About the Book:

They are sworn enemies… 

Theodore Prescott the Third, one of Manhattan’s Rogues of Millionaire Row, has really done it this time. The only way to survive his most recent, unspeakably outrageous scandal is marry someone respectable. Someone sensible. Someone like Daisy Swan. Of all the girls in Gilded Age Manhattan, it had to be her.

Pretending to be lovers… 

Daisy Swan has plans and they do not involve a loveless marriage with anyone. But when a devastating family secret threatens to destroy her standing in society, suddenly a fake engagement with Theo is just the thing to make all her dreams come true.

And now it’s time to kiss and make up… 

Daisy Swan aspires to sell cosmetics that she has created, but this brainy scientist needs a smooth talking charmer’s flair for words and eye for beauty to make it a success. Before long, Daisy and Theo are trading kisses. And secrets. And discovering that despite appearances, they might be the perfect couple after all.

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link:                                                             Some Like It Scandalous

My Review:

Daisy Swan and Theodore Prescott III have been enemies since they were twelve years old, and a bit of childish nonsense got out of hand.  Theo took exception to Daisy’s unwillingness to join in their games, so he ran off with her book, causing her to chase him, and ending up in a humiliating situation, with a hated nickname which has stuck with her for the last thirteen years.  In the intervening years, Theo has become even better looking, charming, and roguish.  Daisy, on the other hand, chose to focus on her education, and studied chemistry, hoping to set up a successful cosmetic business.

When Theo’s latest escapade causes a scandal, his father declares that it’s the last straw.  He has allowed Theo to live a carefree and frivolous life, but now it’s time he grew up and took his place in the family steel business.  It’s also time he marry, and daddy knows just the woman who can keep him in line.

Daisy has been blessed that her mother supported her education over the past years, but all of a sudden, mama is insisting that Daisy marry, and quickly.  When pressed, she only indicates that a situation is developing that will surely ruin the family, and that Daisy’s only hope of weathering it is to make a successful marriage, and make it right now!  Daisy is appalled, not only at being forced into marriage, but to her childhood nemesis is just unbearable.

Theo can’t imagine marrying “Ugly Duck Daisy” any more than she can fathom wedding “The Rogue of Millionaire Row.”  Their shared horror at the agreement their parents made causes them to join forces to find a way out of the situation.  They agree to appear to have a genuine engagement in order to appease their parents, while scrambling to figure out a way out of their worst nightmare.

Since Theo and Daisy have no desire to impress each other, they are very forthright and honest in the way they speak.  After they get past the initial trading of insults, they actually begin to have real conversations.  Daisy confesses how much his insult hurt all those years ago, and Theo admits that he never intended to hurt her, he was actually angry that she preferred a book to his company.  Soon they talk of their dreams and goals, and come up with a plan to create a company that would free them from being dependent on their parents, and allow them both their freedom.

Surprisingly, Theo has a knack for business and promotion, and along with Daisy’s luxurious complexion cream, their venture takes off.  Even more surprising is the fact that they have discovered that they enjoy kissing each other!  With all the past hostilities buried, can they possibly be thinking of making the engagement and marriage genuine?  It seems likely, until the impending scandal that Daisy’s mother warned of, finally happens.  Theo’s father is not having his son be any part of such a scandal, and takes steps to ensure that the connection is broken permanently.

I’m generally not a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, but there is so much to love about SOME LIKE IT SCANDALOUS!  Both Theo and Daisy are multi-dimensional characters who have so much more to them than what shows on the surface.  Theo is not just another pretty face.  He truly wanted to make his father proud of him and love him, but he just did not fit in the family business.  His restlessness while he searched to find his niche played a huge part in his previous frivolous lifestyle.  I love how the closer he became to Daisy, the more beautiful he thought her.  He finally matured enough to stand up to his father, and to tell him how he really felt, and set his own future path.  Though Daisy was a bluestocking, she had a playful and sensual side which had long been buried.  Set in New York in 1895, there are wonderfully descriptive scenes of what a woman had to deal with regarding cosmetics, education, suffrage, and even the right to eat at a restaurant without a male escort present.  SOME LIKE IT SCANDALOUS made for purely delightful reading, with a sweet and steamy romance that left me feeling that these former enemies will have a long a happy future together.  Rumor has it.  Allegedly.  People are saying….   ~Rose