Review: SCANDAL OF THE YEAR by Laura Lee Guhrke

Aidan is an upstanding duke who usually avoids temptation, unless it comes in the form of Julia, or That Woman as he thinks of her. When Julia's hubby catches them in bed together, it leads to a messy scandal that involves Julia getting a divorce and Aidan's fiancee breaking off their engagement. But it's only the beginning of Julia and Aidan's relationship.

Laura Lee Guhrke has written some of my most favorite romance novels of all time, but I've had a difficult time working up interest in her latest releases for some reason. Scandal of the Year is an okay read--certainly better than Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase (review here)--but it has some serious pacing issues and there are a lot of anachronisms a copy editor should have caught.

In all honesty, this novel moves reallllllyyy sloooowwwwlly. It put me to sleep a few times, no joke. Usually that's a deal breaker, but what kept me reading were Julia and Aidan. They're both atypical characters for a romance, especially in the beginning of the book. Aidan is a straight-arrow who wants to get married, have children, and settle down. He doesn't really expect romantic love, but he is looking for a woman whom he can respect and share his life with. His plan would probably go well if he wasn't always being bothered by That Woman, aka Julia, who's shamelessly provocative, flighty, and who smokes, drinks, and drives like a maniac. I loved her! She's independent, but not in an emotionless or bitchy way; she just self-identifies as a rebel. I really enjoyed seeing her and Aidan interact and wanted to know how these two crazy kids would get together.

That being said, Scandal of the Year needed a lot more focus. The plot meanders all over the place, which is one of the major reasons why the book feels so slow until the last few chapters, when it suddenly ends. The flashback scenes didn't seem consistent with what we see of the characters in the story, and as I mentioned there are several obvious anachronisms. In one scene Julia describes a woman as "all right" (The Kids Are All Right?) and Aidan tells her, "That is lamest thing I've ever heard." Really, the LAMEST? n00b, u been pwn3d. Check out my awesome LOLcat, rotflmao.



ANYWAY. I read through the entire thing, despite these problems, so that should tell you about how much I enjoy Guhrke's writing. I would have appreciated more social consequences for Aidan and Julia's actions--especially Julia; how can I believe she's a rebel when no one snubs her for defying social conventions?--but it's impossible not to like this book. And at the same time, weirdly difficult to like it that much. I wish Guhrke had followed just one train of thought with Scandal of the Year and focused her energies on heightening the sense of historical place and emotional drama, instead of trying to fit the great characters she created into a more conventional fluffy romance novel format. But there's always next time, right?

With Seduction In Mind

With Seduction in Mind By Laura Lee Guhrke

I have never met a Laura Lee Guhrke book I didn't like, and With Seduction In Mind was no exception.  Although it's not my favorite book by her, it still delivers a satisfying historical romance.

Daisy is a total screw-up--she can't hold a job to save her life, and she's afflicted with a horrible case of verbal diarrhea.  She also wants to be novelist!  Then one day the lightbulb goes off and she remembers that one of her best friends is actually married to a publisher.  Ding ding ding!  Does she try to use this relationship to her advantage in order to get a manuscript published?  Oh, I think she does.  Meanwhile, said publisher asks her to write a review for the new Sebastian Grant play that has just opened.  Daisy is a fangirl, so she readily agrees.  Unfortunately, she hates the play, and her review reflects exactly how much.  I believe the phrase, "As amusing as a trip to the dentist," is thrown around.

Sebastian has just returned from Europe after weening himself off a cocaine addiction.  The good news is, he's now drug free; bad news: he can't write without the blow.  OR SO HE THINKS.  He reads Daisy's review, is incensed by it because he knows she's right, they meet at the publisher's office and Marlowe senses that the two have chemistry.  So he does what any romance novel character would do and hires Daisy to be Sebastian's editor.  She tells Sebastian that she'll kiss him for every one hundred pages he writes, and you can probably guess how it goes from there.

Guhrke has written about artists who are unable to create before--His Every Kiss' hero was a composer who had tinnitus.  Here we have a writer who's unable to write and doesn't even enjoy writing when he can.  But then he finds a new drug to inspire him:  Daisy.  Daisy makes writing fun because she gives him the smooches.  Pretty soon, he starts thinking he needs Daisy to write.  Eventually this is translated into, "Oh, I like having you around because I love you, duh!" but to me that transition felt rather abrupt and unbelievable.  I think Sebastian does need her to write, and that's why he wants her around. 

It's difficult to sympathize with Sebatian's character because he seems to have everything, and everything he's afflicted with is something he did to himself.  Unlike Dylan from His Every Kiss, who was truly tortured through no fault of his own (and not titled, with his own estates and houses), Sebastian took drugs because he was bored, not even caring if what he produced was crap.  I know the arc of a happy ending should eventually lead to Sebastian writing again, but personally I would have been okay with it if he'd come to a personal realization that he couldn't write any more.  Sorry, but he made his choices.

Which leads me to Daisy and her writing.  That's right, Daisy is a writer, too, remember?  She starts the book wanting to create her own work, but ends up being a muse for a man who calls her "Petal."  As soon as she starts having a relationship with Sebastian, she can't write--I kind of wanted her to end things right there.  But no, she sticks around.  Don't get the wrong idea:  her and Sebastian's working relationship isn't completely one-way.  They do help one another and give each other constructive criticism.  But let's be honest, Sebastian is "one of the greatest writers of this generation," and she's just a novice.  Her main role here to get him to start writing again.  Shades of objectification that squick me out!  And, since the entire plot seems to center on Sebastian finishing another novel and realizing he's not a dried up shell of an artist, once he does finish writing the book, it feels as if Daisy and Seb can go their separate ways.  I would have been much happier with the story if it had focused on Daisy discovering she's a good writer, and finishing and publishing a novel.  Sebastian can remain an empty vessel as far as I'm concerned.

I did like this book.  I stayed up until four in the morning reading it, and I enjoyed it.  I just think the potential for something much more was there, if Guhrke had taken her own character's advice and put the story first.

How I obtained this book:  I ordered it with my own sanity blood hard-earned money from an online retailer whose name may or may not start with an A and end with an N.  Then you do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, and that's what it's all about. *clap clap*


Other reviews:
AnimeGirl's Bookshelf
Babbling About Books, and More!
Did I miss yours?  Please let me know in the comments!

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My Favorite Reads: Guilty Pleasures

My Favorite Reads is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  You simply discuss a book you enjoyed before you started blogging!  In my last post, I mentioned that Laura Lee Guhrke has written at least two of my favorite romances.  Here's the earlier of those two:



Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke

This has got to be one of best romance novels I've ever read.  You know how you come to expect certain things in genre books, so you're anticipating all the plot points before they happen?  Well, in Guilty Pleasures, LLG defied all my expectations and gave me a practically perfect romance.  It's full of great characters, true love, adventure, and mystery that add to the story.  (I know you're thinking the cover sucks, but it actually makes sense once you read the book.)

The shy and bookish Daphne Wade has been in love with the Duke of Tremore for years.  Of course she's in love with him--he's intelligent, handsome, dashing, and rich.  What's not to love?  Daphne, meanwhile, is a "spinster" and so poor she's actually employed--as a restorer for some of Tremore's ancient artifacts.  This part at the very beginning of the book was, in all honesty, somewhat annoying.  But fear not!  Daphne soon overhears Tremore declare she's completely unattractive, and then she's pissed.  Naturally, it's immediately after she decides she never wants anything to do with him that he starts to notice her.

Guilty Pleasures has a sort of Cinderella-esque charm to it, although I wouldn't call it a Cinderella story exactly.  The romance between Daphne and Anthony (Tremore) is so wonderful because they're likeable, believable characters; and I loved the secondary characters as well.  If you like historical romance and you haven't read it yet, get thee to a bookstore and buy Guilty Pleasures.  NOW.

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