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A review by bandherbooks
The Art of Scandal by Regina Black
4.0
scandal is right. Regina Black kept me on the edge of my seat while narrator Mela Lee slayed all of the characters' voices. i had started in in print eons ago, but finished off after using an audible credit with the narration and what a great choice. one of my favorite audiobooks of 2023!
this skimmed the line between domestic fiction and romance, but landed firmly in romance with the HEA//HFN between Rachel and Nathan. Whew was I worried though, especially after that shocking moment during the art fundraiser. The way back from there, masterful!
for those leery of the age-gap of it all, I really appreciated Nathan was mid-20s and had his own business and support system. The juxtaposition of Nathan appearing to be blue collar (based on his choices, not his lack of family or financial support if you chose differently) versus Rachel's apparent "high society" veneer when she in fact was unhoused, financially insecure, and with a child she had at 16 was so deftly woven! I also very much appreciated that Nathan's mother, and Rachel's peer, isn't demonized. She's a society bitch but she's not one-dimensional.
All in all, this was such a great debut and I hope for far more from the author, AND it would translate so well to screen.
One thing I will directly point out, because it is sort of my own personal issue, is that i was not suspecting Nathan's father to CW (view spoiler). I didn't look up content notes, but i also didn't really see this mentioned elsewhere, so just FYI
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC; i also purchased the audio with my own money
this skimmed the line between domestic fiction and romance, but landed firmly in romance with the HEA//HFN between Rachel and Nathan. Whew was I worried though, especially after that shocking moment during the art fundraiser. The way back from there, masterful!
for those leery of the age-gap of it all, I really appreciated Nathan was mid-20s and had his own business and support system. The juxtaposition of Nathan appearing to be blue collar (based on his choices, not his lack of family or financial support if you chose differently) versus Rachel's apparent "high society" veneer when she in fact was unhoused, financially insecure, and with a child she had at 16 was so deftly woven! I also very much appreciated that Nathan's mother, and Rachel's peer, isn't demonized. She's a society bitch but she's not one-dimensional.
All in all, this was such a great debut and I hope for far more from the author, AND it would translate so well to screen.
One thing I will directly point out, because it is sort of my own personal issue, is that i was not suspecting Nathan's father to CW (view spoiler). I didn't look up content notes, but i also didn't really see this mentioned elsewhere, so just FYI
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC; i also purchased the audio with my own money
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent