Pink Heart Reviews
Too Scandalous To Wed
Alexandra Benedict
ISBN# 9780061170430
AVON, Sept 2007, 384 pp
Historical – Regency
$5.99 (US) $7.99 (CDN)
Reviewed by Laurel
August 2007
For eight long years Henrietta Ashby has been trying everything to get the attention of Sebastian Ravenswood in the hopes that he would fall madly in love with her. In those years nothing has made him treat her any different than he would a sister, which frustrates her greatly. In a last ditch attempt to seduce and make Sebastian her own, “Henry” visits the well known Courtesan Madam Jacqueline to learn the art of seduction and hopefully catch her man.
Sebastian Ravenswood has sworn to never marry and even though he knows about “Henry’s” infatuation with him he wonders what it is he has to do to get this girl to move on. When he decides to leave town and not return until Christmas he is hoping that this time she has found a husband and settled into a life of domestic bliss upon his return. Instead “Henry” greets him and he cannot believe the subtle transformation in her. As “Henry” has planned one activity after another he slowly finds himself becoming attracted to her. In a moment of passion he suddenly realizes that she’s been trying to seduce him. Outraged and embarrassed he flees the Ashby home to London. With “Henry” right behind him determined to make things right she discovers a shocking secret about Sebastian that changes her feelings and attitude towards him. Disgusted, she flees London and him, but the damage has been done and now both are caught in a scandal that could ruin them both.
TOO SCANDALOUS TO WED is a fast paced novel full humour and sensual steam as the two characters battle their emotions and each other. Henrietta was dubbed Henry by her father, resulting in a couple of humorous moments as he is talking about her. When Henry found out Sebastian was not the man she always thought he was going to be you could feel the pain she was going through, her dreams had just been shattered and she never felt more alone. The bond between Sebastian and Henry is very strong and once Sebastian realized his true feelings for her nothing was going to stop him and the sudden direction he was taking with his life. Meanwhile her family had quite a few things to say about this couple that led to many interesting moments in the novel, propelling me to speed up my reading to see how the author was going to bring the book to a conclusion.
This is my first novel by Alexandra Benedict and I thoroughly enjoyed it, the pace, the characters and the story are quite appealing to me as a reader. One character, Mirabelle, really caught my attention making me wonder if her story is about to be told or if it has already. For the little amount of time she was in the novel I found her fascinating and I am anxious to read more about her. TOO SCANDALOUS TO WED will delight readers as Alexandra takes you on a journey with her characters and their destiny towards everlasting love.
