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A review by chels_ebooks
Infamous by Minerva Spencer
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
You know at the end of <i>Dangerous Liaisons</i> when everyone is booing Glenn Close at the opera house after she's outed as being a vile schemer?
Welcome to Celia Trent's reality. A former Diamond of the First Water, she lost everything when it was revealed that she was behind a cruel prank aimed at Richard Redvers, the brother of the man she hoped to marry. Unfortunately for her, she misfires, and the real victim is Lucian Redvers. She loses Lucian's love, society's approval, and any hope of marrying to escape poverty.
Ten years later, living as a lady's companion, Celia is forced to attend a houseparty hosted by the Redvers family, where she has to face the people she hurt and come to terms with the consequences of her actions. At this point, Celia is deeply remorseful, but society has a long memory, and little use for a servant's regret, no matter how beautiful that servant may be.
Richard Redvers, Celia's bookish former target, is still fascinated by Celia, and he finds himself gravitating towards her. He's held no grudge, but he's also pretty matter of fact about the decade old scandal. His growing attraction to Celia is complicated by the fact that his brother's life and marriage has been marred by her.
Interestingly, Celia, the former mean girl, was a much more sympathetic character to me than Richard. Richard is an entomologist who doesn't believe in love (because beetles don't need it... or something), and that point of view quickly wore out its welcome. Luckily, Celia carries the book, so it didn't matter too much.
I got this as an ARC from Kensington! Now, how do I get Kensington to send me the weird musty books (Zebra Historicals, obv) that my vivid imagination is <i>convinced</i> they have in their basement?
Welcome to Celia Trent's reality. A former Diamond of the First Water, she lost everything when it was revealed that she was behind a cruel prank aimed at Richard Redvers, the brother of the man she hoped to marry. Unfortunately for her, she misfires, and the real victim is Lucian Redvers. She loses Lucian's love, society's approval, and any hope of marrying to escape poverty.
Ten years later, living as a lady's companion, Celia is forced to attend a houseparty hosted by the Redvers family, where she has to face the people she hurt and come to terms with the consequences of her actions. At this point, Celia is deeply remorseful, but society has a long memory, and little use for a servant's regret, no matter how beautiful that servant may be.
Richard Redvers, Celia's bookish former target, is still fascinated by Celia, and he finds himself gravitating towards her. He's held no grudge, but he's also pretty matter of fact about the decade old scandal. His growing attraction to Celia is complicated by the fact that his brother's life and marriage has been marred by her.
Interestingly, Celia, the former mean girl, was a much more sympathetic character to me than Richard. Richard is an entomologist who doesn't believe in love (because beetles don't need it... or something), and that point of view quickly wore out its welcome. Luckily, Celia carries the book, so it didn't matter too much.
I got this as an ARC from Kensington! Now, how do I get Kensington to send me the weird musty books (Zebra Historicals, obv) that my vivid imagination is <i>convinced</i> they have in their basement?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape