A review by guiltlesspleasures
Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

Reading one of the few books by your favorite author that you haven't read before is a bittersweet experience. Like, it was so good! But also, I will no longer be able to read it for the first time! And now I have one less Loretta Chase book to read (until she writes more)!

But oh, how I loved this book. The CHARACTERS. Olivia and Lisle were perfect grownup versions of their childhood selves in Lord Perfect (which I highly recommend you read before this one, but it's not *strictly* necessary). Some might class this as a Grumpy/Sunshine romance, but really it's Order/Chaos, which is much more up my alley. Olivia is a force of nature that Lisle is powerless to withstand. When he sees her for the first time since she hit puberty, he is literally struck dumb.

If someone, centuries hence, happens to dig up my corpse and anatomize my brain, he will find, etched there in unmistakable characters: Olivia. Suddenly. Unexpectedly. 

and

"I was bored senseless," she went on," but the look on your face when you discovered my bosoms was priceless. It was all I could do to keep a straight face.”

The supporting cast of characters is also so brilliant. The wonderful Dowager Countess of Hargate only makes a brief appearance, but two of her Harpies accompany Olivia to Scotland as her chaperones, and they are the most amazing comic relief.

"Nichols [Lisle's valet] will introduce you to the staff and take you about the castle later," Olivia told Herrick [the new butler]. "Ladies Cooper and Withcote won't be up and about until noon at the earliest." They would ogle him and make improper remarks, but he would simply have to get used to it. 

And Nichols. Nichols! Here starts the campaign to give him his own book. So competent! Surprisingly strong! And apparently the women of Egypt talk admiringly of his *stamina*. There is a brief, perfectly written scene in chapter 15 with him and Olivia's lady's maid Bailey that made me laugh with joy.

Olivia and Lisle were so very delightful (and horny) together—and Loretta Chase is so good in that she really makes you wonder how on earth these two are going to get their HEA. Their approaches to life are so different, not to mention that Lisle is yearning to get back to Egypt. But (spoiler alert) she manages it, and I believe it will truly be a HEA.

And the last line: Perfection. Absolute perfection. Queen Loretta strikes again.