This is the final book in Caroline Linden’s Scandalous series (vaguely inspired by the existence of 50 Shades and what makes a cultural zeitgeist, as discussed in the podcast she did with Sarah several months ago). It wraps up the story of the last Weston sibling, the plot that’s been working through the entire series, and the mystery of who’s been writing the Lady Charlotte erotica that’s everyone has been reading.

Olivia Herbert and James Weston grew up near each other- Olivia’s family is Old (lack of) Money, and James’ father is New Money who made that money in (GASP) trade. Olivia spent almost all of her time hanging with James and his sisters Abigail and Penelope (heroines of It Takes a Scandal and Love in the Time of Scandal), because stress in her home due to total lack of money was too much. When she was 17 and he was 20, they decide to get married and, in the spirit of young people caught up in the emotion of the moment, they bang.

Olivia’s parents find out (cuz you can’t walk into your house looking like you banged a dude next to a lake and not be seen), and at first they’re like “YOU’RE MARRYING THE RICH BOY THANK GOD WE DON’T CARE THAT HE’S NEW MONEY” and then James, figuring they have time, wanders off on business for a few weeks, and comes back to find that Olivia’s been married off to someone else willing to pay 4,000 pounds for her.  It’s a tragedy of misunderstood intentions, missed signals, and terrible timing.

When we rejoin Olivia, it’s some years later, she’s been widowed, and things are…bad. Really bad. There’s no widow’s portion, no annuity, no income. Viscount Clary, the villain of previous books in the series, wants in her bed, and he’s got some issues with respecting consent.  All she has is a ledger of payments made by her dead husband, a shady solicitor who’s telling her not to worry her pretty little head, and not much else.

James has been sent by his sister Penelope to find Olivia and see if she’s okay (due to events in Love in the Time of Scandal), and they end up on a wild, cross country adventure involving smuggling, learning how to shoot, and, of course, communication, forgiveness, and banging.

Linden never, ever skimps on the communication aspect, especially when she’s worked a Big Misunderstanding into the plot. And this Big Misunderstanding is pretty freakin’ big- James thought there was time before they needed to get married, Olivia thought James had left her, and the ramifications of not using all of their words are huge. (Mostly this is on James’ head- he’s a dude, so in this scenario he has all the power.) It takes time and communication to sort through the mess before they can even begin to contemplate a HEA.

Unlike a lot of series, there are a couple of through lines in all the books. The first is the “What’s the deal with Olivia? Is she okay?” and the Viscount Clary stuff. I’ve read all the books in the series, as they’ve come out (Love in the Time of Scandal was my palate cleanser after Grey), but I had trouble remembering the relevant events in previous books, so I found myself going, “Wait, which one was Abigail’s story again? What happened with Clary and Penelope?” So rereading previous books, especially if you’ve got a brain like mine, would not be a terrible idea with this one.

It’s Linden, though, so that’s hardly a hardship. I don’t think it’s a weakness in the series, either. Having the series-long plotline adds a level of texture to everything. But I do want you all to be aware of it.

The other line that weaves its way through the series is the Lady Constance’s 50 Ways to Sin. It’s a collection of stories about the erotic adventures the authoress has had banging her through London society. All of the characters – especially the female ones- of the Scandalous series have been reading and learning new and exciting things from Lady Constance, and speculation about who she is (it’s a mystery!) has been present since book one. What’s really cool is that 50 Ways to Sin actually factors into the resolution of the primary plot of this book.

I’m very happy with how this all wrapped up, and I’m good for an adventure. There’s enough action that harkens back to the old skool days of adventure stories (with a lot less alpholeness and consent issues on the part of the hero). Jamie is a good dude who fucked up bad when he was 20, and once he had an opportunity, he fixed it. Olivia finds a core of steel she never thought she had, and everyone gets to live happily ever after.  (Except Clary, because fuck that guy.)