Customer Reviews

Whisper of Scandal (Scandalous Women of the Ton Trilogy)

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What's different is the setting. Half the book takes place NOT in London, but rather on a ship destined for an island off the coast of Norway or on that island itself. In other words, not your usual house party or ballroom scenes. The romance itself is not that unusual, but it's well written and developed by Cornick, with two very flawed people (especially the heroine) who work through their differences without annoying TSTL behaviour. The secondary characters are also well-developed, real people, neither too evil nor too wonderful.

The heroine, Lady Joanna Ware, widow of the famous explorer David Ware, is a complex character. David and Joanna had been married for 10 years before his death, but had been estranged for more than half that time. David was a serial womanizer and in addition was abusive to Joanna. Joanna learns to cope and protect herself by adopting a persona that at first glance seems superficial and frivolous.

Hero Alex Grant was a friend of and fellow explorer with Joanna's late husband. David had saved his life on occasion and Alex chose to look upon David as a man to be admired. Since David had often disparaged Joanna to Alex, Alex did not have a good opinion of her.

So there you have the premise of the romance: Joanna too proud to reveal the problems she had with David, and Alex prejudiced against Joanna. Joanna, IMO, is a bit more flawed than Alex. She is too tuned into the superficial, needing to look good at all times and spending hours to achieve that look. She is also not honest with Alex about something she knew was very important to him. The difficulties in her life have made her self-protective and, seemingly, self-centered. Alex, of course, is not without his flaws. He uses his exploring to distance himself from others. He is also quick to make judgments and seems a bit inflexible. You'll understand the 'why' of this as you get into his history.

But, in addition to the developing romance, you do have a story about the trip to the Arctic Circle. Why they are going there, what happens there. It all makes for an interesting and different romance. It's one of Ms Cornick's better recent HRs.

This book is not a whisper of amazing but a shout out of greatness

Is it possible for two people to have been involved another's life and see this individual so totally differently? Can a person be a saint to one and a sinner to the other - absolutely, in the case of one David Ware.

His widow Lady Joanna saw the man and her life with him as cold, desolate and at times brutal. His best friend Alexander, Lord Grant saw an explorer, hero and the greatest example of what one can accomplish in life with hard work and adventuresome spirit. Joanna never felt love for this match but despised that he blamed her for their lack of children and made no pains to disguise his infidelity and outright betrayal of her trust. Alex has nothing but disdain for Joanna and feels that all the words of evil that David spoke are true and cannot see any redeeming factors surrounding her or the lavish lifestyle she leads. He sees her as frivolous and taking full advantage of the tidy sum David left his widow. But peeling back an onion reveals numerous layers does it not?

By fate, circumstance and responsibility are out of control for both Joanna and Alex's as they are forced to face each other and come to a compromise of sorts as it seems David is still manipulating both of them from the grave. With Alex a part of David's extended life and best friend David gave Alex the responsibility of handling his estate and carrying out his final wishes which he never thought included Joanna and a sea adventure. So by bad luck Alex is forced to Seal the Deal with Joanna and while both of them stand their ground about how David was in their individual lives and fight every time they share space they do agree to the terms that were set aside in the codicil even if it involves sailing to The Arctic to retrieve what David so carelessly left behind.

But the more time Alex spends with Joanna the more he comes to see her as the greatest of temptations and less the vixen he had thought her to be. She is warm, loving and cares for those who are less fortunate. Her kisses are all too soon melting his heart and turning up his passion for not just any woman but this woman that he at first thought a frivolous. But Joanna is strong and just as full of the lust for him as he has for her and shows him that in preconceived notations some turn out to be very untrue. The adventure aboard the Sea Witch shows both of them what they are made of how important they are to one another. They each tear down the other's walls of despair and prior guilt to burn up the nights with a flame that comes from no candle but instead from deep inside their being.

With every Nicola Cornick book you know you are in for a wonderful read and a most enjoyable adventure. This book and adventure in no way disappoint and in fact make it so you start reading slower just to not have the book come to an end. The writing style is lush and with each page you know that there are two characters that jump out at you and many background characters that are not there to just fill space but bring life to the story. Thank you Nicola for another beautiful reading adventure.

In 1811 Navy Captain Alex Grant visits Lady Joanna Ware, the widow of his late best friend David to offer his condolences. His only regret was the mission to find a North East trade route through the North Pole kept him from doing so eighteen months ago when David died on that quest. However, he is stunned to see some miscreant demanding she consider his suit.

Joanna greets Alex by calling him darling and gives him a welcome home kiss. Both are stunned by the reaction in light of the fact they never liked each other. Each has mixed feelings between desiring more kisses and wanting to run away from each other. However, keeping away from each other is not an option as they must journey to the Arctic to bring her stepdaughter home.

The Arctic trek brings a fascinating fresh subplot to a strong Regency romance starring a widow and widower who from that first searing kiss know they loathe yet desire each other. The lead couple is a wonderful match as each has preconceptions of the other based on their respective relationship to David. Fast-paced whether it is London or the Arctic, sub-genre fans will relish this entertaining historical.

Harriet Klausner

I gobbled this book up practically overnight. It was everything I look for in a regency romance - beautifully researched, beautifully written, compelling characters with a long way to go before they find their happily-ever-after and a dollop of adventure thrown in.

I love that it's set both in London and the arctic (!!), bonus points for showing me another part of the world's history during that period.

Bonus bonus points for a heartfelt love story that had me turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning!

Thank you Ms Cornick, I'll now have to go and track down your backlist!

Lady Joanna Ware is the widow of Lord David Ware and she has decided she would never marry again. Not because of a great love affair but because of her unhappy marriage, even before his death she had been estranged from David for five years. Yet she is still the darling of the Ton whom everyone adores as she adores them, at least that is until she meets Lord Alexander Grant. Grant was her errant husband's best friend and is disturbed by Joanna. David had tainted Joanna's reputation by speaking ill of her not to mention Grant hates the Ton, the very society that Joanne has embraced. From the first moment they meet Alex & Joanna disagree and are often unable to be civil towards each other, but David has thrown them a curve ball from beyond the grave. David has fathered a child and abandoned her somewhere near the North Pole; he had complicated matters by naming them both guardians.

If you are looking for a really great historical romance novel this is it. The book does not take place in one location, the first half of the book is in London and the second half is at sea as they travel to the North Pole. I really loved this couple, Joanna is a strong woman but she has been dealt a lot of blows and she has tremendous courage. David was a well known philanderer and was known to engage in frequent affairs outside of their marital bed, the list seemed quite long and even included her best friend Lottie. Not to mention if Joanna was to raise the orphaned child she could easily loose her social status. I liked how she handled matters always attempting to hold her head high and she remained quite calm and sweet. Grant is also an intriguing hero, he is very loyal and stubborn, I found it interesting to watch him come to terms with all of who David was. At the onset Grant think Joanna frivolous, yet despite all his friends allegations, Grant had trouble reconciling what he saw in Joanna vs. what he thought he knew. The setting on sea was perfect and gave a glimpse into what life for an expedition must be like. The writing really gives the book life, I easily believed these two were falling in love with each other even if they had intended otherwise. All and all a very pleasurable read, and was quite sad it ended.