I was provided with an ARC of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast-paced romance about a girl with ambition and a boy that has none. They are sworn enemies until they are forced to collaborate in order to escape the noose of an arranged marriage orchestrated by their parents.
Daisy hates Theodore for his limelight seeking, frivolous ways and blames him for her wallflower status and horrid nickname. Theodore thinks she is arrogant and stand-offish.
When they are forced to scratch beneath the surface of their perceptions, the sparks fly.

This is book two in the Gilded Age Girls club series. It is a story based in the Gilded age in Manhattan. I had loved the fierce and brave Adeline from the first book and then I met Daisy in this book. To say that I adored her character will be an understatement. She is bold, willing to take risks and enterprising even with all the slights she has received from the society. The thing about having strong and fierce heroines is that they need equally amazing heroes to be their partners and but of course, Theo doesn't disappoint. A story that starts with the enemies to friends to lovers trope, brings in drama, joy, romance and triumph. I highly recommend reading this book as part of a series as you don’t want to miss Adeline and Brandon's amazing and heartwarming romance.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Daisy is fierce and determined. Theo is searching for purpose. This is a lovely story giving voice to the many ways women successfully changed things in America at the end of the 19th century. Some were lucky to find loving and supportive partners to assist them along the way but for most it was just an underground sisterhood that made the difference. This is a great story defining that period.

Miss Daisy Swan never did want to get married! She always dreamed of being a business woman and being single forever. However, Miss Daisy has also always been considered an ugly duckling! In fact, she was taunted from childhood and called Ugly Duck Daisy! And the number one person who taunted her was Mr. Theodore Prescott the Third, the blond haired, blue eyed handsome school mate of hers. Of course the two are both single years later and their parents force them into an engagement. Cute story but I got a little tired of the plot. The story was slow and a little redundant.

Heat Factor: Their first kiss is distinctly underwhelming, but don’t worry! It gets much better.
Character Chemistry: Completely believable, as enemies and as friends and as lovers
Plot: Our parents want us to get married, so let’s have a fake engagement to get them off our backs! Seems like a solid plan.
Overall: Fun AND fabulous AND feminist! Definitely worth reading.

Sometimes, when I read historical romance featuring a really overtly feminist heroine, I find myself frequently annoyed at the anachronisms. Obviously, yes, there have always been women who have shunned the dictates of society - but how many of them have done so thoroughly, and then also married Dukes? (Maybe this is a question for the Duke Project.)

In the case of Some Like it Scandalous, however, the feminism absolutely works, because Rodale balances the activism of her heroine (and friends) with discussions that they have about respectability and the importance of reputation. The women here are absolutely breaking boundaries, but they acknowledge the importance of working within the dictates of society. They won’t just throw off their chains willy-nilly - partially because doing so would make life more difficult, but partially because doing so would make their activism more difficult. It’s much harder to dismiss the respectable wife of a prominent clergyman than it is to dismiss a woman on the fringes.

Let’s back up a bit. Daisy Swan is twenty-five, and almost finished with her degree in chemistry from Barnard. In a year, she will be hopelessly on the shelf, and therefore free to live the life of a spinster and pursue her dream of starting her own business. However, fate intervenes - or, more accurately, her mother does - and she finds herself pushed towards marriage with one Theodore Prescott the Third, a young man about town who jumps from one scandal to the next, and who Daisy happens to loathe with the fire of a thousand burning suns. After all, Theo saddled her with a nasty nickname when they were kids, and even though a dozen years have passed, people still quack at her in ballrooms. You see, this Ugly Duck sadly never became a Swan.

Theo is none too happy about the match either. He doesn’t actively hate Daisy the way she hates him, but he doesn’t much care for her, because he feels like he’s always judging him for being pretty and insubstantial. (Honestly, she probably is.) She makes him feel inferior, just because he likes society and gossip and making people laugh and pretty things. But his father thinks that marriage to a sensible girl will help Theo settle down, because that last scandal was just too much. And if Theo doesn’t - well, he doesn’t need that trust fund any more, now does he?

So Daisy and Theo have a believable backstory as to why they dislike each other. Neither of them wants to get married, but they both face enormous parental pressure to do so. Their solution: pretend to be engaged, so that her mother and his father will leave them alone, and use the intervening time to figure out an alternate solution to their various family woes.

Daisy’s big plan to get out of marriage is to start a business selling complexion cream. She may not be very pretty, but she does have absolutely fabulous skin, so she knows she has a good product. (Old Family Recipe + Training in Chemistry = Magic, I guess.) If she can make a go of it and actually support herself, there’s no need for marriage. The only problem is that it’s a hard sell. Only actresses and ladies of the night wear stuff on their face. A Lady might use a concoction made by her maid, but would NEVER be seen actually purchasing it.

Enter Theo, who jumps at the opportunity to go into business with her. If he can prove himself to his father by becoming a successful entrepreneur, then he won’t need marriage to settle him down. And his skill set is uniquely complimentary to Daisy’s for the purpose of selling beauty products. She is a great chemist, but he knows how to make things appealing to women - he is good at things like pithy taglines and pretty packaging and getting people to like him. They are ideal complimentary business partners, and working together gives them a believable transition from mutual dislike to mutual respect to mutual desire and affection.

Let’s circle back around to the question of feminism, because the business angle is where the feminist discussions really work. Since, given the time period, no respectable woman would wear make-up, how can Daisy sell this product and remain respectable? This leads to some impassioned debates among her friends - a society of progressive women, determined to change the world - about the demarcation of women’s space and how to press outward from the boundaries set around them by men. And perhaps make-up, which may make the wearer feel more confident in moving about in public, is one tool in the feminist toolbox.

Theo’s participation in the business also leads to some less overt feminist musings about what industry and entrepreneurship mean, as he confronts the fact that his father - a macho stereotype who, in another romance novel, would be the romantic lead, with his rugged good looks and his steel buildings and his oodles of money and his imperious ways and his dead wife (Erin would love him!) - doesn’t see any benefit to a product that caters to women.

Since this is a romance novel, I should probably comment a bit more on the actual romance. First, I thought that Rodale did an exceptional job of slowly transitioning our hero and heroine from disliking each other to loving each other. Second, I deeply appreciated the fact that Theo and Daisy had to practice a bit before things really gelled for them physically. To be blunt: Daisy trains Theo to pleasure her the way she wants to be pleasured, which is how it works if you want a good sex life. And finally, I did start getting worried at about the 75% mark that Daisy and Theo would end up married through inertia, as they can’t really come up with a good plan to stop the wedding, and neither of them really wants to at this point, and Daisy’s mom is running full steam ahead on the planning - but doing so would mean that they never actually had to fully talk about or embrace their relationship. Luckily, Rodale has some tricks up her sleeve (without resorting to unrealistic melodrama), which meant that the resolution had Daisy and Theo together fully of their own volition.

There are a few hiccups in the writing early on which make the early chapters a bit repetitive. For example, Daisy lists examples of other successful women three times in the first few chapters - “And those were just the ones that Daisy knew” (repeated almost verbatim in Chapters 1 and 3). However, once the story gets cracking and Daisy and Theo start snarking at each other (“How are we going to not get married?... I should think it’s easy. We just don’t do it.” / “You shouldn’t think. It doesn’t suit you. It’ll give you wrinkles on that pristine and perfect forehead of yours.”) and then actually talking to each other and working towards a common cause of mutual disentanglement, I stopped noticing repetitions like this because I was too busy having fun with the story.

And, bottom line: it’s fun. So much fun.



I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

SOME LIKE IT SCANDALOUS by Maya Rodale is book Two in The Gilded Age Girls Club Series. This is the story of Daisy Swan and Theodore 'Theo' Prescott. I have read the previous book but fee this can be a standalone book.
Theo and Daisy knew each other when the where younger where Theo teased her about her looks. This set in motions her feeling that she would never marry, that she would become her own person and not what society puts on her. But now in the present day her mother is urging her to marry Theo because of a possible scandal. Theo has been taken to task again about his father about another scandal caused by him is his father's last straw, now his choice is to marry Daisy or else.
I enjoyed their story and of course Ms. Rodale's writing.

I flew through Duchess by Design, the first book in Maya Rodale's Gilded Age Girls' Club series, a couple of months ago, and was super excited to pick up this second installment. Some Like it Scandalous is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance, filled with all the sparkling wit and sizzling chemistry a romance reader could ask for.

Daisy Swan is on the verge of being declared firmly on the shelf by New York society, but contrary to popular opinion, she's not at all bothered by her lack of a serious suitor. Instead, she looks forward to devoting her time to the study of chemistry, which has been her great passion for the past several years. She has dreams of one day developing a line of cosmetics for respectable women, so there's simply no room for marriage in her plans. But when her father loses the family fortune through some rather shady investments, Daisy's mother informs her that she must marry, and to make matters worse, the man she is to wed is none other than Theodore Prescott, the man Daisy has sworn to hate for the past twelve years.

Theo is no stranger to scandal. As the eldest son of a steel magnate, he's managed to flit from one exploit to another with very little thought to the consequences of his abominable behavior, but now, he's taken things just a bit too far. It seems he was caught riding a stolen racehorse, and his father has finally had enough. The elder Mr. Prescott has decided that his son needs a wife to help keep him in line, and he's decided that Daisy is the perfect candidate.

When they were children, Theo mocked Daisy horribly, which resulted in her becoming somewhat of a social outcast. Since then, the two have done their best to avoid one another, so they’re stunned and more than a little dismayed at the prospect of being forced into marriage, but neither of them is sure how to get out of it. They agree to pretend to be engaged while they come up with a foolproof plan to call off the wedding without doing irreparable harm to Daisy's reputation.

I was fully prepared to dislike Theo. He treated Daisy badly when they were children, and I wasn't sure Ms. Rodale would be able to redeem him, but my fears were totally unfounded. He doesn't change into a warm, caring man overnight, but he does grow quite a bit over the course of the novel. I loved his willingness to own his mistakes and his attempts to become a better person. He doesn't always get it right, but the strides he makes felt completely authentic to me.

Daisy is an utter delight. She's smart and driven to succeed, character traits that set her apart from most other high society ladies. She knows what she wants, and she's determined to do whatever she has to in order to achieve her dreams. I was drawn to her right from the start of the novel, and as things progressed and I became aware of her vulnerabilities, I found myself liking her even more.

I don't always have a lot of patience for couples who start out as enemies but eventually fall in love. I often find it hard to buy into the idea that all the bad feelings have slipped away in the face of true love, but Ms. Rodale made me believe in Daisy and Theo as a couple. Their attraction is plain to see, even when they're doing their best to ignore it, their verbal sparring made me giggle, and the sexual tension sizzles just beneath the surface of their every interaction. There are some definite obstacles in the way of their HEA, but they manage to overcome them in a way that feels believable.

If historical accuracy is important to you, Some Like it Scandalous might not be the book for you. Some of the language feels a bit too modern and the overall tone of the story feels just a little too politically correct for the 1890s. Even so, I enjoyed every minute I spent with Theo and Daisy, and I definitely plan to read the third book in the series as soon as it's released.

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Theo has been told by his father that he has to marry or he will be cut off. His father is tired of his dissolute ways and thinks that marriage will tame him. Daisy's father has done some shady dealings that are about to be revealed and her mother thinks that marriage will save Daisy's reputation.

Neither thought they would marry for love, but neither can stand the other. This stems back to something that happened in their childhood. The work out a plan to get engaged, but to end it in the future. But as they spend time together, they realize that they actually do like the other. Soon they realize that those feelings are even stronger. Can this sham of an engagement turn into the real thing?

I loved Daisy and Theo's story!! I loved watching them bicker with each other and then to fall in love! Rodale did a wonderful job with this enemies to lovers story!

This series by Maya Rodale is so different. I am really enjoying it. This story is about Daisy Swan and Theodore Prescott III.
Daisy is a debutante, who is extremely smart. But unlike her sisters , she is not considered a beauty. In fact as a teen in school, she is given the nickname the ugly duck. Given to her by her nemesis in school, Theodore Prescott III.
Theodore is a shallow, self centered rogue. He lives his life for pleasure. He has gotten into many scrapes. This last one has his father taking drastic action. His father arranges a marriage for him.
Daisy's mother is concerned that Daisy, who's focus is on her education, will never marry. So she arranges a marriage for her.
What will happen when these two find out what their parents have done?
It was a great story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I thank Netgalley for a free copy and a chance to review this book.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

When they were children, Theodore Prescott the Third, of one of the richest families in Manhattan, called Daisy Swan a horrible name. It was so bad, in fact, that she has never forgotten it - nor forgiven him. Theo has recently experienced an incredible scandal and the only way to save face is to marry someone with respect. The best woman for this, encouraged by both families, is none other than Daisy. Her family is facing scandal, but most are unaware of that fact.

How can the two of them work this out? It is more than clear that they still hate each other all these years later. However, Daisy has taken on a huge endeavor, and it seems that Theo is just the man that can help her with it. She has developed a product for women. Daisy is a brilliant scientist, but not very creative when it comes to marketing, so Theo is sure with his ideas, he can get her business off the ground.

Theo and Daisy come to an agreement. They will pretend to be in love and engaged to quiet their families. This will obviously further her business, while at the same time helping Theo overcome his scandal. It doesn't take them very long to realize that there is indeed a thin line between love and hate and that, just maybe, they might be attracted to one another. Are they indeed suited to be a couple slated to find true love?

When attraction and a few sizzling kisses are getting in the way, Daisy maintains that she does not actually want to marry. At some point, obviously, she begins to rethink her decision. At the very least, she would like to finish getting her degree. As a woman in the 1890s, this is rather unusual, but yet it is something that Daisy excels at. Getting married might put that goal in jeopardy.

Just like the first book in the series, A Duchess by Design, the rights of women are explored. I definitely enjoyed watching both women in this series work towards achieving personal goals despite the limits of society. One scene that really grabbed my attention is that where a group of women go to dine alone. In that day and age, it simply wasn't done. At least one man had to accompany women. Watching the women stand up to what they felt they had a right to was just a sampling of what this book deals with.

The third book in the series, An Heiress to Remember, is set for release in March, 2020. I look forward to the next heroine in the series and learning even more about the Gilded Age.

Many thanks to Avon and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for an honest opinion.

Theo is a shallow pretty boy who only wants attention from his father. Daisy is a plain, strong, intelligent girl who hates him because he gave her the name Ugly Duck when she first came out. Like her namesake last name of Swan, she goes from an ugly ducking to a beautiful woman. I like hated enemy to beloved friend stories. I found the cosmetic industry part of the story very interesting. I received an ARC for my honest review.

This is truly a gem of a book. I cannot say enough good things about it. I loved it from the first word to the very last. Enemies to lovers story always grab my, but this is probably one of the best I’ve read in a historical setting. Daisy isn’t your typical heroine which I found so refreshing. She was very relatable and unapologetically owned who she was. Theo comes off as just a pretty face and shallow, but he had more depth than many heroes I’ve read lately. These two characters truly hated each other and they’re put into the most unlikely circumstance. I loved the back and forth banter between them. It starts out cutting (still funny) but turns into playful and absolutely hilarious as Daisy and Theo get to know each other and walls come down. I loved that they developed a true connection over time and weren’t immediately taken with each other. They each get to know the real person under who they thought they knew and it made the story so enriching and real. I could feel the chemistry and admiration realistically growing between them as the book progressed and it made the fall so much more meaningful. I particularly loved Daisy and the empowering voice (along with some wonderful secondary women) she brought to this story. That her love saw her worth and backed up her dreams just made it that much better.

This was an okay book, it started out interesting but I lost interest and had to force myself to not skip through parts. I liked that they did not instantly fall in love, but the whole hate each other and forced to have a fake engagement was a bit much.

Maya Rodale made every girl that has ever felt like Daisy happy with this book. Theo and Daisy are exact opposites who come to know one another and find that there is more to a person and outside looks. I loved this book and couldn't put it down,

It has been a while since I have read one of Ms. Rodale’s stories and before I read this book, I went into my stack of TBR books and pulled out Duchess by Design to read. I had forgotten how witty and easy her reads are that time flies by before you know it you are done. Even though these stories are about women and their wanting to be treated as equals, I thought the crux of the story was Theo. He is a pretty boy who is thought of as a pretty boy and he wants people (and his father) to know that he is intelligent and can make things happen even if they are not what others expect of him. Theo really grew on me and I love him.

Theodore Prescott the Third is celebrated for being one of Manhattan’s Rogues of Millionaire Row. His reputation precedes him wherever he goes. Adored for his good looks and wit, he has yet to make an error in society. Unfortunately, Theo's latest adventure landed him in a scandal. The only way out is to marry Daisy Swan, the girl he is responsible for giving the horrid nickname, the Ugly Duckling.

Daisy Swan has dreams and ambitions, and they most certainly don't include someone like Theo. She suggests a pretend engagement, then they will go their separate ways. What begins as a false partnership soon evolves into more. Daisy couldn't ask for anything better than Theo as her partner after the successful launch of her new skin care line. Or could she?

I love the title for the series, THE GILDED AGE GIRLS CLUB, but SOME LIKE IT SCANDALOUS is not one of my favorites by author Maya Rodale. It is mostly due to the hero of the story, which I thought wasn't quite right for Daisy. Surely in the all the time he's known or been around Daisy, he could have been a little nicer to her. Instead, he's kept the jokes surrounding her going for years. Daisy I liked. She had plans for her life that didn't involve marriage, and she had them all worked out until her father ruined it all. Theo does redeem himself throughout the story, but I still feel he wasn't as attentive to Daisy as he should have been. They could have been happy together sooner had he pulled his head out of his butt, LOL. But, what a satisfying ending! I give SOME LIKE IT SCANDALOUS 3.5 stars.

This ticks all the boxes: slightly cheesy historical romance? Check. Dashing male lead? Check. Strong female character? Check. Fast moving plot? Check. Maya Rodale puts out great books time and time again, and this one did not disappoint.

I really loved this book - Daisy and Theo are such an amazing couple and I LOVED their banter.
Daisy Swan has never been considered pretty, unlike her gorgeous mother and sister, but she is smart and believes in herself. She has also hated Theodore Prescott the Third since she was 13 years old and he gave her the nickname Ugly Duck Daisy, on that day she decided three things, she will never marry, she will find a way to cut ties with society and she will hate Theo until the day she dies.

12 years later at 25 Daisy is still not pretty, but she is in college and hopes to get a degree in chemistry, be declared a spinster and start a cosmetics company. Her plans are progressing nicely until her mother demands that she marry and not just anyone - Theo the Worst (as Daisy likes to call him) - her mother explains that her father is up to something that is sure to cause a huge scandal and Daisy needs to be married to protect herself. NO - Daisy refuses to even consider the idea and needs to get away - she runs outside and enters the park.

Up the street, Theo has been called into his father's library, his latest scandal is the final straw for Prescott the Second. He demands that Theo marry Daisy or he will cut him off - NO! He refuses and also ends up in the park - only to find Daisy - they exchange words and when it begins to rain they take shelter in a gazebo - she asks what they will do, she thinks they should get engaged to shut up their parents and then find a way out - he refuses to even consider the idea. That is until he learns that his father has suspended his club membership. Theo decides that he has had enough, he wants to be his own man and will need Daisy to help. They agree to pretend to be agreeable and form a truce to reach their common goal of not marrying each other.

Their first outing together is an eye opener for Theo, he never really considered what his cruel words years ago did to Daisy. He apologizes, but she still doesn't like him. But when he learns of her dream to start her own company, he offers to help - Theo knows women and has a gift with words, together, they will be successful. Reluctantly, Daisy agrees to a partnership and begins to respect Theo and Lord Forgive her, even like him. Somewhere between bickering and kissing, they fall in love and just when it looks like they might actually marry, her father's scandal breaks and everything begins to unravel - can Theo forgive her lies by omission? Or will they bend to their parents wishes once more?

What a great book! It is well written (I had an uncorrected arc, that did have some little errors, but I am assuming those will be corrected by publication), the story is unique and fast paced - the banter between them is priceless, there are laugh out loud moments, steamy love scenes, moments of triumph and moments of devastation, but through it all, even when they hated each other, Theo and Daisy stuck together and earned their HEA. This is the second book in the series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand alone, I loved it and am happy to recommend it!!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by the publisher*

Some Like It Scandalous by Maya Rodale is smart, sexy and empowering. Full stop.

There's Daisy. She's a chemist and she makes cosmetics and she's determined to make enough money via her own fabulous brain to become an independent woman. I loved that Daisy's character speaks to the world's utter preoccupation with a woman's "beauty" and the all-consuming way that it plays into her perceived value. But, at the same time, Daisy also challenges the patriarchal conventions that say so-called "feminine" interests like cosmetics (or romance novels?) are frivolous and of lesser value. I loved Daisy even though she could be a bit prickly. I pumped many a mental fist in her honor.

And there's Theo. A hero who becomes the best version of himself and realizes his own potential because of Daisy and who goes all in to support her dreams.

Some Like It Scandalous is an invigorating blend of good old-fashioned American determination and ingenuity and sassy, steamy romance. It's an 'enemies to lovers/fake relationship' story and the banter? It's got top-drawer banter.  If you are hungry for a heroine who unapologetically claims her professional ambitions and refuses to give up on herself (and let's be real, who isn't these days?!) then you should definitely give this book a read. And, while you're at it, check out the first book in The Gilded Age Girls Club series, Duchess by Design. I loved that book too!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the chance to read an advanced copy.

Some Like it Scandalous combines the unlikely couple of plain Jane, bluestocking, entrepreneurial-minded Daisy Swan and boyishly handsome and exceedingly popular ‘Millionaire Rogue’ Theodore Prescott the Third. This entire book was obsessively caught up on looks and the lack thereof. In adolescence Daisy was struck with a taunting nickname by the latter-named Theodore the Third and thirteen years later the moniker stuck, much to Daisy’s detriment.

Daisy spends the preceding thirteen years obsessed with her looks and gaining an education in the first-ever American’s women’s college, while Theodore’s character maintains a flat mien —i.e. little remains known about him except for his profligate years spent wooing actresses and opera singers— whose father becomes fed up with his wild ways and ta da, ‘ol Theo and Daisy become embroiled in a ‘fake’ engagement forced upon them by their parents.

This story was a nice slow boiled romance, which I appreciated, however there was so much repeated information regarding Daisy’s obsession with her bland looks and intellect without any showing of it and the lack of information concerning Theodore’s character except for his good looks and lack of intellect (and his attendance to Harvard!), that the story felt stagnant. I had to force myself to read to the ending.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.