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Alex Grant has no idea what to expect when he pays his respects to Lady Joanna Ware, his best friend's widow. As the "darling of the Ton," however, "materialistic" and "superficial" seem apt descriptors. What he wasn't prepared for was the startling kiss she plants on him without so much as an introduction. How a man as respected as David Ware could fall prey to such a hoyden, Alex had no idea. Still, there was no denying the woman could kiss!
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Joanna Ware is the toast of the Ton. She has it all - friends, galas, and beautiful clothes aplenty. So why does she feel so alone? Could it have anything to do with enduring a husband who flaunted his infidelities? Or how his "hero" fame, even in death, continues to overshadow every aspect of her life? Is it any wonder she has to resort to kissing random men to thwart suitors vying for the widow of the great David Ware? Thank goodness for her taste in random men, though. Alex Grant is delicious as sin!
It's no coincidence Alex's visit to London corresponds with a new codicil to David's will. It appears he's named both Alex and Joanna as guardians to an illegitimate daughter he abandoned in an Arctic monastery. For childless Joanna, loathing of her husband reaches new heights, but she understands all too well his callous nature. What she doesn't understand is her need for Alex to see her for who she is, rather than what David's told him. As David's best friend, Alex's loyalty was unshakable - but this... When instincts can no longer be relied upon, cold hard facts are all that's left. But what happens when those facts war with long trusted beliefs? What then?
To say that it was a complete and utter privilege to read an advanced copy of the first book of Nicola Cornick's SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON Series, WHISPER OF SCANDAL, does not do it justice. Ms. Cornick proves once again, how adept she is at wielding her pen with inconceivable strength and ease. In Joanna and Alex, she has created emotionally and physically flawed, "to die for" characters. Where Joanna is facetious, Alex is brutally frank. Where Alex is pragmatic, Joanna is idealistic, and vice versa for neither enjoys being on the same page with the other. Alex's and Joanna's tempestuous pairing shares a strange affinity with Margaret Mitchell's Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara - fiery, defensive, wistful, sometimes composed but mostly electrified in argument, but also lonely. Most of all, they're survivors. And who can resist imperfect characters, with hearts the size of Texas, who have to fight for their lot in life?
In going against the grain, insofar as historical romances go – taking our hero and heroine into the treacherous Arctic, Ms. Cornick proves that with the right combination of loathing, suspicion, desire and hope – even the coldest of climates can't thwart the sultriest of seductions.
Chock-full of angst and dizzying chemistry, Nicola Cornick continues to inspire, entertain and satiate with WHISPER OF SCANDAL.
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