Stevie‘s review of A Gentleman’s Guide to Scandal (The Birch Hall Romance Series, Book 2) by Kathleen Kimmel
Historical Romance published by Berkley 07 Jun 16
I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel in this series, and have been eagerly anticipating the romance between Elinor and Colin ever since: so much so that the linking novella came as something of a disappointment, while I would probably have appreciated it more had it been a standalone story in its own right. Now, however, we get to find out lots of background to my favourite characters from the first book, to see what it was that kept them apart for so long, and how they’re going to resolve their differences.
Five years ago, Colin, the Marquess of Farleigh, was steeling himself to propose to Elinor, the sister of his best friend, when he discovered her in the process of being proposed to already – by the mere third son of an Earl. His hopes dashed, Colin resolved to give up on love, and on Elinor, even after her fiancé dies before they finish planning the wedding. He’s not lost track of her – especially since she is a very good friend to his mother and sisters – but has finally resolved to find a suitably undemanding wife, in order to continue his duties and provide an heir for his title.
Elinor, meanwhile, has been tasked with finding a prospective husband for Colin’s youngest sister, hampered by said sister’s habit of getting into scrapes, which Colin then blames on Elinor. Their latest misadventure, a visit to a supposed medium in London’s East End, leads to Elinor’s discovery that her best friend Marie – Colin’s eldest sister – may not have died in an accident and that Marie’s suspected killer is back in town. Elinor and Colin separately resolve to hunt the man down and see that he is punished for his crimes – not only Marie’s death, but the events that led up to it, including blackmail, imprisonment, and the transfer of Marie’s fortune to the two families’ arch enemies.
Discovering that their quarry will be at an exclusive and highly disreputable house party, Colin manages to procure an invitation, while Elinor hires a courtesan to infiltrate the guests on her behalf. At the last minute, Elinor’s plans are thrown into disarray due to an injury to her spy, and she decides to attend in disguise herself. Guests are anonymous and masked, so that shouldn’t be too difficult, surely?
Of course, Colin and Elinor recognise each other, and high jinx ensue. Colin is determined to protect Elinor from scandal – and from being scandalised – while Elinor wants to be left alone to finish her investigation. Eventually most of the loose ends are tied up, and the couple make sense of their feelings, but not without a great deal of excitement.
I really enjoyed this book – Elinor is not in the greatest of health, but struggles to keep up with everyone else, while simultaneously missing both Marie and her deceased fiancé. Colin has his fair share of flaws, but wants to do the right thing by people, eventually coming to accept that both Marie and his youngest sister have secrets he might not approve of, but that will not change his feelings for them. At this point I’ll just mention that I adored Phoebe and her eventually revealed lover and would be overjoyed if they were to get their own book. I’d also love to see what happens next for those characters whom we met as a result of their ties to Marie’s secrets.
All in all, a fabulous book, and I’ll be sad if it really is the end of these characters’ adventures.
Grade: A
Summary:
Even men of great certainty can be completely clueless when it comes to matters of the heart.
Colin Spenser, Marquess of Farleigh, is shocked when his feelings towards his best friend’s sister take a turn into the realm of helpless adoration. Unfortunately, Elinor is more inclined to ignore him than express her undying devotion, so Colin resolves to forget his troublesome feelings by entering a loveless marriage…
Elinor Hargrove has absolutely no interest in the infuriating and arrogant Marquess of Farleigh. That is, until he kisses her—twice—inspiring unexpected and inconvenient passions. Then Elinor finds out he’s engaged, and her desires are quickly surpassed by her outrage…
But when a ghost from their shared pasts resurfaces, Colin and Elinor must work together to puzzle out a complicated intrigue by attending an extremely exclusive party where secrets and lies flourish—and scandal is only a kiss away.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
