Customer Reviews

The Scandals of An Innocent (The Brides of Fortune)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"The Scandals of An Innocent" is book two of Nicola Cornick's early regency period trilogy. This series is set in Fortune's Folly, a fictional town in Yorkshire where the greedy 'Lord' has reinstated a Middle Ages 'Dames Tax' which will allow him to take up to half the fortune of every unwed woman of marriagable age after one year. Needless to say, every fortune hunter in the country has made his way to Fortune's Folly in an effort to wed an heiress; and the women of Fortune's Folly are literally under seige!

Alice is the young maid-turned-heiress who inherited a fortune from her last employer. While the money certainly made the lives of her, her mother, and her brother much easier, it has also brought about their horrible situation of 'not one nor the other'. They aren't ton, but they're not servants either. Alice HAS made some good friends, and she considered herself heartsore but lucky when the fortune hunter she cared for dumped her to woo a richer heiress. Unfortunately for her, now HE's back and still in need of her fortune...and he's got her over a barrel this time.

Miles has inherited not one, but two bankrupt estates. It's certainly not fair that HE wasn't the one to bankrupt them, but now he's saddled with trying to keep his family out of the poorhouse. A family estrangement and the horrors of war have removed every trace of caring from his being...at least that's what HE thinks. His situation is becoming desperate when he finally gets the break he needs--so he promptly blackmails Alice into an engagement.

I think most women like to read about 'bad boys'. We love our tormented heroes, our hard Alphas, and our regency rakes. BUT, we DO want to see them reforming. My beef with this story is that he really doesn't reform until the last few chapters of a 360-page read! For the vast majority of the book, he was a total A$$--constantly trampling Alice's feelings, not protecting her from the snobby locals, and being a jerk to just about everybody! How in the heck do I try and like a guy like that? Over and over again, he stressed to Alice that: 1-he was marrying her for her money; and 2-he was also happy that he would get to 'bed' her. What a guy, eh?

On the other hand, I did like Alice. She tried her best to deal with the jerk in a reasonable manner, even under duress. So having confessed that I hated the plot (well the nature of the hero and whole blackmail thing anyway), I CAN say that Nicola Cornick writes with lovely pacing and there's always a reason for the ongoing action in her stories. There's a bit of mystery (WHY is someone trying to kill Alice?) with small clues thrown here and there. I didn't figure out the 'bad guys' til the author did the unveiling at the very end. The supporting cast was a mostly likeable mishmash of family and friends that were first introduced in book one, "The Confessions of a Duchess". This story can stand alone with no problems, and as long as you can tolerate the jerk of a hero, you'll probably enjoy "The Scandals of An Innocent" much more than I did!

My first Nicola Cornick book and I ended up really enjoying it. This is book 2 of the Brides of Fortune series and while this did manage to stand on it's own two feet there were times when I didn't know what the heck was going on.

I liked this book because of Miles and Alice. I liked them. They were two characters who were trapped by their circumstances and I felt so bad for them. For Alice, and yes, even Miles. At first Miles comes across as a, how shall I put this, as a humongous bast**d. Call him every foul Regency era name in the book and it fits. He was an unrepentant bad boy and he snookered me completely. He was outrageous in his arrogance and ruthlessness and I fell for him like a rock. Then the book cuts to Alice and her anger and frustration at being once again at the mercy of an aristocrat killed my growing lust and I was ready to cut off his vital parts and lay them at Alice's feet for her approval. I found her likable and charming and never whiney. Which gets a big thumbs up from me. And Miles, while ruthless in his drive to get his hands on Alice's money and on her body, (in that order) should have disgusted me, or at the very least irritated me, but instead I felt so bad for him. He was a guy who had the deck stacked against him and I kept reading through this rather long winded book just so I could see him happy.

Having never read Nicola Cornick before I was surprised by the sizzle this book packed. Quite a naughty little Regency book this was. Nothing too overtly sexy but there was still a lot of heaving bosoms going on. And there's a naughty little secret that Alice is carrying around on her, uh, person that I found hysterical. OH, that was priceless. Though after I stopped laughing I had to cry out, "shenanigans!" If you really don't want one, nothing less than being shackled to a table will force you to sit still for it. Also, a brilliant move by the author had me laughing, after she had turned my own dirty mind against me.

All in all, I really liked it. It was amusing, had good pacing, I liked the the H/H and the zany family members. On the negative side it was a bit long winded, the author kept reiterating certain points and feelings, and since I did not read the first book in this series, the mystery lacked depth for me. Plus it was implausible. A servant girl even attempting to enter the aristocracy and reaching as high as a marquis? Please. But this was still enjoyable and I'm glad I read it and I hope to read the other books in this series again soon.

In Book Two of her "The Brides of Fortune" series, author Nicola Cornick tells the tale of Alice Lister, a former maidservant, who has unexpectedly inherited eighty thousand pounds and some properties from her employer. The old lady had lost her only daughter, and bequeathed her entire estate to the lovely, virginal Alice. Now Alice lives in supreme comfort in the small town of Fortune's Folly, with her mother, also a former servant, and two close girl friends. The hook of the series is that an archaic tax being imposed on the unmarried women of the Yorkshire township by its "squire" is causing them to all to rush to the altar within a year or lose half their doweries. So penniless aristocrats are flocking to the town to take advantage of the women's predicament. The hook of this particular novel is that Alice is being courted by Miles Vickery, a devilishly handsome nobleman, with whom Alice has an unfortunate history. He had courted her the year before, then dumped her for a richer prospect, only to have that lady marry elsewhere. Now he is back, handily in possession of some damning scandalous information on Alice, and blackmailing her into accepting his renewed courtship.

This book reminds me, in style but not in content, of some of the more popular romances of the late eighties and early nineties, in that it is very long, with very small print. Unfortunately most of the length of the novel is padding. The author feels the need to keep reminding her readers what she has already said in preceding chapters, belaboring plot points and recapping character angst, much in the manner that reality shows do when returning from a commercial break. I found myself skimming over the third and fourth three-page explanations of Alice's frustration with the fact that Miles does not love her and is only pursuing her for her money. I get it! She loves him, but thinks he can never love her. Point taken. Move on, please.

I also had some problems with the some of the author's plot points. Even with the newly-acquired wealth, I don't think Alice or her mother would ever find a place among the nobility, even in Yorkshire. Alice's upper-crust manners and queenly bearing are pretty unbelievable, considering that in the station of life to which she was born, she probably would not have been taught to read, much less had the chance to acquire any polish or knowledge of dancing, table etiquette or social interaction. And when I got to the part where Alice was discovered to have a tattoo -- well that's just too anachronistic for words.

This is a formulaic, diversion-for-a-rainy-Sunday or long plane ride kind of romance. It's not in the class of Kleypas or Hoyt, but it's not simply dreadful. Romance fans will recognize overuse of many of the more tired catch-phrases such as "speaking glance," but will probably forgive them because the love scenes are sexy and nicely set-up.

Overall, just okay.

While I have not read the first book in this trilogy, this book was a good stand alone novel.

The book opens up with the town of Fortune's Folly located in England during the 1800's. The squire of Fortune's Folly, Monty Fortune, has re- created a law that was from the middle ages called the Dame's Tax. It states that all single women must be married within a year or they have to forfeit half their fortunes to him. This has women and money seeking men to rush to the alter.

The story begins with Alice Lister finding herself in a bridal shop stealing a wedding gown for her friend since the friend already paid for it. Alice Lister's friend, Elizabeth cooked up the idea which was a bad idea from the beginning. As Alice is trying to escape through a window while holding the wedding dress, she is discovered by Miles Vickery and old flame of Alice's. Miles dumped Alice for a richer heiress when Alice declared her loved for him. Alice was a former maid turned heiress by a woman who was Alice's employer. Alice has inherited 80,000 pounds and a couple of estates. Miles was dumped by the richer heiress and now is interested in Alice again. Alice tries to avoid the attraction at every turn.

Meanwhile, Alice has many women living with her. One of her friends is pregnant and alone because the Duke and Duchess (her parents) threw her out of the house since her reputation is soiled. She had a romantic affair with a man that was accused of murder and was in jail. Another one of the women living with Alice is her friend, Elizabeth who happens to be the sister of Monty. Elizabeth always has something to say and constantly concocts outrageous scenarios. Alice's mother also lives in the house and she is only interested in being a social-lite and spending oodles of money to show how prestigious she is. Alice caters to this which I find annoying at times.

The two (Alice and Miles) cannot help but find the other attractive. I like Alice because she is a strong character. She is not subject to tears, swooning, or becoming hysterical. She is very logical and tries to think positively. Alice keeps secrets for the sake of her friends. Alice even tries to play it cool with Miles to deny her feelings for him. I like the fact that regardless of Alice's wealth, she still is loyal to her friends. She is always trying to help maids who are not fortunate like she is and to help her mother. No matter what, Alice is not accepted into society and Miles is so in debt that she knows that she will never be like the other nobles in Fortune's Folly. Alice never tries to act like a lady and knows that Miles is using her. It makes for a different type of romance novel. I gave it only four stars because I felt that Alice's mother and friends could have been made less flaky. Also, I also do not like how robotic Miles seemed in a great deal of the story. Otherwise, it was a very quick and enjoyable read.

I love series romance; there's nothing better than reading about a group of people in one book and seeing them in the next book as friends or as siblings to the characters in the next installment. It brings a smile to my face when I discover a new author that I've never read and find out that they already have a series written that I haven't seen yet! This being said, some series are better than others and this wasn't one of them.

I'm not going to go into the plot because its been gone over on almost all of the other reviews and I'm too lazy to type it all out. Its the story of boy meets girl, boy ditches girl, girl gets money, boy needs money, boy tries to get girl back. There I summed it up and you won't have to waste the hours I did. Miles really bothered me, maybe it was all of the need for money but he just seemed like a jerk. I didn't mind Alice, but really had a hard time liking her. I would say overall that it was a silly book that just didn't appeal to me. The book was written well, but the characters were difficult for me to really feel for, and that more than anything is what I look for in a book.

Ok. I admit. What I look for in a romance is period first, plot, second, characters third. Shame on me but, there it is.
And, when its a regency romance that involves a rake in desperate need of a character adjustment (ahem. no pun intended), I am SO there.

Miles Vickery once gambled former maid's daughter Alice Lister's heart against another girl'f fortune and LOST. Fortune girl dumped and, horror of horros, the lovely Alice Lister inherits a fortune. What makes him a lovable and redeemable rake rather than a coldblooded fortune hunter is the fact that the reason for the funds comes not from his irresponsible behavior but from his father's.

Fine. Just blackmail the now flush Miss Lister - who's heart he once broke in his search for funds - into marrying him to gain her desperately needed funds. There is only one problem. In order for her to inherit, her fiance must tell the truth for 3 months.

Correction. Make that TWO problems. It seems Alice does not trust him. However, working in Miles' favor is one: the dames tax, a tax of 50% levied on unmarried spinsters and, two: the attempts on Alice's life that pushing him and Alice together.

Miles rises to the honesty challenge UNTIL: he is put in a position of whether to tell the truth about a situation that will endaner Alice OR not tell the truth and lose the girl AND the fortune. Since, we all know the boy gets the girl in these, I won't tell you HOW he resolves this crisis. I enjoyed the characters very much and look forward to glimpses of them in future books. Yes, future characters for furture books are introduced in this story.

The characters and the plot kept me turning pages. When life gets stressful, I like to revisit some regency romances and reread them. I WILL revisit this one.

Yes, Miles is a jerk - blackmail is OH so romantic, eh? But c'mon, our heroine Alice keeps saying how much she loves him, even though he treats her like dirt. How can we root for true love when it is based on such a weak foundation? Definitely skip this poor excuse for a romance novel.

This was my first Nicola Cornick book, and I can't say I was all that impressed. Since I didn't read the first book in the series, some explanation of it was in order. However, I found the first chapter of "Scandals", with all its references to the events and characters from "Confessions of a Duchess" confusing and irritating. A more skilled author would pull this together in a more seamless fashion.

My second criticism is that the hero is pretty vile for almost the entire book. I can't think of another book with a less likable hero. He blackmails the heroine, wipes his feet on her, professes and shows no care for her - we're supposed to believe in the final chapter he loves her??

Finally, I just find the premise of a former maid (however rich) being accepted into the society of the titled aristocracy beyond ridiculous. And, the author muffs titles and forms of address at every turn - I don't think she got it right in even a single instance. Sloppy.

It was a struggle to finish this book. Crossing Nicola Cornick off my list.

Not sure what else to say about this.

The heroine, Alice Lister, who was once a maid and is now rich feels put upon for some reason that aristocrats now want her (in a respectable way) just because she has money. Well, dur. The hero decides to blackmail her into marriage. It takes some doing, but of course, he eventually does.

The hero was a bit of a jerk, the heroine too nice and the book was just sort of bland to me.

This book is definitely easy to read and gives the feel of the Regency era. However, the 2 main characters were very atypical. Although I do applaud the author for trying a more ambitious type of character/s, I could not find either of them likeable and was often frustrated by their actions.

In this Regency the manipulative Miles is a fortune hunter. He previously made Alice (a housemaid who suddenly inherited money) fall in love with him but when he found another heiress with more money he dropped her. Now he is back and he is using blackmail to coerce her to marry him for her fortune again.

Miles makes not bones about wanting Alice in his bed but wanting her money more. He tells her his heart is closed and makes no excuses for leaving her or for his mistresses and shady past. Although far into the book Miles begins to find some sort of conscience he is still responsible for getting Alice thrown into jail and of course, the only way to free her is for her to marry him!

I was severely disappointed in Alice, she seemed more level-headed than to fall for Miles again. And why she lets him blackmail her so easily and only puts up a token fight was very discouraging. I just really couldn't see what she saw in Miles.

I can't help it! I love the feisty or at least strong willed but enduring heroine. And I need to admire the hero. I could felt neither with this book and really cannot recommend it. I love the Regency books because you come to expect a certain type of character/storyline and since they are familiar it is comfortable and enjoyable escape, but it was too different for me.