Historical Romance Review: A Most Scandalous Proposal

A Most Scandalous Proposal

by Ashlyn Macnamara
Review by Kathleen Bittner-Roth

About the Book

After watching her beloved sister Sophia pine over the ton’s Golden Boy for years, Miss Julia St. Claire has foresworn love and put herself firmly on the shelf. Unfortunately, her social-climbing mother and debt-ridden father have other ideas, and jump at the chance to marry Julia off to the newly-named Earl of Clivesden…the man of Sophia’s dreams.

Since resigning his Cavalry commission, Benedict Revelstoke has spent his time in London avoiding the marriage mart. But when he discovers that the Earl of Clivesden has set Julia in his sights, Benedict tries to protect his childhood best friend from the man’s advances—only to discover more than friendship driving his desire to defend her. He surprises them both with the force of his feelings, but when she refuses him and her father announces her betrothal, he fears he’s lost her forever—until Julia approaches him with a shocking scheme that will ruin her for all respectable society…

…and lead them into an exquisite world of forbidden pleasures.

Review

Debut Author Ashlyn Macnamara has hit a home run her first time at bat with her Regency novel A MOST SCANDALOUS PROPOSAL. When two sisters, Julia and Sophia St. Claire, invite you into their colorful world, the detail the author injects into the characters is so captivating, you’ll have trouble putting the book down. Macnamara takes you into the heart of even the least significant of secondary characters with such graceful ease, before you realize it, you’re lost not only in a well-crafted story, but you’ll want to highlight both the clever repartee between hero and heroine, and the lovely prose so you can revisit the sisters long after you’ve turned the last page. Some have compared this story to Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility, but I’d wager when the reader gets to some of the hot love scenes, Austin is history.

The story jumps off the page in the first two paragraphs with the Earl of Clivesden placing a wager for Julia’s hand. He’s a gorgeous but deceitful person, one her sister, Sophia, thinks is the only man for her. By the end of the chapter, you’ll be so engrossed in the story, you’ll be hoping Clivesden meets with a rather unfortunate accident so the two sisters can get on with meeting the loves of their lives.

Here’s an author who’ll be on my “must read” list for a very long time. I suspect she’ll be on yours as well. A MOST SCANDALOUS PROPOSAL is available February 26^th.  Her sequel A MOST DEVLISH ROGUE IS due in August.  Check out her website for a couple of hot book covers and an even hotter book trailer:  http://ashlynmacnamara.net/

Well done, Ashlyn Macnamara.