Review: Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
SYNOPSIS:
On the night of the Parkhurst ball, someone had a scandalous tryst in the library.
• Was it Lord Canby, with the maid, on the divan?
• Or Miss Fairchild, with a rake, against the wall?
• Perhaps the butler did it.
All Charlotte Highwood knows is this: it wasn’t her. But rumors to the contrary are buzzing. Unless she can discover the lovers’ true identity, she’ll be forced to marry Piers Brandon, Lord Granville—the coldest, most arrogantly handsome gentleman she’s ever had the misfortune to embrace. When it comes to emotion, the man hasn’t got a clue.
But as they set about finding the mystery lovers, Piers reveals a few secrets of his own. The oh-so-proper marquess can pick locks, land punches, tease with sly wit… and melt a woman’s knees with a single kiss. The only thing he guards more fiercely than Charlotte’s safety is the truth about his dark past.
Their passion is intense. The danger is real. Soon Charlotte’s feeling torn. Will she risk all to prove her innocence? Or surrender it to a man who’s sworn to never love?
REVIEW:
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this story. I was so excited to see that Piers was getting a story. I was instantly drawn to him since he was introduced in the Castles Ever After series. But the problem was, Piers was on a pedestal in my mind and I knew finding a woman who was worthy was going to be a challenge.
Charlotte was not worthy…there I said it. Now that that’s off my chest allow me to explain. She is all naive youth, no filter, and foolishly stubborn. And around 70% into the audiobook, I was just sitting there thinking that Piers could do better. Charlotte doesn’t have any extraordinary looks, and there is nothing special about her personality, in fact I wanted to yell at her on numerous occasions. The only thing she has is her reputation for being desperate to snag a man.
Yet for some reason Piers is drawn to her and they begin courting. As Charlotte hunts for the mystery lovers a series of events happen. But most importantly, the whole novel is focused on solving the mystery of these lovers and when everything was revealed, it was lackluster to say the least. I was expecting some big reveal and instead it was meh.
The whit, humor, and charm of the series got lost along the way. There were a few giggle worthy moments but not enough to savage the lack of chemistry and Charlotte’s inability to pull her head out of her *ss. Piers is like James Bond and unfortunately Charlotte is not good enough to be a Bond girl. The end.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
