Unwrapping: Review of MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT by Gaelen Foley

Okay, I admit it - I love the men of the Inferno Club created by romance author Gaelen Foley and so when I got a chance to get my hands on an eARC of her newest installment in the series, MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT, I jumped at it and then promptly inhaled it!

***An eARC was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT:

Meet the courageous men of the Inferno Club as they face their greatest challenge yet: marriage!

Sebastian, Viscount Beauchamp lives by a code of honor, and now honor dictates he must marry Miss Carissa Portland. He has no regrets over stealing a kiss from the adorable little busybody—a fitting punishment for putting her delectable nose where it didn’t belong. But now, caught in a compromising situation, he knows he must make her his bride. He’s faced danger before—but nothing like this!

Carissa is not a gossip—she’s a "lady of information." And all she was trying to do was warn the rakehell Beauchamp away from an irate husband. But even she can’t flaunt Society, and while her head tells her that Beau’s a notorious scoundrel, her heart–and her body–are captivated by his dangerous charm. But when Carissa next goes snooping, the secrets she uncovers about the Inferno Club may prove even more hazardous than falling in love with your own husband!

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How 'bout a glimpse of the gorgeous stepback too!

 

Carissa Portland is a lady of information - meaning she is a snoop. Ever since an unfortunate event regarding a poet and cad, she has stayed on top of every word of gossip amidst the ton for she is in a constant bother that she might become the main topic.

Sebastian Walker, Viscount Beauchamp  - better known to his friends as Beau - is an agent of the Order and is currently holding down the fort, so to speak, in London while Rotherstone and the others seek out to destroy the last of the Prometheans and return Drake, Lord Westwood to the safety of the Order (story told in MY RUTHLESS PRINCE). He has to deal with an investigation being conducted by the Home Office and now Nick, Baron Forrester, has re-appeared relieving his suspicion that he’d been killed but revealing that the man has chosen to leave the Order and work as a mercenary. The problem is that the only way an agent can leave the Order is by dying.

When Carissa inadvertently gets caught up in Beau’s secrets, he’s forced to do the only possible thing – marry her. He’s surprised when it actually takes him a bit of coercion to convince her to accept him but he finally succeeds. Finding himself in a place not totally unappealing, he decides to enjoy the delights that marriage to Carissa affords him but then discovers his sweet, meddlesome, precocious lady of information is not a virgin. So it seems that Carissa has secrets too. He’d been open with his yet she continues to harbor hers. Will she ever trust him enough to tell him the truth? Will he be able to trust her with the secrets of the Order that threaten the safety of so many? What will he do about Nick and can he keep Carissa safe from his old friend’s threat to her safety? Who is really behind the assassination plot that Nick is caught up in?  So much intrigue! So many kisses!

Every time I read one of Gaelen Foley’s Inferno Club installments, I think it’s the best one she’s written and even though I still have a special affinity for Rohan, Duke of Warrington, I must say that I am most definitely mad for Beau.

MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT by Gaelen Foley is fast-paced, endearing and by far, the most romantic installment of the Inferno Club yet. Gaelen’s characters have come to life in MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT in such a way as to endear themselves to you immediately. You desire to shake Carissa and scream at her to stop playing games and tell Beau the truth or you’ll do it for her. Then your heart breaks slowly into pieces when the truth does come out and you share Carissa’s tears and Beau’s shattered ego. But it's the ending, which I won't give away, that brought tears to my eyes even while I was smiling like a fool. By the way, this isn't the end of the series - thank goodness.

In MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT, Gaelen has created a romance that has been brewing for some time even as Beau and Carissa remained blind to it. Their romance arises from folly but is believable for the day even as we giggle at her missteps, busybody nature and getting trapped inside a wall. We are treated to all of the mystery and intrigue that normally surrounds the agents of the Order but get a delightful look at how Beau woos Carissa as a man who is enamored of his bride might do in Regency time. He showers her with bridal gifts that even a modern bride would envy. Gaelen’s research into Regency has struck gold again.

I highly recommend MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT by Gaelen Foley if you love romance that will have you giggling with the delightful and playful antics of newlyweds and fast-paced intrigue that will have you wracking your brain to solve and all of the danger that usually accompanies the heroes of the Inferno Club. It's all here with an exceptionally Happily-Ever-After ending.

Happy Reading Everyone!

MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT, an Inferno Club novel by Gaelen Foley, Avon Romance, release date, September 25, 2012, available in print and ebook formats.