Review: Her Scandalous Suitor by Rachel Brimble

Today, I'm absolutely delighted to welcome back my dear author friend, Rachel Brimble. I'm sharing my review of newly released, Her Scandalous Suitor (previously published as The Seduction of Emily). I read the previous version before, but thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Emily's intriguing story. Have a look!

Her Scandalous Suitor is currently on blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources. My thanks to Rachel and The Wild Rose Press for a copy.

 

 

Her Scandalous Suitor

Rachel Brimble

 

Emily Darson's future seems predetermined for her: she must marry her childhood friend, Nicholas Milne, to consolidate their fathers' shared tobacco business. A contract drawn up a decade earlier by their fathers stipulates that if one of them walks away from the deal, their share of the business goes to the other one.

Emily seems content with the choice, though not altogether happy. She is a forward-thinking young woman, like her mother was, and she hopes the man she's known all her life will respect her views.

But Nicholas is no longer a childhood friend. He has changed, has become ruthless, and his dismissive attitude towards her wishes grates on her. But with her father dying of lung cancer, she wants to ensure he will be able to leave her in the hands of his late business partner's son.

During an auction, at which Nicholas wins a bid for a precious necklace, Emily meets mysterious Will Samson. Clearly not of their class, but she still feels drawn to his open admiration of her. And intrigued by his obvious antagonism towards Nicholas. When their paths cross again, she can't fight the attaction between them, though she's fully aware she's betrothed to Nicholas – whose jealousy grows at every meeting. But it's not jealousy out of love. Nicholas regards her as his property, and that doesn't sit easily with Emily.

Will has come to Bath to seek revenge on Nicholas Milne, the man he blames for his mother's death. Poor, left to fend for herself, his mother had entertained 'male visitors' to make ends meet, and Milne was one of them. But he hadn't just sought sex. The man's degradation of women went far deeper...

When Will falls for Emily, and is invited to stay at her house by her father after he helps her following an accident, he is torn. He could use her to get his revenge, but he could not leave her in Milne's hands. No woman was safe from the man's cruelty.

Will they find a way to come together, and also solve the issue of the contract that ties Emily to Nicholas? And will the man have his just punishment, or is Will going to hang for murder? Have a read!

Her Scandalous Suitor is a gripping romantic adventure with fascinating main characters. Emily is the daughter of a wealthy business-owner; Nicholas the son of her father's partner; and Will is a handsome, intelligent rogue keen on revenge. 

We experienced Emily's dilemma in great detail. On one hand, resigned to her marriage, but on the other, those niggling doubts kept returning. But she also thought ahead, of their children inheriting the business. But what was the price she had to pay?

Nicholas is an arrogant, pompous ass (pardon my French). His dismissive attitude towards her, his assumption of a wife being a husband's 'property' (as was the law), and his shady dealings which are revealed as the plot thickens all make you shudder. You wouldn't want Emily to end up in his hands. 

And then there's Will, clearly of the lower classes, with a prostitute mother (though he never refers to her as that, which adds a caring touch to his at times rough demeanour) who tried to make ends meet. He has some funds, which he gained as a painter and sketcher. But he is by no means rich. 

Her Scandalous Suitor throws us into a somewhat shady world of the upper classes and their 'keeping up appearances'. Nicholas is a nasty character, good-looking but pretty much dead inside. Emily's modernist views fit well into the setting at a time when women began to voice their discontent with the status quo as chattels. 

You do have to suspend disbelief, however, at times, as the law would certainly have favoured rich men over poor or fallen women, whatever their transgression. But this is a romance, and as such, the ending works out very well, if somewhat easy.

Her Scandalous Suitor is an intriguing Victorian romance that has all the necessary plot twists, a gentle touch of lovemaking, and a social conscience. All those aspects work very well together, in my view. It paints a realistic image of late 19th-century England.

Highly recommended, especially for readers of historical romance who look for more realistic themes in addition to a sweeping romance!

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Blurb:

A chance meeting...or so she thought. Is confidence trickster Will Samson the hero he claims to be or someone else entirely...

Emily Darson assumed her future of propriety and privilege amid a loveless marriage was set in stone. At least, she did until confidence trickster Will Samson came into her life...

Then everything changed.

With each revelation about her fiancé and herself that Will uncovers, he also reveals a little more of who is he, what he has suffered, and the volatile vengeance that burns in his heart.

Can Emily really risk security for scandal? Loyalty for love? Only time will tell…

 

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Scandalous-Suitor-Rachel-Brimble-ebook/dp/B0CQ8VB3BH/

https://www.amazon.com/Her-Scandalous-Suitor-Rachel-Brimble-ebook/dp/B0CQ8VB3BH/

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About the Author:

Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of 29 novels including the Ladies of Carson Street trilogy, the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and several single titles with The Wild Rose Press. She is super excited to be the first historical fiction author writing for Harpeth Road Press and her first novel with them will be released May 2024.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Female Entrepreneur Association and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.

To sign up for her newsletter (a guaranteed giveaway every month!), click here: https://bit.ly/3zyH7dt

 

Connect with Rachel:

Website: https://bit.ly/3wH7HQs

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3AQvK0A

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3i49GZ3

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3lTQZbF