Miss Sophie Fairfax is determined to marry for love, so she decides to take matters into her own hands, rather than abide by her brother’s plans for her to marry for a title. She chooses to pick Lord Dominic Rotherby, who is a well-known rake and possibly too scandalous.
A clean romance despite the initial scene in the brothel, this book is largely from Sophie’s perspective. I did enjoy Sophie, particularly for all the situations she finds herself in, determined to decide her own future. However, I did find that the storyline was a bit too chaotic.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you love Bridgerton then you need to read this book! The book was very well written and had great romance!

I struggled to connect with this book.

I feel that it has potential but unfortunately for me it felt a little too silly in parts. Almost like it was trying too hard to embed the characters' traits that separate them. I also couldn't picture any of the characters.

It could be that this is book two in the Fairfax sisters series and I have not read book one, however as this is about a different sister and is interconnected rather than a duet I would expect it to stand on its own with no prior knowledge of the characters. I did not feel it did this.
Unfortunately I DNF'd at 36% as I just did not click with this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

This was an entertaining Regency romance. It was fun, frothy and kept me reading. I enjoyed this Regency romance and would recommend it to others.

3.5 Stars
Miss Sophie Fairfax has every intention of marrying for love, refusing to go along with her brother’s plans for a marriage of convenience or title. Throwing caution to the wind at her very first ball, Sophie finds herself in the path of the most notorious rake in the ton. Agreeing a wager with him may be wicked, but finding herself alone with the dangerously attractive Lord Rotherby might be one scandal too far
The second Fairfax sister to find her HEA. A well written enjoyable & entertaining book which I liked but didn’t love. I liked Dominic & Sophie but I found the book to be over the top. The pace was good but for me there were too many tropes & too much conflict. I’ll definitely read more from the author as she hones her craft
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

I’ve been on a Bridgerton kick lately after finishing “The Viscount Who Loved Me”. So when I saw “The Scandal of the Season” described as for Bridgerton fans, I had to get my hands on it. Lord Rotherby on the cover is giving younger Anthony Bridgerton vibes. This story is closed door which I really appreciated because sometimes I just want the romance. You also get all the regency romance staples here, the balls, Sophie’s debut season, the tortured Lord, the Ton, ect. This book does take place in Paris instead of London like a bulk of these type of romances. If you’re a fan of Bridgerton or regency romance this will check all those boxes. However I feel like the connection between the MMC and FMC was lacking and I didn’t get the passion I look for in these types of books. Also if I wasn’t reading this on my kindle where I could look up the old English words I would have been lost. I know that’s a big part of these books but someone didn’t even have translations and I’ve never seen them before so had NO idea what they could mean. The Glossary at the end of the book was lacking. Like “ a rum ’un”, I still have no idea what they means and it wasn’t included in the glossary and the look up on my kindle had no idea either.

I just couldn't get into this book, i wasn't a fan of the writing style or the old English the author used, and i just couldn't get into the story as a result. While I did love the family dynamics especially between the sisters I just didn't love the romance.

I'll withhold my reviews from retail sites for a few weeks after the release date.

I absolutely loved Kenney's first entry in this series, The Mismatch of the Season, so I was excited to read the next chapter, The Scandal of the Season. We now have Phoebe's younger sister, Sophie, ready to find love on the marriage mart. She's a bit more stubborn than her older sister, but she has a bit more common sense. That is until she meets the rogue Lord Rotherby. Sophie finds herself involved in a wager with the rake, but she also attempts to save her friend from scandal and lands herself in potentially the worst scandal of the season.

We again have a clean romance, unlike Bridgerton, The banter between Sophie and Rotherby is fun to follow, and their evolving relationship is endearing. There's some intrigue and the alternate backdrop of France to make this an entertaining Regency read. I love losing myself in this time period, and Michelle Kenney has a talent for transporting the reader to that time period.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another rollercoaster from Kenney here, of capers and manners all going wrong. Like the first book, of the Fairfax sisters, the plot is a wild ride; this time the perfect debutante accidentally brings scandal on herself, taking her from Devon to London and on to Paris and Rouen. I’m sure the Regency Romance purists will take issue with the plausibility, but The Scandal of the Season is pacy and funny with endearing characters, who I was rooting for.

The Scandal of the Season
by Michelle Kenney

As a devoted fan of historical romance novels, I had high hopes for this book, anticipating a captivating tale filled with intrigue and passion. However, I regret to say that my experience was quite disappointing. The plot felt excessively dull, meandering through predictable scenarios that failed to engage my interest. At times, the scenarios ventured into the realm of the absurd, detracting from any potential enjoyment.

Moreover, the characters lacked depth and development, making it difficult for me to invest in their journeys. I often found myself frustrated by their inconsistent behaviours and decisions, which left me feeling detached from the unfolding story. Unfortunately, I was unable to form any meaningful connection with the characters, as they often felt one-dimensional and unrelatable. Overall, this book did not meet my expectations, and I finished it feeling rather unfulfilled.

Miss Sophie Fairfax is determined to marry for love—not for convenience or status, despite her brother’s wishes. At her first ball, she boldly steps into high society and soon crosses paths with the infamous Lord Rotherby, known for his rakish reputation.
When a daring wager draws them closer, Sophie finds herself flirting with both temptation and trouble. But being caught alone with the dangerously charming lord could turn her bold debut into a full-blown scandal…

Phew, most of this book is so intense! After a short intro, at least 70% of the book is non-stop action, and Sophie definitely gets no peace—it's just drama after drama. I liked how the book immediately gave off a Bridgerton vibe, very much the Regency period experience.

I gave this book three stars because it felt a bit overcrowded—so many events happening in such a short time, everyone chasing after each other... oh my, too much. I didn’t get the sense that there was much visible character growth; Sophie is very dramatic and constantly going back and forth with "I want this/I don’t want this," always second-guessing, and in the end, it was all pretty predictable.

It also annoyed me a little how often characters from the first book were mentioned without enough explanation of what had happened with them—I felt like a big part of the story was missing.
If you enjoy Regency romance, you’ll probably like all the scandal here. I definitely recommend reading the book—but now I have to go back and catch up on the first one in the series!

Book 2, and the story of the Fairfax sisters continues to amaze, bewilder and entertain in equal measures.
Phoebe was the first sister to be married after a series of awkward misunderstandings on the way to finding her true love, and now it is the turn of younger sister Sophie.
Sophie is independently minded, wants her freedom, but doesn’t know how to get it. She wants a love match, but hasn’t yet joined the “ meat market”, also known as the debutante season. She is young, naive, headstrong and easily duped into helping friends who really don’t deserve her well meant endeavours. She makes unaccountable choices in life, but without the helping hand of her elder sister, very nearly comes a cropper in so many dangerous and reputation destroying situations.
Enter Lord Dominic Rotherby, a notorious rake, seducer of women, and yet an honourable man in his own way.
These two people meet at a Ball. Sophie tells him she is looking for true love, he wagers she will marry for any other reason than love, she recklessly accepts the wager. Then follows a campaign of each other becoming involved in unfortunate meetings, incidents, and various misunderstandings, not quite stalking behaviour, but there is an undoubted connection between the two of them that is only realised by a third party in Paris of all places.
Young Georgian women seem to have been quite ignorant about sex and men, they can fall prey to the most caddish behaviour, unless, like Phoebe, you manage to find a tolerant and devoted husband. There are many laughs along the way, some situations make you think of a farce being enacted, but the truth is, you have to kiss many frogs before you find your Prince.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HarperCollinsUK, for my advanced read, freely given in return for my honest review. I gave this five stars.
I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

The Scandal of the Season had a lot to love: witty banter, lovely prose, and intriguing characters. And for the most part, I did enjoy it. But both MCs were just really hard to connect with. I can’t figure out if it’s because their characterizations are so different to what we were lead to believe (Sophie is a walking string of bad decisions and Rothersby is a rake that…isn’t very rakish) or if the plot just didn’t give them a lot of room to show real depth. Either way, it was fine! Not my favorite historical I’ve read lately, but not the worst!

Rotherby is a deeply troubled man who lives like a rogue. He is brusque, tells it like he sees it, and does whatever he wants. His only redeeming characteristic is that he avoids debutantes, or at least he used to. He meets Sophie at Almack's during her debut season and sparks fly. Heated words and wagers, that is. It is a fun storyline with lots of action and dialogue that can sometimes be difficult to follow. I received an advance copy for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, One More Chapter and Michelle Kenney for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a refreshingly modern take on the traditional regency novel. It seems to have elements of Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice (I’m thinking of Lydia Bennett), whilst projecting the vision of strong willed female characters that have their own agency. I particularly enjoyed how Sophie was driven by her own values throughout. She wanted her own life, but didn’t feel the need to compromise by having either a ‘career’ or romance.

In drawing her own path of happiness, Sophie encounters a rather difficult and scary journey. Whilst I really enjoyed the story as a whole, the plot was a little long drawn for me personally. There were some beautiful moments, and then other scenarios that I thought were maybe a bit far fetched. However, the conclusion was very satisfying. I liked the inclusion of regency vocabulary.

I haven’t read the first book in the series, but this did not affect the reading experience. The characters from this first book appear quite prominently, but there wasn’t anything that I felt I’d missed in the previous story to need to understand this one. I’d say this is an interconnected standalone.

I love that Kenney has penned her own regency series for the modern audience. It has some great settings and characters and would be enjoyable for any romance fan (particularly those who love Bridgerton).

I am here for all the vibes this book was giving. The two main leads were a delight, Sophie is a smart, determined young lady who wants to let her heart decide. Then there is Rotherby, a rake who is nursing a terrible heartache. He reminded me of a certain Duke from a certain other book in some of his motivations. That being said, apart from the opening scene, he didn't really show much rake-ish behaviour, which made him all the more interesting.

To have most of it set in Paris rather than the usual London was a very nice touch, giving it a little twist and flair that most of these books lack. The 'she looks after him' trope was nicely done and the general twisting of usual tropes made this a real breath of fresh air.

Almost all the supporting characters were great, well rounded, fun characters. Even the 'villains' of the piece were done well.

It's not without its flaws of course, some of the plot was bordering on ridiculousness and while I adore a good miscommunication trope, Rotherby's refusal to explain to Sophie had me wanting to slap him with some gloves and demand satisfaction. So much could have been avoided if he had only explained but no. He does do the grovel at the end which sort of makes up for it, but I was grinding my teeth as he refused multiple times to just tell her. But sometimes a book doesn't need to be perfect to still be excellent.

This was just fun. A fun read, a fun time, don't think too hard about some of the plot points and coincidences. Just allow yourself to be swept along by the magic of the whole thing and enjoy the ride. This is the most fun I've had with a book in a while.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

The Scandal of the Season is a delightful Regency romp that had me grinning from ear to ear. Sophie Fairfax is determined to marry for love, not convenience, but a cheeky wager with the notorious Lord Rotherby turns her season upside down. Their banter is sharp, the chemistry is sizzling, and the societal stakes are high.

If you’re a fan of Bridgerton-style drama, witty dialogue, and slow-burn romance, this one’s a must-read. It’s the perfect blend of charm, scandal, and heart.

3.5 Stars

I really wanted to love this book—it had so much potential! To be honest, what caught my attention, aside from the beautiful cover, was the blurb: "worthy of Georgette Heyer." That’s a big claim, and I was curious to see if it was true. Candidly, I might have enjoyed the book more had that expectation not been ringing in my head.

Although the plot shares many similarities with Heyer’s works, particularly Devil's Cub, it ultimately fell flat for me. It didn’t have the wit or pacing I was hoping for. The beginning was a struggle, but once the plot picked up—specifically, once Sophia hastens to end her friend's plan—it became thoroughly enjoyable. That is, until the story shifts to France, where it starts to feel like the early parts all over again.

However, the Regency aspects were more authentic than in many period novels today, and that was refreshing. The narrative often felt like two separate storylines, with little connection between the characters—especially when the sardonic rake starts acting completely out of character at the end. The road to the HEA felt long, only to be rushed through in the last paragraph.

While this book didn’t quite work for me, I can see how it might resonate with readers who enjoy historical romances with a slower build-up and more traditional Regency elements.

This book is part of a series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun regency romp for fans of Bridgerton. Sophie and Lord Rotherby are hilarious and watching them tangle was a lot of fun.

Thank you so much for allowing me to review this book!
I really enjoyed it! The romance was great and I loved the period setting.