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leonora's review against another edition
3.0
I have never read a romance novel about sillier people. I know this is a classic of the genre and historical romance has never been known for its subtlety, but this is the most bodice ripper to ever rip a bodice. He's big and Man and haaaaaaaates women, so he only sleeps with prostitutes, who are all mercenary and unfeeling whores. But then he meets our female lead who's a Small Delicate and Highborn virgin, but also Sassy, so what's he supposed to do? He's never met a woman with opinions before! It's very confusing!
This book took me on a roller coaster of opinions. I love mess and I love people arguing in ways that lead to sexual tension. Dain's rampant misogyny initially turned me off, but then he just went around acting like such a theatre kid's idea of a Bad Boy™ that I couldn't take it seriously. He's just such a major drama queen and it almost made me not want for him to end up with Jess, since she initially seemed like a generally sensible person. But then she quickly revealed that she was just as batshit insane as he was, if not more, and I started to root for them. How can you not want these two absolutely deranged people to end up with each other? It's kind of beautiful.
I'm knocking off a couple of stars because, while I fully support two grown adults behaving like delusional high schoolers with serious attachment issues for my own amusement, the male lead misogyny and the general way that the novel treated sex workers was not quite my cup of tea. I know this was written over twenty years ago and "man who hates all women but falls in love with me" is a lot of people's fantasy, but it's not quite my thing. Couldn't he be a dark and sinful diva who, at the very least, doesn't refer to basically all women he meets as sluts and whores (derogatory)?
There was also a subplot around the male lead's illegitimate child that was not quite my thing. He has an illegitimate child with a prostitute when he's young and, while he eventually comes around to realizing that maybe he has some responsibility towards the child, everyone still acts like it was mainly the mother's decision to have the child. Like, yeah, I get that she could have had an abortion, but you chose to sleep with her, my man. Sometimes there are consequences for that and maybe you should have thought that through. But, no, instead she's characterized as a crazy slut who just cares about money. So that's nice.
After writing all that, logically, I know I should probably knock this down to two stars, or maybe even one. But, even as I was reading and being like yeah, that's kind of problematic, everyone was acting so ridiculous that I couldn't take it seriously enough. Like, he's not a misogynist, he's just silly! She's not slut-shaming, she's just a goof! Neither of them has ever had a sane thought in their life, their marriage is so incredibly chaotic, and I'm very happy for them. Plus, I can't give a romance novel where the female lead shoots the male lead with a gun and he goes hot anything less than three stars. If a hot woman shot me, I would also marry her.
This book took me on a roller coaster of opinions. I love mess and I love people arguing in ways that lead to sexual tension. Dain's rampant misogyny initially turned me off, but then he just went around acting like such a theatre kid's idea of a Bad Boy™ that I couldn't take it seriously. He's just such a major drama queen and it almost made me not want for him to end up with Jess, since she initially seemed like a generally sensible person. But then she quickly revealed that she was just as batshit insane as he was, if not more, and I started to root for them. How can you not want these two absolutely deranged people to end up with each other? It's kind of beautiful.
I'm knocking off a couple of stars because, while I fully support two grown adults behaving like delusional high schoolers with serious attachment issues for my own amusement, the male lead misogyny and the general way that the novel treated sex workers was not quite my cup of tea. I know this was written over twenty years ago and "man who hates all women but falls in love with me" is a lot of people's fantasy, but it's not quite my thing. Couldn't he be a dark and sinful diva who, at the very least, doesn't refer to basically all women he meets as sluts and whores (derogatory)?
There was also a subplot around the male lead's illegitimate child that was not quite my thing. He has an illegitimate child with a prostitute when he's young and, while he eventually comes around to realizing that maybe he has some responsibility towards the child, everyone still acts like it was mainly the mother's decision to have the child. Like, yeah, I get that she could have had an abortion, but you chose to sleep with her, my man. Sometimes there are consequences for that and maybe you should have thought that through. But, no, instead she's characterized as a crazy slut who just cares about money. So that's nice.
After writing all that, logically, I know I should probably knock this down to two stars, or maybe even one. But, even as I was reading and being like yeah, that's kind of problematic, everyone was acting so ridiculous that I couldn't take it seriously enough. Like, he's not a misogynist, he's just silly! She's not slut-shaming, she's just a goof! Neither of them has ever had a sane thought in their life, their marriage is so incredibly chaotic, and I'm very happy for them. Plus, I can't give a romance novel where the female lead shoots the male lead with a gun and he goes hot anything less than three stars. If a hot woman shot me, I would also marry her.
seashelleyo's review against another edition
2.5
Pretty heavy handed. Not quite the historical romance for me.
angemelb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
uselesscryptid's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
4.0
ladyleofn's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fabulous and fun. I haven't read a historical romance in a while and Lord of Scoundrels was recommended to me. I'm so glad that I read this book.
lisookarma's review against another edition
Only and only because of the MMC. Could not stand his misogynistic ass and this is coming from someone who reads dark romances.
meggie82461's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this one. A lot. In fact, I have a new HR fave!
And for the first time in awhile, I loved it because of the FMC. Jessica Trent is an absolute LEGEND. She is hands down the only female that could have ever handled Sebastian.
As for him, he is an total baby with mommy AND daddy issues, to which I say... GIVE ME MORE. I loved him. I guess I'm used to that in this genre, and he did it well because he loved Jess so much. I also appreciate the way the author illustrated what it’s like to look and feel different, and how that can really shape your life experience.
There are a few reasons this story works so well. Jessica is strong enough where you don't feel like she's being taken advantage of, Sebastian's internal monologue admits a lot more than he ever does verbally, and finally, in the end, Jessica DOES take charge. She will not let him be a lesser man. I can't say too much without revealing spoilers, but there was a part where she said something along the lines of "He's a grown man, he can take care of himself. Maybe things would be different if he could actually communicate his needs, but he can't, and that's on him." The reader never doubts Jessica's love for him, but we also know that she won't choose him if that's the wrong choice to make. She won't choose a man above her morals, and I loved that about her.
So, yeah. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially someone like me who is slowly dipping their toe into the historical romance world. It's a great "intro to HR" novel.
And for the first time in awhile, I loved it because of the FMC. Jessica Trent is an absolute LEGEND. She is hands down the only female that could have ever handled Sebastian.
As for him, he is an total baby with mommy AND daddy issues, to which I say... GIVE ME MORE. I loved him. I guess I'm used to that in this genre, and he did it well because he loved Jess so much. I also appreciate the way the author illustrated what it’s like to look and feel different, and how that can really shape your life experience.
There are a few reasons this story works so well. Jessica is strong enough where you don't feel like she's being taken advantage of, Sebastian's internal monologue admits a lot more than he ever does verbally, and finally, in the end, Jessica DOES take charge. She will not let him be a lesser man. I can't say too much without revealing spoilers, but there was a part where she said something along the lines of "He's a grown man, he can take care of himself. Maybe things would be different if he could actually communicate his needs, but he can't, and that's on him." The reader never doubts Jessica's love for him, but we also know that she won't choose him if that's the wrong choice to make. She won't choose a man above her morals, and I loved that about her.
So, yeah. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially someone like me who is slowly dipping their toe into the historical romance world. It's a great "intro to HR" novel.
nushlovesdogs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
azahller's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Jessica Trent sets off to free her brother from the debt of his delinquent friend, Sebastian, the Marquess of Dain. She does NOT expect Dain to be so cute. She does NOT expect to have feelings for him. She CERTAINLY doesn't expect him to reciprocate those feelings. NEITHER of them anticipates being caught in a compromised position. You can see how well this plan went.
There were elements of this book that I absolutely love. Jessica and her grandmother are such BADASS women. They were silly and independent in a way their society didn't even know how to cope with. I also appreciated the loathing/passion between Dain and Jessica. I really wish that element had lasted 2/3 of the entire book because I was EATING it up.
Once they got married though, I lost a lot of interest. Somehow becoming allies killed the tension and chemistry they had? I felt like there would be sparks here and there but it was nothing compared to the HEAT earlier on in the book. There is also a lot of scheming and politics post-marriage that I really didn't care about at all. It just wasn't interesting to me personally. We also almost got a really cool alt ending that was quickly abandoned for a traditional HEA and 0 character development for our MMC. The ending left the worst taste in my mouth.
This is a good historical romance if you want a strong FMC and a romance book that doesn't end with JUST the wedding!
There were elements of this book that I absolutely love. Jessica and her grandmother are such BADASS women. They were silly and independent in a way their society didn't even know how to cope with. I also appreciated the loathing/passion between Dain and Jessica. I really wish that element had lasted 2/3 of the entire book because I was EATING it up.
Once they got married though, I lost a lot of interest. Somehow becoming allies killed the tension and chemistry they had? I felt like there would be sparks here and there but it was nothing compared to the HEAT earlier on in the book. There is also a lot of scheming and politics post-marriage that I really didn't care about at all. It just wasn't interesting to me personally. We also almost got a really cool alt ending that was quickly abandoned for a traditional HEA and 0 character development for our MMC. The ending left the worst taste in my mouth.
This is a good historical romance if you want a strong FMC and a romance book that doesn't end with JUST the wedding!