Reviews for Before the Scandal (Notorious Gentlemen Series #2)

The average rating for Before the Scandal (Notorious Gentlemen Series #2) based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-08-07 00:00:00 Christopher Karow Well, this one is really more like 3.5 stars. I read "After the Kiss" yesterday, so I thought I'd go ahead and get "Before the Scandal" done today while the characters were still fresh in my mind. I was a little disappointed that I still have to wait for Bram's story, but Phineas' wasn't too bad at all. Phineas is estranged from his family. He left home 10 years ago after a horrible accident and his only link has been his sister's letters to him while he's fighting on the peninsula. So he's pretty worried when her latest letter leads him to believe his older brother is on his death bed. He's just plain worried when he quickly returns home only to find out his brother is fine, but the estate is on the brink of bankruptcy. After only two days he's pretty sure of two things: the estates troubles are being orchestrated by somebody; and the 'girl he left behind' has become the woman he can't live without. Alyse is shocked when Phineas arrives home while she and her remaining relatives are dining with his brother and sister. He's just as handsome as always, if not more so in his dashing uniform. But Phineas has always been a troublemaker since they played together as children and she's already been burned before. That's why she's living as a companion to her crotchety aunt, little more than an unpaid servant. She can't deny her growing feelings for Phineas, but will she risk her heart and a roof over her head when she knows it's just a matter of time before he leaves her again? I didn't like "Before the Scandal" as much as I liked "After the Kiss". All the delightful regency trimmings that Enoch excels at were there, but the mystery wasn't very mysterious and the lack of communication among most of the characters including Phineas, Alyse, Phineas' brother, etc. just irritated the crap out of me. I also didn't buy into Phineas' reasons for becoming a highwayman...that seemed like it came from left field somewhere. It was neat to revisit some of the characters from the last book, and I'm still excited about Bram's upcoming book, but this one just didn't hit the right notes for me and isn't headed for my keeper shelf.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-11-21 00:00:00 Juan N Carlos Did not finish -- wallpaper all the way.