Too Scandalous to Wed (Avon Historical Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

There's no question that the author has a good instinct for characterization. The problems with this book lie more in likeability and occasionally excessive leaps of disbelief. It's hard to explain why the book was so disappointing to me without including a lot of spoilers. The basic concept is that Henry believes if she can attract Seb sexually she'll reveal his hidden love and Seb belives that his passion for kink (which he doesn't really like, it turns out) renders him unsuitable for marriage. So Henry (Her father thinks she's a boy, is in love with his pool cue, and faints a lot. It's troubling.) sets about attracting his sexual attention with the help of a sex book and a retired courtesan. And it works, until it doesn't. But this isn't about Henry learning to cast aside her youthful fantasies or Seb showing her that sex does not a relationship make, it fails on the emotional level. It comes down to a lot of finger strokes and Big Ideas. For me, Henry being unable to realize she's in a brothel despite naked people, sex, naughty pictures and her previous experience with most of the above just made me question her intellect. There really wasn't a character with any common sense in the entire book except for Seb's brother Peter, and he was running mostly on hope and fumes. I could see where the author wanted to take me, but we didn't get there.

It's hard to believe I read the same book as most of these other reviewers. Although its concept has potential, this book is a stinker in every possible way. Characters' behavior appears totally random, and plot "twists" come out of nowhere, having no relation to the "action" going on in the book. Characterizations are paper thin and the humor is forced. Beyond that, Benedict simply can't write. While I don't require absolutely historical accuracy in a Regency romance, I'd like to see some awareness that 1821 is not in the 21st century. An English aristocrat would never consistently refer to his daughter as "he", that daughter would never call her best friend her "bud", guests at a house party aren't sent to the kitchen to fetch their own breakfast, men don't flee England to go to the "mainland" (England is not Hawaii). Benedict doesn't even know the meaning of many words she uses (it sounds as if she makes excessive use of her computer thesaurus). So the hero "divests his coat", the heroine worries she's going to be "cheerless", she knows someone is holding his breath by a "scarcity of breath escaping his lips," a character changes the subject by saying "by and by". I could go on and on, since I just found these mistakes by opening the book at random pages as I'm writing this review; there's a misuse of language on virtually every page.

Stay far away from this silly, tedious book.

For eight long years Henrietta Ashby has been trying everything to get the attention of Sebastian Ravenswood in the hopes that he would fall madly in love with her. In those years nothing has made him treat her any different than he would a sister, which frustrates her greatly. In a last ditch attempt to seduce and make Sebastian her own, "Henry" visits the well known Courtesan Madam Jacqueline to learn the art of seduction and hopefully catch her man.

Sebastian Ravenswood has sworn to never marry and even though he knows about "Henry's" infatuation with him he wonders what it is he has to do to get this girl to move on. When he decides to leave town and not return until Christmas he is hoping that this time she has found a husband and settled into a life of domestic bliss upon his return. Instead "Henry" greets him and he cannot believe the subtle transformation in her. As "Henry" has planned one activity after another he slowly finds himself becoming attracted to her. In a moment of passion he suddenly realizes that she's been trying to seduce him. Outraged and embarrassed he flees the Ashby home to London. With "Henry" right behind him determined to make things right she discovers a shocking secret about Sebastian that changes her feelings and attitude towards him. Disgusted, she flees London and him, but the damage has been done and now both are caught in a scandal that could ruin them both.

Too Scandalous To Wed is a fast paced novel full humour and sensual steam as the two characters battle their emotions and each other. Henrietta was dubbed "Henry" by her father, resulting in a couple of humorous moments as he is talking about her. When Henry found out Sebastian was not the man she always thought he was going to be you could feel the pain she was going through, her dreams had just been shattered and she never felt more alone. The bond between Sebastian and "Henry" is very strong and once Sebastian realized his true feelings for her nothing was going to stop him and the sudden direction he was taking with his life. Meanwhile her family had quite a few things to say about this couple that led to many interesting moments in the novel, propelling me to speed up my reading to see how the author was going to bring the book to a conclusion.

This is my first novel by Alexandra Benedict and I thoroughly enjoyed it, the pace, the characters and the story are quite appealing to me as a reader. One character, Mirabelle, really caught my attention making me wonder if her story is about to be told or if it has already. For the little amount of time she was in the novel I found her fascinating and I am anxious to read more about her. Too Scandalous To Wed will delight readers as Alexandra takes you on a journey with her characters and their destiny towards everlasting love.