Customer Reviews

A Matter of Scandal: Matter of Scandal Vol 3

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After plowing my way through hopelessly unimaginative, flat-ploted romance novels lately, imagine my utter surprise at discovering that Suzanne Enoch's latest release is a little jewel of delight!

Miss Emma Grenville is a lively, spirited and spunky heroine who knows her own mind and is not afraid to stand up for her beliefs. In fact, in a an era ruled solely by men, she has managed to uphold herself with carving out a career as a headmistress of a girls' Academy. However, her whole world turns upside down when an arrogant and dashing rake known as Greydon, the Duke of Wycliffe storms in and threatens her position as a headmistress and dismisses all her teachings as nothing but calculating husband trapping tricks.

Greydon is at his wits end, trying to dodge from attentions of countless simpering debutantes and their matchmaking mamas. So, when he receives urgent summons from his uncle in the country, it is none too soon for he is desperate to get away from London and its exasperating ton. Upon his arrival, he learns that his uncle's estate is in dire condition and desperately needs his intervention...However, in order to accomplish this feat, he finds himself dealing with one of the most stubborn, impossible creatures; otherwise known as Miss Emma, the headmistress of the blasted, dreaded girls' Academy. And the worst thing of all is that she's totally immune to his charms! He is the bloody Duke of Wycliffe, after all!...Women pursue him endlessly...so, what's amiss here?

What follows is an absolutely hilarious and engrossing regency romp, in which the utterly arrogant and rakish duke is thoroughly reeducated in female vurtues...and learns the folly of falling hopelessly, head-over heels in love with the only female who dared to defy him...

Although the central focus of the novel is the romance between the h/h, there are also wonderful portraits of friendship, devotion and the importance of loyalty.

For those readers that are already acquainted with Miss Enoch creative work, you'll be delighted to revisit with Alexandra and Vixen, the heroines of the previous installments of this trilogy - "Reforming a Rake" and "Meet Me at Midnight" - and their illustrious spouses - Lucien and Sinclair.

However, if you have not read these previous novels, it is not necessary to do so. "A Matter of Scandal" perfectly stands on its own and the characters are well thought out and fully developed. Although the previous two were also enjoyable, this one outshines them both!

Even though this particular plot line has been done numerous times before, in the clever and talented hands of this author, it exudes wit and originality. The story evolves very naturally and the reader is deeply drawn into it and effortlessly falls in love with both the hero and heroine. The passion and sensuality aspects of the novel are done with supreme taste and delightfully evoke all the senses.

Meet a score of delightful and unforgettable characters such as Jane, Lizzy, Tristan, Viscount Dare (whose story I truly hope is next!) and Georgina along with other significant friends, well-wishers and villains...

One point of warning, though: the constant antics and witty, humorous dialogue in this book will bring forth a bout of giggles, snickers and silly grins...So, if you read it in public, you might draw some attention to yourself :-)

I truly enjoyed this book, and I hope you do too. This one definitely goes on the keeper shelf!

I really enjoyed this book. This is the kind of book I wish every romance that I read was...funny, tender, growth on both character's parts...triumph.

Emma runs a girls school on an aristocrat's land. The aristocrat is not doing very well financiall because his previous estate manager robbed him. The aristocrat calls his nephew in, Wycliffe, to offer suggestions on how to recoup his losses. Wycliffe suggests to triple the rents on all the tenants.

This doesn't bode well for Emma, who can ill afford such a rent increase.

As sparks fly between Emma and Wycliffe, a wager is made, which will decide whether the Academy stays or goes.

There is a wonderful host of secondary characters here to love.

I hope Enoch's next story is about Tristan Dare. He deserves his own!

If you love good romance, in the style of Judith McNaught, then you will LOVE this book.

Emma Grenville, headmistress of Miss Grenvillle's Academy for Young Ladies, meets Greydon Brakenridge, Duke of Wycliffe, on the road to his uncle's home when the wheel of one of his coaches falls off and the coach is mired in the mud. He is immediately drawn to her not knowing she is headmistress of the Academy.

While helping his uncle, Lord Haverly, try to work his estate out of near bankruptcy, he advised his uncle to triple the rents on his properties, which includes the Academy. Grey is intelligent, handsome (of course), tired of women chasing him and believes the Academy is nothing more than a school to teach the young ladies to snare husbands.

The two, Emma and Grey, make a wager. She is to find a way besides raising rents to make Lord Haverly's estate profitable, and he is to teach 5 of the young ladies, how to behave at social functions in Society. Emma is determined to teach Grey a lesson about women. While the wagering is going on, many witty situations occur and I laughed out loud in several instances.

Among Grey's entourage at his uncle's home is his mistress (now former mistress), Lady Sylvia (a duchess wannabe), Trev, his cousin and Blumton (another young relation). Lady Sylvia does her best to cause problems for Emma and a scandal develops, which requires the use of his position to resolve. Other characters include his mother, The Duchess, and counsin and a would be rake, Freddie.

This is a delightful story with wonderful characters and secondary characters. You won't be disappointed.

I like Suzanne Enoch's spirited heroines and her heroes do themselves justice, but she has the disappointing habit, like other competent romancers, to hype up the ending unecessarily and disruptively. The heroine of this novel is the headstrong headmistress of a girls' school who is, naturally, challenged by a cynical, pleasure-seeking duke. Their coming together is pleasingly plotted, though their consummation strains credence a bit. The peripheral characters add spice and interest to the story, especially the heroine's protege Elizabeth and to a lesser degree, the duke's viscount friend. But this same viscount reflects the weakness I began with--that of sacrificing everything to whimsy and melodrama. The drawn-out resolution of the wager between the two lovers became ridiculously tenuous, to the point where I eventually couldn't be bothered to care whether any of it made sense anymore. Some of it was fun, nonetheless, but on the whole it took away from my involvement with the romantic duo.

If Enoch can overcome this tendency, I will stay a loyal reader.

I found myself gasping out loud quite a few times while reading this book as the dialog was so very witty! The insults between the two main characters,Emma Grenville, headmistress of Miss Grenville's Academy, and Greydon Brakenridge, Duke of Wycliffe were priceless! Couple that with some of the comments coming from 'the mouths of babes' or the younger students at the Academy and you are in for a real treat!

One thing you do get when you read Ms. Enoch is outstanding dialog and this story is a prime example of her genius with snappy comebacks! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a hot and steamy battle of the sexes!

Suzanne Enoch has delighted me again with her follow up to Reforming a Rake and Meet Me at Midnight. This time Emma, the headmistress of a finishing school, locks horns with the overbearing Duke of Wycliff. Wycliff has escaped to the country to avoid marriage minded females, and to his terror finds himself attracted to the woman who teaches them thier feminine wiles. The duke wants to shut down Emma's beloved academy, but she is having none of it. They make a wager, and I can tell you, we all win in the end. Another great read. I can't wait for the next book!

Although I'm not too fond of Regencies, this one might have me investigating the sub-genre a bit more. I really thought this was a fantastic read. The original plotline was refreshing and the witty dialogue had me laughing out loud throughout the book. This one is a keeper.

Suzanne Enoch's latest is a laugh-aloud hoot and a riot! The romantic regency comedy takes place in Hampshire where Duke of Wycliffe, Lord Greydon Brackenridge is stunned by his fascination with Emma Grenville, the prim-and-oh-so-proper headmistress of Miss Grenvilles's Academy which launches young ladies into the society. When Wycliffe's uncle Peyton encounters a financial doldrum, he suggests tripling the rents of the Academy to maintain his uncle's estate. Emma with her tightened purse strings obviously objects, and in the midst of a heated arguement, agreed to a bet where she will manage the estate of his uncle and he will coach the ladies.

Just when Wycliffe dismisses the school as teaching the girls ways to bait husbands, he is in for a surprise. He becomes the student when the innocent young maids indoctrinates him on respect for a woman and simple values like honesty. To exacerbate situations, his fantasies and unfathomable adoration for Emma becomes real. The school is soon rocked by a scandal. Emma has to choose between reputation for the school and a true abiding passion....

Ms. Enoch's latest while blemished by an abrupt epilogue is rescued by the hilarious mood ubiquitous in the novella. Tristan Dare makes a good secondary character with his amusing antics and the wry humour of Wycliffe and Emma spices up their flaming passions. It goes to show that this book's greatest strength is not merely a matter of delicious scandal but a robust duel of intelligence and wits.

The book was pretty good, but it ended rather suddenly. I would have liked for the author to develope the ending a little more. Also, I would have liked to have known about the fate of the Academy and that awful Freddie. Overall, the book was good, and I enjoyed it.

I liked the heroine a lot; she said what she thought and wasn't intimidated by the hero just because he had a title. I also liked that she didn't just fall into bed with him at the first; she makes him win her over and he has to work at it! The dialog is well written and not bogged down with a bunch of awful monologues or run-on sentences. The wager between the two main characters is a little flimsy, but you've gotta have a reason to get them together, right? I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light romance, but a word of warning: don't read the last chapter in public...you're going to be crying!