Whisper of Scandal Book

'Whisper of Scandal' is the first book in Nicola Cornick's sparkling 'Scandalous Women of the Ton' series and is a winning blend of passionate love story and intrepid adventure.

The story opens where Alex, Lord Grant, is reluctantly visiting Lady Joanna Ware, the widow of his best friend and fellow explorer, David Ware, in order to pay his respects. He dislikes her because he knows from his friend's comments that she is shallow, manipulative and deceitful. His opinion is further confirmed when he arrives at her house and sees her obvious lack of mourning for her late husband. Certainly, the last thing he expects is for Joanna to kiss him passionately when he enters the room. Joanna uses the opportunity to pretend that Alex is her lover in order to discourage the unwanted advances of John Hagan, her late husband's cousin.

Neither Joanna nor Alex is willing to admit to the attraction they feel for each other following the kiss. Alex regards Joanna as 'a manipulative woman who used men to her advantage' and Joanna sees Alex as 'just another philandering bastard' like David. This does not stop Alex attending Mrs Lottie Cummings' party that evening knowing the Joanna will there, but he and Joanna end up having a very public quarrel.

Joanna receives a summons from Churchward & Churchward, David's lawyers, and is surprised to find Alex already there. It appears that David left a codicil to his will and both Joanna and Alex are shocked by its contents. David has an illegitimate daughter, Nina, and has left her to Joanna's care provided she travels to Spitsbergen to bring the child back to London. Worse is to come. Alex has been appointed joint guardian and sole trustee!

Joanna is determined to travel to Spitsbergen to collect Nina and refuses Alex's request that he accompany her. However, when John Hagan breaks into her bedroom and tries to blackmail her into 'pleasing him', she pleads with Alex to marry her in order to gain the protection of his name and security for herself and her sister, Merryn. Alex agrees because he not only desires Joanna but she can also provide him with the heir he needs.

Following the marriage, they embark on the hazardous journey to Spitsbergen during which their feelings for each other intensify but can their new found love survive when Alex is wary of any deep emotional involvement and Joanna finally reveals the way in which she has deceived Alex?

Ms. Cornick has created an intense and emotional story exploring the complex relationship between Joanna and Alex. She brilliantly conveys the initial hostility between them with her scathing repartee such as Joanna's response to Alex's criticism of her way of life:

"You know nothing of my way of life, Lord Grant, other than what is based on David's lies and your own arrogant assumptions!" Her tone dripped disdain. "If it comes to that, you are the one who rackets about the world like a poorly aimed cannonball. You may provide materially for your family but you have no interest in engaging with them in any emotional sense".

or when she tells him why she does not want him to accompany her to Spitsbergen:

"You neither like me nor trust me and the journey will be uncomfortable enough without turning around and falling over your disapproval at every turn."

I understand Alex's reluctance to accept that David Ware was not the honourable man he thought him to be. They had a close friendship based on their mutual love of exploring and the fact that David had saved Alex's life. There would be no reason for Alex to believe that what he had learnt about Joanna was untrue. I like the way in which Alex's preconceptions about Joanna are slowly stripped away as he discovers that she is vulnerable, caring and brave.

He is slow to admit his deep feelings for Joanna because the death of his first wife, Amelia, has left him reluctant to enter into any deep relationships. His guilt over Amelia's death drives him to constantly accept dangerous assignments. It is almost as though he has a death wish.

I like Joanna and feel great sympathy for her. The lifestyle she leads, although lacking any apparent substance, was originally her way of coping with the trauma of her disastrous marriage. I admire her strength in leaving David and making a life for herself. Her initial dislike of Alex is understandable given her previous experiences with her husband but, gradually, she appreciates that Alex is nothing like David. He doesn't court fame and popularity as David did and, although he is physically strong, she knows that he would never use that strength to hurt anyone.

Even during the quarrels between Joanna and Alex, Ms Cornick's superb writing style allows you to sense the sexual tension simmering just underneath. I love the scene where Joanna intends to seduce Alex into marrying her, but can't go through with it. Alex turns the tables on her, saying that he won't marry her unless she seduces him. The love scene which follows is sizzling! Here's a little teaser:

'He picked her up and tossed her on the bed. It was so sudden and shocking that she lay there, winded for a moment. He was kneeling above her and he looked huge and powerful and shockingly masculine and she felt her heart race with a mixture of apprehension and fascination and the most wicked, wicked delight.'

Lottie Cummings, Joanna's closest friend, is an interesting character. On the surface, she is frivolous, immoral and selfish, but I believe that underneath this façade, she is lonely and unfulfilled. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in this series 'One Wicked Sin' which is Lottie's story. Quite how Ms Cornick is going to transform Lottie in to a true heroine I'm not quite sure, but I look forward to finding out!

I do hope subsidiary characters, Captain Owen Purchase and Alex's cousin, James Devlin, get their own books because they would make simply yummy heroes!

What a nasty piece of work David Ware was. He's lucky that he is already dead; otherwise I would like to have seen him strung up by a certain part of his anatomy!

Ms Cornick vividly conveys the stark beauty of the Arctic Circle and the dangers lurking there and the scene in which sea ice threatens to trap their ship particularly comes to mind.

There's plenty of humour in the book, and here are some of my favourite quotes:

"It is hoped that you can navigate your way better across the frozen wastes than you can around a woman's body, or you may end in Spain rather than Spitsbergen."

"I fear I would need to know you a great deal more intimately before I strip off in your ballroom or indeed any other room."

"I came here to seduce you", Joanna said in a rush.
"Excuse me, my lord," Frazer said into the silence that followed. "I do not believe I should be present at a moment like this."

"So in the end you'll make love with me for the sake of your wardrobe? That sounds about right."

"I shall now allow Mr. Devlin to shaft me with great vigour until he reveals all his secrets."

I can highly recommend 'Whisper of Scandal' to lovers of historical romance and look forward to reading further books in this series.



This review was originally written for The Romance Reviews