I received this book for free from St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Scandalous Flirt by Olivia DrakeAlso in this series: If the Slipper Fits, Stroke of Midnight, Abducted by a Prince, Bella and the Beast
Series: Cinderella Sisterhood #6
Published by St. Martin's Press on October 31st 2017
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
ISBN: 1250060311
Scandal begins with just one kiss. . .
Aurora Paxton was once the belle of the ball, the most sought-after debutante of the season―until a scandalous mistake ruined her. Shunned by her family, Rory was banished to the country to live in disgrace. Now she’s been summoned back to London by her stepmother, who is being blackmailed by the least likely person Rory can imagine: Lucas Vale, Marquess of Dashell.
Lucas is someone Rory’s known for years―a man as devastatingly handsome as he is coldly disapproving of her. What in the world could he want from her or her family? Rory intends to find out as soon as she comes face to face with her old foe. What she never expects, however, is that the icy aristocrat has a soft spot for her―and a secret plan to redeem her status. Could it be that Lucas has been in love with Rory all along. . .and has finally found a way to win her heart?
The Scandalous Flirt is a story that I truly was looking forward to. I have really enjoyed this series so far, and so I was curious to see this story unfold and see how it compared with earlier books in the series. I will have to say that I had a great time with this book but I had a major issue with the heroine, an issue I am seeing way to often in historical romance and honestly she would fit more in a contemporary romance than an historical. There is no way that this type of heroine would be in 1800’s England. So that is why my rating is lower because this really detracted my enjoyment of the story here.
The story unfolds with Aurora Paxton, who has been in living in the country because she was caught up in a scandal when she was compromised by a foreign married man. So she has been staying with her aunt ever since. But when she hears that her step mother is in desperate need of her, she returns to London. Only to find out, that her step mother had a affair and is being blackmailed with letters from her lover, and she wants Aurora to find them out for her, and gives her a name of the man she believes to be responsible. So Aurora goes undercover in the Marquess of Dashell’s home to try to find the letters. But soon Lucas finds out what she is up to, and they start to work together to uncover the truth.
The Scandalous Flirt is a story that you can come to really respect at times. Olivia Drake is one of those authors that just always pulls me into her stories. I NEVER EVER have a hard time getting into her books, however there is something to be said for content and authenticity. Now there were times I almost had to double check to make sure that this was a historical romance. This is part of her fairy tale series (that focuses around Cinderella). But I will say that this book I liked the least out of all the series. My biggest issue of course was the heroine. Just some of her sayings were so not of the historical era that is the setting. I understand that many readers want more modern heroines in historical’s (although I have no idea why since these are historical romances) and really it wasn’t small things….it was some big problems that it was so obvious that the author wasn’t even trying to hide. I also felt like her personality was pretty annoying at times. Now our hero I really had mixed emotions about. Sometimes I liked him but he really was horrid at times to Aurora. Some aspects just didn’t quite add up with his character and even though he redeems himself in the end, definitely not a hero I will be wanting to remember or read again.
The romance that was supposed to be in this story just didn’t exist in this story. I felt at times it was a bit lacking and not what I expected to find from this author. And even though I did enjoy the plot and the pace was pretty steady and consistent, I can’t say that I loved this book. Although I did really like it in moments, just the final outcome of this story wasn’t what I was expecting from this author. But I still love this author and I adore the way she can always pull me into a story and keep me enthralled!!
Dang it! This cover looked SO good (loved the pink shoe) and the synopsis sounded pretty interesting. I might still check-out the fist book in the series though – I love a good Cinderella retelling! Thanks for the review 🙂
oh yes…I agree the cover is so swoon worthy and I like the shoe too. I think you should check out the series, its a fun one.
Oh sorry this didn’t really work for you. Hmm, I love the romance element so it has to be there and I have to feel it otherwise it’s not gonna work for me too. I get it why 6ou had problems with this story. Thanks for sharing. Awesome review. ❤️
Thanks Geybie. I think many will like this one, I just like my characters to seem realistic to the time period and that was my biggest issue with the story. The way this heroine acts, no lady in regency era would have these “modern like” ideas or she would say certain things that you would only see in our time.
Oh bleh! I have a feeling this would not work for me at all. I get irritated when romances lack romance! Like how is that even possible, no? And you say the heroine doesn’t seem like she would fit into a historical setting either? Well that’s shoddy writing, in my opinion! Sorry this was a disappointment to you though. It always sucks when you can’t love a book. ://
Yeah Nick, my largest problem was the heroine. Because some of her phrases in the story, are sayings that you would only see in our century and not the 1800’s. But unfortunately this is what publishers try to push for and I like my characters to be realistic. So it was a shame for sure.
Not a lot of romance? That’s too bad, it sounded like it would be a good one too. Sorry it wasn’t what you hoping for.
Yeah I like my stories to have a good romance. But thankfully her other books are pretty well done.
umm why do people want a modern heroine in a HR? that defeats the purpose of a HR and ruins it for people that actually use these an escape. Ugh there is a reason I prefer these over contemporary romances these days but now that it’s been bought into HR bah,.. wonder if this is why I stopped reading romances recently.
Oh, that’s too bad it wasn’t a bit more historically accurate so it would enhance the story more. Some things I can look over but it sounds like there was too much of it here. I still want to check this series out, though. Lovely review!!
Yeah Michele, it was a shame especially when I have had a blast with other books in the series.
Ahh they sound like they weren’t the best. It is frustrating when they don’t fit the time period. Some things I’m okay with but I still want it to overall feel historical. Ah well. Great cover, though!