BEFORE THE SCANDAL

Author: Susan Enoch ISBN: 9780061456749 8/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: AVON
Time Period: Regency

It Was a Scandal Waiting to Happen . . . Colonel Phineas Bromley is a legend—on the battlefield and in the bedroom. Though he's won many wars, and even more hearts, nothing could prepare him for his new life. When Phin discovers that someone has been pushing his family toward ruin, he assumes the role of a legendary highwayman. Riding out in the middle of the night, hidden behind a mask, Phin heads straight into trouble . . . and into the arms of the ravishing girl next door. Coming face-to-face with a masked man did not frighten Alyse Donnelly as it should have. Instead, she finds him rather dashing. But her foolish heart has led her into trouble before, and helping a fugitive may mean jeopardizing her own plans, no matter how enticing his kisses. Now, as the danger grows, Alyse must make a choice between freedom . . . and the chance for true love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

BEFORE THE SCANDAL is the second in the newest trilogy from Suzanne Enoch entitled The Notorious Gentlemen. The first book, AFTER THE KISS, was the amorous adventures of Sullivan Warring, and the third book seems to be the love tangle of the third Gentlemen, Bram. BEFORE THE SCANDAL at times was splendidly interesting, keeping me reading and reading until my eyes burned from lack of blinking. At other times I was so bewildered, I wasn't sure I was reading the same book.

The plot itself seems solid—Estranged second son, Colonel Phineas Bromley, returns home to find his family and their estates coming under suspiciously bad luck and timing. He, of course, has a black past and scandal to contend with, but takes it upon himself to right all the wrongs and make the family better again. Along the way he runs into an old playmate, Alyse Donnelly, who has matured into a beautiful young woman yet is still unmarried. She had previously fallen upon hard times following her own scandal and parents' demise.

I think the romance is good—Phineas and Alyse have enough chemistry to spark quite a few fires and have a history of being very close companions in their youth. The characters are also well written—from Alyse's cousin, Viscount Richard Donnelly and his horrendous mother Ernesta, to Phin's sergeant-turned-valet Gordon from the army. I find no fault there.

What I do find shaky is the entire premise after its been laid out. The Alyse's scandal is hard to fathom—she says that she had been a Jewel of the First Water, a beauty beyond compare (yadda,yadda), and terribly selfish to boot, but yet she obviously wasn't very intelligent for she didn't understand how a Beauty falls. Worse, she was ignorant enough to think the very same friends she had been gossiping with before the whole thing erupted, wouldn't then be gossiping about her! Not to mention her deplorable lack of discerning a person's character.

Then there is the whole matter of WHY the villain decides to undermine the estate. I find it hard to believe anyone would do such a thing simply for good real estate, even in a romance novel. It felt rather contrived; especially after the heroine plops herself in the middle of the conspiracy's origins. It is as if the author simply built what sounded like a good plot around the romance of the leads. Giving them a few obstacles, a blackguard or two to trounce and grow closer because of, and then happily tied it all up.

I did read this in under a day, however, almost straight through with only a few hours break and did enjoy it when I ignored the plot holes. Definitely worth picking up to read as light fun, and I look forward to seeing who Bram, the Third Notorious Gentleman, ends up with in his own book (I'm personally voting for Elizabeth, Phineas' younger sister).

Alexandra Cenni