A horse race in trousers on Rotten Row. Visiting a gaming hall in a dress that would make her mother faint. Sneaking an invitation to a masquerade ball attended by only the wickedest, most debauched members of society… None of these things are scaring off bookish but strong-willed Amelia Bishop’s stuffy, egotistical fiancé. The only thing left is to entice childhood friend Nicholas Wakefield into … Nicholas Wakefield into a truly engagement-ending scandal. The Wakefields are the height of propriety, and Nicholas’s parents have made it clear a wife from the neighboring Bishop family would be unacceptable…
But Nicholas would give up his family and his fortune if Amelia would ever see him as more than just a childhood friend. He’ll go along with her scheme, even if it means ruining them both, because he’s got a plan that will change her mind about him being merely the boy next door.
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The Importance of Being Scandalous by Kimberly Bell
I was searching for a historical romance on overdrive and came across this book written by an author I’ve not read before so I decided I’d give it a go. What a great decision! I first read this a few months ago and now that I’ve got the second book, I had to do a reread before diving in. And far from being bored, I enjoyed this book more the second time around.
Amelia, Nicholas, and Julia have been the best of friends since childhood and while Nick has been in love with Amelia throughout most of that time, he’s never revealed the depth of his feelings. When he returns home from extensive travels following a parental summons, he also brings the daily letters he wrote to Amelia but never sent in the hope that she’ll return his feelings.
Unfortunately, one of the first things he’s told upon his return is that Amelia is engaged to be married. What followed was delightful! The lengths to which Amelia went to get out of her betrothal with the terrible influence of Julia were so amusing and keep me turning pages even this second time round. The characters are so engaging and the relationships between them all were wonderful, be it the friendships or the relationships between siblings. Simply fantastic.
**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.
A madcap heroine, and the man who wanted to win her. Lots of fun!
Enjoyed this book and how the scandals unfolded.
Funniest book I have read in a long time!! Preordered sequel too
The Importance of Being Scandalous by Kimberly Bell is a delightful tale and I give it 4 Stars. Amelia Bishop has been betrothed and promised to another; however, she is not at all in love with this man, quite frankly she isn’t so keen on marriage in general. But she especially does not want to marry this arrogant man. So she tries every tactic out there to push him away and cause him to lose interest in her and call off the engagement. To no avail, that is until she thinks of the most clever scheme which she is sure to rattle his chains and free her. She plans a scandal with Nicholas Wakefield; whose parents abhor her and her sisters’ and marriage to her is ghastly in their eyes. Nicholas has always had a fondness and deep inside of himself a love for the beautiful Amelia, however, he knows a match with her is forbidden and also, Amelia see’s him as only a childhood friend. Through the scheme Amelia has plotted, can Nicholas convince her they are more than childhood friends and that her heart truly belongs to him and his to her?
This was a lovely tale and had some very good characterization, both Nicholas, and Amelia, as well as the secondary characters, are well developed. The plot kept my attention but in parts fell a tad flat. That being said, I see a lot of potential in this author and am looking forward to more of her tales to come. If you enjoy a good scheming tale and touch of a love triangle, this is the book for you!
Series: Tale of Two Sisters #1
Publication Date: 07/25/17
I think 3.5 stars for this one
This is my first book by Kimberly Bell. I’m sure Julia’s story will be next and I definitely want to read it. It will be interesting to see where the families progress in their relationships and acceptance of each other.
This is the story of Nick and Amelia who were lifelong friends and neighbors, but who secretly were in love with each other. Nick does his continental tour (for two years) and Amelia gets engaged while he’s gone.
The characters:
• Nick – He has been in love with Amelia forever and acknowledges that to himself, but never tells her. While he is away on his grand tour he works up the courage to finally tell her – except when he gets home, he finds she’s engaged. Nick was raised by very cool and aloof parents and that is, in part, why he is insecure in relationships. Luckily his brother is a loving man. Nick is basically a wuss, but finally finds his spine.
• Amelia – She is devoted to her older sister who has always been looked down upon because she has a physical infirmity. Amelia’s engagement is supposed to save her family from being ostracized socially since she’s engaged to an Earl. She doesn’t really love the Earl, she actually loves Nick, but has a hard time admitting that to herself.
• Julia – Amelia’s sister. She was born with a spinal defect that also caused her legs to be turned and has caused her to have several crises over the years. She absolutely NEVER goes out in public and stays in her room when a visitor arrives. To say she is reclusive is putting it mildly.
• Amelia’s Mother – she is a real nasty person. She’s always in hysterics and is so smitten with the idea of her daughter marrying an Earl that she will do anything, even sacrifice her daughter, to see it happen.
• Lord Montrose*** — Amelia’s betrothed. He’s a good, honest, honorable, caring man – except he isn’t. Somehow, in his mind, he’s superimposed Amelia with his first fiancé who died. He cannot see that Amelia is very different from XXXX and he will do absolutely anything to marry Amelia – even collude with her mother.
• Amelia’s Father – he is a real sweetie and loves his daughters unconditionally.
• Nick’s Parents – they brought Nick home from his tour because his dad is suffering from dementia and it is getting progressively worse. They didn’t do it because they wanted to spend time with Nick – no – they did it to make things easier for the older son. They are very cold and unfeeling – especially the mother.
Most of what I say following this will sound like a negative review – but please don’t take it that way. I did enjoy the story and I became invested in the characters and laughed and cried right along with them. Most of what bothered me were ‘technical’ kinds of things – things that just didn’t ring true for the time period. So, if those things don’t bother you – you’ll absolutely love the story. If they do bother you, then you’ll just have to put your blinders on in order to enjoy the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the lengths to which Amelia was willing to go in order to break her engagement. However, I must say that if I were to base my rating on the first 10-20% of the book, it would be much lower. Amelia and Julia come across as very, very juvenile. I was glad to see that they didn’t continue in that vein. Yes – they did continue to have some back-and-forth, but it sounded like normal sister-to-sister yammering. Nick is also a complete wuss and you wonder how he’ll ever become the hero of the story.
One spoiler for me was that from the very beginning Amelia’s family was completely ostracized by society because their older daughter, Julia, was born with a birth defect. Something to do with her spine that left her with a twisted leg/foot and therefore a limp. I can understand some people being narrow minded and unaccepting, but not everybody and not to the degree described. So, when it started out with that premise, I had a hard time getting into the characters and caring for the rest of the story. Now, I’m talking total and complete ostracizing – even the servants work there as a last resort.
To my view, if an author is going to write historical romance, they should absolutely research and thoroughly understand the accepted societal standards of that period, the correct forms of address and primogeniture. I do not feel this author has a clue and that definitely took away from the story for me. Some examples:
• Nick’s father is the Marquess of Wakefield, but Nick’s name is Nicholas Wakefield. That would not be the case. They would have a family name different from the title. Jas also calls Nick ‘Wakefield’, which would be incorrect – his father, the Marquess, would be referred to as Wakefield.
• Then – there is Lady Amelia. Her parents are also referred to as Lady Bishop and Lord Bishop. That would indicate that her father has a title – yet – there is no mention of that title and it is mentioned in a few places that he made his money in business. Also, in some places she’s referred to as Lady Amelia and in others she is Miss Amelia.
I won’t cover the story in a blow-by-blow because you can see the gist of it in the book-blurb.
“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”