap a husband so she can stay in England was a new twist for me. I loved the lengths she was willing to go to so that she could get what she wanted. She knew that she wanted to have life on her terms. I found her to be a well-rounded character and liked all her determination and witty banter with other characters in the story.
Lord Goldstone was just what Amelia needed. They're both headstrong, but it worked for them as a "couple". Especially with him trying to trip her up so that he could have his way. In the end through all their separate plans, back and forth banter, and scheming they gave me a good laugh and plenty of feels.
Disclosure: This ebook was provided by the author in exchange for an HONEST and not necessarily positive review.
Rating: 4 Stars
I don't generally go for historical romances as I typically don't get sucked into the story as quickly as modern day romances. But I found myself enjoying this one.
The idea of Amelia willing to "compromise" herself in order to trap a husband so she can stay in England was a new twist for me. I loved the lengths she was willing to go to so that she could get what she wanted. She knew that she wanted to have life on her terms. I found her to be a well-rounded character and liked all her determination and witty banter with other characters in the story.
Lord Goldstone was just what Amelia needed. They're both headstrong, but it worked for them as a "couple". Especially with him trying to trip her up so that he could have his way. In the end through all their separate plans, back and forth banter, and scheming they gave me a good laugh and plenty of feels.
Disclosure: This ebook was provided by the author in exchange for an HONEST and not necessarily positive review.
August 31, 2015
She’s just buried her father & learned she must accompany her uncle to live in America until she is of age…what’s Amelia to do? Why compromise an English gentleman of course so he’ll have to marry her where she can stay in her beloved England. With the help of her best friend & a dear family friend Amelia comes up with the perfect plan & the perfect English lord. Now if only things go as planned.
Amanda Mariel writes a sweet tale of a young lady’s determination to stay in the country she loves & the hilarious things that can go wrong with a “perfect” plan. You will find yourself routing for Amelia, scolding her & at times just shaking your head with it seems that anything that could possibly go wrong does & how the effect of that just makes Amelia more determined. Now happily wondering what exploits will be told he Ms. Mariel’s next book – Scandalous Intentions.
Amanda Mariel writes a sweet tale of a young lady’s determination to stay in the country she loves & the hilarious things that can go wrong with a “perfect” plan. You will find yourself routing for Amelia, scolding her & at times just shaking your head with it seems that anything that could possibly go wrong does & how the effect of that just makes Amelia more determined. Now happily wondering what exploits will be told he Ms. Mariel’s next book – Scandalous Intentions.
January 25, 2015
*R4R*
Scandalous Endeavors is a historic romance.The heroine amelia just lost her father and her uncle from america becomes her guardian.Her uncle wants to take amelia with him to America but she love her homeland too much to leave.
Amelia now has to device a plan to marry , so that she can stay in England.Together with her friends Grace and Sarah she concats a plan to trap a englishman into marriage, however all her plans are interepted by Richard, a Scottish Duke.Now she has to decide is she loves the Scottish Duke more than England.
The interaction between the lead charaters are funny.
I enjoyed reading it.
Scandalous Endeavors is a historic romance.The heroine amelia just lost her father and her uncle from america becomes her guardian.Her uncle wants to take amelia with him to America but she love her homeland too much to leave.
Amelia now has to device a plan to marry , so that she can stay in England.Together with her friends Grace and Sarah she concats a plan to trap a englishman into marriage, however all her plans are interepted by Richard, a Scottish Duke.Now she has to decide is she loves the Scottish Duke more than England.
The interaction between the lead charaters are funny.
I enjoyed reading it.
December 12, 2014
Amelia has a problem and she only sees one way out of it--Marriage. She needs to marry an Englishman so she can remain in her home. If she cannot find someone to marry she will have to go live with her uncle in America. Enter Lord Goldstone, A Scottish Duke. She doesn't want to like him and he just won't do to solve her problems. He is Scottish and what Amelia wants is an Englishman.
This is a story about love, loss, personal growth, and learning to recognize something special when its right in front of you.
This is a story about love, loss, personal growth, and learning to recognize something special when its right in front of you.
May 19, 2017
The ebook was full of grammatical errors, stilted language, and forced situations. It isn't a full novel length and the lack of character development was disappointing.
I was expecting more from so many high reviews and the catching blurb. Guess I will stick with Mary Balogh and Lisa Kleypas.
I was expecting more from so many high reviews and the catching blurb. Guess I will stick with Mary Balogh and Lisa Kleypas.
May 12, 2020
Scandalous Endeavors: Ladies And Scoundrels, by Amanda Marie. Prepare to fall in love with a new historical romance author. Scandalous Endeavors is a sweeping love story between Amelia and Richard. Amelia character is not your typical lady who waits for her husband to find her. She went in search of him.
Richard is the normal Duke who had no thoughts of marriage until he sees Amelia at his aunts house. Sparks fly from there. The book moved rather quickly from scene to scene for me, however it did not lose me as a reader. The book held my attention from beginning to end. There was humor, charm, wit, romance and passion.
The dialogue flowed easily for each of the characters. Details of each scene was explained well for the reader bringing more to the readers imagination. I look forward to more from this writer.
I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy.
Richard is the normal Duke who had no thoughts of marriage until he sees Amelia at his aunts house. Sparks fly from there. The book moved rather quickly from scene to scene for me, however it did not lose me as a reader. The book held my attention from beginning to end. There was humor, charm, wit, romance and passion.
The dialogue flowed easily for each of the characters. Details of each scene was explained well for the reader bringing more to the readers imagination. I look forward to more from this writer.
I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy.
October 5, 2020
Amelia and Richard. Amelia needs to trap a man to marry her. Richard is a Scottish Duke escaping from Scotland to avoid a woman who tried to trap him to marry. Meh!
This is book 7 of the boxed set A Duke's Desire: Nine Full Length Novels.
Also is book Scandalous Endeavors (Ladies and Scoundrels Book 1).
This is book 7 of the boxed set A Duke's Desire: Nine Full Length Novels.
Also is book Scandalous Endeavors (Ladies and Scoundrels Book 1).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
read-in-a-box-set-anthology
February 14, 2023this was the last novella in the anthology and I started to read it but then just stopped it because I wasn’t feeling it. I think because the whole box set was so big I lost my will to read the last book so I won’t rate it.
May 24, 2015
SCANDALOUS ENDEAVORS
(Ladies and Scoundrels - Book One)
Author: Amanda Marie
Type of Book: eBook
Length: 136 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: December 12, 2014
Publisher: Three Worlds Press www.threeworldsproductionsllc.com
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
London 1842
Amelia's mother died a few years prior to 1842 in a riding accident when she was thrown from her horse when it was spooked by a snake.
Recently her father fell ill and after a valiant fight, he succumbed to his illness, leaving Amelia an orphan at the age of 19.
"Amelia wondered if everyone watched and waited for her to shatter into a million pieces like delicate china. Maybe that is what people in her position did; perhaps something was amiss with her. If so, she could not help it. She simply felt numb, like she had disappeared into a hellish oblivion. Her world spun out of control, with nary a semblance of what it used to be. She had become completely lost and abandoned. The only thing she knew with certainty was that her life had changed forever."
Uncle Lewis is Amelia's Mama's youngest brother and her only surviving relative. The problem is that Uncle Lewis is a successful plantation owner in America. "If only she were one-and-twenty. Then Amelia would have control over her own inheritance and be able to make her own decisions. As things stood now, Uncle Lewis had been appointed her guardian. Papa placed the estate and family fortune in trust until she either married or reached majority."
Amelia's Uncle Lewis insists on taking Amelia to America to live. This devastates her. She has no desire to leave her beloved London townhouse or her country estate. But the law states that she has no say in the matter.
Amelia decides that they only way to avoid being forced to spend the next two years in America is to find an English husband. She convinces her Uncle to give her four weeks to accomplish her goal and sets out to find a suitable marriage partner.
But, as they say, the best laid plans never come to fruition in the way a person expects. This certainly holds true for Amelia.
Amanda Marie has a descriptive writing style that makes this book a joy to read. For example: "She woke to bright sunshine pouring through her open drapes like lemonade from a pitcher." This talent is also evident when she is describing people. Instead of saying that the maid had blue eyes, she refers to them as "...cornflower eyes."
The author has obviously meticulously researched this book as it is full of historical tidbits such as the desire for young women to accentuate their tiny waists by wearing tight corsets. She mentions Amelia's pride in her 19 inch waist. She also refers to a mirror as a "looking glass" and mentions the custom of covering mirrors with black cloth while in mourning and the custom of mourners to wear a "weeping veil."
This book also highlights how much society has changed in the past 150 years. In 1842 women had very few rights. This is highlighted by the fact that Amelia has to do whatever her guardian says unless she marries or turns twenty-one. If Amelia were to marry, she would then be at the mercy of her husband's whims.
I enjoyed this book and I came to like and respect the character of Amelia. She is not the typical whiny, helpless woman that most books set in this time period portray. Amelia is strong-willed, intelligent and determined.
I rate this book as 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amanda Marie lives along the Lake Huron shore line in northern Michigan with her husband and two kids. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts Degree with a concentration in literature and has a long standing love affair with sugary junk food.
Visit her on Facebook https://m.facebook.com/AuthorAmandaMa...
Visit her blog at https://musingsbymandy.wordpress.com/
* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
To read more of my reviews visit http://amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
(Ladies and Scoundrels - Book One)
Author: Amanda Marie
Type of Book: eBook
Length: 136 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: December 12, 2014
Publisher: Three Worlds Press www.threeworldsproductionsllc.com
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
London 1842
Amelia's mother died a few years prior to 1842 in a riding accident when she was thrown from her horse when it was spooked by a snake.
Recently her father fell ill and after a valiant fight, he succumbed to his illness, leaving Amelia an orphan at the age of 19.
"Amelia wondered if everyone watched and waited for her to shatter into a million pieces like delicate china. Maybe that is what people in her position did; perhaps something was amiss with her. If so, she could not help it. She simply felt numb, like she had disappeared into a hellish oblivion. Her world spun out of control, with nary a semblance of what it used to be. She had become completely lost and abandoned. The only thing she knew with certainty was that her life had changed forever."
Uncle Lewis is Amelia's Mama's youngest brother and her only surviving relative. The problem is that Uncle Lewis is a successful plantation owner in America. "If only she were one-and-twenty. Then Amelia would have control over her own inheritance and be able to make her own decisions. As things stood now, Uncle Lewis had been appointed her guardian. Papa placed the estate and family fortune in trust until she either married or reached majority."
Amelia's Uncle Lewis insists on taking Amelia to America to live. This devastates her. She has no desire to leave her beloved London townhouse or her country estate. But the law states that she has no say in the matter.
Amelia decides that they only way to avoid being forced to spend the next two years in America is to find an English husband. She convinces her Uncle to give her four weeks to accomplish her goal and sets out to find a suitable marriage partner.
But, as they say, the best laid plans never come to fruition in the way a person expects. This certainly holds true for Amelia.
Amanda Marie has a descriptive writing style that makes this book a joy to read. For example: "She woke to bright sunshine pouring through her open drapes like lemonade from a pitcher." This talent is also evident when she is describing people. Instead of saying that the maid had blue eyes, she refers to them as "...cornflower eyes."
The author has obviously meticulously researched this book as it is full of historical tidbits such as the desire for young women to accentuate their tiny waists by wearing tight corsets. She mentions Amelia's pride in her 19 inch waist. She also refers to a mirror as a "looking glass" and mentions the custom of covering mirrors with black cloth while in mourning and the custom of mourners to wear a "weeping veil."
This book also highlights how much society has changed in the past 150 years. In 1842 women had very few rights. This is highlighted by the fact that Amelia has to do whatever her guardian says unless she marries or turns twenty-one. If Amelia were to marry, she would then be at the mercy of her husband's whims.
I enjoyed this book and I came to like and respect the character of Amelia. She is not the typical whiny, helpless woman that most books set in this time period portray. Amelia is strong-willed, intelligent and determined.
I rate this book as 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amanda Marie lives along the Lake Huron shore line in northern Michigan with her husband and two kids. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts Degree with a concentration in literature and has a long standing love affair with sugary junk food.
Visit her on Facebook https://m.facebook.com/AuthorAmandaMa...
Visit her blog at https://musingsbymandy.wordpress.com/
* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
To read more of my reviews visit http://amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
January 25, 2015
842, London Amelia (19) was at her father’s funeral. Her mother had died previously from a horse accident. Uncle Lewis who lived in the U.S. on a plantation was in attendance also. He was now her legal guardian.
Amelia could however become the Viscountess of Everthorne.
Uncle Lewis told her she will move to America.
Amelia seeks out her BFF Lady Sarah (Marquise Havenshire’s eldest daughter) & Lady Grace (dowager Duchess of Abernathy, widow) for advice on how to handle this matter.
Amelia wants Lady Grace to be her chaperone.
Uncle Lewis, Lady Grace & Amelia meet. He agrees to a 2 month chaperone.
Amelia goal is to find a spouse. There are plenty of eligible bachelors in London.
Amelia & Edna (maid) move into the guest room at Lady Grace’s townhouse.
Lady Amelia & Lady Sarah became good friends.
Lady Grace had a couple of eligible bachelors picked out for Amelia.
Lord Shillington (2nd brother of the Earl of Voxton), Lord Goldstone (Richard, Duke of Goldstone, Lady Grace Nephew, Scotland) & Lord Roseington (next Marquise of Havenshire, Lady Grace Brother).
Amelia receives a letter from Uncle Lewis on 5/18 the Acacia will sail for America.
Looks like it’s down to 1 Lord Goldstone. Or maybe not is Lord Shillington still in the running?
A huge decision in Amelia’s life must be made. What will it be?
My biological mother was from Leeds, never knew her!
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome sexy book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written 18th century historical (true/false) romance book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great 18th century romance movie, or mini TV series. I’m a history undergrad/buff, I love this era Kings/Queens, etc., so I wish there had been a little more detail. That said I will rate it at 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the free (Goodreads; PDF) book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Amelia could however become the Viscountess of Everthorne.
Uncle Lewis told her she will move to America.
Amelia seeks out her BFF Lady Sarah (Marquise Havenshire’s eldest daughter) & Lady Grace (dowager Duchess of Abernathy, widow) for advice on how to handle this matter.
Amelia wants Lady Grace to be her chaperone.
Uncle Lewis, Lady Grace & Amelia meet. He agrees to a 2 month chaperone.
Amelia goal is to find a spouse. There are plenty of eligible bachelors in London.
Amelia & Edna (maid) move into the guest room at Lady Grace’s townhouse.
Lady Amelia & Lady Sarah became good friends.
Lady Grace had a couple of eligible bachelors picked out for Amelia.
Lord Shillington (2nd brother of the Earl of Voxton), Lord Goldstone (Richard, Duke of Goldstone, Lady Grace Nephew, Scotland) & Lord Roseington (next Marquise of Havenshire, Lady Grace Brother).
Amelia receives a letter from Uncle Lewis on 5/18 the Acacia will sail for America.
Looks like it’s down to 1 Lord Goldstone. Or maybe not is Lord Shillington still in the running?
A huge decision in Amelia’s life must be made. What will it be?
My biological mother was from Leeds, never knew her!
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome sexy book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written 18th century historical (true/false) romance book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great 18th century romance movie, or mini TV series. I’m a history undergrad/buff, I love this era Kings/Queens, etc., so I wish there had been a little more detail. That said I will rate it at 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the free (Goodreads; PDF) book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
March 1, 2015
Scandalous Sensations
A Historical Romance that will make you laugh and cry. There is great chemistry and sexual tension between the main characters. Amelia is feisty, sassy young lady. She knows what she wants and goes for it. Lord Goldstone is a witty gentleman who lives in Scotland.
This is a story about a young woman struggles after losing her parents, most recently her father. Amelia's uncle and guardian tells her that he will be taking her to America. She will be able to return to England when she turns twenty-one, 2 years away. Amelia comes up with a plan to stay in England. She enlists her best friend's help. They get Lady Grace to convince Amelia's uncle to stay with her for 2 months in order to get her affairs in order. In that time Amelia hopes to find a husband, so she doesn't have to ever leave. Since she is in mourning, Amelia will have to work at getting a husband. Her best friend, Lady Sarah, will help her with the planning.
Lord Goldstone is Lady Grace's nephew and comes to stay with her at the same time that Amelia is there. He seems to always be around whether Amelia needs him or not. He was always one step ahead of her. Lord Goldstone, Richard, blocks her plans to compromise herself or land a husband every time. These two do a lot of kissing, but Lord Goldstone always pulls away. I love the sense of humor that he has and the one liners. Two of my favorite lines are:
"Please use my given name. Now that you have compromised me, Richard will do just fine.” He smirked roguishly.
"My eyes are up here,” he said.
After receiving upsetting news, Amelia runs off. Richard finds her, and they spend the night alone in her home. Amelia travels with Richard toward Scotland. He will take her part way, and then send her home with a chaperone. On this trip, Amelia discovers that she loves Richard, but he leaves her.
I will let you discover the rest of Amelia and Richard's story, but know that there is a HEA. If you are like me, you may need a Kleenex or two for this story. It did start a little slow, but once it got going it was wonderful. I would recommend this story to anyone who love a historical romance with a sassy English lady and sexy Scotsman.
I was gifted with this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This is my honest review.
A Historical Romance that will make you laugh and cry. There is great chemistry and sexual tension between the main characters. Amelia is feisty, sassy young lady. She knows what she wants and goes for it. Lord Goldstone is a witty gentleman who lives in Scotland.
This is a story about a young woman struggles after losing her parents, most recently her father. Amelia's uncle and guardian tells her that he will be taking her to America. She will be able to return to England when she turns twenty-one, 2 years away. Amelia comes up with a plan to stay in England. She enlists her best friend's help. They get Lady Grace to convince Amelia's uncle to stay with her for 2 months in order to get her affairs in order. In that time Amelia hopes to find a husband, so she doesn't have to ever leave. Since she is in mourning, Amelia will have to work at getting a husband. Her best friend, Lady Sarah, will help her with the planning.
Lord Goldstone is Lady Grace's nephew and comes to stay with her at the same time that Amelia is there. He seems to always be around whether Amelia needs him or not. He was always one step ahead of her. Lord Goldstone, Richard, blocks her plans to compromise herself or land a husband every time. These two do a lot of kissing, but Lord Goldstone always pulls away. I love the sense of humor that he has and the one liners. Two of my favorite lines are:
"Please use my given name. Now that you have compromised me, Richard will do just fine.” He smirked roguishly.
"My eyes are up here,” he said.
After receiving upsetting news, Amelia runs off. Richard finds her, and they spend the night alone in her home. Amelia travels with Richard toward Scotland. He will take her part way, and then send her home with a chaperone. On this trip, Amelia discovers that she loves Richard, but he leaves her.
I will let you discover the rest of Amelia and Richard's story, but know that there is a HEA. If you are like me, you may need a Kleenex or two for this story. It did start a little slow, but once it got going it was wonderful. I would recommend this story to anyone who love a historical romance with a sassy English lady and sexy Scotsman.
I was gifted with this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This is my honest review.
March 27, 2015
SNS Rating: 5.0
~~~~~~~~~~Dee's ★★★★★ Review~~~~~~~~~~
English romance with titled nobility in the 1800's is my absolute favorite!! Pure perfection! This story is like a pie dish filled with homemade Pecan Pie! Yum! The innocent, headstrong girl, not understanding her body's attraction to the Scottish Duke is determined not to give the handsome Duke a second thought. She wants to marry an English Lord and remain in London. It was lovely watching Amelia attempt to compromise an English Lord (three times) in order to prevent her forced move to America. Only each time she works her plan, Lord Goldstone interferes and the plan fails. Loved the plot that included situations that allowed Amelia and Lord Goldstone to explore their connection and allowed Amelia to rethink her original plan to remain in England. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommend this sweet love story. Five Stars!
~~~~~~~~~~Doris's ★★★★★ Review~~~~~~~~~~
This was a charming book, I loved it! Amelia a high born young woman finds herself an orphan at the age of 18. Her only living relative is an Uncle who lives in America. Thus he is coming to England to take her to his plantation until she reaches the age
of 21. Then if she wants to, she can go back to England. Well this feisty young woman decides that she will pretend to be found in a compromising situation and thus have to be wed to a Lord or someone of that blueblooded nature. Then she can stay in England and never have to leave for America!! Dilemma solved!!! Oh, but so many things can happen that she does not even take into consideration. Trouble or saved. Only the reader will know. A very fascinating read, made me chuckle and it's fun. Read it you'll enjoy it! I give this book my honest review and 5 STARS!!!
~~~~~~~~~~Dee's ★★★★★ Review~~~~~~~~~~
English romance with titled nobility in the 1800's is my absolute favorite!! Pure perfection! This story is like a pie dish filled with homemade Pecan Pie! Yum! The innocent, headstrong girl, not understanding her body's attraction to the Scottish Duke is determined not to give the handsome Duke a second thought. She wants to marry an English Lord and remain in London. It was lovely watching Amelia attempt to compromise an English Lord (three times) in order to prevent her forced move to America. Only each time she works her plan, Lord Goldstone interferes and the plan fails. Loved the plot that included situations that allowed Amelia and Lord Goldstone to explore their connection and allowed Amelia to rethink her original plan to remain in England. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommend this sweet love story. Five Stars!
~~~~~~~~~~Doris's ★★★★★ Review~~~~~~~~~~
This was a charming book, I loved it! Amelia a high born young woman finds herself an orphan at the age of 18. Her only living relative is an Uncle who lives in America. Thus he is coming to England to take her to his plantation until she reaches the age
of 21. Then if she wants to, she can go back to England. Well this feisty young woman decides that she will pretend to be found in a compromising situation and thus have to be wed to a Lord or someone of that blueblooded nature. Then she can stay in England and never have to leave for America!! Dilemma solved!!! Oh, but so many things can happen that she does not even take into consideration. Trouble or saved. Only the reader will know. A very fascinating read, made me chuckle and it's fun. Read it you'll enjoy it! I give this book my honest review and 5 STARS!!!
February 10, 2015
Scandalous Endeavors is approximately one hundred forty pages long, available in eBook/Kindle format, written by debut author Amanda Marie. My first comment is with regard to the cover design selected by Amanda Marie; it is simply beautiful, and very appropriate for the content.
This story begins in 1842 London at the funeral of Amelia’s father. As expected, Amelia is devastated with this loss. As she is also very young, Amelia is now under the guardianship of Uncle Lewis, her only surviving relation. Conflict? Uncle Lewis is from America, having made the journey to England for his brother’s funeral. He has ordered Amelia to sail back to America and arranged for her to live on his plantation until she is old enough to make her own choices. Thus begins a tale of desperate schemes for Amelia to stay in her beloved England. The solution? Marriage. Time being of paramount importance, the only logical option is a marriage of convenience to any eligible bachelor. Although the entire story takes place in England, Amelia will bring to mind Scarlett O’Hara. Beautiful, privileged, spoiled, servants at her whim, you’ll find yourself torn between admiring her scheming ways and wanting to shake her for being such a self-centered brat :-). With a singular objective, Amelia devises one devious tactic following another to entrap a suitable mate. No spoilers, but a handsome rake will loom his gorgeous persona and turn her head.
Amanda Marie does a great job with 19th century cultural morays, in language choice, social picadillos, and environmental detail. The graceful manner of decorum is a fascinating insight, and it is well presented by Amanda. You’ll have no trouble turning the pages of this historical romance. Enjoy!
This story begins in 1842 London at the funeral of Amelia’s father. As expected, Amelia is devastated with this loss. As she is also very young, Amelia is now under the guardianship of Uncle Lewis, her only surviving relation. Conflict? Uncle Lewis is from America, having made the journey to England for his brother’s funeral. He has ordered Amelia to sail back to America and arranged for her to live on his plantation until she is old enough to make her own choices. Thus begins a tale of desperate schemes for Amelia to stay in her beloved England. The solution? Marriage. Time being of paramount importance, the only logical option is a marriage of convenience to any eligible bachelor. Although the entire story takes place in England, Amelia will bring to mind Scarlett O’Hara. Beautiful, privileged, spoiled, servants at her whim, you’ll find yourself torn between admiring her scheming ways and wanting to shake her for being such a self-centered brat :-). With a singular objective, Amelia devises one devious tactic following another to entrap a suitable mate. No spoilers, but a handsome rake will loom his gorgeous persona and turn her head.
Amanda Marie does a great job with 19th century cultural morays, in language choice, social picadillos, and environmental detail. The graceful manner of decorum is a fascinating insight, and it is well presented by Amanda. You’ll have no trouble turning the pages of this historical romance. Enjoy!
June 28, 2019
SCANDALOUS ENDEAVORS
Amanda Mariel is a new to me author. I started following her on Facebook and joined her Street Team. I am glad I did. I started Scandalous Endeavors today and finished in a few hours.
The story is about a young woman, Lady Amelia, who lost her father after an illness. It starts at his burial, a place where women where not allowed at the time. Lady Amelia starts as a strong character. You feel for her from the beginning. She surprises from the start. As the only child of a Viscount, she inherits his title and wealth. But, being underage she needed a guardian, her uncle. He is from America where he owns a plantation. He demands she come with him. She refuses and subterfuge ensues. This is where you meet Lady Sarah, a proper lady and dearest friend, and Lady Grace, a force to be reckoned with herself.
She sets her eyes upon her dearest friend’s brother. But her plans to ensnare a husband are foiled by a handsome Scottish Duke. He is funny, smart, charming. Her plans are always spoiled by the handsome Duke. After giving up her fight, her plans being foiled and she was hurt by the Duke, she decides to go to America as her uncle wished. And that’s when everything fell into place.
Amanda has enough detail for you to imagine what she sees, but not enough to leave you wanting less. I could picture the rooms she detailed and wanted to be there. Beautifully written, I look forward to her next. Her characters came alive, easily loved.
My only complaint, and it’s minor. I like reading from the male point of view as well. It’s a preference of mine and does not take anything away from the story or the writing.
Thank you Amanda for the privilege of reading this story!
Amanda Mariel is a new to me author. I started following her on Facebook and joined her Street Team. I am glad I did. I started Scandalous Endeavors today and finished in a few hours.
The story is about a young woman, Lady Amelia, who lost her father after an illness. It starts at his burial, a place where women where not allowed at the time. Lady Amelia starts as a strong character. You feel for her from the beginning. She surprises from the start. As the only child of a Viscount, she inherits his title and wealth. But, being underage she needed a guardian, her uncle. He is from America where he owns a plantation. He demands she come with him. She refuses and subterfuge ensues. This is where you meet Lady Sarah, a proper lady and dearest friend, and Lady Grace, a force to be reckoned with herself.
She sets her eyes upon her dearest friend’s brother. But her plans to ensnare a husband are foiled by a handsome Scottish Duke. He is funny, smart, charming. Her plans are always spoiled by the handsome Duke. After giving up her fight, her plans being foiled and she was hurt by the Duke, she decides to go to America as her uncle wished. And that’s when everything fell into place.
Amanda has enough detail for you to imagine what she sees, but not enough to leave you wanting less. I could picture the rooms she detailed and wanted to be there. Beautifully written, I look forward to her next. Her characters came alive, easily loved.
My only complaint, and it’s minor. I like reading from the male point of view as well. It’s a preference of mine and does not take anything away from the story or the writing.
Thank you Amanda for the privilege of reading this story!
October 30, 2015
LATEST ON DIT- It is On the Highest Authority that Lady A Scandalously Seeks Husband While In Mourning!
This review is from: Scandalous Endeavors (Kindle Edition) by Amelia Mariel
Her parents now dead, leaving her two years shy of legal age to claim her inheritance, leaves Lady Amelia the ward of her Uncle Lewis. Normally that would be acceptable, wonderful even, since her kind uncle was someone that Amelia loved dearly. The problem was that Uncle Lewis didn't live in England and being his ward meant leaving England. That was just piling on the hurt for Lady Amelia. Even though she was bestowed her father's title and would be a Viscountess, it would be meaningless in America. Her life would change beyond anything she could tolerate. Not only had she lost her beloved parents, but she was losing her life as she knew it.
Lady Amelia is desperate. You know what they say...Desperately breeds desperate measures. Lady Amelia decides that if she can find an acceptable chaperone, and if her Uncle will give her the time she needs, she plans to ruin a lord and find a husband. That will enable her to stay in England.
Through her machinations she manages to find willing accomplices in both the Duchess of Abernathy ( a family friend) and her BFF, Lady Sarah. What she doesn't count in is the Duchess' nephew, The Duke of Goldstone, Lord Richard, who overhears her plot to ruin an unsuspecting Lord. Lord Richard sets out to foil each attempt.
This is a well-written book that keeps you interested from page one to the end. The historic content is good and the storyline is daring. Lady Amelia throws caution to the wind and runs amuck of society. However, she wins reader's empathy as she races against the clock to stay in her beloved England.
This review is from: Scandalous Endeavors (Kindle Edition) by Amelia Mariel
Her parents now dead, leaving her two years shy of legal age to claim her inheritance, leaves Lady Amelia the ward of her Uncle Lewis. Normally that would be acceptable, wonderful even, since her kind uncle was someone that Amelia loved dearly. The problem was that Uncle Lewis didn't live in England and being his ward meant leaving England. That was just piling on the hurt for Lady Amelia. Even though she was bestowed her father's title and would be a Viscountess, it would be meaningless in America. Her life would change beyond anything she could tolerate. Not only had she lost her beloved parents, but she was losing her life as she knew it.
Lady Amelia is desperate. You know what they say...Desperately breeds desperate measures. Lady Amelia decides that if she can find an acceptable chaperone, and if her Uncle will give her the time she needs, she plans to ruin a lord and find a husband. That will enable her to stay in England.
Through her machinations she manages to find willing accomplices in both the Duchess of Abernathy ( a family friend) and her BFF, Lady Sarah. What she doesn't count in is the Duchess' nephew, The Duke of Goldstone, Lord Richard, who overhears her plot to ruin an unsuspecting Lord. Lord Richard sets out to foil each attempt.
This is a well-written book that keeps you interested from page one to the end. The historic content is good and the storyline is daring. Lady Amelia throws caution to the wind and runs amuck of society. However, she wins reader's empathy as she races against the clock to stay in her beloved England.
April 25, 2015
Scandalous Endeavors is and novel by Amanda Mariel. Growing up as an Aristocrat, Lady Amelia has had a great life. That is until both her mother and father pass away. Now with a new guardian it seems she is going to have to leave her life behind to start a new one in America. Not wanting to do so she sets out on a scandalous endeavor to find an English Lord she can get to ask for her hand so she doesn’t have to leave. Everything is going to plan and she has even set her sights on a man she thinks she will be able to deal with for the rest of her life (It may not be for love but at least she will be home). That is, until Scottish Duke Lord Goldstone comes into her life and foils her plans. As handsome as he is she knows he could never be her husband since he is from Scotland, but that doesn’t stop him from perusing her. Can Lady Amelia snare her a husband before time runs out or will Lord Goldstone ruin it all for her?
This book definitely takes you back in time and the author does such a great job at doing so. You really do get a feel of the eighteenth century when reading this. I really liked Lady Amelia, how she knew what she wanted and made darn sure she would get it no matter what happened. The book was a little slow though, that is until Lord Goldstone came into the picture. He is a great character that I enjoyed reading about. Smart, funny and just plain handsome, he has all the qualities I love in a man character. Oh! And don’t forget Scottish….. Droooool. If you are into historical love stories this is most certainly a book you will enjoy reading
A Danielle's Domain Review: http://daniellesdomainreviews.blogspo...
This book definitely takes you back in time and the author does such a great job at doing so. You really do get a feel of the eighteenth century when reading this. I really liked Lady Amelia, how she knew what she wanted and made darn sure she would get it no matter what happened. The book was a little slow though, that is until Lord Goldstone came into the picture. He is a great character that I enjoyed reading about. Smart, funny and just plain handsome, he has all the qualities I love in a man character. Oh! And don’t forget Scottish….. Droooool. If you are into historical love stories this is most certainly a book you will enjoy reading
A Danielle's Domain Review: http://daniellesdomainreviews.blogspo...
May 27, 2016
Beautiful cover..
This was a really cute story. Amelia was so obsessed with finding a husband so she could stay in London then fell in love with a Scottish lord. Her plans and schemes that were talked about her, Sarah and the Duchess were pretty interesting, and all for nothing. She did try to hate Richard, while wanting him. That was fun.
There was a nice amount of sexual attraction throughout the story, which made the book even better. And there wasn’t a lot of angst, which was wonderful, as I do hate a book full of angst.
All that being said, it was still ONLY a love story, which have become all alike lately. BUT, at least, it wasn’t 300 or 400 pages of a love story. It was 145 pages and that made it good reading. I’ve gotten to where I can only stand 150 pages, or less, of a story with no mystery or suspense or a stalker or a murder, anything to give the reader something they can sink their teeth into.
I liked Amelia, Richard, Sarah, Grace and Uncle Lewis, and I might move on to the next one, since it’s a little love story, too.
There wasn’t one swearword in this story and the sex was a little vanilla, but that seemed to go along with the story itself.
As to the narrator: Yeah, Ms. Zimmerman was just ok. She did a decent job on the male voices, which is always good, but she read without a bit of emotion, sometimes even sounding robotic. She really needs to listen to some of the great female narrators. She has a nice voice but she needs some lessons. When someone says something in a book and it says that person “laughed” and the narrator doesn’t laugh then she needs to learn a thing or two.
This was a really cute story. Amelia was so obsessed with finding a husband so she could stay in London then fell in love with a Scottish lord. Her plans and schemes that were talked about her, Sarah and the Duchess were pretty interesting, and all for nothing. She did try to hate Richard, while wanting him. That was fun.
There was a nice amount of sexual attraction throughout the story, which made the book even better. And there wasn’t a lot of angst, which was wonderful, as I do hate a book full of angst.
All that being said, it was still ONLY a love story, which have become all alike lately. BUT, at least, it wasn’t 300 or 400 pages of a love story. It was 145 pages and that made it good reading. I’ve gotten to where I can only stand 150 pages, or less, of a story with no mystery or suspense or a stalker or a murder, anything to give the reader something they can sink their teeth into.
I liked Amelia, Richard, Sarah, Grace and Uncle Lewis, and I might move on to the next one, since it’s a little love story, too.
There wasn’t one swearword in this story and the sex was a little vanilla, but that seemed to go along with the story itself.
As to the narrator: Yeah, Ms. Zimmerman was just ok. She did a decent job on the male voices, which is always good, but she read without a bit of emotion, sometimes even sounding robotic. She really needs to listen to some of the great female narrators. She has a nice voice but she needs some lessons. When someone says something in a book and it says that person “laughed” and the narrator doesn’t laugh then she needs to learn a thing or two.
October 2, 2015
I was given an ARC book for an honest review free of persuasion from the author or anyone else affiliated with this book.
CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS
To start off with this book was a wonderful historical romance. I love books set back in the 1800's when times were different and people treated each other differently.
This book is about Amelia and she has just lost her father. Amelia finds herself all alone in England. It seems that the only family she has left is an uncle from America. Amelia is but 19 years old and has only ever lived in England.
In this day and age it is wrong for a woman to be on her own until she reaches majority age at 21. This is where her uncle says that she must move to America with him until that time. Amelia does not want to leave England because that is where her friends are and the only life she has ever known. Her uncle agrees to leave Amelia with a chaperon for one month so that she can get her estate closed and be ready to travel for America.
In this one month Amelia tries to come up with a plan that would keep her in England. Marriage seems to be the best route, but she in unable to socialize due to being in mourning.
What plan does Amelia come up with? Is she successful or does she become scandalous in her endeavors and the talk of the ton? Does Amelia end up in America after all?
I really enjoyed this book and I think you will to! Ms. Amanda Mariel has really surprised me with her first book. I am really looking forward to her next book in this series.
CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS
To start off with this book was a wonderful historical romance. I love books set back in the 1800's when times were different and people treated each other differently.
This book is about Amelia and she has just lost her father. Amelia finds herself all alone in England. It seems that the only family she has left is an uncle from America. Amelia is but 19 years old and has only ever lived in England.
In this day and age it is wrong for a woman to be on her own until she reaches majority age at 21. This is where her uncle says that she must move to America with him until that time. Amelia does not want to leave England because that is where her friends are and the only life she has ever known. Her uncle agrees to leave Amelia with a chaperon for one month so that she can get her estate closed and be ready to travel for America.
In this one month Amelia tries to come up with a plan that would keep her in England. Marriage seems to be the best route, but she in unable to socialize due to being in mourning.
What plan does Amelia come up with? Is she successful or does she become scandalous in her endeavors and the talk of the ton? Does Amelia end up in America after all?
I really enjoyed this book and I think you will to! Ms. Amanda Mariel has really surprised me with her first book. I am really looking forward to her next book in this series.
March 2, 2015
"Super charming Historical Romance!"
This This book is amazing!. The characters are awesome. The story line is sweet and fabulous!. Amelia is nineteen when her Father dies, and she is left with only one living relative her Uncle Lewis from America. Amelia lives in England in a time that Society's rule states she can not live alone at nineteen. Her Uncle Lewis informs her she must leave with him to go to America to live. Amelia does not want to leave England. So Amelia sets out to form a plan to stay with the help of two of her friends. Lady Grace and Amelia's best friend Sarah help her to extend her stay in England. Only Amelia knows the only way she can permanently stay in England is to find herself a husband. There is one problem though Amelia can not be courted till her period mourning is over. Thus Amelia's friends set out to get her compromised by Sarah's older Brother Lord Roseington. Lady Graces Nephew Lord Goldstone comes to stay with her and fouls up Amelia's plans not only that but she finds herself very attracted to Lord Goldstone but he is a Scottish Lord not an English one. What will Amelia do will she manage to entrap Lord Roseington or will the Scottish Lord win her heart?. If you love charming Historical Romances then you must get this book! It is really amazing! Amanda Mariel is a very talented Writer! and I look forward to reading more books by her in the near future!
This This book is amazing!. The characters are awesome. The story line is sweet and fabulous!. Amelia is nineteen when her Father dies, and she is left with only one living relative her Uncle Lewis from America. Amelia lives in England in a time that Society's rule states she can not live alone at nineteen. Her Uncle Lewis informs her she must leave with him to go to America to live. Amelia does not want to leave England. So Amelia sets out to form a plan to stay with the help of two of her friends. Lady Grace and Amelia's best friend Sarah help her to extend her stay in England. Only Amelia knows the only way she can permanently stay in England is to find herself a husband. There is one problem though Amelia can not be courted till her period mourning is over. Thus Amelia's friends set out to get her compromised by Sarah's older Brother Lord Roseington. Lady Graces Nephew Lord Goldstone comes to stay with her and fouls up Amelia's plans not only that but she finds herself very attracted to Lord Goldstone but he is a Scottish Lord not an English one. What will Amelia do will she manage to entrap Lord Roseington or will the Scottish Lord win her heart?. If you love charming Historical Romances then you must get this book! It is really amazing! Amanda Mariel is a very talented Writer! and I look forward to reading more books by her in the near future!
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