This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by ReneeG. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Romance Novella category.
The summary:
Nothing wagered…
Douglas Bennet can’t resist a good wager, especially not one that involves a beautiful woman. When a friend proposes an audacious plan to expose the most notorious woman in England, Douglas agrees at once. After all, it would be quite a coup to discover the true identity of Lady Constance, author of the infamous erotic serial scandalizing the ton, 50 Ways to Sin.
Nothing won…
Madeline Wilde is used to being pursued. For years she’s cultivated a reputation for being unattainable and mysterious, and for good reason: her livelihood depends on discretion. When Douglas turns his legendary charm on her, she dismisses him as just another rake. But he surprises her—instead of merely trying to seduce her, he becomes her friend…her confidant…and her lover. But can it really lead to happily-ever-after…or are they about to become the biggest scandal London has ever seen?
Here is ReneeG's review:
I’ve enjoyed Ms. Linden’s Scandals series, but had fallen behind. Despite being a modest 176 pages, this short novel is a complete story and has inspired me to pick up the last volume in the series. This book is the third story in the series of five.
For those who are just starting the series, the Scandal books whirl around the conceit of naughty pamphlets, “50 Ways to Sin,” which detail the sexcapades of certain named gentlemen of the ton with the mysterious anonymous author. With this book we start focusing on who the author might be instead of on the young ladies reading the exciting pamphlets.
All’s Fair is the story of Douglas Bennet (his sister Joan was the heroine of the first book in the series) and Madeline Wilde. It starts out slowly but quickly picks up steam and rolls into the finale with sparks, lots of sparks.
Madeline is a widow, and there is a rumor floating around that her father was her mother’s lover and not her husband. Madeline has a plot pet – a cat named Mr. Nash – and employs a saucy but good-hearted and imaginative maid named Constance. Madeline was able to marry well enough, but her husband died without leaving her much.
Douglas just lost his best friend and fellow carouser to marriage with his sister Joan, and is feeling at loose ends since no one parties like Burke did. Douglas loves to wager about anything, is very athletic, and enjoys the company of tavern wenches.
The plot revolves around a bet between Douglas and a bounder named William Spence – to win the bet Douglas must seduce Madeline and confirm that she is the author of the “50 Ways to Sin” pamphlets, then he and Spence will divvy up the generous bounty that has been place on the head of the unknown author by one of those named gentlemen.
The story starts slowly, but with enough backstory to establish the characters. The couple verbally fences, goes out on outings, and regularly bets with each other. Although each trip is not detailed, it is clear that Douglas is slowly getting to know and appreciate Madeline, and she with him.
Gambling is bad in this context, so there are several bets that go wrong here. There are also sexy times, but they happen rather late in the book (as Madeline is very suspicious of Douglas and his intentions) and are also fairly short (because there is more story to be told).
This is a gem of a book – not a big, honking diamond, but rather a petite, shiny emerald. It is a swift-moving, logical and well-written book which builds the heat between the two main characters before they fall into bed. I had a few nits: given the mystery surrounding Madeline’s parentage, I’m surprised she was invited to all the parties. And nowhere is it mentioned whether Douglas’ parents would welcome her, as a widow with a smudge on her reputation. Finally, we are no closer to figuring out who is writing those smexy pamphlets.
So I’ll give” All’s Fair in Love and Scandal” a rousing B+, with a request that you don’t start reading the series with this book or you’ll miss out on delightful subtleties based on the previous works.
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> This is a gem of a book – not a big, honking diamond, but rather a petite, shiny emerald.
What a beautiful line. I loved this.
The whole series has been good.
I wonder if the named men in question could come up with some sort of Venn Diagram whereby the lady’s identity could be determined.