Review: A Scandal by Any Other Name

A Scandal by Any Other Name by Kimberly Bell

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.75)

Jasper DeVere, new Duke of Albemarle, is immature, debauched and unreliable.  On the day he is to present himself to Parliament and meet the Queen as the duke, he bolts.

Julia Bishop is bold, brave and outspoken.  She dreams of a life of adventure  Because of a limp caused by her disability, she is considered an outcast and treated like an outsider.

Julia and Jasper meet while each of them is trying to escape their present and future situations.  Jasper fears that he will never be able to fill his late grand-fathers shoes while Julia tries to outrun her life of monotony and regulations.

Upon their meeting, they both introduce themselves with false identities.  They also realize that they are looking for a temporary diversion from their troubles.  Since they are both headed to Wakefield's, they decide to continue their tete-a-tete there.

What happens when Julia realizes she wants more than just a diversion, she wants forever?  Will she be able to trust Jasper enough with her emotional and physical scars?

This was an enjoyable read.  I wish however that Jasper's character was more fleshed out.  In my opinion, it is hard to find the "key" moments of where and why he no longer fears the dukedom and its responsibilities and why he now accepts the dukedom while flaunting convention   His greatest fear was not being able to fill his grandfather's shoes and yet he decides to forego the "Royal Marriages Act" knowing what this would mean for Julia and their future.  I also believe that this belies the trepidation of disappointing his grand-father.  It is understood that he loves her and wants to be with her however, without knowing exactly what motivated this change, it makes the transition between Jasper of old and the new Jasper a little abrupt and unbelievable.

This having been said, I loved the dichotomy that was Julia.  She was bold, wild and outspoken but at the very same time, she was reticent to speak of anything of her disability much less the scars it invoked.  She was not shy to tell people what she thought  nor did she care for their approval.  However, due to the remarks and stares of her peers, she dreads showing herself completely to anyone. The dialogue was sexy and well written and the chemistry between these two characters was almost palpable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.