Reviews

- both of these MCs are so complicated-their motivations, their backstories, all of it. It makes it so fun to watch both of them struggle with trying to work around everything plus the tension was 🔥
- I loved getting to see characters from previous books in this one so much! It helped balance some of the tension throughout.
- The "villain" in this one is so incredibly infuriating, and I wish there had been more of a sense of justice (I get why there wasn't, but ohhh boy did I want it).
- The amount of growth and change that both MCs had to do throughout this book was so fun to watch. I'm going to be vague to avoid spoilers, but there's a specific moment towards the end with Simon and a family member that was so incredible to read and see how he's changed.

ssp91's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

katyanaish's review

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3.0

Well, I am happy to say that this book won me over. I have to admit that, by about halfway through, I was getting really nervous.

Juliana was never a question... I have loved her since the first book. Simon, though (Leighton), has been more or less a bastard all the way through the series. I couldn't even begin to imagine how the author would convince me that he deserved to be with Juliana.

I shan't give anything away; I will only say this: hang in there. If you, like me, are dubious that you will ever like Simon... keep reading. MacLean pulls it off beautifully. I promise you won't regret the read.

Re-read August 2017
Well, boo. I liked this one less on the re-read too. So the only one in this series that held up, for me, is the first one. I have to say that for the vast majority of the book - like, 85% or so - I was really unhappy. Like, 2 stars. But the end does a lot to make things feel somewhat better, so I'm just dropping this to a high 3.5 stars.

Here are the primary problems.

1. Leighton is a douche.
Look, that's not really a surprise - he was a douche in the previous books. But it particularly rubbed me wrong that he ... would have these whims of attraction, where he would make out with Juliana, and then flip back to treating her with utter disdain. This dude flipped that switch at least half a dozen times. And look, for a man who prides himself on... well, everything. Simon is pride in human form. So for a man that is the human embodiment of pride, he is in no way a gentleman. Never has been. From the snide comments at Juliana's coming-out in the first book, to threatening Isabel and everyone in her house... and then utterly abandoning his sister in the second book, it was pretty clear that Leighton likes the snobby air of being a gentleman, but it is all a facade. He has the manners of a spoiled toddler, and he clearly also has about as much sense of responsibility as a spoiled princess.

In this book, it goes beyond just snobbery, and into darker waters.

Spoiler

I was fine with some of the on/off, when Juliana was goading him and he was firing back at her and they'd have a firey hate/love make-out session. Like, at the park. That's fine. I was NOT fine when Juliana just had what was possibly the worst encounter in her adult life - her mother walking into a party - and had fled to have a private moment with her despair. Then Leighton walks in, and I'm sorry, he completely takes advantage. This is not the girl who spars with him. This is a girl who is devastated, and has taken a tremendous blow to her self-esteem. A girl who fears losing her family again. And he knows this, because he spys on her a bit before stepping in, hearing her talking to her horse. He walks into that stable and takes utter advantage of her vulnerability.

And lest you think that was an isolated incident, then the next day, he takes SHAMELESS advantage again. The girl just got savaged by gossips, and fled the ballroom to compose herself. Simon follows her and again jumps on her vulnerability - she feels utterly alone in the world right now, a dash of kindness and she's easy to seduce - to have sex with her... and then meanders out to the ball to announce his engagement to someone else. Dude. This girl has been shattered. And then you use her, show some affection for her, and then step out and shatter her publicly.

I honestly despise Simon.

2. Juliana is immensely frustrating.
She does more than a few things that are spectacularly stupid. Like, WHY do you keep wandering away from balls, into darkened rooms / gardens / balconies? What in holy fuck will it take for you to display just an ounce of common sense?

But that's not even the worst of it. I was most frustrated at the way she hurled herself at Simon again and again. Honestly, by Bonfire Night I was just embarrassed for her. I cringed every time he rejected her, and then she determined to do it again, because she wanted her one night, or she wanted to show him, or she wanted ... blah blah what-fucking-ever. Please stop. Please. You have embarrassed yourself so thoroughly that you are now embarrassing me, and you are literally a stamp of shame on all of womankind.

Spoiler

When she decided to go to his room at night - like an hour after he had utterly rejected her - and fling her clothes off... I literally threw my book in disgust. And I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit when she begged to be his mistress.

This has an added bit of horribleness, wherein it makes their relationship so unbalanced that I can't imagine it ever being equal. She's basically hurled herself at Simon repeatedly until she stuck. It is gross. Completely and utterly gross.

3. A lot about the ending just honestly doesn't make sense.

Spoiler

Why does Juliana just suddenly decide she can't have him, after he proposes, when this woman literally begged to be his mistress 30 seconds earlier?

Simon's change is so instant and dramatic that I can't make sense of it. He loves her? What? When? He doesn't mind scandal? He storms a ball, deals with the whole ton cutting him, makes a spectacle of himself?

And let's not even get into the ridiculousness of the ton, because it's just not realistic. YES, his sister having a baby out of wedlock is shameful, but he's still a duke, and there just weren't a lot of them... they are immensely powerful, and society can't (and wouldn't) just blow a duke off. They might feed off the gossip and make snide comments for a bit, but given that he's not just a duke, but also a wealthy one, they aren't going to offend him so directly that he decides to make a new habit out of destroying them. And let's face it, at the end of the day, these kinds of scandals rarely stuck to men. The way they reacted to him at that ball ... I buy that that's how they'd react to Georgiana if she were to show up. But not to him. Not when he's had the "decency" to send his scandalous sister out to the country, away from good society (which is totally how they'd see the situation).

*sigh*

stephxsu's review

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3.0

So I was definitely a little disappointed in this third and final installment of the beloved Love By Numbers historical romance trilogy. Namely because the two other books in this series--NINE RULES and TEN WAYS--were just so perfectly balanced in pacing, characterization, humor, and romance, that I felt like ELEVEN SCANDALS was lacking. Juliana and Simon's romance felt the most forced to me out of the whole series. The events in the book that would bring them together again and again felt orchestrated--not exactly the feeling you as a reader want to get while reading. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two. It's been two weeks since I finished reading, and I simply don't remember much of what happened in this book. Ah well, back to rereading Nine Rules and Ten Ways!

allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely love to watch a man fall. In love, that is. Simon, the Duke of Leighton, has lived his life by the book. Always doing what is proper regardless of the feelings that may be involved. The way he treated his younger sister in the previous book was abhorrent because of his compulsion to protect the family name. It was a beautiful thing to watch this tough, proper, cynical, unbreakable man slowly spiral out of control until he was growling and lashing out at all who stood between him and Juliana.

As Juliana notes at one point in this story, scandal is not her choice but her burden. Juliana’s mother caused quite a stir in the ton long before Juliana was born. Juliana showing up on the doorstep of her half brothers only fed the fires as everyone assumed she must be just like her mother. While the gossip and snubs hurt Juliana terribly, she has a spine of steel and will not change who she is just to make others more comfortable. In other words, she is someone Simon would never think of taking as his Duchess.

The chemistry between Simon and Juliana is amazing and it’s no wonder his icy exterior melts away. At the same time, Juliana is much more tenderhearted than she portrays and she takes hit after hit, some real and some imagined, while trying to continue to hold her head high.

Although I don’t quite understand the wager Simon and Juliana make at the start of this book, I enjoyed it immensely.

Content Warnings

nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed this foray right back into the world of Sarah MacLean. I loved the first book in this series, and I was a bit disappointed by the second, but this was such a fun adventure, and I really enjoy the exploration of scandals.

Juliana was feisty and entertaining, and the mutual pining is one of my favorite tropes. Simon was devastating and handsome, though his obsession with reputation was a bit excessive. The back and forth became somewhat too repetitive for me, but I really enjoyed the spicy scenes along the way.

earlgaytea711's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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