A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara
In Ashlyn Macnamara’s stunning romance debut—perfect for fans of Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Sabrina Jeffries—two childhood friends in Regency England discover love with the most unlikely of partners: each other.
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.
My Opinion:
I am biased about this, because the author has one of the most fascinating family-names, and I kind of want to marry her so I should probably only say nice things about A Most Scandalous Proposal.
The thing is, if I were to talk about the first third, there are few things I could actually criticise: The characters introduced were interesting and relatable, the established relationships are humorous and entertaining. I very much liked the way the already existing friendship between Julia and Revelstoke, and especially how their acquaintances seemed to root for them. It was adorable. I also connected to the beta-couple, Julia’s sister Sophia and Highgate.
But after mentioned first third, it went downhill. The initially witty and charming characters quickly became harder to like and enjoy. When Revelstoke intentionally manipulated Julia -giving her alcohol, using her sleepyheadedness to his adventage- and she ended up being “demure” of all things in the good last third of the novel, I gave up on the two of them. I had hoped for them to be intimate, instead all they had was sex.
Sophia and Highgate, too, didn’t live up to their potential. I think I have an issue with how the men used their position as men against the women in their lives, be it Highgate against his sister, or both Revelstoke and Highgate against the St.Claire heroines. It’s not a charming or protective “I’m the man, I’m supposed to take care of you.”, but a “Well, you can’t even vote, better go now and hush.” which.. is definitely not my cup of tea.
I do think that those are things the author could avoid in the future, and given the fact that this is her debut-novel, I’m definitely interested in what she’ll dish out next. The writing was good, and though I didn’t like it, there was obvious character-development, something I love in my romances. ;)
In Short:
A very promising debut-novel, that made me put Ashlyn Macnamara on my list of authors to keep an eye on. My issues with this novel are rather personal, so I would recommend giving A Most Scandalous Proposal a try.
