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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but not Great, January 30, 2004
This review is from: A Game of Scandal (Mass Market Paperback)
GAME OF SCANDAL is the story of reunited lovers Lilith and Gabriel. Ten years earlier, Lilith and Gabriel were heading towards marriage, but family tragedy kept Gabriel for asking for Lilith's hand, however this tragedy occurred after Gabriel "ruins" Lilith. As a result, Lilith leaves the country, only to return ten years later as the owner of a gambling club called Mallory's. Gabriel, Lord Anglewood, is the leading crusader in Parliament against gambling. After suspecting that a peer was cheated at Lilith's club, Gabriel sets out to find out if the allegations are true. However, from this point, the story looses the focus of the gambling crusade. Lilith does not trust Gabriel because of his broken promises in the past. Gabriel does not trust Lilith because of her leaving. This distrust follows the couple throughout the entire book. Even though they have conversations about what happen, and seemed to resolve the issues, one party or the other continues to distrust the other. This issue with the book weighs it down until the fun from the novel is taken away. Added to that a side storyline where Lilith is threatened by a rival club owner, and I had a very difficult time keeping my interest in the book. It is obvious from Ms. Smith's latest effort, INTO YOUR ARMS, that her skills as a writer have only improved with the novels she has written. This is good. Some of the earlier work can be more trying to get through, but ultimately, the tales are good.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fails to stimulate the heart and intellect, October 26, 2002
This review is from: A Game of Scandal (Mass Market Paperback)
Gambling and its legislation in the 1800s in London could have been a tantalizing backstage for her latest historical romance but Kathryn Smith, known for her sensual love scenes, instead concentrates on unraveling the mistrust and betrayal between former lovers bohemian gambling operator Lillith Mallory and parliament speaker Gabriel Warren. The playful mood of seduction wears thin to obscure the lack of atmosphere and depth in the lengthy read. Even Ms. Smith's passionate scenes fail to elicit the spark and chemistry between the characters who repeatedly falls out and reunites with sex in some sort of a vicious cycle. To add a dollop of intrigue and danger, Ms. Smith throws in a rival gambling operator who threatens her business and sends Lillith desperate for Gabe's protection. Ms. Smith redeems with a rousing ending to build up and impress with the altruistic Lillith and the gallant Gabe in their love for each other with obstacles of class and the demise of Gabe's father but it seems that Ms. Smith is only to content with a palatable plot to string the lovers together without much thought for the milieu and plot structure. This book thus languishes into a fleeting pleasure that fails to stimulate the heart and the intellect. Detractors may argue that it's an archetypal romance but a little more effort in detailing the historical period is deeply appreciated - and definitely worth the gamble.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tragedy and well-meaning relatives separate two young lovers, June 16, 2004
This review is from: A Game of Scandal (Mass Market Paperback)
After being discovered in a compromising situation, Lilith was hustled off to her aunt in Italy, where she eventually became accustomed to the fact that not only did her lover not intend to make her an honest woman, but that she would never be able to contract a respectable marriage with any honorable man. So after her aunt's death, Lilith decides to defy society's rules and use her inheritance to run a gambling establishment. This is where she is finally confronted with her former lover, Gabriel, now an earl who is attempting to persuade Parliament to outlaw gambling. As much as they are now on entirely opposite sides, both Gabriel and Lilith discover that the feelings they had for each other are as strong as ever, in spite of the passing of ten years and much bitterness on both sides. But Lilith's reputation--certainly not improved by her position as mistress of a gaming establishment--has gone too far for her ever to be accepted as an earl's wife, and Gabriel will have her no other way. As with Ms. Smith's other books, I found myself glued to the pages of this one. Nevertheless, I don't give it a five-star rating because I was NOT impressed with Gabriel's "excuses" for allowing Lilith to bear the blame and the scandal for their affair. In a time when young women had little or no control over their lives, he was a young man who could have made it right. The fact that he considered his father's tragedy to be more important than the woman he loved rather diminished his character, in my opinion. How HE could have nursed any bitterness at all toward HER was simply incredible to me. Nor did I care for the casual way it was suggested that Lilith had indulged in affairs with other men in the past, no matter how few. Overall, however, reading this book was a rare pleasure, and I heartily recommend it.
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