This was an OK addition to the Lords of Scandal series, but it didn't have enough character development for me. I wanted more backstory on both Angus and Pippa. It gets 2.5 stars from me, rounded up to 3 stars.
Pippa was likable, but I didn't think she should have been willing to sacrifice her own happiness to save her brother. His problems were of his own making, and it was selfish of him to try to save himself by hurting her. I get that she loved him, but he didn't deserve her help.
Angus was likable, too, but he was so sure that his family would never forgive him for staying away so long and for not attending his brother's funeral. He was wrong about that, though, and I was glad Pippa helped him forgive himself.
Other reviewers have mentioned that this entire series has lots of historical errors, and that the couples' behavior and language often doesn't fit the rigid cultural requirements of that time period. That is true, but I don't really mind in this case -- since I am reading the series merely for entertainment. If I were looking for historical accuracy, I would read a classic author like Jane Austen.
My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.