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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780061456749
ISBN number: 0061456748
Label: Avon
Manufacturer: Avon
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: August 01, 2008
Publishing house: Avon
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 23178
Studio: Avon
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Product Description:
It Was a Scandal Waiting to Happen . . .
Colonel Phineas Bromley is a legend—on the battlefield and in the bedroom. Though he's won many wars, and even more hearts, nothing could prepare him for his new life. When Phin discovers that someone has been pushing his family toward ruin, he assumes the role of a legendary highwayman. Riding out in the middle of the night, hidden behind a mask, Phin heads straight into trouble . . . and into the arms of the ravishing girl subsequent door.
Coming face-to-face with a masked man did not frighten Alyse Donnelly as it should have. Instead, she finds him rather dashing. But her foolish heart has led her into trouble before, and helping a fugitive may mean jeopardizing her own plans, no matter how enticing his kisses. Now, as the danger grows, Alyse must make a choice between freedom . . . and the chance for true love.
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Rated by buyers 
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Colonel Phineas Bromley is returning to his birthplace ten years after having left. On the battlefield he is considered one of the best soldiers in the land. In the bedroom, women swoon at his ability to grant them their every desires. It isn't until he finally returns home that he realizes just how close to ruin his family is and he wants to get to the bottom of it. Dressing as a highwayman in the dead of night, Phineas runs into Alyse, the girl subsequent door. The girl that he has never forgotten.
Alyse Donnelly has never forgotten the fun time she and Phin had when they were younger. Now that ten years have passed she is sure that he will no longer want anything to do with her but she finds that the boy that left has become a man and she can't keep her thoughts from focusing on him. With a home to oversee and a grumpy Aunt to take care of, Alyse has her hands full. She has yet to live down the scandal years ago in which she was a part and never wants to experience again. Her heart is in the right place - it is with Phineas. She can't help but want him. He makes her feel free and loved.
Suzanne Enoch has never before failed to capture my attention with her historical romances. I am used to dashing heroes and strong heroines who are feisty and full of life. Phineas and Alyse surprised me. More mundane at times than I liked, I found myself almost bored at their feelings for each other. They seemed more like friends than lovers throughout BEFORE THE SCANDAL and I quickly began to skim ahead in the hope of finding and reading a `good' part. One character got my dander up more than once and it was Alyse's aunt. I despised that old biddy with every breath in my body and more than once imagined her having a slow and miserable death. Her cousin was also another character I was not fond of. He was lazy and that instantly made me hate him. Phineas' was a lovable, albeit aimless in what he wanted to accomplish. Alyse loved him but even she was often unemotional and almost robotic in nature.
Flourishing storyline notwithstanding, BEFORE THE SCANDAL is a commendable read. Readers will be swept away by the enchanting setting and the almost fairy tale likeness of Alyse's life. The loyalty of Phin's brother, despite his handicap, is amazing to say the least. Add in the horrible aunt, her lazy son, and Suzanne Enoch has treated us to a historical worthy of any bookshelf. I look forward to the subsequent installment with bated breath!
***Natalie S. for Wild on Books***
Rated by buyers 
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Suzanne Enoch is one of my favorite authors and this book is an excellent example of why. No one does personal redemption stories like her.
Rated by buyers -
'Before the Scandal' is the second of Suzanne Enoch's series 'The Notorious Gentleman', the very first book being 'After The Kiss'. This series follows the romances of three soldiers who served together fighting Napoleon and in 'Before the Scandal' it's the turn of Phineas Bromley, second son of a viscount and family tearaway. Phineas left home aged 17 after causing an accident that crippled his older brother, the viscount, and hasn't returned for ten years. However after a letter from his young sister Beth telling him that brother William was at death's door, Phineas rushed back from the continent to the family home at Quence in East Sussex.
When Phin arrives, however, things aren't as they seem. William isn't on his deathbed but Beth can't tell him why she begged him to come back. Phin also reacquaints himself with his childhood playmate Alyse Donnelly, now a lovely woman of 25. But Alyse's life has changed considerably since Phil left; she's now at the mercy of her cousin who treats her like a servant. As Phin gets to know Alyse again he discovers that Quence seems to have been suffering a run of bad luck and soon wonders if there's more to it than just misfortune. To find out more he disguises himself as a highwayman and starts to investigate - but can he keep his brother and sister safe, can he rescue Alyse from her dire situation and can he find out who it is who is plotting against Quence, and why?
I enjoyed this book, particularly its main character Phin who was portrayed very well. Despite now being a heroic character, Phin's previous behaviour was not glossed over and his feeling of responsibility for some of the bad events in the past was probably fair. It was harder to understand Alyse whose characterisation was sketchy, but she was still an appealing character. Where this book fell down was the historical accuracy within the dialogue. There were some enormous clangers within the text, such as people saying 'no worries' to each other like modern-day Australians rather than English people from the early 1800s. On many occasions the dialogue felt like modern Americans were speaking rather than Regency Brits and for this English reader that was very noticeable. However overall I did like the story with its different plotline and, despite the rather unlikely events that took place at times, I was caught up with the story for most of its length.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008
Rated by buyers -
I read this book before reading the previous installment in the series -- 'After the Kiss' -- and I really did enjoy it. I saw the chemistry between the two leads right away. I liked that they were old friends who had just been discovering that they might have feelings for one another when they'd been torn apart by other circumstances.
As someone else mentioned though, it would have been nice to see a couple of flashbacks to really cement their prior relationship with the reader, but I still got the feeling of their closeness through the scenes presented. They ended up being each other's only allies and those moments were well written.
I have to say that I think Phin's older brother is such an interesting character, I wish he could have his own romance. There's no reason why a disabled person can't find love ... ask Stephen Hawking! Viscount Quence seems like such a lovely, loving person, and once Elizabeth is gone he'll be alone. I hate that thought. He could at least have novella or something. I think Enoch is up to such a challenge.
SPOILERS
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My main complaint is in the area of believability. We all suspend our disbelief whenever we open a historical romance, but I really couldn't believe that Bram and Sullivan were too stunned in the midst of a crisis to figure out a way to break out the windows and get Elizabeth and William out of the burning building. They seemed helpless, and it just didn't make sense to me.
Also, regarding the fire, the villains ran right into the house with guns and then left to start the fire? After they'd shown themselves? Why in the world did they not start the fire in the middle of the night when they had a better chance of killing everyone inside? I'm not even a bad guy and I can think of that.
And that glitch coming at the end of the book leaves a dissatisfied feeling.
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END SPOILERS
However, taking the book as a whole I give it four stars. I really liked the main characters and I like this series. Untitled heroes who are making their mark is a nice theme for a series. And, as always, Suzanne Enoch has a great sense of humour and witty dialogue, which makes her one of my current favorites.
Rated by buyers -
Many romances are written mostly from the heroine's point of view; not surprising as most of the readers are likely women. This romance is written at least equally from the point of the hero, if not primarily from his perspective. That, plus his efforts to discover who was trying to harm his estranged family, gave this book a different feel from many other romances.
I read so many romances that I enjoy any time an author goes to the effort to write something different enough to stand out from the masses. Readers who want lots of sex are going to be disappointed. There is only one that I recall -- but lots of stolen kisses behind closed doors. The romance itself is that of two childhood friends and sort of sweethearts finding each other after both have gone through emotionally difficult times.
I enjoyed this book enough that I am going to get the very first book in the series.
I'm editing this review to add my explanation of the title. At least one reviewer couldn't figure out what the scandal was in the book. The scandal occurred 4 years before the start of the book and I believe the title refers to the fact that the hero and hero knew each other before the scandal and that the heroine would not have still been single and stuck living with her nasty cousin and his mother when the hero comes home from war but for the scandal.
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