A delightful romp to be read in one sitting—for fans of Sarah MacLean, Julia Quinn, and Tessa Dare.Lady Viola Hextall is bored—of the ocean, her chaperones, and the woeful lack of available dukes on the ocean voyage from London to New York. Scrambling for any diversion short of jumping overboard, Viola strikes up a conversation with the ship's rough-hewn, blue-eyed surgeon—and discovers an immediate cure for what ails her...
To Nathaniel Shaw, Viola has the bearing of a lady and the spirit of an adventurer—an unlikely combination that he finds utterly irresistible. So he's hoping to convince Viola to leave the stifling ballrooms of London high society behind because there is a big, wide world just waiting for them to explore—together. ~ Goodreads
Source: E-arc provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review
My thoughts: For some reason, I didn’t realize this was a short story (at around 89 pages for my e-arc) when I accepted A Lady’s Guide to Scandal for review, but it turned out to be perfect timing, since that seems to be the duration of my reader attention span at the moment.
This novella also accomplished what I’m sure the publishers & author intended – I want to read more of this series and author now.
This story and the relationship between Lady Viola and Dr. Nathaniel Shaw moves at a brisk pace, going from casual hello’s to true love in a matter of days but it works. Bowen manages to write two characters with a complexity and believability that kind of took me by surprise. Yes, there is passion and sexy times, but there is also intellectual conversation and character growth, especially for Viola. A strong but flawed female lead and a man who tries to nurture her strengths only add to the appeal.
I would have loved to read more about these two and their own full story but it was a satisfying end and I’m looking forward to reading more by Bowen.
I definitely want to read this one. I do love Kelly Bowen, her writing style is refreshing for regency themes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read anything by her before but I can't wait to read more!
DeleteLoving the cover. What a dress .... I should imagine it would be a nightmare to wear though.
ReplyDeleteAlas not a fan of short stories, I think I'll give this one a miss.
That looks way too uncomfortable for me to ever wear. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal lol
DeleteThe quality of novellas has improved so much over the last year or so. I love them for palette cleansers.
They do sound like good characters and a satisfying ending def interests me on top of them
ReplyDeleteI really liked them both. Wish it was longer but it was still a fun read.
DeleteDoes someone rip her corset off? That's what I think when I see covers like this, hahaha. "Come and get it!".
ReplyDeleteHa! No. I think there are too many hooks and ties to just rip it off lol
DeleteI'm going to have to check it out because I loved the writing and characters.
ReplyDeleteOh nice. There are a few authors that can write short stories well. So glad this one worked. I may have to put this author on my must read list.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you... And I love shorts too. It helps when I'm feeling lazy or just have enough time/attention span for a novella. I'm guessing this can be read as standalone?
DeleteI just read book 3, and they briefly mentioned that Viola was in NY, and now I see what she was up to
ReplyDeleteI'm in the mood for some good shorts and novella's! This sounds like a great intro.
ReplyDeleteThat's nice the novella ended up being the perfect length, and it's always good that it entices you to read more from the author! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteAw yay! I read book one in July for my book club read and had a good time with it. Definitely wanting to read the rest of them. Glad that the surprise length turned out to really work for ya :)
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