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alysonc's review
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
andrea_author's review
4.0
After they become compromised, Lady Amelia and factory-owner Benedict are forced to marry. Can two people of such different backgrounds find their way to true love?
At first, Amelia and Benedict try to force their values and habits on each other. In time, as they get to know each other, they grow together. It was nice to see them develop as people through their relationship. The plot with the steam engine investors was also interesting and kept the pace moving.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
At first, Amelia and Benedict try to force their values and habits on each other. In time, as they get to know each other, they grow together. It was nice to see them develop as people through their relationship. The plot with the steam engine investors was also interesting and kept the pace moving.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
glyneth's review
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kdeshaies's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this story. We follow Amelia, who has been groomed all her life to be a duchess but her life long fiancé has been dragging his feet, and Benedict a working class man who Amelia has nothing but disdain for.
Amelia is set on convincing her fiancé to set a date for their wedding when she gets stuck in a snowstorm all alone. Luckily for her Benedict comes along and residues her; unluckily for her, they are discovered some together and so no they are forced to marry. Amelia must move to the country and give up everything she knows, and Benedict has his life upended by his “upper crust wife”
I love the banter and chemistry with these two. I loved watching Amelia come into herself and her developing relationships with her new family and town. I love how she was able to use her intelligence to help Benedict with his company. And I do love a gruff grumpy hero and Benedict didn’t disappoint.
If you’re looking for a new historical romance author to try I’d highly recommend Samara Parish and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book***
Amelia is set on convincing her fiancé to set a date for their wedding when she gets stuck in a snowstorm all alone. Luckily for her Benedict comes along and residues her; unluckily for her, they are discovered some together and so no they are forced to marry. Amelia must move to the country and give up everything she knows, and Benedict has his life upended by his “upper crust wife”
I love the banter and chemistry with these two. I loved watching Amelia come into herself and her developing relationships with her new family and town. I love how she was able to use her intelligence to help Benedict with his company. And I do love a gruff grumpy hero and Benedict didn’t disappoint.
If you’re looking for a new historical romance author to try I’d highly recommend Samara Parish and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book***
smilesgiggle's review
3.0
Great debut - and intro to a new series. I have the second one - available as an ARC on Netgalley.
I loved the creative start of this novel - Amelia is found in an abandoned carriage in the midst of a severe storm. Benedict understands he is lucky and cursed to find Amelia - lucky to find Amelia before she froze to death; cursed because the local aristocracy snob finds them - pointing out Amelia has been compromised, no longer able to marry her betrothed, a Duke.
After a quick marriage, Amelia must embrace her life. And to her surprise, she enjoys it - finding herself useful and filled with purpose.
I loved these characters - great banter. I cannot wait to read the next!
I loved the creative start of this novel - Amelia is found in an abandoned carriage in the midst of a severe storm. Benedict understands he is lucky and cursed to find Amelia - lucky to find Amelia before she froze to death; cursed because the local aristocracy snob finds them - pointing out Amelia has been compromised, no longer able to marry her betrothed, a Duke.
After a quick marriage, Amelia must embrace her life. And to her surprise, she enjoys it - finding herself useful and filled with purpose.
I loved these characters - great banter. I cannot wait to read the next!
dukefn99's review
4.0
Read my review at https://novelsalive.com/2021/05/17/4-star-review-how-to-survive-a-scandal-by-samara-parish/
smithrachaelynn's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-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
3.5
What I liked:
- Amelia’s character, the whole ice queen thing is hard for me to relate to, but I couldn’t help but empathize with Amelia. She was very much a product of her surroundings and her time. I wish we learned more about her upbringing. Her growth and self reflections were some of my favorite parts of the book.
What I didn’t like:
- Jumpy, it felt like big moments between the couple like arguments and things never really got addressed. And they didn’t seem to connect about serious things on page. This all made the relationship and their connection feel a bit unbelievable
- Not enough groveling, as much as I liked Benedict’s character, the man seriously messed up. The stuff he said was so hurtful over and over again. The ending was waaaaay too abrupt to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
nicolesa's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kayla_llbr's review
3.0
Marriages of Convenience are one of my favorite troupes. Especially if they are caused by a "ruining" of some sort. So I was excited that early on our characters Benedict and Lady Amelia are forced to marry after being caught in a compromising situation finds them in close proximity with each other. Lady Amelia wouldn't have been caught dead with someone like Benedict, a man with no title, when she has been raised her whole life of the promise of becoming a duchess.
These two individuals are ones that would never knowingly cross each others paths. Benedict, has no use or respect for the aristocracy. He is a man that works hard and takes care of his sister and resents a marriage that makes him look either like a scoundrel that compromised a lady, or a social climber trying to further his own agendas. Lady Amelia doesn't want to live in the country with some bumpkin when her whole life has been centered around being part of the ton.
What works so well is we see how limited Amelia has been prepared for life, as the life of a aristocratic woman, is limited to social skills and ladylike pursuits. Nothing about what it means to work hard, or read for fun. Things that most normal people do. And Benedict, it's easy to understand why he has such a disdain for society that he has been outside of, as the games the aristocrats play with one another are cruel. All of their life experiences shade how they treat one another and how difficult it is when they start feeling attraction to one another, as each represents a life they do not want.
But what would have made this a really good story would have been more scenes of intimacy. When we see Amelia and Benedict warming up to each other and ready to turn their marriage from sham into something for intimate, these details take place behind the scenes. Now, I am not saying I need graphic sex in a story to hold my interest or to enjoy it, but I feel like I missed out of the vulnerability of these two characters. Instead of seeing how it plays out, Amelia giving into her attraction to Benedict and vice versa, we are only told that they are making love to one another.
I think that's why I have to rate it a 3.5 because while I enjoyed seeing how Amelia and Benedict worked together within each others worlds and how they were trying to cope with that, I never got a sense of true intimacy from them as we were never privy to those private moments together. Had I been able to see and feel what it was like between the two of them letting their guards down and being intimate together I think it would have made all their strife and conflict towards the end feel much more impactful.
Saying that, I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series, as I have hope that these two side characters will have more history to make up for a possible lack in steamy scenes.
These two individuals are ones that would never knowingly cross each others paths. Benedict, has no use or respect for the aristocracy. He is a man that works hard and takes care of his sister and resents a marriage that makes him look either like a scoundrel that compromised a lady, or a social climber trying to further his own agendas. Lady Amelia doesn't want to live in the country with some bumpkin when her whole life has been centered around being part of the ton.
What works so well is we see how limited Amelia has been prepared for life, as the life of a aristocratic woman, is limited to social skills and ladylike pursuits. Nothing about what it means to work hard, or read for fun. Things that most normal people do. And Benedict, it's easy to understand why he has such a disdain for society that he has been outside of, as the games the aristocrats play with one another are cruel. All of their life experiences shade how they treat one another and how difficult it is when they start feeling attraction to one another, as each represents a life they do not want.
But what would have made this a really good story would have been more scenes of intimacy. When we see Amelia and Benedict warming up to each other and ready to turn their marriage from sham into something for intimate, these details take place behind the scenes. Now, I am not saying I need graphic sex in a story to hold my interest or to enjoy it, but I feel like I missed out of the vulnerability of these two characters. Instead of seeing how it plays out, Amelia giving into her attraction to Benedict and vice versa, we are only told that they are making love to one another.
I think that's why I have to rate it a 3.5 because while I enjoyed seeing how Amelia and Benedict worked together within each others worlds and how they were trying to cope with that, I never got a sense of true intimacy from them as we were never privy to those private moments together. Had I been able to see and feel what it was like between the two of them letting their guards down and being intimate together I think it would have made all their strife and conflict towards the end feel much more impactful.
Saying that, I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series, as I have hope that these two side characters will have more history to make up for a possible lack in steamy scenes.
angelsbookstaloves's review
4.0
Thank you so much Forever Pub for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
These characters were both very flawed in the beginning. But, overtime there was a lot of character development (which I really loved to see). There were many times when I was laughing and rooting for their relationship, and times when I was like "oh boy this is toxic". Good examples are that Amelia tried many times to change Ben, by his clothes and the way he acted. There were a few times she said some rude things to the maids. I was very upset with her, but she improved a lot. I grew to really love her as a character.
Ben, is a huge hot guy. But, he tends to push people away/blame others that he cares for the most when something goes wrong. Like, calling Amelia useless a few times (the audacity). But, he also improved a hell of a lot and it led to a really great romantic gesture (I LOVE romantic gestures)!
In the end, these two flawed characters blossomed into a super sweet romance that I'll remember for a while!
These characters were both very flawed in the beginning. But, overtime there was a lot of character development (which I really loved to see). There were many times when I was laughing and rooting for their relationship, and times when I was like "oh boy this is toxic". Good examples are that Amelia tried many times to change Ben, by his clothes and the way he acted. There were a few times she said some rude things to the maids. I was very upset with her, but she improved a lot. I grew to really love her as a character.
Ben, is a huge hot guy. But, he tends to push people away/blame others that he cares for the most when something goes wrong. Like, calling Amelia useless a few times (the audacity). But, he also improved a hell of a lot and it led to a really great romantic gesture (I LOVE romantic gestures)!
In the end, these two flawed characters blossomed into a super sweet romance that I'll remember for a while!