My Most Anticipated Romance Turned into a Disappointment | The Scandal of it All by Sophie Jordan

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What was one of my most anticipated books of the year turned out into a complete fail! I really, really wanted to love this book so much, but I just can’t! As much as I love Sophie Jordan, I was thoroughly disappointed by The Scandal of it All.

There were no stakes at all!

I love the premise – older lady falls in love with a much younger man. To top it all off, this young man is her step son’s best friend! Oh, the juicy scandal!

Although Lady Graciela is older, she is only about 5 years (?) or so older than Lord Strickland. It is taboo during this time, though.

Despite the awesome premise, Jordan really fails in upping the states. I would have wanted to read more about the consequences when their affair was discovered. I would have wanted more detail. What I got was an awesome first act and a meh third act.

Basically, this couple did NOTHING to earn their HEA

The first act starts off really strong. We have Lady Graciela trying to find happiness. She is being shunned by society because of her Spanish roots, and even though she is a Duke’s widow, she has never fit in. She was also a much, much younger second wife of the late Duke and she also has a young teen daughter. She takes a chance and visits an illicit club called Sodom, looking for a lover. There she meets Lord Strickland, her step son’s best friend who manages to hide her identity from the Duke. And what do you know, they suddenly have an affair.

Again, I said the first part starts off really strong. I like the development of their relationship BUT their budding relationship stops before I feel like they have fallen in love! And to top it all off, the scandal that would have come out of a relationship between an older widow and a young man DID NOT happen! I would have wanted that part to be the stakes in their relationship. I wanted to find out how they overcame it.

And then THIS happened!

[spoiler]Yes Ela GOT PREGNANT! Gahhh, I really hate it when the couple is forced to marry because of a pregnancy. I mean, it has been used as a plot device before and it usually works. But this time, it just felt contrived and actually pushed the plot along really fast that we actually DO NOT see Ela and Strickland fall in love! AT ALL!Strickland was like: Oh you got pregnant, I love and let’s get married. Ugh! Strickland was like: “Oh you got pregnant, I guess I love you so let’s get married”. Ugh! And Ela was like, “Oh man, I got knocked up so I guess I have no choice but to marry you, even though I love you but I know you don’t really love me”.[/spoiler] Kill me naaaawww!

Quick Read

I was really surprised that I read The Scandal of it All in one sitting! In all honesty, I kept turning the pages to read more about Ela and Strickland’s romance. But I was thoroughly disappointed.

As much as I wanted to love The Scandal of it All, I felt that there was something missing. I wish there was more.

Books like The Scandal of it All

• Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas features a spinster who also takes her happiness into her own hands and sends for a man to be her lover for the night.
• The Bedding Proposal by Tracy Anne Warren which features a scandalous lady who is slightly older than the hero.

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Don’t you just hate it when the hero and the heroine do not earn their HEA?

Which books have you read where the heroine is older than the hero?