Really enjoyed the banter and the angst. ( )

Loretta Chase writes witty banter like nobody's business and that is def present here. But the beginning verged far too close to slapstick for my personal tastes. And I just could not quite get behind the premise. Olympia and Ripley most definitely belonged together, but she was betrothed to one of his besties for virtually the whole book. I really liked Ashmont and was kind of rooting for him (with the caveat that he didn't quite see Olympia as an actual person but had only a very idealized picture of her). I am eagerly awaiting his redemption arc.



( )

Despite Loretta Chase's insistence on referring to men as "males" and women as "females," I really liked this book. For better or worse, I'm now accustomed to her frequent assertion that "he was a man, and so he did X," so it doesn't ruin my reading of her books any longer. While I do think that men are capable of not staring at a woman's ankles, I was quite happy that the heroine, Olympia, finally got the attention and admiration that she deserved. This is a true "romp," with a runaway bride and all sorts of road trip shenanigans. All of the characters are more complicated than they initially appear, and Chase's love for fashion sets the story firmly in time and place. If you can overlook the implausibility of three dukes raising hell together for years and then falling for the same woman, you'll like this one. I will add that a big part of the central conflict is Olympia's frustration with the institution of marriage. I found some elements of her Dressmakers series to be slut-shamey, but this was a refreshing and much more progressive novel. Well done. ( )

This is really Ripley’s story, although I love Olympia too of course; I think Chase really excels at the heroes. This was quite a fun romp which was almost too rompy for the first half, but I did actually love all the craziness. I look forward to reading Ashmont’s story next (and am glad I’m reading in order) because he seems pretty idiotic in this one. ( )

Oh, these two idiots blind to their true beauty and charms. Ripley reminded me of at least one of the wonderfully mischievous boys I grew up with. And Olympia—well. Aside from all the brothers she has, she's basically me in a book: twenty-six, wears spectacles she needlessly adjusts all the time, appears boring but is really just reserved and level-headed, loves cataloguing books. That scene in the library with the invalid chair will go down as one of my favorite humorous scenes in romance.

This book was highly entertaining right from the start, and, even though it threw my heart for a loop there at the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. This was my first Loretta Chase. I've owned Lord of Scoundrels for some time now, but I've been too afraid that I'll hate it when everyone else seems to love it. I'm glad I started with this one because now, even if I'm disappointed in the other, it won't stop me from reading more of her work. ( )