Publisher: Carina Press
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: Netgalley
Hampshire, 1809
When a beautiful woman bursts into Lord Adam Fitzroy’s room at an inn seeking refuge, he assists her. His curiosity is piqued when he later spots her entering the local house of ill repute. The next day he is shocked when his mother introduces the woman as her new paid companion. His mother adores Florentina, so Adam agrees to keep her nightly activities a secret…on one condition: she must spend one wicked night with him.
Florentina Grantley is both scandalized and intrigued at the prospect, but she worries that the dashing war hero will quickly discern her lack of experience. True, she’s no innocent—but she’s a widow, not a whore. Yet she can’t explain the true reason behind her alliance with the brothel’s madam, or the danger she faces if exposed.
As their initial tryst grows into something deeper, the stakes become higher. What will Adam do when he discovers Florentina’s deception?
I got this blurb from Amazon but you can read an excerpt at the author’s website here.
When I was looking for new books to review on Netgalley, the blurb for this one caught my eye. I really enjoyed the thought of the circumstantial meetings and how they could lead someone to jump to conclusions. I can safely say that this book did include lots of jumping to conclusions on the part of more than just Lord Adam. I am also a sucker for stories involving “respectable women” associating with those of a house of ill repute. Overall this book was enjoyable but I think it suffered from categoryitis, as in it would have benefited from a much longer word count.
I enjoyed the opening of A SCANDALOUS PROPOSITION and thought that Ms Soliman did a good job portraying a weary soldier who just wants to be left in peace and doesn’t feel like a hero. I also enjoyed Florentina’s internal dialog as she tried to determine what to tell Lord Adam and how to finagle their next meeting. It was also extremely refreshing to have a historical English hero who was not either the head of his family or due to some tragedy had abruptly become the head of his family. I also enjoyed the Dowager Duchess and found her a refreshing reminder of how mothers have eyes in the back of their heads’.
Both Lord Adam and Florentina showed a combination of depth and TSTL moments. I was extremely disappointed that a man as competent as Lord Adam seemed to be that he had a HUGE blind spot that led to increasing difficulties. I also thought that Florentina, with everything she had experienced in her past, would have exhibited a bit more common sense. The villains were also an interesting bunch. They had different motivations and targets in the beginning yet the primary villains both happened to be at the same place at the same time thus neatly tying up all the loose ends. This is where I felt the book could have used a higher word count because I found the resolution of the stickiest problem far too easy and convenient. Given the complexity of the situation that Ms Soliman created for Lord Adam’s family I ended the book feeling cheated of an equally complex solution.
While an enjoyable read, I found this to be too reminiscent of the shorter categories. I would have liked to see what Ms Soliman could have done with a longer word count.
I give A SCANDALOUS PROPOSITION a B-
Links to purchase
Nook | Kindle eBook
