Sunday, May 29, 2016

Review: A Common Scandal by Amanda Weaver

A Common Scandal by Amanda Weaver
Series: The Grantham Girls, Book 2
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Historical Romance
ISBN: 9781459290631
Release Date: May 30, 2016
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

Finishing school taught Amelia Wheeler how to put on a well-mannered performance—when she’s not bored and looking for trouble. Lady Grantham’s is behind her and now it's time for Amelia to keep her promise to her dying mother: marry a title and leave her wild days behind.

That promise would be much easier to keep if Nate Smythe hadn’t just reappeared in a London ballroom. The son of an impoverished sailor, Nate—Natty, as he used to be called—has grown up to become handsome, rich and polished. He claims to be looking for a proper bride who can advance his business interests, but that doesn't stop him from seeking out Amelia every chance he gets. Challenging her. Kissing her.

Suddenly, struggling against her simmering passion is the least of Amelia’s problems—one of her titled suitors is hiding a desperate secret that could stop Amelia from pleasing her parents or finding happiness with Nate. As a weeklong house party threatens to derail her hard-won future, Amelia must decide: fight against disaster or act like the lady she's promised to become?

A Common Scandal is an absolutely delightful romance. There’s no sophomore slump for Amanda Weaver’s Grantham Girls series – Amelia and Nate’s tale is sure to charm readers from beginning to end.

I absolutely loved Amelia. As a child she ran wild on the docks of Portsmouth, but her father’s financial success meant she was soon moved to London, where she was taught how to fit into society’s mold and was instructed to look for a titled husband. But there’s no amount of finishing lessons that can dull Amelia’s spirit and make her into a bland society miss. Amelia is vivacious, fearless, doesn’t back down, and is wholly loveable. That being said, she’s determined to please her mother and find a man with a title. Then a wrench is thrown in her plans to capture the interest of a kind, but boring lord when she runs across her childhood friend, Nate Smythe. Nate is the son of a sailor and even as a young man was determined to make a success of himself so he could be Amelia’s equal one day. In the years since she last saw him, Nate has made his fortune and the kind boy she knew is now a hardworking, handsome man. But he doesn’t have a title, which means he can’t take his business to the next step. Nate is determined to marry the daughter of an earl who can help him expand his company. Amelia, the girl he adored who is now a woman he desires, cannot figure into his plans. Only they can’t seem to stay away from one another…

Nate and Amelia’s romance is passionate, their chemistry electric, and together they make A Common Scandal just plain fun to read. Though they are both on set paths to marry others, it’s clear these two were made for one another. They don’t fit into high society, they never will, and to see them stifle their spirits would be a shame. Though the story did start off a bit slowly, once Nate and Amelia were thrown together at a house party I didn’t want to put the book down. I was rooting for them to be the people they were meant to be and find happiness outside the ballrooms of London. All in all, A Common Scandal is a wonderful, uplifting romance that made me smile more than once. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next Grantham Girls story, A Reluctant Betrothal!


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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