HOW TO SURVIVE A SCANDAL by Samara Parish

 

Publisher: Forever
Date Published: May 25, 2021  
ISBN#   ‎  ‎ 978-1538704486
Historical Romance
Reviewed by Gina (myreviewbooks@aol.com)
Obtained via publisher
5 Hearts

Lady Amelia has never doubted her place in society. Raised to be the epitome of the most accomplished wife of a Duke from childhood she is beyond dismayed when she finds herself half naked in an unfamiliar house after being rescued from certain death in a snow storm. At first glance her rescuer is an over large behemoth of a man with no class or culture. Making matters worse, her finance as well as the county’s number one gossip are present when she wakes. It is quickly decided the only way to save her reputation is to marry her rescuer. The solution is not acceptable to her. After all, she did nothing wrong!

 

Benedict Asterly didn’t give it a second thought when he came upon the carriage seemingly abandoned in the snow only to find a woman inside who appeared near death.  At a minimum he would have been happy with a thank you. What he gets instead is a arrange by the woman who soon becomes his wife. Oh he doesn’t want to marry Amelia. She’s one of the last people who he wants anything to do with, but he is the kind of man who will do the right thing. In short order Amelia and Benedict find themselves in a marriage neither ever wanted. Can two people so ill-suited to each other find common ground?

HOW TO SURVIVE A SCANDAL is probably the best read I’ve had yet this year. Samara Parish has the kind of voice that immediately draws you into the story and then you find you just can’t put it down until you’ve read the last page. I’ve read a few Regencies lately and Parish reminds me once again why I love stories from this era. She brings to life the constraints women had to live with and how, if so inclined, they managed to work around them.  When we first meet Amelia she is totally a woman of her time. Parish then develops her into someone you would like to have has your neighbor and friend. There isn’t a sudden transformation, but one that shows a woman coming into her own and while in the process of becoming true to herself, becomes a truly marvelous person.

Benedict is your basic nice guy – with his own set of prejudices. It’s those prejudices that keep him from seeing the changes he himself brings about in Amelia. He seems determined to break her and she continues, time after time, to show him her true self. Give his size one assumes he has no vulnerabilities, but he does and Parish brings those out for her readers in a way you just fall in love with him.

I loved this story and cannot wait to read book 2 in this series, HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.