THE SCANDAL OF IT ALL
Series: The Rogue Files #2
Genre: Historical Romance
Author: Sophie Jordan
Release Date: July 25, 2017
It takes two to make a scandal…
What kind of woman ventures into London’s most notorious pleasure club? An outsider like Graciela, the Duchess of Autenberry, snubbed time and time again by society because of her Spanish roots. Ela longs to take a lover for a single, wild night, and within the walls of Sodom there are gentlemen to suit every forbidden taste. If only she were not so drawn to the smoldering Lord Strickland…a dangerous man who sees beyond her mask, and could ruin her reputation with a mere whisper.
Lord Strickland never permitted himself to fantasize about the sultry, off-limits lady, but then he never expected to find Ela in a place so wicked, looking for what he’s more than too happy to give. She may not be to the ton’s taste, but she suits him perfectly. First, however, he must convince her to trust in this dangerous desire—and in the promise of forever unleashed by one wild, scandalous night.
Somehow, in a short time she had become his sole desire. He wanted her with an intensity that would not go away until it found its release.
This was my first book by this author and I’m an instant fan! The Scandal Of It All was wickedly delicious and sinfully swoony. Not having read the first book in this series (quit side eyeing me, OCD police), I wasn’t sure how smoothly I’d be able to jump into the story. Turns out, I had no problem at all. The heroine of this book is the step mother of the Duke of Autenberry, who had a very big secondary character role in the previous book. And while you can definitely see the happenings of the previous book carried over into this one, the author gives plenty of background that a new reader wouldn’t be even remotely lost.
Graciela, the Duchess of Autenberry, is a widow that’s tired of having no passion in her life. Her daughter is almost of marrying age. Her step daughter and step son are fully grown. After a loveless marriage with a cold and calloused man that took every opportunity to put her down, she’s not a woman of confidence. Her coloring and Spanish blood ensure that she always gets looked down at by the ladies of London’s ton. Yearning for the touch of a passionate lover, she caves to her best friend’s nagging and goes to a club known for it’s darker pleasures. Only the man she meets the attention of is not one she expected.
Lord Strickland is her step son’s best friend and several years her junior. But that never stopped him from fantasizing about the beautiful Graciela. Now that he knows that she’s interested in the same darker desires, he’ll stop at nothing to have her.
I fell hard and fast for Collin. This is a man that knows what he wants and goes after it with a single minded intent, damn the consequences. His grandmother is on his back to pick a finance but the one woman he craves is the one that he can’t have.
What begins is a back and forth laden with enough sexual tension to really set things on fire. It was utterly delicious. As much as I wanted to be frustrated with Ela at her adamant refusal of Collin, I can understand why she was the way she was. This is a woman beaten down by what society expects of her and what her husband engrained in her to believe. It took a while for her to clear the fog. I loved the way that Collin goes after her and the passion brimming between them.
There was a little bit of drama at the end that seemed just a bit over the top, but it also served to tie everything together nicely. The epilogue even managed to make me tear up. And while I wished for a bit more closer with Ela and her step son, it looks like we’ll be getting that side of things in his book next and I already can’t wait!
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