This is a first read for me by Michelle Kenney. The Scandal of the Season, although a romance, focused on family unity. I enjoyed the relationships and caring between the sisters and will read the following books about them. The romance between the hero and heroine seemed a drag on. I did not find the additional love story necessary which in turn drug out the main story. Free ARC from NetGalley for honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollingsl UK, One More Chapter, and author Michelle Kenney for providing an ARC in exchange for a review! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 stars - Regency setting with Bridgerton vibes!

I have to start this review by admitting that this is the first book in Michelle Kenney’s Fairfax Sisters series that I have read. Although not a huge problem, not knowing the sisters beforehand made me feel I was missing some small details or references. That being said… let’s get into the book!

“The Scandal of the Season” is a historical rom-com targeted towards Bridgerton and Jane Austen fans (mainly because the plot and characters of this book were heavily inspired by Pride and Prejudice). Miss Sophie Fairfax, the youngest of the Fairfaxes, is settled in marrying for love and love only. In her first debutante ball, she meets the infamous rake, Lord Rotherby, with whom she makes a dangerous wager.

Now, that’s a preface for sure! I was so excited to read and love this book, because what’s not to love? Sadly, it just felt flat, and I was left extremely disappointed. Let’s start with the characters: We first meet Lord Rotherby at a brothel, he’s depicted as a scandalous rake with no heart, and yet he turns into a hopeless romantic when he meets Sophie. No scandals or libertine adventures to be seen. On the other hand, Sophie was a flat character who kept making horrible decisions, even when she was supposed to be the logical sibling.

In addition, the pacing felt off at times and there were a lot of things happening at the same time in some moments (running away across France, balls, revolutionaries, connections between characters…), which made it difficult to follow the storyline and enjoy the book.

On a more positive note, I did enjoy the writing style. It felt refreshing to read a period piece with period dialogue in it, and the “Period Dictionary” at the end of the book was a nice touch.

Although this wasn’t my favourite book ever, I still had fun reading it, and if you are looking for a light-hearted Regency rom-com with all your loved clichés, you should give this book a try.

I went into The Scandal of the Season hoping for a fun, romantic Regency, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The tone was a bit too over-the-top, and I also found the romance hard to connect with.

I believe that readers who enjoy light historical romances might still have a good time with it, It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, as I love Bridgerton, so when I saw it had Bridgerton vibes and it was a Regency era romance I was so excited. But sadly, this just fell very flat for me, the characters were very intriguing, but I really struggled to connect with them, I found some of the euphemisms used in the book difficult, as I wasn’t sure what some of them meant, and it made the whole reading experience a tad jarring at times. It felt a little cliched overall, and normally I don’t mind cliches in romance books too much, but I think because I struggled to get into this and actually connect with the characters and their stories, it just didn’t keep me engaged.

The Scandal of the Season is a follow-up to Mismatch of the Season, which I also read and enjoyed! That said, I don't think it's necessary to read the first book to enjoy this one. It definitely helped me feel more connected to the characters early on, but I wouldn't say it's essential.

I honestly have mixed feelings about Sophie in this book...
I started off liking her, but her string of poor decisions really piled up as the story went on. I could understand and forgive the first few, but the pattern continued, and it started to feel like she wasn’t growing or learning. She kept making things worse, not just for herself, but for the people around her. It made her come across as selfish and a bit thoughtless, which left me feeling kinda frustrated.

One thing I did enjoy was the dialogue - especially in the first half of the book! The banter had energy and charm, and the enemies-to-lovers chemistry between the leads was promising. Unfortunately, that spark faded as the story progressed. The dynamic that pulled me in early on seemed to lose momentum, which made me feel somewhat disconnected from the romance by the end.

Overall, The Scandal of the Season had some bright moments, especially early on, but it lost a bit of its shine for me. Still, if you enjoyed the first book or love historical romance with a dash of drama, it might be worth checking out.

One More Chapter continues to be my favorite digital publisher. Their books are higher quality because they have big publishing behind them (HarperCollins).

This novel is a fun Regency romance that follows strong-willed Sophie who swears to marry only for love. But when she finds herself in a series of compromising situations, she may have to reevaluate her choices or leave her world behind.

Readers aren’t left wondering if they haven’t read the first book in the series. Recommended for fans of the genre.

This is a follow-up to Mismatch of the Season which I have also read and enjoyed. In this story, Phoebe's sister Sophie is making her debut and is expected to make a good match. After all, she's the good girl in the family and follows all the rules. Except Sophie has ideas of making a love match and, when put in the path of Lord Rotherby, a well-known rake, she makes a wager that she will indeed marry for love. When Sophie tried to stop Aurelia (basically mean girl from the first book) from making a terrible mistake, she ends up compromised and eventually finds herself travelling to France with Rotherby.

One does wonder why Sophie feels so obliged to protect Aurelia from disaster. Of course, this story has no legs without this misstep. I mostly liked Sophie, but her missteps become a bit numerous through the story and that does take away from her a bit. That said, people do make stupid mistakes and continue to make them despite surely having learned one's lesson. As to the romance, I think there's a decent spark between Sophie and Rotherby from the start but I'm not sure it carried through as much as it could have. There's some great banter between the two throughout, though, which may make up for that to some extent. I felt Sophie's interest in fashion design was given rather uneven attention. It was such a passion for her at the start but seemed more a very much side story by the end. The villain of Weston is expectedly lovely on the outside but a nasty piece of work inside. It does all work out in the end, but I did feel there was a bit too much madcap in the latter part of the story.

Overall, I did enjoy this, but it wasn't quite as strong as the previous book. I give it 3 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for the free advanced reader copy. My feedback in totally voluntary.

3.75 Another madcap adventure. Sophie, the usually prim, rule-following sister is very good at getting herself into increasingly difficult situations. She’s trying to do the right thing each time but she keeps making things much worse for herself and others. I was a little frustrated with Sophie from the middle to the end. I could forgive the first few miscalculations but it was continuous. Slow down & think for a second. It made her seem selfish & thoughtless that she didn’t seem to learn from her mistakes. And Aurelia again? Phoebe should have warned Sophie about what a viper Aurelia could be. I did enjoy the story moving to France. That was a nice change. Overall a fun comedy of errors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really tried hard to like this one—Regency setting, Bridgerton vibes—it all sounded like the perfect escapist read. But unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect with the story or the characters at all. I found myself confused about who was who, the writing didn’t draw me in, and both the FMC and MMC felt flat and forgettable. About halfway through, I ended up DNF-ing it and just skimmed the rest.

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I loved the banter in the beginning but that quickly got lost as the book progressed. I feel like there was a log of potential here but it ultimately fell flat for me.

This novel promises a love story wrapped in intrigue, courtesy of our heroine Sophie and somewhat charming Lord Rotherby. The opinionated and reckless Sophie is set on marrying for love, and she’s thrown into a wager with the arrogant and notorious rake Lord Rotherby who thinks love is a farce. It sounded good; however, while the theme had my hopes high, the journey left me a bit underwhelmed.

First off, let’s chat about chemistry. Or, rather, the lack of it. Sophie and Lord Rotherby had all the makings of a classic enemies-to-lovers scenario, but the sparks were lacking. When I read a romance, I want to feel that electric pull between the characters, something that makes me root for them and their romance. Instead, I found their emotional connection missing, which made their evolving relationship feel flat.

I didn’t mind the dialogue and the fun banter at the beginning. However, as the story progressed, that engaging back-and-forth disappeared, leaving me with prose that just didn’t make sense. It almost felt like the book was trying to overload me with misadventures and filler information about historical facts at a time where I wanted to see the simple beauty of a well-told story. Don’t get me wrong I love reading about history, but it was at an awkward time in the book.

Despite my misgivings, the idea of a love wager had real potential. That’s an intriguing hook that could have led to something truly special, but I felt it needed something more. If you’re a fan of regency romances that play with interesting themes, you might find some enjoyment in this. But if you’re looking for something with deeper connections and compelling characters, you might want to pass this one by.

Thank you to Michelle Kenney for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

Thank you to Harper Collin’s, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As a fan of the Bridgerton books and shows, I was really excited to read this book. It had the makings to be an enjoyable and entertaining read but it fell completely flat. The FMC and MMC just didn’t hit and I found the writing hard to follow. I really wanted to like this, but I just found myself annoyed by the characters and lack of development and consistency throughout.

Sometimes you just need a good regency romance romp and this delivered! Sophie was such a lovble character and Lord Rotherby ….🥵🥵🥵

Would recommend to fans of Bridgerton or Evie Dunmore books! Look forward to more in this series!

I picked up (requsted on NetGalley) The Scandal of the Season by Michelle Kenney because the synopsis promised a charming Regency romp with a headstrong heroine, a notorious rake, and a juicy wager at the heart of it all. Plus, the cover was too pretty to resist and the premise seemed tailor-made for fans of Bridgerton and Jane Austen. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the promise.

Sophie Fairfax is described as the most logical of the Fairfax siblings, but her actions throughout the book repeatedly contradict that. She makes impulsive decisions, enters into reckless situations, and seems to lack the self-awareness that the story implies she possesses. As for Lord Rotherby, his sudden shift from scandalous rake to hopeless romantic felt too abrupt and underdeveloped to be convincing. I found myself wishing for more depth and a more gradual emotional arc for both leads.

The tone of the book leaned too heavily into the exaggerated and whimsical, stretching believability and making it hard to connect with the characters. The pacing also felt off, and the overall plot lacked the kind of substance that usually makes Regency romances so satisfying.

While I really wanted to enjoy this, and I do think it had the ingredients for something delightful, it just didn’t come together for me. The characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out, and the story leaned more silly than swoony.

Sadly, this one was a 2-star read for me.

The Scandal of the Season by Michelle Kenney is such a good story. I loved every single second of it and I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

Huge thank you to Michelle Kenney and One More Chapter for sending me an ARC to review! 🩷

I loved the early 2000s regency movie vibes of the first book in this series, so of course I was excited when I saw another Fairfax sister was getting a book! Once again, the vibes were immaculate. Sophie Fairfax is stubborn but levelheaded, until she meets and makes a wager with Dominic. Then she manages to derail all of her plans with one rash midnight excursion.

This had a little more focus on the romance instead of the family in this book, which I enjoyed. This is still a clean romance, despite the opening scene taking place in a brothel 😅. I loved the dynamic between Dominic and Sophie while they travel especially, and the ending was literal perfection. This book has a very unique take on the classic “oh no I’m compromised” historical romance trope that I loved. I wish we had gotten a bit more buildup to the conflict, because the big event happens 50% in and lasts till almost the end of the book. I would’ve preferred more focus on the tension and yearning, rather than such a drawn out conflict.

Michelle Kenney is definitely turning into my go to author for a sweet little regency romp. 4/5 stars ⭐️

First off… this cover is gorgeous! I absolutely adored this book! Full of charm, interesting and relatable characters, and of course a swoony love story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars!

The Scandal of the season was a lot of fun! I think fans of Bridgerton will find a lot to love here.

This is the second in a series, which I didn’t realise but it worked really well as a standalone and I never felt I was missing key information for the story.

What I loved in particular:

- Dominic Rotherby, he was a swoonworthy main character if a very grumpy patient ( in his defence he was shot in the arm).
- The highly addictive and readable writing style, I read this in a single morning while off sick and it was the perfect choice for a quick cheer me up read.

I will definitely check out the first book in this series when I next need a quick feel good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Sophie Fairfax is determined to marry for love, even if it means tossing proper society rules out the window. When she makes a bet with the charming but definitely not husband material Lord Rotherby everything spirals into a whirlwind of drama, secret trips to Paris, duels, and more scandal than one debutante can handle.

This book had its charming moments and sweet chemistry, but it tried to do a lot all at once. Between Sophie’s many questionable choices, a very chaotic plot, and characters I wasn’t always rooting for, I found myself wishing for a bit more focus. I also really struggled with the writing style. It just didn’t click for me.

Still, it has some cute banter, a masked ball (always fun), and a classic enemies to lovers vibe. A good pick if you're in the mood for a light historical romance with some wild twists.

Sophie Fairfax is the one Fairfax sibling most likely to make a fortunate match on the marriage mart. After her sister Phoebe's adventurous journey to marital bliss, Sophie is supposed to stick to the more convenient methods of attracting a husband; balls and strolls in the park. Yet, Sophie has slightly different ideas. She's not only interested in fashion and would love to design fashion for a living, she is also determined to make a love match. Enter Lord Rotherby, a notorious rake, who's definitely not interested in Sophie at all.

This could have been so good, but the romance gets lost in lots of naive decisions, plots by scheming debutantes and rakes, encounters with revolutionaries, and travelling to and around France at breakneck speeds. It felt like the novel wanted too much and could have benefited from another round of editing.