Amanda
Written on May 3, 2015
I really need to get better at writing Goodreads reviews for the books I read, whether or not I feel like it. Case in point is book 1 of the Cabot Sisters series, which I read and remember nothing of. It's not that I lost anything by it, really, just that I spent more time trying to figure out what had happened in book 1. Never did figure that out. Which is vexing because it wasn't the series I thought it was, which got me distracted about figuring out what THAT series was...
Anyway. This should be about The Scoundrel and the Debutante, and not about my book memory issues, right? Right.
When I was contacted about reviewing this book, I couldn't say no. I'm weak-willed when it comes to historical romance, apparently, and even more so when I recognize the author's name. But I think, to the best of my knowledge, that I wasn't overly enamored with the first book of this series, and although I likely enjoyed this one more, the epilogue somewhat soured it for me.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Prudence feels trapped by her two older sisters' scandals. It's understandable, really, in the haut ton, and rather than being able to commiserate with her youngest sister, she finds herself alone in her misery. Her older sisters flatly refuse to consider how their actions affected Prudence (something that never endeared me to them), and it ultimately leads Prudence to take off on her own.
I cheered her for that. Take charge of your life, Pru. I mean, it was foolhardy and rather stupid to go gallivanting off on your own with a man you just met, but sometimes you'd got to follow your vagina's whims. And yeah, I'm a sucker for an on-the-road-removed-from-the-rest-of-the-world plot. It allows for all sorts of naughty activities to happen that you generally don't find at a ball.
Roan was a decent historical romance hero, though nothing was quite remarkable about him other than he was American in an English world. (Still not that remarkable given that other books have covered them same.) He was chasing after his sister and got caught up in the Prudence storm. He was rather helpless in it all, which is an odd thing to say, but he got sucked in and fell hard. Also, his sister was rather annoying.
The Scoundrel and the Debutante is the kind of story I love to blow through in a single sitting, but that doesn't hold up all that well during a review. A few ideas were dangled out in front of us, making us think one thing, then failing to deliver later on. Nothing I want to give specifics on, but leading us to think one thing, and then not addressing it is rather annoying. I'm still confused whether their mother died before or during or after this book.
The epilogue was a summary of everything that had happened post-book, more like a recap than an actual scene to close out the book. (Something that would have mirrored the beginning of the book would have been nice.) Everyone was happy -- YAY! -- but it was dissatisfying in some way I can't quite put my finger on.