Eight years ago Aurora Paxton was a sought-after debutante until a scandalous mistake ruined her. She was shunned by her family & banished to live in disgrace. She’s been living with her Aunt in Norfolk until she's summoned back to London by her stepmother Kitty, who is being blackmailed over some incriminating letters which she believes were stolen by the least likely person Rory can imagine: Lucas Vale, Marquis of Dashell.
Lucas is someone Rory's known for years a man as devastatingly handsome as he is coldly disapproving of her. Rory becomes Lucas’ mother’s companion so that she can search for the stolen letters but things, of course don’t go to plan.
A well written very entertaining book. The characters are well drawn & the plot very well paced. I felt sorry for Rory, she’s been shunned for eight years for being ruined but she’s had all of the pain but had none of the pleasure. Lucas has the demeanour of an aloof icy Marquis but underneath he’s any but. The pair decide to track down the thief & blackmailer which leads to some lively encounters, there’s also a runaway, a cantankerous mother & a newspaper column thrown into the mix. I ejoyed the book & look forward to more from the author

Publisher's Description:

Scandal begins with just one kiss. . .

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.

Lucas is someone Rory’s known for years—a man as devastatingly handsome as he is coldly disapproving of her. What in the world could he want from her or her family? Rory intends to find out as soon as she comes face to face with her old foe. What she never expects, however, is that the icy aristocrat has a soft spot for her—and a secret plan to redeem her status. Could it be that Lucas has been in love with Rory all along. . .and has finally found a way to win her heart?

My Thoughts:

This is the third book I have read in this series. I found it impossible to put down. It wash an equal to His Wicked Wish and in this reader's opinion better than Bella and the Beast.
The undeniable mystery and blackmail scheme caught my interest from the start.
Lucas is the first person that Rory's stepmother suspects is her blackmailer. After all the missing letters were written by his now deceased father and he was present in her home when they disappeared.
Rory devises a plan to infiltrate Lucas's household by becoming his mother's companion.
This diversion works initially, but not for long.
This convoluted tale takes us on many twists and turns before finally leading us to the culprits. Yes there is more than one person responsible.
I gave this book 4.5 of 5.0 stars for storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 3.5 of 5.0 flames. Having been burned before our heroine doesn't immediately become intimate with our hero and he is too gentlemanly to force the issue.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I found this book while poking around on NetGalley looking for something new to read. The cover caught my eye – the blue dress is just luscious and the red pop from the shoes seemed to fit the title – The Scandalous Flirt. Yeah, with shoes like that, I bet the heroine IS a scandalous flirt! So, I requested the book and was delighted to receive an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. When I started the book, I quickly realized that it is the 6th book in a series in which I have already read numbers 1, 2, 4. I’m a sucker for a fairytale retelling and enjoy that each of these books works well as a stand alone novel. Though, Lady Milford played more of a fairy godmother/Cinderella in this book than she had in the previous books. She is, however, the only character that carried over (to the best of my knowledge/memory), so it still works very well as a stand-alone book.

And, in general, I liked this book! It is an obvious retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The heroine is named Aurora (Rory to her friends and family) and she even pricks her finger on a spinning wheel. After a rough first season, she has gone through several years of spinsterhood, dormant in the country, and the hero is a past suitor. The plot teams them together to solve a rather silly mystery, but it works as a plot device. Though, really, if either of them were as worried about scandal as they say they are, they would NOT have been posing as lovers all over London, using his real name and an obvious nickname for her, spending time in gardens, or taking the carriage trip at the end of the book. All of those situations would invite scads of scandal. But, otherwise, the plot is full of fairly standard writing tropes, almost comforting in their familiarity, that are cobbled together into a story that works. These included the aforementioned silly mystery to solve, the heroine as secret published author, jilting one lover for another, a night at an inn during a storm, and a swarthy, foreign, villain that has done our heroine ill.

The reason this book gets lower marks from me (3 stars, indicating "I liked it") is for two reasons. The first is because the romance was very poorly paced. They go from being distant memories, to apparently disliking each other, to awkwardly sneaking looks at each other, to all the sudden being in a bed together when they'd barely had a first kiss. For the first 80% of the book we aren’t even sure if they like each other at all. The hero is determined to marry someone else until maybe 94% into the book. Right up until the end, the heroine thinks he only wants her for a mistress. And, for what it is worth, the schmexy scene is very tame. It isn’t very long and involves lots of euphemisms. The second reason is for the “mystery” itself. As we saw in previous installments in the series involving a mystery or theft, the way the blackmail in this book worked out was a bit predictable because of the one-dimensional personalities of an almost mustache twirling worthy villain and the other possible suspects.

So, in general, I liked this book as a bit of fluffy fairy tale retelling, but it may be lacking for someone who is looking for a more traditional historical romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
I was tossed on this book for liking vs meh until the end. Rory is sent away for 8 years for an "indiscretion" that ruined her name. She has a step-mother named Kitty (seriously?) who for all intents and purposes hates her and a step-sister (Celeste aka Ce-Ce) that Rory adores. Kitty has some letters stolen that could ruin the family and Celeste's chances of marriage to a duke twice her age if found out. Lucas is trying to bring the family back from financial ruin the only way possible, marriage to an heiress. The story line was cute and did hold my attention, but the amount of detail the author went into with descriptions of everything (places and feelings) had me skimming paragraphs as I read through. Of course we have an HEA at the end with everyone sorted, I just wish the protagonists would have suffered a bit more.

Aurora was sent away from home because she had been publicly ruined. Now it is 8 years later and her step-mother wants Rory to return to London in order to help get some love letters returned. Kitty, her step-mother is being blackmailed because the letters would create a scandal and ruin Rory's younger sister, Celeste.

Kitty believes that Lucas, the Marquess of Dashell is the blackmailer. She sends Rory to work in his home as a companion to his bed ridden mother.

When Lucas catches Rory searching his room, she admits everything. She explains about the letters, and the blackmail and the fact that Kitty has already given a diamond necklace to the blackmailer. Now there is a new demand for cash.

Rory and Lucas knew one another 8 years ago when she was first presented to the ton. All that was before her scandal and being sent to the country to live with her Aunt Bernice.
Rory found Lucas to be cold and Lucas became “besotted” by Rory. But, since Rory's being sent away, the two of them have not seen or spoken to one another.

This is an interesting plot. Rory and Lucas become a team of investigators. The letters written to Kitty were written by Lucas' father while he was married to Lucas' mother. Slowly but surely, Rory and Lucas are drawn to one another and there is a high level of lust but also an attraction of personalities. The two of them share intelligence, a sense of honor and a sense of humor.

I liked Rory and Lucas and I could understand why each of them behaved as they did. There were several characters who did not appeal to me. Kitty was not anyone I would ever want in my life. Nearly everyone else became people who cared and supported both Rory and Lucas.

This is the first book I have read by Ms Drake. Although this is part of a series, it worked as a stand alone read for me.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

This historical romance is very loosely based on the fairytale Sleeping Beauty.  The blurb sounded intriguing but the story itself didn't live up to what I expected from this story.

I really didn't feel much romance in this story. Rory is trying to discover who is blackmailing her annoying stepmother. She didn't seem to really like her, so I found it quite a stretch that she would go to any lengths to find out who it is.

Lucas is an odd man. Seems to like Rory, but is constantly putting her down.  Who needs that business??  I found him very stiff and aloof.  I didn't understand how he supposedly fell in love with her and then left her alone for eight years?? He comes back, is obsessed, but also in denial of said feelings!

Even though the story was continually moving, it unfortunately didn't quite feel like a romance to me. I never felt any connection to either character and how they were in love was a struggle to buy into. Rory seemed way to smart to even give Lucas a chance given how awful he was to her at times.

For those of you who are looking for a quick read, this may work for you, but for me, I felt it was just a run of the mill historical.

reviewed by Deb

Lucas, our hero, hides a somewhat insecure and uncertain character behind a cold abruptness. Yet despite all this, Drake adeptly crafts him into a likable character and a good foil for our heroine, Aurora. I think the main storyline was slightly overwrought, and things tied up a little too neatly at the end - but it was still a fun and satisfying read.

Olivia Drake's Cinderella Sisterhood keeps improving. This is just a lovely story of a young woman's second chance after a scandalous mistake. The fairy godmother, of course, makes her appearance and leaves the special shoes, giving this a magical quality. Again, we see how different the rules were for women -- an-almost seduction can ruin a debutante, which is what happened to Aurora Paxton. She was exiled to the country and only brought back to help her stepmother avoid blackmail. What a heroine, with the supposed blackmailer (true hero) a great match. Drake peppers her romance with an intriguing mystery and solid secondary characters. I really enjoyed this book. (I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for my honest review.)

Miss Aurora Paxton was sent away from London by her stepmother after a "scandalous affair" with an Italian diplomat. Aurora is summoned back to London to help solve a mystery involving her stepmother's reputation. Rory has been shunned by high society but she manages to become close to Lord Lucas Vale, Marquess of Dashell as he helps her solve the case. Great characters and a good story make this book a great addition to the Historical Romance genre.

The Scandalous Flirt by Olivia Drake will be available October 31, 2017 by St. Martin's Press. An egalley of the book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I absolutely loved this historical regency romance. Aurora (Rory) Paxton is a fallen woman, outcast from society and sent to live with her old aunt, in the country, in shame. However when a thief blackmails her stepmother Rory is brought back to London to help find out who it is and recover the stolen items. This throws her into the path of Lord Lucas Vale the Marquess of Dashall, the suspected blackmailer. However, it becomes clear early in the plot that it is not him. As his family has a reputation to lose should the blackmailer go public he joins forces with Miss Paxton to expose the villains and recover the evidence. This is a brilliant story, full of lust and longing along with intrigue, mystery and adventure. It is well written with some lovely characters, it hooked me from the very beginning and I read it in about 48 hours. I will now seek out more by this author and look forward to the next one.

Scandal begins with just one kiss. . .

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.

Lucas is someone Rory’s known for years―a man as devastatingly handsome as he is coldly disapproving of her. What in the world could he want from her or her family? Rory intends to find out as soon as she comes face to face with her old foe. What she never expects, however, is that the icy aristocrat has a soft spot for her―and a secret plan to redeem her status. Could it be that Lucas has been in love with Rory all along. . .and has finally found a way to win her heart?

Aurora Paxton had it all. Beautiful, vivacious – having the time of her life during her first season. That all came to a crashing halt when she was found in a compromising position with an Italian diplomat, Stefano. When her father demanded that Stefano marry Rory, Stefano admitted to having a wife back in Italy. Rory was devastated that the man she thought loved her had lied to her. Then her father and stepmother banished her from London and off she went to live with her aunt in Norfolk. That was eight years ago.

When a Lady Milford shows up at her aunt’s house unexpectedly and tells Rory that her stepmother needs her help, Rory is skeptical as her aunt dislikes her intensely. Then Lady Milford mentions that not only is her stepmother being blackmailed but that Rory’s sister, Celeste, is getting married to a duke in a month – a man that Rory thinks is way too old for her sister.

Rory heads to London and after talking with her stepmonster…uh, I mean stepmother, she heads off to work as a companion to the Marchioness of Dashell, the current Marquesses mother who is bedridden. Rory’s stepmother believes that the Marquess, Lucas Vale, is the one that stole the letters and is blackmailing her. While working as a companion Rory will be able to search the house for the missing letters. Rory remembers the Marquess as being a stuffy prig and he proves he still is – for a bit. The longer that Rory is in the household the clearer she sees that Lucas isn’t as stuffy as she originally believed. When Rory determines that Lucas isn’t behind the blackmail he agrees to help her find the true culprit which pushes the pair together.

The Scandalous Flirt is a book inspired by a fairy tale. Lady Milford has enchanted slippers that supposedly bring the wearer to their true love. When Rory heads back to London Lady Milford hands over the shoes for Rory to wear. Now, I know that the whole premise of the fairy tale is that the enchanted slippers were supposed to bring Rory to her true love but that was mostly Lady Milford and the stepmother pushing Rory toward Lucas. Yes, Rory wore the shoes but really, I didn’t feel they had anything to do with it and they were only mentioned a couple of times in the book. Lucas had been smitten with Rory eight years earlier and with them in close contact constantly they were bound to get closer. Since this is based on a fairy tale I just wish that it had been more fairy tale-ish. But that’s me. :)

While I liked Lucas by the end of the story, he wasn’t a soft man and for most of the book I was on the shelf as to whether I actually liked him or not. I did believe he truly loved Rory and was happy they ended up together in the end.

Rory and I had a love hate relationship. There were things I liked about her, definitely, but sometimes her stubbornness and I-am-woman-hear-me-roar ways drove me a bit batty. I understand she was a feminist and that was awesome but there were occasions in the book where what she thought of as feminism was her just being reckless and yes, I’ll say it, stupid.

The romance wasn’t typical in this book but it was good. I liked Rory and Lucas together and they played well off of each other. I was happy that Lucas went for the poor, scandalous girl in the end.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Miss Aurora (Rory) Paxton has been banished to the countryside with her aunt for a moment of indiscretion during her debut season. It's been 8 long years before her step-mother asks for her help in retrieving some stolen love letters. Aurora agrees to help and secures a post in Lord Dashell's household as a companion for his mother. Lucas Vale, the cold-hearted, Marquess of Dashell is the top culprit of the theft and Rory is determined to find those letters.

I didn't find this book to be a fairytale retelling although there is a few mentions of Rory feeling "asleep" for the past 8 years of exile. The book is a quick read. While there were a few surprising moments, I didn't really connect with Lucas. He held his emotions so much in check, that it was hard to imagine that he'd loved Rory since her debut. Where was he during her exile? I did enjoy Rory's feisty personality and her modern beliefs that women should be treated equally especially in terms of education.

As usual olivia drake has written another wonderful book love all her books, this is a must read once I started you'd not put it down

The sixth book in the Cinderella Sisterhood series begins delightfully with Lady Aurora (Rory) Paxton receiving a pair of slippers from what appears to be the ‘fairy godmother’. Rory has been banished to the countryside to live with her aunt due to a scandalous event with an Italian diplomat during her debut season. She is told that her stepmother is being blackmailed and that it will have an impact on the upcoming wedding of her sister. Given her strong affection for her sister, Rory returns to London. Believing Lucas, the Marquess of Dashell to be the blackmailer, Rory obtains work as his mother’s companion. However, Lucas has always been besotted with Rory but must marry for money to save the family. It soon appears that Lucas is not to blame and he and Rory join forces to uncover the true blackmailer.
At first, Lucas seems so determined to rebuff Rory but the gradual development in the relationship between Lucas and Rory was well delivered. The harsh blows dealt to Rory have also made her quite bristly so her gradual softening to Lucas was welcoming. The friendship between Lucas’ mother and Rory’s aunt was also quite comical and very entertaining. This romance in its Cinderella type tale, make one smile by the end.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

After trusting the wrong man, Aurora “Rory” Paxton’s only season came to an abrupt end. She is sent to live with her widowed aunt by her father and wicked step-mother. A twist of fate brings Lady Milford and a pair of slippers that have brought love to five other girls. Rory is soon on her way back to London to face the man her step-mother thinks is blackmailing the family, Lucas Vale, the Marquess of Dashell.

Rory is hired to be a companion to the Marchioness of Dashell, Lucas’ stubborn mother. Lucas remembered the intense attraction he had for the vivacious Rory during her first season. He couldn’t bring himself to act on it then, but having her so close might just bring him a second chance he never knew he wanted. As Rory and Lucas clash in the best ways, sparks fly and tempers flare into passion like neither have felt before.

I absolutely adored Rory from page one. After having her life and prospects basically destroyed, her father dying, and her step-mother hardly acknowledging her existence, she is strong enough to come to London to extinguish the blackmail threats to save her sister’s engagement. I loved the sparing between Lucas and Rory. Lucas was a little harder to love, but once that hard shell broke away bit by bit, I was entranced by his passion for his family and the lengths he goes to for love.

The sixth book in the Cinderella Sisterhood series is just as enchanting as the rest. Drake takes the tale of Cinderella and creates so many magnificent stories all with ladies of different backgrounds and personalities. I am excited to read more from Olivia Drake as soon as possible!

Three stars. It was a bit uneven for me. I liked the first half of the book better than the second half. I liked Rory as the writer, the wrongfully banished young miss, the loving older sister, and the companion with a backbone. I don’t like it when she’s being a ninny. She straddles the line between being intrepid and being TSTL, always getting herself into dangerous situations then relying on Lucas to rescue her.

Lucas is underdeveloped as well. He is hurtful to Rory, calling her names, but claims that he has been in love with her since they met eight years ago. He is inconsistently described. One day, he’s a pompous ass, another day he can’t say no to Rory. Their relationship lacked balance. They are not evenly matched.

Some of the secondary characters are better than others. Lady Milford is okay as the fairy godmother. The aunt and the marchioness are a hoot. Ce Ce is tolerable. The butler and the maid are unnecessary. Stefano is expectedly sleazy. The stepmother though was an unredeemable witch.

There are a lot of cliches (true love’s kiss, really?) and everything is predictable including the aunt saving the day in the end. It would have been more intriguing if the marquess was actually forced to sell off a couple of castles to get by instead of staying well-off.

Overall, I can say it’s passable.

4.5 stars - Very nice indeed! The heroine, Rory, had a youthful indiscretion that found her banished to the country, caring for an elderly aunt. The hero, Lucas, the Marquess of Dashell, has a mountain of debt that can only be conquered by marrying a wealthy heiress and availing himself of her fortune. The two meet after a respected lady, who also happens to be a self-prescribed matchmaker and busy body, sets a meeting in motion. What follows is a captivating story about duty, family indiscretions, and love ruling the day.

It's a real treat with a bit of mystery and a little surprise at the end. I recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sorry folks but this is not a romance book, no way. Lucas was a horrible person, he claimed he loved the heroine yet forgot about her for 8 years? huh and then, when she does come back you are not even nice to her..no no no. Aurora get some self respect.., even though she also annoyed me.

Thanks St. Martin's Press and netgalley for this ARC.

Thinking her life was over and giving herself up for a spinser, these sisters have to fight for the perfect love and life they deserve. Love the way Olivia Drake makes her ruby red slippers give each heroine her own unique love story.

This story had many entertaining elements....a "fairy godmother" like character wielding magical slippers, a mysterious blackmailer, and a lot of family drama and secrets. It also had a romance between two unlikely characters, Aurora Paxton who was "ruined" in her first season and Lucas Vale, a gentleman desperate to overcome the shadow of his father's wild ways by acting proper at all times. All of this provided a very fun, full read.

I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.