A Most Scandalous Proposal
by Ashlyn MacnamaraReview 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 26th. 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.
