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One Night of Scandal

One Night of Scandal

List Price: $7.50
Your Price: $6.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Teresa Medieros is one of my favorite authors--I usually pick up her books just on the basis of her name, knowing I'll find a well-written story laced with humor and romance. But this book was completely disappointing! Compared to her other novels, this one was sorely lacking, in terms of underdeveloped characters and ridiculous plot twists. It just didn't pull me in; the novel is definitely not up to par. Sorry, Teresa, this one just doesn't cut it. Here's to hoping your next novel maintains your usual excellent standard!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another great novel by Ms Medeiros!
Review: The night of her debutant ball finds Carlotta (Lottie) Fairleigh trying to sneak a peek in the window of the house next-door in hopes to see Hayden St Clair who called out and shot his friend for sleeping with his wife, then killed her as well.

For Hayden, the last night in London before he can return to Cornwall proves disastrous. When his friend Ned sends a "little present" he only assumes the lovely beauty peering in his window is "the present".

Faced with ruining her family, Lottie convinces Hayden they must marry and then the couple heads to his estate in Cornwall. Once there, Lottie discovers that her husband has more secrets than even the ton could imagine and determines to clear his name of the title "Murderous Marquees".

Ms Mederious has woven together another excellent novel. ONE NIGHT OF SCANDAL, while I guess is technically a historical has a touch of gothic influence that surrounds Haden. But before events can become stressful to the reader, our characters allow their lighter sides to show. For an additional treat, Lottie has several pet cats that are enjoyable "extras".

The relationship that Lottie and Allegra, Hayden's estranged daughter develop is interesting and comical to watch as the little girl has no desire to have a new mother. The antics she puts Lottie though lead to a screaming match that servers to finally unite the two in a common purpose - bring Hayden back from the overwhelming guilt he feels over the death of his wife.

While Hayden and Lottie have a marriage in name only, (and more so than other romances I've read), I did find how the two fell in love a little confusing. To me, it seemed like they hardly spent any time together to be able to get to know one another as people. However, the passion between the two is masterfully written. Despite this, ONE NIGHT OF SCANDAL is a novel that was hard to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Plot more suitable for a kids movie than for a romance novel
Review: There are so many things that are wrong with this book that I don't know how I am the first one to give it a bad review.

First: I have trouble believing that a young lady in the night of her debut, with only minutes before the party starts, dressed in her finest, would go climbing out of her bedroom window and trespass into another property just to get a peek at a man that all society comments is a murderer. If by a stretch of the imagination I believe it, there are only two words I can think of to describe such female: foolish and childish. Not a good start.

Second: A Ghost...?! No comments necessary here.

Third: The fact that Hayden would stop having relations with his first wife because he didn't want to get her with child again, and, more astonishing, that he would not get a mistress in all that time is very hard to believe. I have read other books that take place in the same time period or even before, and there seemed to be knowledge of some methods to control pregnancy, other than abstinence. Furthermore, did he plan to go on like this his whole life? What if Justine had not died? Do the author really expects us to believe that a man in his twenties, suposedly passionate and in love with his wife would stand this situation for 6 years, and then 4 more after she died? He must have a very strong will or a very weak sexual drive.

Fourth: I'm really no a stickler for proper forms of address, but the way Allegra was referred to in the Epilogue is wrong. She would be Lady Allegra St.Clair not Lady Allegra Oakleigh.

Fifth: Most of the problems that the lead characters have in this book, could have been solved just by talking to each other openly. No need to overdramatize and complicate everything. For example, if Lottie wanted to get Hayden's attention why didn't she simply sought him out more and tried to get to know him better? The way he ignores her and she does nothing about it gets really old. What did she expect anyway? His undying devotion from the start? They barely knew each other! On the other hand, why Hayden didn't simply explain to her that he had not murdered his first wife? Why would he expect her to belive in his innocence when he had done nothing to defend himself and moreover tries to scare her into thinking him guilty? Again, they were extrangers! To expect such faith from a person that barely knows you is foolish. You can believe in your heart in a person's innocence, but appearances can be deceiving. This is a serious matter, that needed to be addressed openly not something that can be swept under the rug.

Sixth: Why did she left when he told her to if she didn't want to leave? The only reason for her to leave in those circumstances is if she were scared of him, which she wasn't. The sensible thing to do was to stay and try to work things out. They talk so little during the book that at the end I don't feel they know each other much better than they did at the beginning. They seem to go from ignoring each other, to making passionate love, to being separated for months, to making love again.

The only thing good about this book are the love scenes. Those are really hot. But they don't occur until almost the end of the book and there is only a couple of them and on top of that, the second one is concluded by a most ridiculous scream that had me rolling my eyes in exasperation.

I can only assume from the other reviews that Teresa Medeiros has very loyal fans that enjoy this kind of writting, but it is really not my style. I have been wanting to read "A Kiss to Remember" but if this is the kind of stuff I can expect, I'm not sure I'm going to. Specially since I can't trust the reviews.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An excellent read
Review: This book was funny, laced with sexual tension and a definate page-turner. Carlotta (Lottie) is known as a hellion until a final stunt gets her a reluctant husband. Now she is determined to be the perfect wife. Meanwhile, Hayden, her husband, is doing his best to ignore her and his building attraction for his new bride. He is tortured by his first wife and the life they led before she her mental disorder destroyed their family. Medeiros paints a picture of a family torn apart by bipolar disorder - undiagnosed and feared in this 19th century setting. With her usual talent Medeiros shows us the pain and suffering for all those affected by the disease. When Lottie is able to help Hayden and his daughter deal with the loss of their loved one, they are able to let her into their hearts. Which is good because Lottie has loved them since the beginning.
Overall, this was an excellent story, well written with great characters. I now have to go back and read all of Medeiros' books! You won't be disappointed with this one - pick it up!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Definately not Medeiros' best work...
Review: This book was, in a word, ok. That's not usually an adjective I would associate with Teresa Medeiros' writing- usually words like excellent, superb, and gripping apply to her writing. Lately, I've noticed that this author's work has been going slowly downhill. I loved some of her earlier work- like Once An Angel, Thief of Hearts, and Nobody's Darling. However, this book, as well as the Bride and the Beast were so bland that I thought I was reading work by another author. I suppose that if you like really character-oriented stories, without so much situational stuff, you would like this book. Though I'm telling you, it's boring. One of the bigger issues of the story was the conflict between Lottie, Hayden, and Allegra. Just your typical evil stepmother plot, and I hear about these things every day. All the characters were cliched- in fact, the entire plotline had been used before. I took off a star because One Night Of Scandal is almost exactly like Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. I won't waste time retelling the story of Rebecca, but if anyone has read it or seen the movie, you'll understand what I mean. If not, just trust that it's safe to say that this book was boring, cliched, and overall NOT what I would expect from a normally fabulous writer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One Night of Scandal
Review: This story is romance and fairy-tale rolled into one. The characters are real, witty and enjoyable. Her sense of humor sprinkled throughout the book helps to balance the serious undertone. I also enjoyed the way she drew me into the past. You can see, feel and understand how people lived in the nineteenth century. Her writing reminds me of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. (My all time favorite author.) I would strongly suggest this story for anyone wanting to get lost in a good romance.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An entertaining read--
Review: Though this book wasn't exactly a page turner, it did keep my interest throughout the entire book. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was the ghost plotline. Without that, it would have been a much better read. I enjoyed Hayden and his wit though I had trouble with the characters and their chemistry toward each other. It wasn't a disappointing book by any means, but the whole ghost scenario had me a bit put off. However, I think Medeiros is a wonderful author and really enjoyed reading her style of writing. She is very talented and I will read her other books.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: REALLY TOUCHING AND FUNNY!
Review: What I love of Medeiros is her humor and sarcasm slips in her books. But she also has many touching moments that will have a tear creeping out of your tear duct! This is a sequel to "a kiss to remember", though I thought "kiss" was more fun, this is just as good, with funny characters,some heartbreaking moments and very sexy scenes. I could not put the book down until the very end. I also loved the "Fairleigh" family saga continued, hysterical at times. I hope there will be a continuation, the ending surely ended perfectly for another book!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Engaging Gothic Romance
Review: You can rarely go wrong with Teresa Medeiros. Her books are the best of the romantic genre, tending to capture the reader within the first ten pages with a sensational scenario. Her heroines are smart, funny, and vivacious; her heroes are dark, romantic, and soulful; and when they meet, sparks fly!

This latest novel, "One Night of Scandal," seems to be a combination of Jane Austen's "Emma" and Emily Bronte's "Jane Eyre." The heroine, Charlotte, or Lottie, yearns to be a writer but is bound by the time period (1825) to make a respectable marriage. Her curiosity gets the better of her to sneak out of her "coming out party" and spy on her temporary next door neighbor, Hayden Oakleigh, the "Murderous Marquess." Hayden killed his best friend in a duel, and is rumored to have pushed his wife off of a cliff. He sounds very much a villain, but Lottie finds him to be a wounded man, haunted by ghosts not entirely of his own making.

While this story could not quite rival "The Bride and the Best" and "Thief of Hearts," it still captured me from beginning to end, and I gladly took the journey. I even cried at the end, which really surprised me.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a little romance. It's a quick, easy read, and will leave you with a lovely feeling.


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