Jasper has two simple rules:

(1) Live life to the fullest.

(2) Get out while you can.

Permanent has no place in his life. Until he meets the one woman who stops him in his tracks. Julia is a dreamer. Excitement is what she craves, but life had other plans for her. When a playboy heir to a dukedom walks into her life and makes her forget her less than perfect existence, she starts to think that anything is possible. However, life has a way of changing the best laid plans. Can these two misfits: the running scared playboy and the less than perfect Earl's daughter find a chance at permanent happiness despite the fears that drive them? Kimberly Bell pens a tale that is full of heartache but thrives on excitement. A Scandal By Any Other Name blends naughty and nice to create a romance that is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. ( )

A Scandal By Any Other Name by Kimberly Bell
A Tale of Two Sisters #2

Jasper De Vere is not ready to be the Duke of Albermarle so he flees his confirmation ceremony thus insulting the queen who was in attendance. He ran out, stole a horse and ran away. Why? He doesn’t feel he can ever be the man his grandfather was or as good at the job of being a Duke as he should be. At the end of his day’s journey he “saves” Julia Bishop by stopping her “runaway” horse. Julia, wanting to have a bit of time to be “normal” pretends to be someone she is not and begins a flirtation with the man she has been harboring a secret crush on. Of course her identity will come out, they will fall for one another, there will be ups and downs and obstacles to overcome before a HEA can be achieved for the two.

This was an intriguing historical romance that dealt with birth defects impacting one’s social life, expectations of others and self, limitations and overcoming them, fears surmounted, coming to terms with one’s lot in life, taking responsibility and taking the reins of one’s life and making it what one wants it to be rather than living the life someone else has plotted out for you. It deals with two people that are perfect for one another although imperfect in other ways. It made me wonder then research the condition Julia was born with and though the likelihood of her having lived as long as she is portrayed to have lived in this book or continuing to live a long full healthy life are probably not realistic it did make me wonder and my research was educational. It also left me with the idea that people should live in and make the best of every moment they are given.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars ( )

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. A Scandal By Any Other Name is the second book in Kimberly Bell’s A Tale of Two Sisters series. They are quite steamy romances set in the early Victorian era. The first book is The Importance Of Being Scandalous. Kimberly Bell is a new to me author so I had not read the first one ... but I immediately purchased it upon finishing this book because I was not ready to say goodbye to the characters. Currently the first book is on sale for $0.99. In addition to a quite lovely romance there is a wonderful relationship between the two sisters and lots of engaging dialog between the characters. Jasper DeVerre has runaway from being invested as the Duke of Albemarle, he is still mourning his grandfather, overwhelmed by the idea that he is now the Duke, he retreats to the country home of his closest friend. He meets our intrepid heroine when he mistakenly assumes that she is in trouble and attempts to rescue her but ends up knocking her off of her horse. Julia Bishop has spina bifida and has led a very sheltered life as a consequence. When she realizes that Jasper thinks her limp is caused by the fall she pretends to be someone else because she fears that he wouldn’t flirt with her as herself and she is determined to grab every moment of adventure that she can and boldly propositions Jasper. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the rest of the books Kimberly Bell has written. Publishing Date January 30, 2018. ( )