Review: Historical Romance at its Best!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 20, 2013
Holy cow! I have made it no secret that I am a huge Renee rose fan! I love her stories, and the characters the she brings to life.  It's so easy to escape into the world that she creates, because, she just does it so well!I love historical novels and no one writes them as well as Renee Rose! She writes the ambience so well from the dialect, to the exquisite layers of clothing, and even the faade of propriety kept behind closed doors. Not to mention the spankings. Oh yes, I love the spankings, the acceptable punishment for naughty young women!  It's so much fun to escape into this world and Renee Rose creates it beautifully!The Reddington Scandal is the sequel to The Westerfield Affair. It can be read as a stand-alone book also, though there are mention of characters from the previous book.What I read blew my mind!She created such a depth in these characters that I was able to immerse myself into their world, loving every moment!*****Lord Fenton, (Teddy) is his father's son.  A devilishly handsome young man, who can charm the petticoats off any woman, married or unmarried.  He is a rake - a noble man who cares about the delights of sex, the adventure of getting a married woman into his embrace, and cares not for a life of marriage and monogamy.But he is also kind, generous, caring, and affectionate.  He has doted on his younger sister all of her life, being her protector and her biggest supporter.  He has cared for and used his charms and wit to entertain his mother, hurt from their father's infidelities.He is a good and honorable man, but is unable to see this good in himself, until he meets Phoebe.  All of his life, he has been told he is just like his father.  So he follows his father's footsteps, the rake who cheated on their mother, again and again.  This is why he has not chosen to marry.  He doesn't believe himself capable of loving and staying true to one woman. He is afraid of hurting a woman, by getting too close to her, just like his mother was hurt by his father's actions.  And finally accepts that he is his father's son.Enter, Phoebe, a kind sweet young woman, living in her own personal hell with her sister and her brother in law as her guardian.  Maud, her older sister, is threatened by and does not appreciate Phoebe's presence in her house.  Maud's husband, Lord Reddington, appreciates her presence too much, making physical attempts at her whenever he can get her alone.  Phoebe needs to escape, but how?When Teddy is discovered by the enraged Lord Reddington, Phoebe steps in and claims Teddy as her own lover.  Teddy and Phoebe are quickly married to diminish the scandal of their "impropriety".Phoebe has saved Teddy's life, but she has also saved her own.But it quickly becomes apparent that neither of them is ready for a "real" marriage.  Teddy fears his ability to remain faithful, even though he is drawn to her more every day.  Phoebe fears losing her heart to a man that can never truly love her.  Even though they are both attracted to each other physically, they keep their distance, and choose to not consummate the marriage.I think the starting point in their true relationship, begins with their first spanking. When Phoebe falls into a pond and almost drowns, Teddy saves her and carries her back to their carriage.  He then pulls her sopping wet, dress up, and spanks her over his knee.  The spanking itself, was beautifully done. I loved her reaction to her first real over the knee spanking.  But what was really nice to see was Teddy's response.  He apologized for his anger, and explained that he had spanked because he was worried about her, alleviating some of the doubt that they both had about this being a marriage in name only.  I loved that he owned up to the fact that he had reacted instinctively, with her spanking.  I respected that in him. I also really appreciated seeing his eyes open, when he realized that worrying about someone means you care about them.The rest of the story is wonderful- full of delicious sexual encounters, as Teddy teaches Phoebe all about the world love making.It also has its light moments. Teddy and Phoebe are such good natured people, it was so much fun to watch their playful banter and flirting.  I adored them! He called her cute names. She always had a clever retort. They were perfect for each other!Both characters went through a huge transformation during the story. Phoebe needed to learn to forgive herself for the past.  Teddy needed to forgive and trust himself to be the good man that he really was.I won't give away the ending.But I will say it had an HEA that I loved!This story had it all!Great characters that grew throughout their journey, and worked to overcome the obstacles that life threw their way.An awesome plot, filled with romance, fun, light hearted banter, deep emotional moments, and some adventure.Wonderful sex scenes- If you are used to historicals with sweet sex scenes, this story will knock your socks off!  It was depicted beautifully, merging historical accuracy, with so much vivid detail.  It was fantastic!Dominance and physical chastisements that nearly made me swoon in delight.It all worked so well together, creating a fantasy world full of delightful characters with whom I fell in love, and never wanted to leave!I loved this story, and will go on the record saying, this is probably her best book yet.  It is definitely at the top for historical romance. I loved it!