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.

My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel: Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris

"Flirtatious repartee!  Scandalous intrigue!  Men in kilts!  And more...

"In this chooseable-path romantic adventure, you are the plucky but penniless heroine in the center of nineteenth-century society, the courtship season has begun, and your future is at hand.  Will you...

• Flip forward fetchingly to flirt with the bantering baronet, SIR BENEDICT GRANVILLE?
• Turn the page to true love with the hardworking, horse-loving Highlander, Captain Angus McTaggart?
• Chase through the chapters a good man gone mad, bad, and scandalous, in the arousing form of LORD GARRAWAY CRAVEN?
• Read on recklessly as the 'traveling companion' of the spirited and adventuresome LADY EVANGELINE YOUNGBLOOD?
• Or choose yet another tantalizing fate?

"Whether it's forlorn orphans and fearsome werewolves, mistaken identities and devious double-crosses, or long lost lovers and pilfered Egyptian artifacts, every delightful twist and turn of the romance genre unfolds at your behest!"


I saw this book as a new recommended reading a few months back from my former (amazing, nationally-ranked) public library.  I take screenshots of some of these books when the librarian's reviews really pique my interest?  A good romance novel?  Right up my alley.  A "choose-your-own-path" romance novel?  Never heard of it...super excited to try it out!  How many readers of this genre sit back and go, "Well I would've certainly handled that differently"?  I can tell you with complete honesty that I've done this more than a time or two.  This book presents a very unique opportunity to do just that!  Not only do you get to pick your path, but your choices determine which of the intriguing, charming suitors wins your hand!  It could be any of the men (or even woman!) noted above...or someone else entirely.  There are more than twenty (yes, you read that correctly) endings you can wind up living.


This book charmed me on so many levels, but I had to learn something very quickly:  THIS IS NOT A SERIOUS ROMANCE NOVEL!!!  It is fun, humorous parody.  The "descriptions" are overly cliché and read like something a novice writer would come up with, but you recognize that that's the point.  It's meant to not take itself seriously.  I can't tell you how many times I laughed while reading this (in a good way, of course).  This is satire at its most playful.  Sir Benedict Granville is a very blatant parody of Mr. Darcy from Austen's famed Pride & Prejudice (with a little bit more explicit behavior, of course); McTaggart is an amalgamation of every single (clichéd) Scotsman existing in romance novels, kilt and all (though I've not read many books with such overly-dramatized Scotsmen, I can certainly see where the parody came from and I applaud the authors -- I found it rather amusing).  Craven and his various story threads (without giving too much away) consist to varying degrees of classic Gothic writing and more modern paranormal romance.  The authors seem to have hit on so many aspects of romance novels set in the Britain in the nineteenth-century and I'm extremely impressed.


As I mentioned, I picked up this book believing it to be more serious than it was.  I adjusted my expectations accordingly (and rather quickly) and ended up enjoying this book quite a bit.  When I realized that it was more satire than serious, I thought I would feel like it was making fun of the genre (and its readers), but I didn't feel that way at all.  What good is being a reader and writer if you can't laugh at yourself every once in awhile?


I finished my first "journey" rather quickly.  Some paths are much more drawn out than others, depending upon your meandering choices, of course.  I did enjoy some threads much more than others, but that's to be expected.  This book hits upon so many aspects of the genre and archetypes that it covers a broad base of readers.  I doubt that anyone out there will adore every single one of the threads.  I caught a few tiny continuity errors (i.e. depending upon the path you chose, there might not actually be statues in the scene, but the next scene you encounter contained statues; however, if you had entered the second scene via a different page, then it all made sense), but nothing terrible.  I feel like this is to be expected when there are so many complex and intersecting plots.  I will caution you that if you're anything like me and you have a burning need to read EVERY SINGLE path this book has to offer...then it will take you a very long, long, long time.  In order to do so, I needed to adopt a complex method of tiny scraps of paper, checkmarks, and tallies.  I accomplished it (and, in the grand scheme of things, it really did only take me two days to get through it all), but it meant I had to be insanely organized and I couldn't stop for any interruptions or I would lose my place.  I didn't want to miss a single thread or ending.  That could just be me and I may just be a wee bit crazy.


For a lover of the romance genre, this is a great way to shake things up.  The structure and story are so incredibly unique and creative.  To come up with such an idea -- to treat a romance novel like a choose-your-path videogame or comic book -- is sheer genius.  I am so impressed with what this book ended up being and I loved the opportunity to laugh.  It absolutely does not take itself too seriously and it was a fantastic reminder that we shouldn't take our reading material too seriously either.


*Side note:  In researching a bit more about this book, I've discovered a bunch of other choose-your-path romance books!  I'm not sure if they're satire like this one, but I'm definitely interested to look into them.  Happy reading!