A Scandal by Any Other Name (A Tale of Two Sisters #2) by Kimberly Bell-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 30, 2018

Jasper De Vere doesn’t do sad. Ever since the death of his parents, he’s devoted himself to life’s many pleasures—while making sure to avoid attachments. It’s difficult to avoid your own grandfather though, especially when you’re the heir to his Dukedom. Unable to sit by and watch one of the few people he cares about wither away, Jasper flees to his friend Nicholas’s country estate.

Julia Bishop leads a life of glorious excitement—in her head. The spinal injury she was born with makes her a permanent pariah in society, so despite being the daughter of an earl, she’s spent her life in the country with just her family to keep her company. When her brother-in-law’s flirtatious—and devilishly handsome—friend mistakes her for an untroubled debutante, Julia isn’t about to let an opportunity for some real, live adventure slip away.

Delicious distraction and flirtation turn into an all-out affair, and slips dangerously close to something more when family intrudes. Can Jasper and Julia return to their separate lives in isolation, or will they take a risk and choose each other?

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REVIEW: Before I got into romance genres, I was very big into historical books. I love my historical books especially my historical fiction. I was excited to get a historical book to read. I really wanted to like this book I really did. There were just some things about the characters I had a hard time with.

Don’t get me wrong, Jasper is an all-around fun guy that exuded warmth, charisma and a lot of genuine affection to Julia. He is in fact easy to like. Just the fact that he ran out on the queen when he had to accept his new title as duke and when he ditched on Julia without leaving her an explanation did not sit well with me. It came off a little cowardly to me. I am all for my strong and bold heroines and Julia most definitely fit the bill on that. Despite having spinal bifida, she does not take crap from others. I was cheering her on when she slapped the hostess at the dinner table who was being insensitive to Jasper. I loved that she had courage and initiative to live her life to the fullest and not let her condition slow her down. Unfortunately, what rubbed me the wrong way was how desperate she was coming off to experience lust, romance and sex with Jasper like he was going to be her only chance. Like I get it that you have a condition that disfigured parts of your body, but you can’t be that grotesque that you are going to die a virgin. Her low self-image issues did put me off. However reading how cruelly she was treated by others regarding her condition, I did cut her slack.

Despite that there were many great elements I did enjoy and appreciate about the book. The turning point where Julia fully trusts Jasper baring her back and foot for Jasper to see when she spent 2/3 of the book hiding it from him. You do admire her strength knowing she was terrified of his rejection. Of course Jasper does not reject her and still sees her as a beautiful girl that he loves. It was an outstanding prelude to them making love for the first time. The scene was explicit yet very tastefully written. The scene where they sat on the floor on cushions eating their dinner together in front of the fire was my favorite scene. The chemistry was very tangible in this scene. They got to know each other a bit, they joked and played complete with nice wholesome cuddling. Emotion packed scenes like this is what make me reach for romance books the way I do. As a playboy in his past, I do appreciate the pace Jasper tried to take with Julia. To take things slow and actually court Julia made my respect for Jasper grow.

I have to admit it felt like the odds were stacked against Jasper and Julia so much, I felt sad for the couple if they were going to get a happily ever after like all couples deserve. The book at the last minute delivered and the queen actually approves their wedding. The book had me cheering for the couple numerous times and I still highly recommend this book.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Xtina