Unfortunately the writing style for me was the biggest let down. The old-timey writing was quite jarring to me and I kept zoning out or not taking things seriously. I understand this book is a period piece and set in the past but how it was written felt like a mocking british accent.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. I felt the writing was too dense and I just couldn’t buy into the characters or the writing.

The heroine, Sophie Fairfax, was just too stupid. She wants to marry only for love, but decides to risk her entire reputation to try to stop a catty debutante who has plans to force Lord Dominic to marry her by traveling with him when he goes abroad to Paris. Why Sophie wants to help the terrible debutante and why she ends up getting into his coach and being taken away to France is totally unbelievable. It’s very similar to the storyline from Georgette Heyer’s classic story, Devil’s Cub. And the hero in that book is also named Dominic. And there is also the storyline of trying to find a Protestant cleric who could marry the couple. But that book was so much better written and made it easier to suspend disbelief. The heroine was smart and courageous instead of Sophie who is TSTL.

Add in that the hero of this story is very charming, but somehow has fallen for Sophie. I can understand his being willing to marry her because he doesn’t want to violate his own personal honor code, but what was there to like about her?

My advice is to find a copy of Georgette Heyer’s Devil’s Cub and enjoy that.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Whew this one was way better than the second but our Heroine Sophie Fairfax was a bit much at times! Her naïveté lost its charm very early on!
We also have Lord Dominic Hugo Rotherby who also a very unlikely hero starts off in a brothel with not one but two companions!?
There are several loose ends for me but I still can’t fathom how one debutante could muck up her reputation so thoroughly!? Sophie was involved in the previous story yes she is young but not stupid!? But to trust anything that Lady Aurelia Carlisle is not and never will be a friend to any Fairfax!
It isn’t until much later that Sophie admits to why she not try harder to stop Dominic mid flight out of the country but of course it’s way too late and her reputation by that time is totally shredded!
I did understand Dominic much better after his horrendous childhood!!
Dominic makes no apologies or mention of why he would have been fleeing with a mistress!
It is totally in contrast to a letter he wrote to his aunt!? That mystery was never resolved to my satisfaction!
But there is a duel, a masked ball a forced elopement (thwarted) and unnecessary reappearance of Lady Aurelia! Do try to keep up when reading this!
It is nonstop action and a huge leap of faith that Sophie is resolved to only marry for love! It took two rollercoaster ride and international intrigue to get to her HEA! Bravo

After Sophie Fairfax sister married for love now that is a debutante on the Season she wishes to marry only for love and on her first night at Almack's she makes a wager with Lord Dominic Rotherby about it . When she tries to stop an other young Lady from a scandal of her own making she sets herself into an adventure and an scandal with Lord Rotherby . Will she win her wager ?
I received this book from netgalley , the author and the publisher as an ARC . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

The Scandal of the Season had all the ingredients for a fun Regency romp—societal expectations, romantic intrigue, and a heroine determined to chart her own course. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the promise for me.

Sophie Fairfax had moments of charm, and I appreciated the novel’s attempt to blend humor with a commentary on the constraints placed on women during the period. However, I struggled to stay engaged with the story. The pacing felt uneven, and I found myself disconnected from the emotional arcs of the characters. Some of the dialogue and plot points also felt a bit forced, making it hard to fully immerse myself in the setting.

That said, readers who enjoy a lighter historical romance with a modern tone might still find enjoyment here. It just wasn’t the perfect fit for me—but I can see how others could appreciate its charm and spirited heroine.

The Scandal of the Season by Michelle Kenney is a Regency romance that follows Sophie Fairfax, a determined young woman who aspires to marry for love rather than status. Sophie enters a wager with Lord Rotherby, a notorious rake who has no intentions of marriage. This bet sets off a series of unexpected events as Sophie navigates societal expectations and her growing feelings for Lord Rotherby. The story is filled with witty banter, emotional turmoil, and surprising twists, including the arrival of Aurelia, who complicates matters further. The narrative unfolds primarily from Sophie’s perspective, with glimpses into Lord Rotherby’s thoughts, revealing his secret affair with a married woman and his personal code regarding relationships. As Sophie attempts to salvage her reputation amid scandal and misunderstandings, the backdrop shifts to France, adding a French flair to the story. Readers will enjoy the humor, charm, and the ultimate question of whether Sophie can find love amidst the chaos.

Readers will enjoy the characters and the delightful tension between Sophie and Lord Rotherby. The witty dialogue and humorous situations create a lighthearted atmosphere, making it a fun read. The evolving relationship between the main characters offers a classic enemies-to-lovers trope that many readers adore. The addition of quirky side characters, like the spirited Lu-Lu and the scheming Aurelia, adds depth and intrigue to the plot. Set against the lush backdrop of Regency society, readers will relish the vivid descriptions and period details. This is a slow burn, closed door romance. While the focus is on Sophie and Rotherby, it's more about the chase and the unwinding of the complications that make this a fun read. There is an unexpected twist at the end that was fun. A perfect choice for historical fiction fans that are not into the more explicit historical romance. I enjoyed it!

This book releases May 23, 2025! Thank you to HarperCollinsUK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for a Advance Reader Copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

The Scandal of the Season by Michelle Kenney is a third person-POV Regency romance. Lord Rotherby is a rake and a confirmed bachelor who has no interest in marrying. Sophie Fairfax is determined to marry for love despite everyone around her claiming it’s highly unlikely and she’ll end up picking a partner based on status or as a means to an end. When Lord Rotherby and Sophie make a bet about Sophie’s future match, it starts a collision course that neither are expecting.

Aurelia from the last novel shows up and has something of a different role. In the previous book, Aurelia is comfortable in the knowledge that she is engaged to a viscount and a lot of her rivalry with Phoebe has to do with Phoebe’s not like other girls attitude. In this story, Aurelia is determined to find a new partner and she sets her sights on Lord Rotherby to the point that she has convinced herself that he is interested in her and full plans on trapping him by meeting him late at night to go to Paris, a plan that Sophie derails to save Aurelia from ruin. What makes this frustrating is that Sophie does view Aurelia as a friend or a potential friend while Aurelia doesn’t really view Sophie as much more than a potential rival.

Like Phoebe’s book, almost everything is from Sophie’s POV except the prologue and epilogue, which are from Lord Rotherby’s POV. As such, we don’t get a ton of insight into Lord Rotherby’s feelings for Sophie outside of what he is willing to tell her. When Sophie enacts her plan to protect Aurelia, we learn that Lord Rotherby and a married woman have been having an affair as he doesn’t get involved with debutantes nor does he desire to ‘ruin’ young women in society. Despite Sophie’s negative feelings towards him being a rake, she does end up respecting his personal code towards who he seeks out.

I would recommend this to fans of the previous book and readers of Regency romance who prefer romances mostly from one character’s POV

The Scandal of the Season // Michelle Kenney
Publishes May 23, 2025

I absolutely loved The Mismatch of the Season. It had everything I love in a historical romance, time period lingo, characters, and a crazy, hilarious, interesting plot. So I most definitely jumped at the chance to read The Scandal of the Season as soon as possible. Thank you net galley and Harpers Collins UK (One More Chapter) for this ARC.

The Scandal of the Season follows The Mismatch of the Season and I would recommend reading in that order. Sophie Fairfax is attempting to make a love match during her season as a debutante, and yet she continues to make societal faux pas. And quite of few of these occur with notorious rake, Lord Rotherby. As the season continues she gets further and further into trouble and while trying to avoid scandal(s) tends to only create more.

I loved this book. There were so many unexpected surprises (however I was pretty proud of myself for guessing one). The plot gets more and more ridiculously entertaining and I could not stop reading. It was easy to love both Sophie and Lord Rotherby. This is an easy to read fun, regency romance. It’s important to note the glossary at the end as a lot of period terms are used!

#regencyromance #thescandaloftheseason #michellekenney #bookrecommendation

This was a delightfully lighthearted regency romp from Michelle Kenney, and the second novel in her regency series. It stands very independently on its own two feet (much like its heroine, Sophie Fairfax), so if you haven’t read the first in this series it won’t be a problem.
If you have read Mismatch, your favourite regency family is back, and this time it’s Sophie’s turn for an outing. Rotherby proves a worthy opponent and shenanigans ensue.
This story is a lot of fun, and a perfect springtime read. Five stars from me, with thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC
The Scandal of the Season publishes on 23 May.

This was a fun story! Sophie’s life takes a huge but unexpected turn. But despite that, she hasn’t lost her spunk. She’s feisty and bold, and doesn’t quietly accepts defeat, which I liked about her. At the same time, she makes a disastrous decision which ruins her reputation. She then keeps trying to rescue her reputation, which is commendable but her lack of good judgement is sometimes astonishing. You can only read on, fascinated by Sophie’s ability to make things worse and awed by her determination not to give up but to dig herself out of the hole she’s created herself. The speed at which things spiral out of control is sometimes astonishing, but you can't help but read on and find out what happens next.
The pace is good, there are two men vying for her hand in marriage, there’s a French woman named Lu Lu who’s always in for fun, and a girl who is always out to get her and make things worse.
The most part of the book takes place in France, which is a nice alternative to the usual British society. I liked the description of Versailles, for example. Sophie trying her hand at sketching and designing clothes herself and being interested in the art of making them was also a nice addition to the story.
I have to say, there are a lot of references to the romance of Phoebe and her husband, which seems to be the first book in this series. I haven’t read that one so I couldn’t always follow what they were referring to.
This was my first book by Michelle Kenney but I will definitely check out her other books! It is a fun, clean and entertaining read with a satisfying ending and I can honestly recommend it!
Thank you HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, Netgalley and Michelle Kenney for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a fun regency romp. The pacing felt a little off in places, and I was surprised by the turn it takes midway through, but I did enjoy my time with it. There is a surprising amount of French, with few translations in the text, so I was finding myself translating fairly often.
I did feel like I was missing some context going into this as a stand-alone, so I would recommend reading the first book to start to get a fuller picture of the characters involved.

The cover promised scandal. The story… didn’t deliver.
Think: a lot of potential, not enough spark. Let’s be honest—the cover is what lured me in. It’s stunning, elegant, intriguing… everything the book sadly wasn’t. I usually try not to judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I got burned.

The Plot:
Sophie wants to marry for love (respect). She enters into a wager with Lord Rotherby (interesting premise), and the story follows the evolution of their relationship.

The chemistry? Barely there.
The emotional connection? Missing.
The characters? A bit flat—some of their choices felt confusing or just… unmotivated.

What didn’t work (for me):
My interest drifted.
Dialogue-heavy at first, which I didn’t mind—until it faded and left me with less engaging prose.
The French phrases sprinkled throughout felt unnecessary and a bit alienating (especially for readers who don’t speak it).
I just couldn’t connect. Neither with Sophie nor Lord Rotherby, and that lack of connection made it hard to care what happened next.

The Silver Lining:
There was potential here. The setup had promise. A love-marriage wager? Yes, please.
But the execution just didn’t bring it to life. That said, I can imagine this book finding the right audience.

The Scandal of the Season might work for some readers, but it wasn’t for me. A beautiful cover can’t carry a story, and this one needed more polish, more passion, and more energy to truly shine.

One for the DNF pile? Almost. But I stuck with it. Barely.

I wanted to love The Scandal of the Season. Truly. A Regency romantic comedy with a rebellious FMC and a rake in need of redemption? That’s basically a must for me, a huge fan of Bridgerton and other historical romance television shows. But unfortunately, this one felt like a glittery mess of good intentions and awkward execution.

We’re following Sophie Fairfax this time, the younger sister of book one’s FMC. She’s smart, fiery, and determined not to be married off like some bartering chip. Naturally, she ends up in a scandalous situation with Dominic, Lord Rotherby, who is the infamous rake everyone warns her about. Cue tension, banter, and longing glances. Sounds great in theory, but in reality? It didn’t land.

The tone shift from book one is wild. We go from a sweet, proper story to opening with a brothel scene. Yup. A Regency rom com kicking off in a brothel, but without the payoff or heat to justify it. The rest of the book swings back into pretty tame territory, so it just ends up feeling out of place, like the book doesn’t quite know what it wants to be.

Also… the French. So. Much. French. I get that it’s supposed to be cute or add flair, but at some point, I felt like I needed Duolingo to keep up. Add to that a heaping dose of Regency slang, with some of it charming, some of it so obscure it made me feel like I was reading a historical fever dream, and it all became a bit much.

The biggest issue, though, was the lack of chemistry. Sophie and Dominic go from strangers to somehow being into each other without any real buildup. Their dynamic had potential (hello, enemies to lovers!), but it moved way to quickly before I was even invested. I didn’t feel the slow burn or tension, and it was more like a spark that fizzled out before it even lit the fuse.

Honestly, it felt like a first draft that needed a bit more polish and a lot more editing. The plot meandered, the dialogue overwhelmed the narrative, and the emotional beats missed their mark. I wanted witty, romantic chaos; I got disjointed pacing and a romance I didn’t buy into.

If it hadn’t been an ARC, I probably would’ve DNFd. But hey, I appreciate the chance to read it early. Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, NetGalley, and Michelle Kenney for the eARC of this book.

From the premise of this book I thought it would be a great fit for me, unfortunately I really struggled with the writing style and overall storyline. I probably would have DNF'd it if it hadn't been an ARC.
I hope that this story finds it's intended audience, thank you again for providing me with ARC.

What a stunning follow up! I read the mismatch of the season and thoroughly enjoyed it, but wasnt totally sure if i would enjoy the follow up. I am so happy that i did!! I felt that story did an amazing job of capturing my attention and holding it until the very end. I also did not see sir weston being such a terrible man, but thats how well this book was written! with a premise that could have been simply fluff, this book had real depth. the feelings between sophie and dominic were tangible and well written. i cant wait for mattys book!

The Scandal of the Season is a regency rom-com, written by Michelle Kenney. It is book 2 in the Fairfax Sisters series, and since there are quite a few characters that are introduced in book 1, I recommend reading this series in order. This book is written using a primarily traditional regency writing style, however it felt more modern that book 1 and had less formal language.

Plot Summary: Sophie wants to find a love match. But, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, she may be faced into a less than ideal marriage of convenience with the infamous rake Dominic. She works tirelessly to avoid matrimony to someone she doesn't truly love, and in doing so, begins developing feelings for Dominic that don't reconcile with her goals. Will she find a love match where she least expects it?

Impressions: I found the opening brothel scene with its explicit reference to be both shocking and scandalous, considering there was nary a kiss in book 1, or anything more than kissing in the rest of this book. I felt like that started the book on the wrong foot.

The first half of the book was primarily dialogue, and I found myself wanting more narration to go with it. The second half shifted by adding in tons of French phrases and words in every paragraph. Since I took French for several years, I knew the meaning of the words myself, but I could see this alienating and confusing some readers. I also felt like the regency slang was overused.

Overall, the book felt silly/over-the-top with odd pacing, as if the plot was just in first-draft mode and not polished. I didn't personally connect to any of the characters. Therefore, this book was a miss for me.

Content: Light scant language, A brief brothel scene with one explicit reference, some innuendoes, kisses only.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My review is my own opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

This unfortunately was a DNF for me. I read the first few chapters and it did not pull me into the story at all. It starts in a confusing way and adds so much detail immediately that its overwhelming what youre supposed to remember for the storyline

I really tried to enjoy or appreciate this book (not very nice to rate a book with only two stars), but the thing is... apart from Matilda and Duke Wellington, there weren't that many likable characters. Dominic keeps insisting to have his way without ever mentioning his feelings and Sophie doesn't stand a chance against all those men (at least four of them) and their testosterone driven behavior.

fun-ish romance with interesting ideas. the biggest problem is that it feels that a lot of times it doesn't have much substance. 3.5 stars, tysm for the arc.