{Tale of Two Sisters Review} A Scandal By Any Other Name by @BellRomance

A Scandal By Any Other Name (A Tale of Two Sisters, #2) by Kimberly Bell
Published by Entangled: Amara on January 30th 2018
Pages: 306
Buy on Amazon, Amazon Australia, Available with KU Subscription
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Julia Bishop has led a very sheltered life. Protected by her family from those who might ridicule her for her secrets, she stays hidden away in the country. But she longs for more, if only for an evening. To kiss a rake in full view of the stable boy. Unchaperoned picnics. Romance. But she knows she’ll never experience any of those things.

That is, until a handsome duke with a mysterious past of his own arrives…

Duke Jasper DeVere left London to grieve his grandfather’s death privately, away from the prying eyes and gossips of the ton. Seeking solitude at a friend’s country manor, he’s surprised he finds himself drawn to the company of the shy beautydetermined to present the epitome of proper behavior.

That is, until the mysterious woman makes an indecent proposal…

Julia can’t believe what she’s suggested to the duke. Nor that he agrees a distraction is what they both need. But what will happen when Jasper must return to his duties and leave Julia behind? Will the memories of their time together be enough for a lifetime of solitude for either of them?

Because Julia can never leave her country haven and a duke can never stay…

I received A Scandal By Any Other Name (A Tale of Two Sisters, #2) for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This novel could’ve been entitled How to Tick Off a Monarch, because Queen Victoria has more than one reason to be displeased with her cousin, Jasper DeVere. Since his father passed away when he was only six, Jasper has lived the majority of his life as the heir to his grandfather’s title of the Duke of Albemarle. Now with his grandfather’s passing, it’s time for Jasper to take over the dukedom. Seconds before he is supposed to be presented to Queen Victoria and take over the title, he bolts leaving not only the Queen, but his very angry twin sister, Ruby, in the lurch.

Jasper runs off and ends up at his best friend’s estate where he discovers the enticing Julia Bishop. Julia’s sister, Amelia, married Jasper’s best friend, Nicolas, yet the two have never met. A little bit of deception on Julia’s part has her getting to know Jasper better with outrageous flirting and misguided determination. Julia was born with a mild form of Spina Bifida which has caused her spinal and foot deformities. She wants nothing more than to have a passionate romance with a man she’s admired from the shadows for months.

I loved Jasper and Julia separately in the first novel of this series, The Importance of Being Scandalous. Bell took these two leaps and bounds further and gave us two characters to laugh and cry with. They couldn’t be more different to fit so perfectly together. Bell had me shedding tears in more than a few chapters. I also snorted my way through one chapter that highlighted a dinner party from hell that ended on the perfect note. Another five star read!

While the stories of the Bishop sisters and their struggles to find romance have come to an end, I pray Bell will write a story for Ruby DeVere, Jasper’s sister. She was a strong secondary character in both novels and I would dearly love to read a story of her happily ever after!

Read my review of The Importance of Being Scandalous HERE!