#1 New York Times bestselling author Johanna Lindsay presents a powerfully romantic Regency-era tale that is breathtaking in scope and wondrously passionate.When Sebastian Townshend, son of the eighth Earl of Edgewood, was banished from his family due to the tragic results of a duel, he vowed never to return to England. Now living on the continent, Sebastian has forged a new identity as a deadly mercenary, The Raven. But his former neighbor, Lady Margaret Landor, has different plans for him. Back in England, Sebastian's father has had several accidents and Margaret suspects foul play and deception that reach as far back as the infamous duel. Convinced that only Sebastian can set the situation to rights, Margaret arranges a scandalous bargain with him that includes Sebastian's returning home as her husband. As the newlyweds uncover a deadly scheme, a fierce passion blossoms between them, which neither anticipated—and neither can resist.
Johanna Helen Howard was born on March 10, 1952 in Germany, where her father, Edwin Dennis Howard, a soldier in the U.S. Army was stationed. The family moved about a great deal when she was young. Her father always dreamed of retiring to Hawaii, and after he passed away in 1964 Johanna and her mother settled there to honor him.
In 1970, when she was still in school, she married Ralph Lindsey, becoming a young housewife. The marriage had three children; Alfred, Joseph and Garret, who already have made her a grandmother. After her husband's death, Johanna moved to Maine, New England, to stay near her family.
Johanna Lindsey wrote her first book, Captive Bride in 1977 "on a whim", and the book was a success. By 2006, with over 58 Million copies of her books have been sold worldwide, with translations appearing in 12 languages, Johanna Lindsey is one of the world's most popular authors of historical romance.
Johanna's books span the various eras of history, including books set in the Middle Ages, the American "Old West" and the popular Regency England-Scotland. She has even written a few sci-fi romances. By far the most popular among her books are the stories about the Malory-Anderson Family, a Regency England saga.
Johanna Lindsey died on Oct. 27, 2019 in Nashua, N.H. She was 67.
When I heard about Marriage Most Scandalous was about I was intrigued. The hero was described as a mercenary which made my ears perk up. I love dangerous romance heroes. What can I say? I was tempted, despite my limited financial funds to buy the book when it came out (from Walmart at a considerable discount), but since money wasn't good I elected to wait. And lo and behold, my patience was rewarded when I found it at the library. I finished the book in 2 days (because I saw three movies also in that time period), and I was totally satisfied. Sebastian Townshend is in a word, a fantastic hero, despite his flaws: broody, rude, short-tempered. But also principled, vulnerable, and heroic. I pictured Christian Bale with a ponytail: tall, brawny, beautiful, brownish eyes, brooding. Perfection. Although I could not find an actress who fit Maggie's description, I had a very good picture of her in my head. This book definitely had elements that I love in my romance novels: dark, brooding hero, with an air of danger, who is disgraced for a past event that isn't totally his fault. A strong-willed, intelligent heroine who can handle him. And loads of chemistry. Sebastian's sexuality fairly erupted off the page. He makes such a very determined assault on Maggie's virtue that I know if I were in her shoes I would find very hard to resist, especially since their pretend marriage puts them in very close quarters. I felt the need to fan myself as I read the book. Lovely in a word. The secondary characters were also quite interesting and well-drawn. Of course there's never enough time to delve too deeply but JL tantalized the reader enough to wish that the book was 300 pages longer. As I finished this book I knew that my Johanna Lindsey slump was broken
I occasionally go on a romance run and binge read romance novels back to back until they start to seem silly and tedious…I think I’m there. It isn’t necessarily that this is a bad Historical Romance….but it isn’t a great one either. I LONG for a really good HR story where both the romance and the plot line up and are both good. For me this had a decent plot that I liked the revelation of at the end and the romance had moments but that was about it. Most of the time it was just blah for me.
First the Plot:
I actually liked this most about the book. Sebastian killed his best friend in a Duel, was disowned by his family and had to leave the country. That all happens in the prologue so not a spoiler. He is working as a type of mercenary when Maggie finds him quite accidentally and convinces him to return to solve the mystery of who is trying to kill his father.
Okay so I really wasn’t impressed at first because I thought I had figured out the mystery really early, in fact I was sure of it. But in the last 30% I found out I totally misjudged the mystery and then the plot became infinitely more interesting to me. A book that had been just ho hum was now, way more interesting and I did very much enjoy how the mystery played out.
Second the Romance:
I wanted desperately to like it but I didn’t. I liked the bad boy persona of ‘The Raven’ but it came and went too easy and one minute Sebastian was a devilish rogue with ambiguous morals and the next a perfect gentleman. I much preferred the rogue, I admit it I sometimes like it when the hero is a bit of a jerk.
Then there is Maggie who is all prim properness. I liked her for the most part, she was headstrong and stubborn and a little bit wild. What I didn’t like is the initial sex scene. Sebastian asks her to say “yes” before going all the way and she says “no”. Okay it is very clear from what is happening that she is into the pre love making but she still said “no”. He says “okay as long as we both know you mean yes.” I am a huge proponent of No means No, no matter what the signals say. So that definitely ruined the initial smexy times for me. I would have enjoyed it better if he left her wanting what she said she didn’t want.
The romance ended up turning out cute in the end but some of it just really left a sour taste in my mouth.
So overall I liked the mystery, but wasn’t sold on the romance (which is really what I read this for).
I still can't belive that I got it all wrong. I was so certain in the beginning about who the culprit was.
This was not a nice romance imo. It felt very shallow that they both loved each other after a couple of intimacy and just had any intimacy to begin with because how pretty and attractive they both are. What shallow people.
The hero came back to figure out who is trying to kill his father after 11 years of exile. I hated the fact that was implied more than once that because the hero was disowned he was not the heir anymore to the earlom. And that simply cannot be done. Only death and proof of illegitimacy will take away the title an entitled lands. His father can leave him without money, give away the other properties, but nothing else. I didn't like seeing it otherwise implied.
The best part of this book was the discovery in the end. It was definitely not what I was expecting. And I would be just as mad as the hero was.
"Marriage Most Scandalous" is the story of Margaret "Maggie" and Sebastian.
What an unexpectedly sweet read!
The book begins with an unwanted duel, which ends in a death, heartbreak and banishment.
Eleven years later, our H, the son of the eighth Earl of Edgewood has assumed the identity of the infamous spy known as "The Raven". He travels the world helping rogues with his companions in exchange for a price, avoiding England like a plague. That is until the h tracks him down..
Our h is a distant family friend, who is taken in by the H's father when she gets orphaned. When the Earl begins to have mysterious accidents, the h suspects foul play and spends months tracking down the H. She soon does, and bribes him to come and find the culprit for a hefty sum. His disguise is to be her newly wed husband, rather than be the prodigal son..
But as the H returns to the family he was abandoned by, he finds lots of surprise, the biggest one being his sizzling attraction to his curvaceous "bride".
Very enjoyable read! Likable h and H who are quite suited to one another, bantering and totally light up the sheets. The mystery element was well plotted and I liked how things tied up together at the end- did not see it coming! Secondary characters contributed significantly to the plot, and I like the dynamic between the H, his father and the grandmother (the stubborn trio). The angst was minimal and everything was just..nice.
I wish Goodreads would allow you to give negative ratings. First of all, let me just say that one of my biggest pet peeve is when authors of historical fiction/romance use words or phrases that were obviously not used during that time period. Johanna Lindsey is an author who is guilty of this on multiple occasions. Usually, it’s a just a word or two, so I’m not extremely annoyed by it. But this particular book was just filled with modern words and phrases, it droved me crazy. Someone living in England in the 1820s would not being using expressions such as “none of your business,” “hear me out,” “I believe this is my cue.” The list is never ending. The story’s conclusion was incredibly far-fetched. I know this is a romance book and happy endings are a given but this one was too unreal. I felt that it was an insult to my intelligence. Characters coming back from the dead, elaborate faked deaths, and everyone is ultimately forgiven? Really?!? It’s just not plausible. And when did the hero and heroine fall in love? The only time they were together was when they were arguing and having sex. Where was the romance? I don’t know why I keep reading Johanna Lindsey’s book since I’m usually disappointed in them but they are always available at the library and like moths to a flame, I can’t stop myself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
El libro empezó bien, pero luego se empiezan a liar las cosas y no me llegaron a convencer. El final no md ha gustado y me ha enfadado mucho. Y es que los amigos no se hacen eso por mucha escusa que se ponga. Yo no podria perdonar jamás el sufrimiento gratuito que ha tenido Sebastian durante tantos años.... eso no lo hace un amigo de verdad. Sigo muy enfadada con la resolución del libro
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ha tenido bastante más drama de la que esperaba, pues admito que lo leí esperando un libro de romance y era más un drama familiar con giros y crímenes. Así que no es culpa del libro que no lo disfrutara tanto como creí que lo haría, sino que mía.
Maggie viaja al continente para contratar a el Cuervo, un mercenario conocido por siempre terminar sus trabajos, para investigar los accidentes de un amigo de ella. Lo que no esperaba era que la identidad del Cuervo fuera la del hijo del mismo hombre que esperaba salvar.
He leído solo otro libro de la autora y siempre hay muchas descripciones e historia, son libros bastante documentados con información no solo del lugar sino que de la contingencia de la época también.
La historia es un enredo de giros y personas muertas, y mentiras, y engaños y deudas por montón. Honestamente al final me pareció un poco ridículo todo lo qué pasó y la explicación detrás, fue como una mala novela de misterio.
El romance estuvo bien; mucho menos de lo que esperaba porque al final la otra historia era lo más importante. Sin embargo, lo disfruté y estuvo divertido.
I didn’t like this book. As a rule, the only romance author I read is Amanda Quick. I like her settings and her characters always make me laugh.
But, at some point in life, I picked up this book – probably at an airport or something. After reading it, I’m reminded why I made my Amanda Quick rule.
This book was flimsy. Predictable, clichéd, far-fetched … these are just a few words that come to mind when trying to describe it.
Two things that really bothered me were the author using colloquial slang that obviously wasn’t around in 1825 England – you can’t invoke the “it’s-not-going-to-happen rule” in those exact words. Also, one of her characters who was killed in the beginning – causing the “hero” to be disowned from his family – conveniently reappears as a plot point toward the end of the story. If that wasn’t enough to make me roll my eyes, his clichéd “I suppose this is my cue to come in” line sealed it for me.
Disappointing on two important levels, romance and plot.
The passion between Sebastien and Maggie barely registered as a tremor in earthquake terms. They also didn't spend much time interacting. On top of this, the reasons for Sebastien's banishment and his father's accidents were just too ridiculous to believe.
Ce-mi plac poveștile astea cu fuste. (Le zic asa pt ca personajele feminine poartă rochii cu corset si infoiate). Am avut o perioadă în care am citit atât de multe de acest gen, încât ajunsesem la saturație, fapt pt care am renuntat o vreme, dar acum... parca imi revine cheful. Povestea de față este foarte simpatică. Un el renegat de familie, ce încearcă cu greu să supraviețuiască dorului și o ea, orfana, iute la vorba si gata să-l facă sa revină la sentimente mai bune. Cartea este narata frumos, personajele sunt simpatice, iar acțiunea e destul de prezența, nepunandu-se accent numai pe iubirea dintre cei doi, ci si pe descoperirea adevărului din spatele accidentelor ciudate ale contelui. Ce nu mi-a plăcut a fost finalul... cam abrupt si (cum sa zic fara sa dau spoiler....) nush, un prieten adevarat n-ar face asa ceva... nici macar pt părinții lui... atât pot sa spun... Ii dau 4 stele.
The book started out pretty interesting but it went downhill after the first chapter. The story was not well thought off and totally unbelievable. Basically the story is about ahero who was disowned by his father for accidentally killing his bff, but who actually wasnt dead. The reason for this is so that his father will pay off his BFF's father's debts. Such an elaborate plan for a simple problem.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Leydi Margaret Landor, Avrupa'da aylarını, on bir yıl önce bir düelloda en iyi arkadaşını öldürdükten sonra kaybolan Sebastian Townshend'i bulmak için harcar. Bu amacında başarısız olunca, acımasızlığı ile nam salmış Raven adlı adamı tutmaya karar verir. Fakat aradığı kişinin zaten Raven olduğunu fark edince oldukça şaşırır. Sebastian'ın bir daha asla İngiltere'ye dönmeyeceğine dair yemin etmesine rağmen, Margaret onu, öz babasının başına gelen gizemli 'kazaları' araştırması için ikna etmeyi başarır. Fakat Sebastian'ın asıl geri dönüş sebebini saklamaya, ailesine ve eski dostlarına geri dönmek için geçerli bir nedene ihtiyacı vardır. Böylece Margaret'ın 'evliymiş gibi yapma' önerisini kabul eder. Fakat bu plandaki tek kusur, zamanla birbirlerine duydukları yoğun tutku olacaktır.
Güzeldi ama bir şey eksik idi.Belki de ben uygun değildim...Konusu güzeldi ama ikili arasındaki aşk yüzeysel gibi geldi. Kurgu çok daha iyi olabilirdi. Bunlara ragmen yazarı okumayı özlemişim..
I finished this book last night, and would have given it five stars except that I thought the ending was a bit rushed. It's not that I thought the author didn't know how to finish the book, but more that she'd been given a set number of pages to complete the novel, and had run out of room. If that is the case, then I think that sucks, because it was a great story, and I had no clue what was going to happen, so was totally surprised with the ending. As to modern words and phrases, there may have been a couple, but I believe 'cue'is an old English theatre word, so one of the reviewers who said it was modern may have been incorrect. Really, there wasn't enough to be concerned about, and when push comes to shove, how do we REALLY know if some of these terms weren't used back then or not....the terms 'home boy' or 'that sucks' I would definitely question, but some of the terms the reviewers complained about I really have no problem with.
All that being said, it was a great story, and yes it was a bit far-fetched if you really want to pick at it, but historical romantic fiction is just that...fiction. It's supposed to take you away to somewhere else so you can forget about your worries for a while, and get lost in a love story. I did, totally and completely and I will definitely put this book on my 'TO KEEP' shelf and read it again! I also highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical romance with a mystery, and characters who are funny, lovable, and come to life in the book!
Hmmm......ini adalah buku historical romance dari penulis yang ketiga yang saya baca....kok ya biar beda penulis, isi dan tema ceritanya mirip-mirip ya? apa karena settingnya selalu di Inggris? Bangsawan....yang terbuang....pernikahan pura-pura.....sehingga membuat bosan saya sebagai pembacanya karena modelnya gitu-gitu aja, ditambah dengan parahnya mutu terjemahan dari penerbit gagasmedia ini.
Masih mending yang terbitan gramedia deh, buku ini banyak kesalahan eja, belum lagi terjemahan yang kadang membuat kening berkerut, sampe akhir cerita, saya masih bingung maksudnya apa, dan ada satu paragraf yang terulang....sungguh menjengkelkan
kesimpulan....kalo ada historical romance lagi....malas baca ah....kecuali ada masukan dari teman yang terpercaya :D
This man's words are seducing and charming me right off the pages and into another world of serious relaxation. For these people to be off the upper crust and educated, they most certainly lacked common sense.
Margaret wanted to find one son to help the father, but she got much more than she would have ever bargained for. Sebastian (the Raven) wants nothing to do with his home of birth. Whether its the lure of money, a woman, or family reunion, he is back home and with a puzzle to solve.
This puzzle does not end the way one would expect. Lindsey has done it again for me. She provides mystery and romance.
Terrible, unrealistic sex and a woman who is a sock puppet
Women do not cum immediately when a dick is stuck in them with no foreplay.
When a man abandons you at the altar, in another country, where he has just kidnapped you to, you don't immediately forgive him after he returns e weeks later with no notice.
Also, rape is bad.
Please read this insipid book if you like rape, boring sex, lazy plots, and seriously stupid dialog.
"Una historia muy previsible en lo relativo al romance, pero que engancha por la química entre los protagonistas y por una investigación que es más interesante de lo que parece en un principio".
Even though this wasn't Johanna at her best, I still really liked 'Marriage most Scandalous'. It was still a fun read-and I must say, since I haven't read a Johanna Lindsey book in a while, it was really nice to read her again. Like a homecoming really.
It is important to me that you all know that the copy I read was likely printed close to its publication date. The pages were YELLOW. That’s how old this book is. Not a complaint, just a fact.
I picked this book up at the library during a post-bar depression run. And until about 95%, I was not disappointed. It was such a nice, easy read. I really enjoyed the story.
The male love interest was a gentleman-turned-mercenary following a tragic accident in which he killed his best friend. The accident was a duel, in case anyone was wondering. After which, he was disowned by his family and turned out into the streets. Eleven years later, he is lured home by headstrong and beautiful Margaret, who desperately needs him to save his father from the greatest evil yet: his daughter in law.
What’s the catch? The only way he’ll make it through the door of his old family home is by pretending to be the husband of a cherished family friend and ex-ward: Margaret. Now on thing about me is I love a marriage. Arranged marriage? Marriage of convenience? Fake marriage? All of the above please.
And I was so into this book. I wanted to love it. I wanted to give it 5 stars. But alas, the last 2 chapters were so insane and plot heavy that it really ruined the entire book for me. We have people coming out of the woodwork, surprise children (not in the fun way), and too much out-of-pocket commentary.
However, Johanna I still love you. Rest in peace queen.
Una historia llena de altibajos. Comienza con un suceso trágico que marcará la vida de nuestros protagonistas. Una vez que Margaret encuentra a Sebastian, entre ellos comenzará una atracción que ambos intentarán evitar en un principio, pero que los consumirá y terminarán cayendo en sus garras. Aunque ninguno de los dos quiere dar a conocer sus verdaderos sentimientos y continuan pensando lo peor del otro. Además de pasión podemos encontrar asaltos, mentiras, enredos y accidentes. Una novela muy completa... Es rápida, amena y entretenida. Me ha encantado leer esta historia que me ha dejado un buen sabor de boca aunque algunos sucesos eran demasiado obvios.
What is this nonconsensual trash?? CW: dubcon (noncon if you ask me)
Romance tropes: fake dating, marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers
We start off with the H thinking h is “not like other girls” repeatedly, and then some good ol’ fashioned “no means yes” garbage—he also starts their first sexual encounter while she’s pretending to be asleep.
"Say yes, Maggie," he whispered against her lips. "No," she gasped. "Very well, as long as we both know you meant yes."
I really enjoyed the story in this book and the characters names! It's not a 5 star because the last few chapters were trying to explain the very intricate plot in a lot of AH-HA moments. Overall, another great Johanna Lindsey book.