Rowena’s review of Last Night’s Scandal by Loretta Chase.
Hero: Peregrine Dalmay, Earl of Lisle
Heroine: Miss Olivia Carsington
After surviving the perils of Egypt, Peregrine Dalmay, Earl of Lisle is back in London, facing the most dire threat of all: his irrational family….and Miss Olivia Wingate-Carsington. A descendent of notorious—but very aristocratic—swindlers, the delectable redhead has the ability to completely unhinge him, and a long history of dragging him into her scandalous schemes.Olivia may be Society’s darling, but she’s aware a respectable future looms menacingly. And so when Lisle is forced to go on a family mission, she sees this as the perfect chance for one last adventure—even if it is with the one man in the world she can’t wrap around her finger: but really, she only wants to help…Which is why Lisle and Olivia find themselves in a gloomy Scottish castle inhabited by spiteful ghosts and craven murderers…and a shocking secret: the greatest peril of all may be burning within their own stubborn hearts.
I received this book in the mail and flipped through it because I know that Holly is a huge Chase fan and I’ve only read one book by her and though I loved it, I have never picked up another one by her. I wasn’t exactly sure why. By the time I put the book down after “browsing” I realized that I had read six chapters.
This book was a fast and easy story to fall into. The characters were lively and exactly how I remember Loretta Chase characters to be and I wasn’t disappointed in them. I enjoyed getting to know both Lyle and Olivia but there were times when I wanted to strangle Olivia. Lyle wasn’t the most perfect of heroes, having been so stubborn that I wanted to smack him upside his head but I loved that the conflict between the hero and the heroine kept me invested in this story. I wanted them to hurry up and get it right and they did. They just took their time about it.
I’m not going to do a summary for this one since the blurb does a decent enough job of that. I’m going to just jump right into my thoughts on the book.
Lyle was one of those good heroes. He was one of those honorable men. He thought things through and he didn’t act on impulse. He dealt with facts and had no time for fanciful notions. He got enough of the fanciful stuff from his parents and he could do without them but he could not stay away from the girl who he thought was his friend who was turning him upside down and making him want to be anything but her friend.
Getting to know Lyle was entertaining. Seeing him struggle with what to do with Olivia had me engrossed and turning the pages for more. He was a smart man who could sometimes drive you batty with how literal he takes everything but he was the man that you wanted in your corner when you get accosted or when you needed someone to handle your light weight as my friends used to say when we were in high school. Someone to just handle things for you. He was a typical man in the sense that his thought processes drove me insane. More than once, I thought what the hell are you doing Lyle? Just get over yourself and get with Olivia already. You know you want to. But it’s all good, he finally got it in the end.
Olivia on the other hand was more emotional, she was such a drama queen about everything but I liked her. She had spunk and she had grit, she didn’t back down from anyone and the way she did what she wanted made me laugh but there were times when I wanted to kick her in her shins for being so dim about Lyle. Her hot temper would make her do the most silliest things but like with Lyle, it’s all good because she finally got it in the end.
Both the hero and the heroine were not perfect but that was what actual charmed them to me. I thought they were a good match for each other and was happy with the way they were brought together. The story itself with the ghosts and the mystery behind the treasure moved the story along but I can’t say that it actually kept me invested in the story. I was much more interested in the romance between Lyle and Olivia. The treasure thing to me came off kind of silly. I enjoyed getting to know the two old ladies that traveled with Olivia and Lyle. I thought they were a hoot and I also enjoyed the butler as well.
This book was a good way to spend a few hours, I enjoyed it but it didn’t exactly wow me. It was just good.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5
This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here.
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