When her father dies, leaving her penniless and without prospects, Elizabeth Medford is faced with a horrible future: marriage to the utterly vile Harold Wetherby. Her family thinks he’s a brilliant choice, but Elizabeth has witnessed Wetherby’s cruel nature and knows a life with him would be a miserable one.. If only he didn’t want to marry her…but for that to be the case, she would have to have a damaged reputation, and despite her father’s missteps, Elizabeth’s own name is pristine among society.
So far…
But innocence is in the eye of the beholder
A brilliant plan is hatched: Elizabeth will organize her own ruin and escape the betrothal, leaving her old life behind. The only hitch is the man she hopes will do the ruining—the irresistible Alex Bainbridge, Duke of Beaufort. Alex is no stranger to scandal. But he has secrets of his own that make Elizabeth Medford a woman he should avoid at all costs–for both their sakes. He insists he will have no part in her crazy scheme…no matter how tempting she may be…
She’s unbelievably bold. I mean yeah, if I was being forced to marry that disgusting toad of a man, I would be too. So I will give her that. And she doesn’t seem to be insipid or ditzy. Naive, maybe. But she seems to understand she is going to have to sing for her supper, so to speak.
So begins the romance of Elizabeth Medford.
She’s already whispered about, thanks to her father’s gambling. Not that she would let that tarnish her coppery image of him.
The only thing she’s got left to lose is the reputation of her younger sister.
Which presents nice conflict when needed.
I found this to be a highly enjoyable read. Nothing earth shattering, but definitely fun and easy to burn through. It does have some sexy time content, so its not clean hist-ro lover fare, but it was generally tasteful (if a bit naughty).
I like the characters, help me but I always love the rake. I mean, I love the prig too (that Eloisa James virgin hero was one of my all time favorites) but the rake–mmm delicious. And Gray delivers the rake, who may be more reputation than disapation. Bored, a little bit tortured, he’s drawn to our Elizabeth.
The fun is watching their cat and mouse.
I recommend checking out (new to me) Allegra Gray. Nothing But Scandal is part of series, and will definitely add that warm zing to a cold winter bed!
(5 out of 6 Not a revolutionary mind blowing read, but still fun and solid nonetheless. Delicious hero in the form of a rake)
(Some explicit content and subject matter not appropriate for teens under 15. Parental guidance suggested…and clean Reg Rom lovers steer clear)
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