INVITATION TO SCANDAL by Bronwen Evans

PUBLISHER: Brava, 5/2012
GENRE: Historical romance
SETTING: England, 1809
MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Plagued by scandalous rumors, Rheda Kerrich will stop at nothing to restore her reputation and make an honest living for herself — and she’s determined to do it without a husband. But times are hard, and smuggling is a risky though profitable trade. So when a dashing agent for the English government catches her in the act, she desperately resists his charms and conceals her illicit profession. Until she realizes he may be the key to her ultimate freedom — and unbridled passion..

Rufus Knight, Viscount Strathmore, has never had trouble beguiling the ladies of Kent. When his search for “Dark Shadow,” a cunningly elusive smuggler, leads him to alluring and headstrong Rhe, her objections to his amorous advances merely incite a tantalizing game of cat and mouse. Soon, they’ll find the very secrets driving them apart could ensnare them in a love they can’t escape…

MY THOUGHTS: The hero is 32 year old Rufus Knight. He’s got brown hair and brown eyes. The heroine is 25 year old blonde and green-eyed Rheda Kerrich. Boy, do they have an interesting first meeting! He’s attracted to her from the start and she, him. He’s in town to find out who a smuggler, who goes by the name Dark Shadow, is. After meeting Rheda he believes she knows who that person is.

Rheda is involved with things she shouldn’t be. She’s trying to be independent and earn her own money. She has turned down Christopher’s marriage proposal several times because she doesn’t want to be dependent on any man. She confides important things to him and it comes back to haunt her.

There’s also a dark sexual and sinister subplot involving a terrible person and I enjoyed that part a lot. It came to a head at the end of the story and I felt the author could have handled it better, made it less obvious who the bad person was, made it someone else. I’d guessed it early on.

I was unexpectedly happy with this story. Wasn’t sure I’d like it since I didn’t like her previous novel but it sounded good so I gave it a shot. I really liked both lead characters and thought they were a perfect match.

I received this from the publisher in 2012 in exchange for an honest review.