Whisper of Scandal (The Scandalous Women of the Ton, #1) by Nicola Cornick

Jun 18, 2012 rameau rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finnish-translation, romance, historical, read-in-2012, travel, manually-added

It's a quick light read; nothing more, nothing less than I expected from a Nicola Cornick book.

Having read and been disappointed by Desired my expectations weren't that high for this novel, but the second half--more like the last third--of the story surprised me positively. Joanna's trip offered few very vivid images and events that helped me to round up the rating despite the distasteful sauna sex.

Seriously people, what will it take you to understand that sauna is not a place for sex?!

I'm cho...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Book Chick City rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historical, book-list-2011

"Whisper of Scandal" is a meaty historical romance, with great plot and well defined characters. I liked the heroine straight away. Widowed Lady Joanna Ware is a complex character, as is the hero, but she is immensely likeable, whereas Lord Alex Grant is not. It took me quite some time to warm to him due to his arrogent, presumptuous and incredibly shallow manner, where he dislikes Joanna without knowing her and only goes on one person's opinion.

From the first chapter, when Lady Joanna and Lord...more "Whisper of Scandal" is a meaty historical romance, with great plot and well defined characters. I liked the heroine straight away. Widowed Lady Joanna Ware is a complex character, as is the hero, but she is immensely likeable, whereas Lord Alex Grant is not. It took me quite some time to warm to him due to his arrogent, presumptuous and incredibly shallow manner, where he dislikes Joanna without knowing her and only goes on one person's opinion.

From the first chapter, when Lady Joanna and Lord Alex meet and Joanna kisses him in the hope to disuade her dead husband's cousin from his advances, I thought this was going to be a fairly light historical romance, but it wasn't.

Joanna's husband, an adventurer, dies while abroad and we are given glimpses into this horrid little man's life and his treatment of Joanna as we read further into the novel, which helped me understand her and how much she has been through. So when Lord Alex Grant is nasty to her, all I want to do is box his ears! But luckily, Joanna is an intelligent and articulate woman and gives as good as she gets. At times, Joanna puts Alex in his place so much so, I wanted to fist pump the air and cry "Yes! Take that, you cad!"

Although I didn't particularly like Alex for most of the book, he did begin to grow on me when he joined Joanna on a trip to the Arctic to bring home an orphaned child, and by the end of the novel, I loved him nearly as much as she did!

The secondary characters are also full of life, I specially liked Purchase, the captain of the boat Joanna charters for the long voyage. He's so protective and so in love with Joanna he will do anything to protect her.

The only secondary character I didn't like was Lottie Cummings - what a horrid woman. She proclaims to be Joanna's best friend and yet had an affair with her husband, she's incredibly grating and very shallow. She doesn't grow or change a bit throughout the entire novel and then she betrays Joanna again. Why Joanna continues to be friends with her I don't quite understand.

The dialogue between all the characters is well written and sharp, especially between Joanna and Alex. I really felt their dislike of each other, even though they simultaneously want to rip each other's clothes off. Venom drips from their words which are, at times, hurtful and spiteful, and it was immensely enjoyable to read. The only thing I will say is this did go on for a bit too long in my opinion and became a touch frustrating.

However, overall the pacing is very good and I believed Joanna and Alex's growing love. It isn't too abrupt, everything happens at the right time, and Alex soon comes to his senses. The sex scenes are sensual rather than explicit and the romance builds wonderfully.

The ending is just swoon-worthy, and so romantic - I won't give anything away, but let me just say, I now want to go on a long boat voyage to the Arctic and be swept off my feet by a Lord...

VERDICT:

A lovely historical romance with all the right ingredients. If you enjoy the love/hate relationship - and I do, it's my favourite kind - then you will gobble this up. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series, 'One Wicked Sin'.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Isabella Kai rated it 3 of 5 stars

Whisper of Scandal tells the story of Lady Joanna Ware, a society hostess and widow of a philandering adventurer, who on his deathbed left the care of his illegitimate child to his wife and his friend Alexander, Lord Grant. Joanna and Alex travel to the Arctic to claim the child battling each other and everything Mother Nature throws their way only to realize things are much more complicated than they appear.

I loved Alex from the moment he threw open the library door in chapter one and Joanna fo...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Laura Ashlee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, romance

I’m so excited to finally have Alex and Joanna’s story. Until now, I had only read the fourth and fifth books in this series. Alex and Joanna were small parts in those books, but I didn’t know their story. After I finished the last one, I just had to go back and read the rest. These really are some of the best historical romance novels I’ve read.

I mentioned in my review of Desired that I think what makes Nicola Cornick’s books so great is her grasp on the language and her obvious knowldge of the...more I’m so excited to finally have Alex and Joanna’s story. Until now, I had only read the fourth and fifth books in this series. Alex and Joanna were small parts in those books, but I didn’t know their story. After I finished the last one, I just had to go back and read the rest. These really are some of the best historical romance novels I’ve read.

I mentioned in my review of Desired that I think what makes Nicola Cornick’s books so great is her grasp on the language and her obvious knowldge of the time and places her stories are set in. She even threw in an author’s note about how she had taken some liberties with her section set in the Arctic. She does her research and it shows in her work. It got me to thinking about how much work really goes into every book, even romance novels that many refer to as trash. My boyfriend says that about the romance novels I read, but I have come to a point where I can really appreciate romance for what it is. It can be predictable and cheesy and that’s what is so wonderful about it. I can count on the hero to be masculine and charming. I can count on the heroine to be intelligent and passionate. And I can usually count on them to hate each other and still fall madly in love in a ridiculously short amount of time. It’s what I’m looking for, going in.

I’m also looking for witty dialogue. The dialogue is what truly makes me love or hate a historical romance. There has to be a good medium between the language of the time and the way we speak now. Let’s be honest, the way people spoke in the Regency era can be daunting to read sometimes. At the same time, a historically set book needs to be authentic. That’s why I love Nicola Cornick’s writing. It feels authentic, but I don’t need to re-read something five times to understand what’s going on. She’s really becoming a favorite. After I finish this series, I might have to move on to another of her series.

Alex and Joanna fill their roles perfectly. He’s the manly adventurer who can be both intense and utterly charming. She’s the intelligent woman acting flighty to keep everyone from seeing the despair locked inside her. They overcome the tragic circumstances of the past together and find love again, and also manage to have an adventure together. Oh! and manage to have some very sexy alone time. It was the perfect recipe for a perfect romance.

If you like Regency romances, you’ll love this! Good news is, I already know that the others in the series are just as good since I’ve read two of them. Two more to go!(less)

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Feb 20, 2012 lia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

3.5 stars

The first book that i read from Nicola Cornick and it took me by surprise that i actually enjoys it.
I have this book for a while and i keep putting it off and not reading it because the scenery in Artic doesn't really reel me in. But from the first chapter Nicola Cornick successfully keeps me reading ( i never hesitate to drop a book if it bored me).

The story is about Joanna a widow of an explorer and hero, David Ware. After David's dead, Alex Grant paid a visit to David's widow and...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books, historical-romance

Lady Joanna Ware is the widow of Lord David Ware and she has decided she would never marry again. Not because of a great love affair but because of her unhappy marriage, even before his death she had been estranged from David for five years. Yet she is still the darling of the Ton whom everyone adores as she adores them, at least that is until she meets Lord Alexander Grant. Grant was her errant husband’s best friend and is disturbed by Joanna. David had tainted Joanna’s reputation by speaking i...more Lady Joanna Ware is the widow of Lord David Ware and she has decided she would never marry again. Not because of a great love affair but because of her unhappy marriage, even before his death she had been estranged from David for five years. Yet she is still the darling of the Ton whom everyone adores as she adores them, at least that is until she meets Lord Alexander Grant. Grant was her errant husband’s best friend and is disturbed by Joanna. David had tainted Joanna’s reputation by speaking ill of her not to mention Grant hates the Ton, the very society that Joanne has embraced. From the first moment they meet Alex & Joanna disagree and are often unable to be civil towards each other, but David has thrown them a curve ball from beyond the grave. David has fathered a child and abandoned her somewhere near the North Pole; he had complicated matters by naming them both guardians.

If you are looking for a really great historical romance novel this is it. The book does not take place in one location, the first half of the book is in London and the second half is at sea as they travel to the North Pole. I really loved this couple, Joanna is a strong woman but she has been dealt a lot of blows and she has tremendous courage. David was a well known philanderer and was known to engage in frequent affairs outside of their marital bed, the list seemed quite long and even included her best friend Lottie. Not to mention if Joanna was to raise the orphaned child she could easily loose her social status. I liked how she handled matters always attempting to hold her head high and she remained quite calm and sweet. Grant is also an intriguing hero, he is very loyal and stubborn, I found it interesting to watch him come to terms with all of who David was. At the onset Grant think Joanna frivolous, yet despite all his friends allegations, Grant had trouble reconciling what he saw in Joanna vs. what he thought he knew. The setting on sea was perfect and gave a glimpse into what life for an expedition must be like. The writing really gives the book life, I easily believed these two were falling in love with each other even if they had intended otherwise. All and all a very pleasurable read, and was quite sad it ended.
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Aug 04, 2011 Lee Thao rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: regency-romance

[ 4.75 STARS ]

I would say, this is by far, one of the best and fast read I have ever done in a few hours. Truly a great story with great characters and definitely great flirtations of steamy scenes and words! However, with a slight tingle of hope toward the end--ending with a small disappointed--nonetheless content with its ending earned it a 4.75 STARS from me. Reason, below.

SPOILER

I enjoyed the first part of the story quite well. Especially since Alex is such a sexy man already and his daring...more

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Jun 29, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance-regency-england

WHISPER OF SCANDAL by Nicola Cornick is a wonderful historical romance set in 1811 London and the Arctic. It is well written with details and depth. It has danger, romance, secrets, betrayal, sensuality, intrigue, danger, wit, adventure, a high sea voyage, suspense and of course true love in the making. The characters are enchanting, interesting, believable, handsome, adventurous, and determined. The hero, Alex, is handsome, trustworthy, sexy, passionate about his work, an adventurer and determi...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Jo (My House of Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars

At first glance, Whisper of Scandal is a classic he said/she said book. The she in question is Lady Joanna Ware; the he, her deceased husband, Lord David Ware, Alexander's best friend. Alex believes everything David ever said about his marriage and almost nothing Joanna says in defense or rebuttal. So Joanna leaves him to his incorrect and biased opinions. She's content to never see him again until David manages to toss them together via a guardianship for his illegitimate daughter. Only then do...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Fiendishly Bookish rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historicalromance, adventure, favorites

4.5 Stars

Lady Joanna Ware holds a secret close to her heart, and after having been devastated over and over again in her marriage, she has perfected a frosty persona that the ton has both embraced and whispered about.

It has taken her twelve months to get used to the death of her husband, explorer Lord David Ware. And during that year she has lived on borrowed time, in a house that is no longer hers, and an uncertain future. When Lord Alex Grant returns from the Arctic with a missive from her hu...more 4.5 Stars

Lady Joanna Ware holds a secret close to her heart, and after having been devastated over and over again in her marriage, she has perfected a frosty persona that the ton has both embraced and whispered about.

It has taken her twelve months to get used to the death of her husband, explorer Lord David Ware. And during that year she has lived on borrowed time, in a house that is no longer hers, and an uncertain future. When Lord Alex Grant returns from the Arctic with a missive from her husband’s deathbed, it can only spell more trouble for Joanna.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. When she has been delivered the news that her profligate husband has left his illegitimate child at the monastery of Bellsund, and named both Alex and Joanna as guardians, then its gets much, much, worse.

Lord Grant despises Joanna despite his searing attraction to her, and has been turned completely against her by the things that he has heard from her late husband. Joanna realizes that she cannot fight his prejudice. But somehow they must come to an accord, to make it to Spitsbergen and fulfill the terms of Lord David’s will.

What follows is a bracing adventure into wilds of the Arctic Circle, as their unlikely entourage encounters bears, inescapable sea ice, island natives, and each other. Somehow, somewhere, things start to thaw between Alex and Joanna, and she must entrust her secret, and her heart, yet once again.

Nicola Cornick is by no means a cookie-cutter historical romance novelist. Rather, her characters are earthy, tangibly real, and not always cut from a pristine cloth. In fact, Cornick’s characters dwell both the in the haute ton, and the lowliest slums and rookeries of London.

It is that diversity, that allows Cornick to push the envelope of her characters and flesh out compelling stories that have not been told a dozen times before. Her historicals are sprinkled with unapologetic fortune hunters, disgraced courtesans, and pure debutantes that willingly embroil themselves in a scandalous quest for sensuality.

Whisper of Scandal is such a story, spilling with excitement, scandalous scenes, and a stirring romance that pulls the reader willingly along on an adventurous journey. The sensual attraction between Alex and Joanna honestly could melt the polar ice cap. It was breathtakingly original AND without a doubt, the scene between James Devlin and Lottie Cummings just about made me blush! Scorching. Naughty. We definitely need a book about dashing Devlin!

I was absolutely compelled to also devour Cornick’s Lord of Scandal, and Secrets of a Courtesan directly after reading Whispers of Scandal.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat)(less)

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Jun 12, 2011 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lady Joanna Ware is a widow recently out of mourning. She has a long line of possible suitors lined up even though she has no desire to remarry. Lady Ware was left with a bad taste for marriage after her former husband, Lord David Ware, created quite the reputation for himself as a womanizer. When Lord Ware died, he left his estate to his only remaining relative, John Hagan. John Hagan is a middle aged man and has kindly agreed to let Lady Joanna remain in the home that she shared with her husba...more Lady Joanna Ware is a widow recently out of mourning. She has a long line of possible suitors lined up even though she has no desire to remarry. Lady Ware was left with a bad taste for marriage after her former husband, Lord David Ware, created quite the reputation for himself as a womanizer. When Lord Ware died, he left his estate to his only remaining relative, John Hagan. John Hagan is a middle aged man and has kindly agreed to let Lady Joanna remain in the home that she shared with her husband, but it doesn’t come without a price. John Hagan is one of the many suitors lined up asking for her hand in marriage, proposing to her countless times. During one of his proposals, Lord Alex Grant interrupts him, coming to pay his respects to Lady Joanna regarding the death of her husband. Lady Ware sees Lord Grant as a potential life-saver and engages in a passionate kiss with him right in front of Lord Hagan. What she doesn’t expect is the way she responds to the scandalous kiss with Alex.

Like Lady Ware’s husband, Lord Grant is a sailor; an adventurer. He sailed many an adventure with Lord Ware and looks at him as a true naval hero. During his time with Lord Ware, he’d heard him mention his wife in nothing but disrespect, depicting her as a cold, manipulative, heartless woman. Lord Grant doesn’t expect to see such a beauty of a woman, and immediately, he desires her in ways he hasn’t felt since his wife tragically died several years ago. After engaging in such a public passionate kiss, Lord Grant finds himself quite the talk of the ton.

As if their kiss wasn’t enough scandal for Lord Grant and Lady Ware, the two of them soon discover that Lord Ware has left them both guardianship of his bastard child, Nina, who is in a monastery in the North Pole. The two of them must depart on a sea voyage to obtain her. While Lord Grant is confused as to why he would be named guardian to this child, Lady Ware is elated at the idea of possibly having a child of her own. While married to Lord Ware, she was unable to become pregnant and after a particularly brutal beating at the hand of David Ware, Joanna is convinced that she is now completely barren. Even though Nina is not her flesh and blood, she recognizes that this very well may be her only chance to have a child.

Soon, word gets out regarding the quest that Lord Grant and Lady Ware are about to embark on. A lady travelling in itself is scandalous, but the fact that it’s to retrieve a child that is not even the Lady’s own is quite the talk. It doesn’t take long for John Hagan to find out Joanna’s plans and he threatens to take everything away from Lady Ware should she embark on this journey. Not only would that mean that she would have to give up her home and her stylish way of living, but it would also mean that her sister, Merryn, would be without a home as well. Desperate to maintain her lavish lifestyle and a home from a good name for her sister and Nina, Joanna suggests marriage to none other than Lord Alex Grant. Lord Grant is convinced that she only seeks his last name to remain at the top of the ton, but he cannot deny that he is immensely attracted to her. He agrees to marry Lady Joanna with the promise that she will give him an heir to leave his estate to should something happen to him. Lady Joanna, already beginning to feel more that a little attraction for Alex, regretfully does not tell him that she fears she is barren. She agrees to this marriage of convenience without divulging this important information to Lord Grant. A marriage of convenience it may be, but Lord Grant is determined to have Lady Joanna spend as much time as possible with him, especially in his bed.
This was a first read for me by this author, and I very much enjoyed this story. The h/h started out hating one another quite a bit, and the sarcastic banter between the two of them was great! What made it especially delicious, was how intense the sexual tension was between the two of them.
This is full of adventure of every kind. Suspense, backstabbing, treasure hunting, overcoming weather challenges, etc. It was especially entertaining to see the ladies of the ton in less than stellar accommodations aboard the ship when they set out to retrieve Nina.
A whole host of characters are introduced in this novel that set up for several more books in this series, three of which are already completed. James Devlin is the delicious rake that is cousin to Lord Grant. Lottie Cummings is the annoying yet loveable friend of Joanna, who also likes to make her way around the young men. And, my personal favorite, Owen Purchase, a southern American with a sexy drawl and quite a gentleman.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and look forward to the remainder of the series. The only complaint I would have is that I would’ve liked it to have been a little bit steamier, but other than that, a solid first author read for me!! Four stars!!
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Aug 29, 2012 Funmbi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, historical-romance-erotica

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am officially obsessed with Nicola Cornick! This series is amazing...once I start reading, I can never stop. Cornick's writing and characters pull me in so totally that, truly, from the first chapter, it's impossible to put it down. I'm actually working backwards, having first read book 6 of this series. But Whisper of Scandal is every bit as exciting! Adventure, romance, betrayal, heartbreak, forgiveness...this a wonderfully quick and juicy read, which I give 4.5 stars.

Joanna Ware is the wid...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Kimm rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Nicola Cornick is fast becoming a favorite of mine. I find myself intrigued with her character and plot choices. I never know what to expect next with her selections. In Whisper of Scandal, Cornick starts her setting with Regency London and then sweeps the reader away on a journey by ship to Spitsbergen at the North Pole. Her descriptions of this harsh and cold climate left me filled with interest over the culture and lifestyle of those raised in such a remote landscape. This is one of my favori...more Nicola Cornick is fast becoming a favorite of mine. I find myself intrigued with her character and plot choices. I never know what to expect next with her selections. In Whisper of Scandal, Cornick starts her setting with Regency London and then sweeps the reader away on a journey by ship to Spitsbergen at the North Pole. Her descriptions of this harsh and cold climate left me filled with interest over the culture and lifestyle of those raised in such a remote landscape. This is one of my favorite parts of the book—reading about adventure and exploration of the unknown!

Lady Joanna and Lord Grant are well constructed characters. I liked their personalities and thought they complemented each other well. They are both strong figures, each one making their way out of their own private hell. There is a special sensitivity that they show to one another when the need arises, which makes them all the more likable for me. The hard part is just getting past the façade that they wear. Really, these two are very much peas in a pod.

The only difficult part for me in the book was Alex’s relationship with Joanna’s deceased husband. It was troublesome to understand his hero-worship for such a nasty character…I think I wanted more of a back-story between the two men to comprehend it fully. It would have been nice to see it developed even more thoroughly.

Finally, there’s a particular point of the book where the purpose is to rescue an orphaned child left behind in the barren land of the North Pole. I applaud this plot point thoroughly and have to say that I am extremely pleased with how Cornick wrote its conclusion. I thought it very clever and sensitive. Really, really loved that bit.

A note to remember: This is the first of a trilogy. I’ve also read the second book (my thoughts on that are coming soon) and am very much looking forward to the final installment—which coincidentally provides the tie between the three books. I love that we have already met the hero & heroine by the time we get there. A couple that I would not have thought to match—this I have to admit!

This book is a great fit for Regency lovers who love beautiful settings and love with a bit of tragedy thrown in.
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Sep 22, 2010 Kit★ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, historical, regency-era

This was a pretty good story. I really liked how it was set in the Arctic, that's a setting you don't see much of in Regency era roms. The characters were different too, an explorer and a widow rather than the typical rake and debutante. I liked Joanna she was good and kind on the inside, though on all outer appearances she was just another superficial society lady. Alex was alright too, he had misguided judgement of her sometimes, but he was always quick to understand motives, and didn't spend...more

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Dec 04, 2010 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Excellent read, Nicola never has let me down with her great works!!

Lady Joanna Ware has no desire to wed a second time. Desperate to refuse another proposal, Joanna brazenly kisses Alex, Lord Grant, Artic exployer, even though he knows that gossip will fly among the ton about them. Even though no affair is going on.............yet.

In her first marraige, her husband went from one bed to another of lusty women. But when her dead husband's will is read, she is shocked at hie bequeathel for his ille...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Ana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: keeper-shelf

– Nothing gives me a bigger thrill than discovering a new-to-me author. Whisper of Scandal is the first Nicola Cornick book I’ve read and I’m glad I did. Her characters are original, no cliches here, as are her settings. The North Pole? I’ve never seen that one used before. Her writing style is smooth and the sensuality level is high even though the love scenes don’t occur until later in the story. Building and maintaining sexual tension is, IMO, one of the most important factors in a romance no...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Carol *Young at Heart Oldie* rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-books

‘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...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, romance

This will sound like damning with faint praise--but here goes.
I read the whole book, no skimming, which is something I have had a hard time doing with the recent historical romances that I have picked up. So kudos to Cornick for writing a book that held my interest.
However, that's about the best I can say for it. Cornick has a nice style and voice, but, quite frankly, I didn't really like many of the characters. I did enjoy the unusual setting and the bit of mystery about the young daughter and...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Julischka rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Whisper of a Scandal von Nicola Cornick ist ein historischer Liebesroman, der überwiegend im London von 1811 spielt.
Lady Joanna Ware ist Witwe und nach ihrer lieblosen Ehe mit dem Polarforscher Lord Ware steht ihr nicht der Sinn nach einer erneuten Ehe.
Sie hat sich ihr Leben schon während sie noch verheiratet war ohne Mann eingerichtet, da ihr Ehemann ständig auf Reisen war. Joanna ist angesehenes Mitglied der Londoner High Society und liebt die Zerstreuungen, die London ihr bietet.
Trotzdem wird...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Jaimey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-regency, romance-series

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Sensitive readers warning: Contains graphic love scenes

Wow. I started this book and didn't want to put it down. I thought about it when I had to put it down. I loved it.

The main characters were engaging. I even liked Alex, with his arrogance and ignorant determination to believe in his "friend's" honesty, thus believing Joanna to be a manipulative harpy. I thought it made him realistic. At moments it was irritating, but like I said, realistic.

My favorite part of this w...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Book Chick City rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-historical

"Whisper of Scandal" is a meaty historical romance, with great plot and well defined characters. I liked the heroine straight away. Widowed Lady Joanna Ware is a complex character, as is the hero, but she is immensely likeable, whereas Lord Alex Grant is not. It took me quite some time to warm to him due to his arrogent, presumptuous and incredibly shallow manner, where he dislikes Joanna without knowing her and only goes on one person's opinion.

From the first chapter, when Lady Joanna and Lord...more "Whisper of Scandal" is a meaty historical romance, with great plot and well defined characters. I liked the heroine straight away. Widowed Lady Joanna Ware is a complex character, as is the hero, but she is immensely likeable, whereas Lord Alex Grant is not. It took me quite some time to warm to him due to his arrogent, presumptuous and incredibly shallow manner, where he dislikes Joanna without knowing her and only goes on one person's opinion.

From the first chapter, when Lady Joanna and Lord Alex meet and Joanna kisses him in the hope to disuade her dead husband's cousin from his advances, I thought this was going to be a fairly light historical romance, but it wasn't.

Joanna's husband, an adventurer, dies while abroad and we are given glimpses into this horrid little man's life and his treatment of Joanna as we read further into the novel, which helped me understand her and how much she has been through. So when Lord Alex Grant is nasty to her, all I want to do is box his ears! But luckily, Joanna is an intelligent and articulate woman and gives as good as she gets. At times, Joanna puts Alex in his place so much so, I wanted to fist pump the air and cry "Yes! Take that, you cad!"

Although I didn't particularly like Alex for most of the book, he did begin to grow on me when he joined Joanna on a trip to the Arctic to bring home an orphaned child, and by the end of the novel, I loved him nearly as much as she did!

The secondary characters are also full of life, I specially liked Purchase, the captain of the boat Joanna charters for the long voyage. He's so protective and so in love with Joanna he will do anything to protect her.

The only secondary character I didn't like was Lottie Cummings - what a horrid woman. She proclaims to be Joanna's best friend and yet had an affair with her husband, she's incredibly grating and very shallow. She doesn't grow or change a bit throughout the entire novel and then she betrays Joanna again. Why Joanna continues to be friends with her I don't quite understand.

The dialogue between all the characters is well written and sharp, especially between Joanna and Alex. I really felt their dislike of each other, even though they simultaneously want to rip each other's clothes off. Venom drips from their words which are, at times, hurtful and spiteful, and it was immensely enjoyable to read. The only thing I will say is this did go on for a bit too long in my opinion and became a touch frustrating.

However, overall the pacing is very good and I believed Joanna and Alex's growing love. It isn't too abrupt, everything happens at the right time, and Alex soon comes to his senses. The sex scenes are sensual rather than explicit and the romance builds wonderfully.

The ending is just swoon-worthy, and so romantic - I won't give anything away, but let me just say, I now want to go on a long boat voyage to the Arctic and be swept off my feet by a Lord...

VERDICT:

A lovely historical romance with all the right ingredients. If you enjoy the love/hate relationship - and I do, it's my favourite kind - then you will gobble this up. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series, 'One Wicked Sin'.(less)

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Feb 07, 2012 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

I truly enjoyed this book, surprisingly. When I got the book, I was a little bit skeptical but I don't really know why. But once, I picked it up, I was pulled into the story and was glad that I read it. The two main characters: Lord Alexander Grant and Joanna Ware were great. The interaction between the two was interesting and even though there was not much humor in it, it was still entertaining. I am definitely going to read the next book in the series and hope that the story is as good as this...more

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May 11, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book got off to a bit of a slow start, but I wound up enjoying it. Both Joanna and Alex are determined to keep the other at arms length. Joanna's late husband was an adventurer and a womanizer. Alex was also an adventurer and David's close friend. He was convinced that Joanna was not a very nice woman and he wanted to have nothing to do with her until a provision in David's will forces them to an unwanted adventure in the Arctic

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Oct 19, 2010 Paula rated it 4 of 5 stars

I admit it, I am a historical romance junky. This was not the usual recipe. An unhappy marriage and adventurer gone a lot of the time, drops a surprize with his will. He expects his wife and friend/co-adventurer to rescue his bastard child left in a monastery in the arctic. Needless to say, sparks fly on the trip to the arctic and details about the now dead husband are revealed. And yes, there is a happily ever after ending.

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Sep 24, 2010 Jude rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved Joanna and Alex and the chemistry between them sizzles on the page. Ms Cornick immerses you in a Regency world with the unusual setting of the Arctic. The story really comes to life when Joanna and Alex embark on their expedition to Spitsbergen, and it's in this harsh landscape that Alex finally faces his fears. Great stuff.

This is the first book in a new series about the Scandalous Women of the ton. One Wicked Sin is Lottie's story and Mistress by Midnight is Merryn's story. I really ho...more

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Feb 10, 2011 E. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: regency, erotica

Vivacious widow is flighty and fashionable. Bereft best friend returns to town with last bequest and discovers that he is going to have to deal with widow far more than he would like. Final task takes both on trip to foreign lands and forces them to face uncomfortable truths about who is truly a friend. A bit superficial and somewhat difficult to have empathy with all of the characters.

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Aug 14, 2012 Angela Montgomery rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 actually. I'm a big fan of Nicola Cornick. I think she's one of our better Regency romance writers. However, I was not as crazy about this one. Alex was antagonistic to the point of rudeness for the first third of the novel. Thankfully, that improves, so that overall the love story works. The setting (polar exploration) was a nice change from the usual tonnish ballrooms/drawing rooms.

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Apr 23, 2011 Jackie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Read the first 100 pages, then gave up. The characters argue and argue, but all over nothing that a few words of explanation couldn't have fixed. The author's prose isn't awful, but it isn't good, either -- not much variety in sentence structure, no variety in verb choice. In a more accomplished author's hands, the storyline could have been terrific, but it simply fell flat for me.

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Sep 22, 2012 Nia rated it 1 of 5 stars

You know how you have to wade through alot of shit to get to treasure, well honestly that's what I found with this book. I didn't even like the characters and I think that the redeeming the main female character came far too late, and the man's characterization was not very much better. I mean there are a few characters that I was intriqued by (and will probably show up in next book) however it was a struggle to even get that far. Sad day. :( If I find the next two books for 50 cents at garage s...more

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Dec 21, 2010 Elle rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really like this author's work. She develops real, engaging characters, with flaws, but sympathetic.

I did get a bit fuzzy at the end, when the hero asks if the heroine has a certain item, and she does, despite the fact that she left all her luggage (would she really carry that one thing on her person?). But...

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title link	preview: Whisper of Scandal
avg rating	preview: Whisper of Scandal Goodreads rating: 3.67 (334 ratings)
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Whisper of Scandal (Scandalous #1)

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