One Night of Scandal (Farleigh Sisters, Book Two): Teresa Medeiros UPDATED

 "Proper decorum has never come easy for Carlotta Anne Farleigh -- not even on the night of her debut.  As she waits to make her entrance, she's drawn to the darkened house next door, the supposedly abandoned home of Hayden St. Clair, the man society has dubbed the 'Murderous Marquess.'  This latest adventure thoroughly compromises Carlotta's reputation, leaving her betrothed to the handsome, mysterious marquess and on her way to the wilds of Cornwall to be married.






"Despite the circumstances of her betrothal, Lottie sees something thrilling and surprisingly tender about her dark, unreachable groom.  But before she'll surrender to the yearnings in her heart, she must unlock the secrets of Hayden's past, no matter how scandalous -- or perilous -- they might be."

My (very old) original review for this book can be found HERE.  I read it a decade ago, almost to the month, which is pretty neat.  I'm quite enjoying seeing how my tastes have changed over the years, as well as my reviewing style.  Clearly, I've become a more developed, advanced writer and a more analytical reader.  I suppose this makes me a convert to re-reading books, whereas before I was staunchly opposed to reading any book -- no matter the material -- more than once.

I'm nearly halfway through this book and, having recently read A Kiss to Remember, it's nice that the characters are still so fresh in my mind's eye.  For a character so young, Lottie made a rather large impact (pun only partially intended) in the first book.  Knowing this book took place about a decade later and that Lottie would be its female lead, I was looking forward to really seeing her character develop.  She hasn't lost her wit, cunning, nor her attitude -- despite what I suspect to be Sterling's best attempts at gently shaping her to society's dictates without breaking her spirit.  Indeed, she's still extremely high-spirited and, were she not, I don't think she'd be enough of a challenge for Hayden to take an interest.  I appreciate that what finally made him agree to wed her were not the usual attributes held by a lady of the gentry, but her mind and the learning most women did not usually possess.

Hayden is a very mysterious character.  We see a good deal from his point of view in the very beginning of the story (when Lottie has her little adventure and winds up mucking up all of her family's grand plans for her), but less as the chapters go on and they near his imposing estate in Cornwall.  Normally, I might complain that I don't feel as connected to the male lead because of this; however, in Hayden's case, I appreciate the way in which the situations are written because it maintains his mysterious nature and his very troubled, tortured, lonely past.  We still get important glimpses into his mind and point of view; therefore, he remains a prominent character rather than being overshadowed by Lottie's rather formidable presence and perspective.




It's a pleasure to see how all of the characters have aged and changed over the decade between this book and A Kiss to Remember.  George is all grown up.  Sterling and Laura are still happily married and now have children of their own; they're still very much over-the-moon in love.  Sterling hasn't lost any of his quick temper, nor has Laura lost any of her motherly kindness and inclinations toward her siblings.  Even Cookie makes appearances, though I've only read mentions of Dower thus far.


Because it has been so long since I originally read this book, I am looking forward to seeing the twists and turns that come.  I love re-exploring the mysteries and surprises Medeiros has in store, as well as seeing the tension between Lottie and her new husband really come to a head.




***


Well I finished off this book fairly quickly.  Medeiros is always a fun, entertaining read; this book was no different.  Her characters are always extremely lively -- especially her more entertaining female leads.

Lottie fits rather nicely into that category.  I think her character stayed very true to the little hellion we’re introduced to in A Kiss to Remember.  She’s very unconventional, but this turns out to be exactly what she needs in order to win over her new husband and find her place in his secluded life/world.  Her passion for writing is extremely relatable to those of us who have writing in our veins.  I particularly liked how she applied her talents to her life as Hayden’s wife.

I know I mentioned earlier how the sparseness of Hayden’s perspective maintained the mysteriousness of his character.  While this remained true throughout the rest of the book (though we did get more glimpses once we were privy to some of the secrets he’d been keeping), I did wind up wanting a tad bit more from him.  He was tortured and complex; there is no denying that he suffered a great deal in his life (and was pretty much the quintessential Gothic male lead -- at least, in appearance) and all of this served to create a well-rounded male lead, but I wanted to experience him falling in love with Lottie just a little bit more (this isn’t really a spoiler…it IS a romance novel, after all).  This didn’t reach the point of detracting from the story; it’s just a personal opinion.

Medeiros went to great lengths to set up the perfect setting and scenes for Lottie’s new life and adventure in Cornwall.  As usual, her descriptions are vivid and you feel as if you’re watching a film or even there beside the characters.  Her writing has a way of enveloping you in the drama and beauty of the world in which her characters live.  Her books truly are an escape.

All this being said, I think Medeiros managed to touch on some very powerful themes and messages in this book.  It was rather darker than others I’ve read by her, but don’t let this deter you.  It retains its sense of lightheartedness (thank you Lottie) which gives it its characteristic Medeiros charm.  There’s a touch of the supernatural, which really usually isn’t my cup of tea in a book such as this (I tend to like my supernatural in blatantly supernatural worlds and realms – like vampire novels or whole underworlds crafted by their authors).  I think it was handled well and remained subtle until the very last moment that it could not remain so any longer.  Overall, the characters were touching, the backstories were moving, and it’s always a pleasure to see recurring characters.  I reiterate that I’m discovering that I’m more of a fan of her more recent works than I am of her older ones, but Medeiros remains a powerful, talented voice in this genre.

While I really enjoyed this book the first time around, I think I appreciated the Gothic influences a great deal more this time.  If Gothic literature is your cup of tea, then you'll absolutely adore this book.  If not, then it's still a gem of a romance novel.