Every Scandalous Secret

A charming historical romance

Lord Leo Wade enjoys the hedonistic offerings of London. He loves to gamble and wins most wagers especially those involving his other passion females. His current bet centers on the intellectual Lady Susanna Leland. Her only love is the fine arts while she deploys her brains to frighten away the shallow male aristocrats.

Having followed her, Leo introduces himself to Susanna at a party. He confidently informs of his wager and thus will seduce her to win the bet. She as confidently offers to bet him that he will fail. Leo remains persistent as her pursuer while Susanna remains equally persistent at rejecting his advances. While her family demands she marry, Leo wins his bet only to be caught in a compromised position with Susanna. Though each knows they are in love, neither trusts their new spouse with their heart.

The key to this charming historical romance is both protagonists are fully developed so that the audience understands the respective weaknesses of each hidden behind different veneers of a wastrel bad boy and a blue-blooded brainiac. Thus their wager makes for a delightful tale as love may prove too weak to overcome the deep rooted distrust both bring to their relationship.

Harriet Klausner

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A must read

This is the first Gayle Callen book I've read and I liked it. Quite a bit. Apparently, Leo and Susanna's story timeline parallels with that of Julian and Rebecca (In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady) and Elizabeth and Peter (A Most Scandalous Engagement). Backstory: Sisters Susanna and Rebecca Leland and their cousin, Elizabeth Cabot, sneak into a well known London gentlemen's club in order to steal a painting of a nude lady. They get caught by three gentlemen friends; Julian Delane, Peter Derby and Leo Wade. In a drunken wager, the gentlemen will find out which lady is the model. The ladies will try to keep the gentlemen from finding out. Whichever group wins, gets the painting as the prize. Let the games of seduction begin! Leo Wade is determined to seduce the truth from Susanna Leland as to who that nude model is. Easier said, than done. Susanna is determined to keep Leo from finding out the truth so she leaves town to attend a house party. Of course, this is bound to lead to something disastrously delicious and sexy. Leo is easy going, a total people person and very charming. Susanna is a bluestocking through and through. She reads, she paints, she works along side her father, and she's a wallflower. But hey, opposites attract right? In this book, yes they do. The attraction between the two characters is apparent to quite a few people at the house party. Susanna spends her time teaching the ladies how to paint while Leo does a lot of heaving staring in her direction. She knows she must keep the secret safe but Leo is slowly chipping away at her defenses. After almost getting compromised by Leo, she throws those defenses back up. They are forced to marry at Gretna Green due to the fact someone saw them getting cozy behind the couch. Both the journey back to London and the journey of getting to know each other is riddled with insecurities, passion and discovery. Leo and Susanna had me laughing and snorting out loud at their antics. My heart ached for Leo as he was trying to woo Susanna, and I felt for Susanna as she tried to keep Leo at a distance, all the while slowly falling for him. Oh that Leo Wade. I'm going to add him to my ever growing hero harem. He's just so easy to love. The beginning was a little slow for me but once Leo compromised Susanna, it picked up. Three things I enjoyed about this book: 1)the banter between the characters had be laughing, 2)Leo and Susanna trying to get to know each other after getting married, and 3)the anticipation for when "the moment was right". Ms. Callen definitely caught my attention with a few gasp worthy moments. I will definitely read another book by Ms. Callen. ***PDF provided by Jessie Edwards at HarperCollins for Gayle Callen's book tour with Goddess Fish.***

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Good Book

Every Scandalous Secret is a hero's journey from being a person who seems to have no redeeming qualities to becoming a person who loves unconditionally and who has worthy goals and purpose in life. At first this seems to be a story about the ordinary Regency doings... then hints of deeper, more intense, and more fearful issues seep in.

The reader is swept into a unique battle of wits between two very intelligent, determined protagonists and soon feels a chemistry that takes the challenges far afield of the wager concerning a nude painting on display in a gentlemen's club in London.

Susanna Leland, the cousin of the Duke of Madingley, is well-known as a bluestocking, an artist, and most likely a forevermore spinster. Yet, she is at Lord and Lady Bramsfield's house party, with other much-younger ladies, shopping for a "suitable" husband. She promised her family (and herself) she would try once more. But she does have "standards"-none of which Mr. Leo Wade seems to meet.

Mr. Leo Wade's usual pursuits in London have become dull and predictable. His new venture holds promise. He follows Susanna to the house party, wrangles an invitation and sets in to win the wager while having a good time flirting with the women, trying to seduce Susanna, as always avoiding the marriage trap. He feels confident in winning a wager with his two friends Peter Derby and Lord Parkhurst. Little did he know how far Susanna would got to protect her young sister Rebecca and her cousin Elizabeth.

The strict rules of Regency time change things for both Susanna and Leo. They must make the best of what each is sure a BAD situation, but Leo Wade's sense of honor (that few realize he has) will not allow him to do less than what is expected.

Susanna looks at Leo like an adult would look at an incorrigible child, but her artist eye sees that he is a gorgeous male specimen with wavy blond hair and green eyes that sparkle with mischief and laughter. But her mind also knows he has a scandalous reputation and has no intellectual interests or regard for propriety. She even comes to the conclusion he cannot read. Yet, she feels exhilarated as he attempts to seduce her. She loves trying to outwit him.

Foreshadowing sets the scene for revelations about Leo's past that are life-changing. Gayle Callen tantalized just enough to keep the reader ever watchful for the significant of clues and hints. Leo's dark dreams, the coldness he feels around old ruins, and his memories that stay just out of reach create a chilly sense of foreboding.

However, Mr. Callen's skill in bringing to life an incredible love shared by two most unlikely people is magical. The little things that open up new avenues to this unique love give the reader a vicarious experience through exquisite, earth-shattering love scenes, verbal foreplay, poignant back stories, and an intrepid reaching for the future with confidence that comes from loving and being loved.
Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended-you must check it out!!!

Love Gayle Callen stories and this one especially.

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