THE SCANDALOUS FLIRT - Olivia Drake

#6 in the Cinderella Sisterhood Regency Romance series

Opposites attract - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Aurora Paxton was once the belle of the ball, the most sought-after debutante of the season―until a scandalous mistake ruined her. Shunned by her family, Rory was banished to the country to live in disgrace. Now she’s been summoned back to London by her stepmother, who is being blackmailed by the least likely person Rory can imagine: Lucas Vale, Marquess of Dashell.

Writing - 4 stars - After 5 previous novels in this series, it is comfortable to fit back into this group of women who are maneuvered by Lady Milford to find their true loves.

Characters - 4 stars - Rory is a strong-willed and independent character despite living in such a restrictive lifestyle that she is banished for very little. But when her stepmother asks for her help, she has a warm enough heart that she is willing to investigate on her behalf. Lucas is a passionate man who must keep his feelings hidden because he has to do his duty rather than follow his heart.

Title - 4 stars - Pretty self-explanatory. Rory received this moniker when she was caught in a romantic position with a married man. Much of the book revolves around her re-entry into society.

Cover - 4 stars - The cover is fairly typical of the genre, but it also shows a smiling woman in a compromising situation, which is what got her into trouble in the first place.

Overall - 4 stars - Despite some ups and downs, both Rory and Lucas learn to work together. They eventually realize that their feelings are very similar despite their outward appearances. I like the two of them together since they are actually a lot alike underneath the surface veneer.

I have to be in the mood for historical romance, but once I get into it it's always so exciting starting a new story. I was really curious about this author and this series in general. I've heard that others say it's the least favourite in the series, so this makes me really curious about reading the other books as well sometime.

I give it a 3,5 star rating, rounded back to 3 stars I think. Too bad we can't give half star ratings...

This was mostly a read for me that had enjoyable elements, but that I was feeling a bit 'meh' about sometimes as well. The pace was good, the story developed quite nicely so that was a big plus for me. The writing style itself was really nice and definitely has me curious for more that the author has written down. Not sure if I was entirely on par with this MC. Didn't have the bestest connection with her, which makes it harder for me to fully enjoy a story sometimes. Did really like the mysterious honourable hero and he made up for what I couldn't always like about the female MC.

This one will be on my list for recommendations next term. Its a very well written novel. I really enjoyed reading it.

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself looking from the story to the cover at times, hoping to see bits of the story within the cover...something that I enjoy. This is great reading. You will immediately connect with the characters.

Olivia Drake knocks it out of the park again with The Scandalous Flirt. Aurora and Lucas are both great characters and I was quickly rooting for them to get a Happily Ever After.

I've not read this author before, I went into this book with wide non-biased eyes and I liked it, I will definitely be reading more from Olivia Drake.

I really liked the story, the plot was fun and brilliantly detailed, it had a real edgy and fresh feel to it, the character's were hugely likable, they really stood out and commanded the story and every scene, they developed in a real natural way and the reader can become really engrossed into the story right from the off.

I really wanted to love this story, but Lucas was to cold or didn't convinced me in any emotional level, so I couldn't connect with the story or many of its characters. Don't take me wrong, the story has potential, but it wasn't for me.

I highly recommend that if you find it interesting through the book description, just give it a try. It wasn't for me, but it may be for you!!

An advance reader copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion!!

This was.a new author for me and I really loved this book. Entertaining and addictive! If you love historical romance, then I recommend it.

Initially I found this book odd. It has an air of magic/fairy tale to it that isn't in most historical romance books. That said, once it got past the first couple chapters the book got much better. I liked Aurora as a character. While she shares a name with the Disney princess, she is not at all similar to the character. In a lot of ways, Aurora was very sure of herself. At the same time, she still has trouble interacting with others due to her eight years of banishment.

Lucas was a frustrating but otherwise lovable character. He acknowledges to himself that he is head over heels in love with Aurora, but he resists showing that emotion. He has strict beliefs about who he should and shouldn't marry, and Aurora falls strongly in the shouldn't category. However time spent with Aurora goes a long way in changing his mind.

Aurora has some progressive ideas for her time (though it's never actually specified in the book when it takes place). I would have liked to see more of that and more of her writing for the paper.

This was a fun read with a lot of sexual tension and a few sexy times. I also liked the twist in the end and how it changed the characters for the better.

It’s magically delicious! Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I had read some very negative reviews of this book so I started reading with some trepidation. Imagine my delight to find that I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I didn’t interpret the things others had complained about in the same way they did. Yes, there were some things that weren’t acceptable for the Regency period, but she was ‘in disguise’ and she was already a ruined woman anyway.

Eight years ago, Aurora Paxton was a beautiful, lively, intelligent, romantic and very naïve young woman in the middle of her first season. She was always surrounded by a horde of admirers – until everything changed in the blink of an eye. She was caught in a compromising position with a man who had pursued her relentlessly – professing his love. Then, when they were caught and her father demanded marriage, they found out he was married. So, she was banished to live in a small cottage by the sea with her aunt. She was totally banished from society and her family as well.

So here I have to say that I think her father was a huge hypocrite. Aurora always speaks of him as being loving toward her, etc. but I cannot reconcile that with his treatment of Aurora. I can’t explain why I call him a hypocrite with spoiling a part of the story, but his treatment of her just didn’t ring true.

Lucas Vale, Marquess of Dashell, is deeply in debt thanks to his profligate father. All of his life he has done his best to distance himself from acting any way at all like his father. Most people viewed him as stodgy and cold because of his always perfect behavior. He also admired Aurora in that season, but from a distance, because he knew she was too lively and undisciplined to be the right woman for him. So, when the scandal engulfed her and she was shipped off, he wrote her out of his life.

The book blurb makes it sound like Lucas had concocted some wild scheme to bring Aurora back to London so he could rehabilitate her reputation. That is NOT the case. Lucas had nothing to do with bringing her back – he has to marry for money and had already picked out the heiress he planned to make an offer for.

In the first couple of chapters you have – a fairy godmother, a prick from the spindle of a spinning wheel, ruby slippers, and a wicked step-mother. What a mixture of fairy tales. But – after that, those references clear up and it is on to a nice story.

I liked Lucas and Aurora, but Lucas drove me nuts sometimes. I do understand why he kept clinging to marrying the heiress – she was the only way to pay his debts, save his estates and provide for his mother and brother. The poor boy really was caught between a rock and a hard place!

There was an HEA for Aurora’s younger sister included in the book and that was nice. What I wish had also been in the story had been an HEA for Lucas’ brother – maybe with the heiress Lucas was planning to marry and an Epilogue set a year or two later. It would be nice to see the couples and their growing families.

"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

40% DNF — I really tried on this one. I was intrigued by the premise and am a fan of Ms. Drake’s work. I have, in fact, read books 1 & 2 in this series and loved them both.

I am disappointed to say I couldn’t finish this. It was very slow-paced and ultimately not as interesting a twist on her Cinderella Sisterhood series as I had hoped. There is just nothing lovable about either the hero or heroine, nor appealing for them as a match. There is a lovely mystery element to this but I ultimately found this aspect more frustrating that exciting.

I highly recommend the other books in this series, specifically book 1 & 2. I really did enjoy them and can confidently give them 5-stars. You can easily read this series out of order as well. The premise that ties the series together is a widowed matchmaker who lends out her lucky ruby red slippers to deserving young woman in hopes of helping them find true love like she shared with her late husband. It is really a lovely premise.

Please give Olivia Drake a try. She is a wonderful writer. This edition in the series was just not the twist on the premise I was hoping for and fell a little flat for my tastes.

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Any fan of stories that mirror the tale of Cinderella stand a good chance of being charmed and enchanted, not to mention entertained, when they dive into this very fun novel by Ms. Drake. The Scandalous Flirt has just the right amount of balance between humor, emotional engagement and intrigue as it’s woven amongst a very fine romance between to very opposite personalities. Rory, a/k/a Aurora, and Lucas, Marquess of Dashell.

There’s a bit of a mystery going on in trying to find a blackmailer and the sleuth that’s going to solve the puzzle was supposed to be only one person. Inadvertently the hero stumbles upon the case and gets involved. The complications from that pairing provide the impetus for some of the most memorable moments in the novel and provided many chapters of pure entertainment.

The author included some unique characteristics and talents for the main protagonists and I was fascinated. Some provided humor, food for thought or impressed me. Rory’s was pretty cool.

The internal conflicts of an ambitious hero and a shunned heroine are significant because they have the potential to tear them both apart. As can be expected with a solid, well-told romance, love, attitude, duty and volatile bursts of passion draw Lucas and Rory together despite the odds. I really enjoyed how the author wove their falling in love while in pursuit of the truth.

Of course, there are secondary characters that give this tale a fine flavor, Lady Milford being one, Grimshaw for another. The revelation about that man raised my eyebrows. I never saw that one coming. There are a few words out there that could aptly apply to that man, but I’ll refrain from using such language. Then, there is Rory’s sister, Celeste. I wasn’t sure what I expected but it wasn’t to end up liking her as I did. As for Rory’s step-mother – she was classically written, if you know what I mean.

A pleasant development was Luca’s dragon of a mother. I thought her a wonderful touch and I actually had fun meeting her and watching her effect on the people around her. Once again, an avid reader can guess what has a high probability of happening but the author’s clever writing provides for a pleasant and humorous surprise or two.

A reader will not be disappointed with the fairy tale ending. The mystery is solved, the internal conflicts are addressed in a delightful manner and I was treated to some very spicy romantic moments as Lucas and Rory discover they have more in common than they thought. Lust goes a long way to break down barriers and provide opportunities for shenanigans. They sure were fun to read.

This review is pretty barebones considering the vast number of choices I had to write about. There are way too many twists and turns, scenes of adventure, curiosity and the effect of other secondary characters on the hero and heroine to mention them all and do them justice.

The book’s title, The Scandalous Flirt, makes the novel sound shallow and fluffy. It’s not. There is a lot of heart, passion, depth and wonderful character development. There are crafty plots, dubious deals, preconceptions and amazing revelations. In short, this is a wonderful romance with a solid plot, interesting characters brought to life and a hero and heroine I really enjoyed getting to know. This is a wonderful romance novel to get lost in because it’s that good and I heartily recommend reading this story as soon as you can. I’m glad I did.

2.5 stars

I really didn't care for this book - I found the entire story to be unbelievable and didn't really like either Rory or Lucas.

I have read Ms. Drake's work in the past and enjoyed her writing style, but sadly this book just did not work for me.

I enjoyed this story!!! Totally worth ☆☆☆☆☆. I can't wait to read more books from this author.

Review: This is the sixth book in this series that deals with the classic fairy tales. At first I wasn’t sure which fairy tale this story was inspired by. If I had to guess I would choose Sleeping Beauty as it was mentioned a few times about a pricked finger. But it also had ruby slippers…

Lucas says he fell in love with Aurora/Rory eight years ago when she was banished to her aunt’s house because of a scandal with a married man. Of course she didn’t know he was married at the time. So off she goes to reinvent herself (wish I could do that sometime)and a fairy godmother comes into her life gives her some ruby slippers which transport her back to where the scandal happened. Rory lands on Marcus’s doorstep. I found their romance to be lacking. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two of them. It was a little off.

There was a subplot that held a bit of a mystery where there was a potential blackmail. This added something to the story. I don’t know if this was supposed to add to the story because of the lack of a strong romance.

I really liked Rory as she wasn’t one to back done. She showed that she was just as capable as Lucas when it came to well everything. She stood up for herself and her beliefs.

This was a really smooth read that went rather fast. Wasn’t bad even with the lightness of romance and the confusion as far as which fairy tale it followed.

Fairytale story for Rory and Lucas. Very well written and I loved the story line.

I will begin as I always do, by thanking NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing us with a copy of this book so that we could bring you this review. 

This book to me was similar to a second chance love, though it was a second chance at life really. Aurora gets her chance to get back into the good graces of society as well as get back to being who she was always supposed to be. The woman for Lucas. The woman who would bring him joy and peace. Though Lucas never gave himself the chance to show Aurora his feelings when she made her debut years before, he makes sure not to make that same mistake again. Though the reasons she is in his home are not the ones he wishes for he still tries. This was an awesome book about second chances and rising from the ashes. 

I give this book 4 kisses.

Happy Reading... Adri

A historical romance with comedy, romance, and intrigue. The fresh-faced and flirtatious debutante is all grown up and ready to discover true love and passion (even if she doesn't think she wants it!) My favorite part of historical romance is the witty banter between the hero and heroine, and this one has plenty. I found the hero a little cold although he does redeem himself. The plot is great and the secondary characters are hilarious. A great read.

Loved the fairytale connection to this historical romance. From the first page you are drawn into a strong plot of excitement. I loved that Rory was ruined in the eyes of the ton. It was good to read a story where the female is in the wrong. The blurb however is deceiving. Lucas doesn’t try to get her back into the fold. He has his own selfish reasons.

I am normally a huge fan of author Olivia Drake, but THE SCANDALOUS FLIRT, just fell flat for me. I couldn't really get into the storyline or make much connection with the characters. Hopefully, Ms. Drake's next novel will be better. She has written quite a few that I really love!