Scandal of the Season

Scandal of the Season by Liana LeFey sticks steadfastly to Regency-era societal conventions – making it not your average bodice-ripper.

In fact, more young debutantes are chastised for their improprieties than there are bodices ripped.

Eleanor is a wealthy young woman in the care of her cousin, Charles, and his wife, Rowena. While Charles and Rowena want to see Eleanor married, Eleanor only has eyes for her much-older family friend, Sorin. Will Eleanor make it through another season without tying the knot? Or will she finally convince Sorin that she can be so much more to him than a kid sister?

Scandal of the Season might seem dull to those who enjoy flagrantly anachronistic Regency romances. It’s just a different kind of exciting, and I enjoyed reading about the subtle machinations and schemes of the era. The hero is not also a pirate. The heroine is not also a secret agent. In fact, Sorin, Eleanor, Charles, Rowena and all of their friends live as ordinary members of the elite moneyed class. The book read a lot like Jane Austen (I caught strong hints of Emma and Persuasion), only it was slightly steamier–but just at the end and only because it really had to go there.

LeFey produces a complex, sharp-witted heroine who any reader will delight in following.