Some Like It Scandalous: The Gilded Age Girls Club

New York City 1883 In her youth Daisy Swan was looked down upon by her peers and fellow children of some of the elite of Manhattan because she was not pretty. Unfortunately she was teased and when an incident occurred with her landing in a duck pond due to Theodore Prescott, she knew at that moment she would hate him forever!! Fast forward 12 years and at twenty five Daisy felt she was still not pretty as her mother and sisters. I felt so bad for Daisy because a lot of have felt this way, but I have to give her credit. She was smart, determined, and about to finish college and would be free and independent. Plus with her studies in chemistry she had ideas about creating and selling cosmetics to women to make them look and feel beautiful! Unfortunately her plans seemed about to be crushed when her mother brings up Theodore Prescott, yes the hated Prescott and demands she marry him. What? It seems her father is about to bring scandal down on them and Daisy needs to be married and protected. Really? No. She leaves and goes to the park. Meanwhile Theo's father is telling him that he has done his last scandalous incident and he demands he marry Daisy or he will cut him off. He says NO and runs off to the park! The adventure begins. The two meet up and begin talking about what they will do and come up with a plan. A pretend engagement. Yes, that will work. But what is does is open up both of their lives as they help each other! A delightful story that had me unable to stop reading until I turned the last page. I laughed out loud, sighed and as they bantered back and forth I could only smile. They deserved a happy ever and were meant for each other. Who would have thought it years ago? Really enjoyed. I read this through NetGallery.

This book is EVERYTHING I want in a read – a heroine to adore: determined, brainy, unapologetically herself and yet still curious and willing to take chances with a hero who, despite his appearances of not caring is actually kind, considerate and feeling a bit lost and guilty while still trying to gain recognition and approval from his father. But, when the two are pushed / cajoled / prodded together, the sparks fly and oh how wonderful it is to find the thoroughly open set of sensibilities in a man of the time! Daisy has always been different to her sisters and mother, and even more importantly, she has taken that knowledge and used it to build her own dreams: a degree in chemistry, a life unencumbered by the debutante/marriage mart, and her eventual plans to lead a life that is self-supporting and single. She’s got plans and dreams, and there is nothing that she will allow to stop her. Until her mother, desperate to push her into asituation where she will be secure and her reputation protected from inevitable family scandal, uses the scandalous behavior and latest exploits of Theo (in conjunction with his father) to demand an engagement and marriage forthwith. Believing that the Prescott name and family money will secure Daisy’s place in society, her mother is full on, while both Daisy and Theo are feeling more chalk and cheese, and not at all enamored of the idea. But something happens: Daisy is not one for holding her tongue, and Theo finds that he appreciates her honesty and clear speaking, and her ideas to create cosmetics (of all things) in an era where only actresses and prostitutes have use of them, death to a reputation of a ‘woman from a good family’ intriguing. And, fortunately as Daisy is a woman of thought and progress, she’s connected with others first met in this series who are, for better or worse, working to propel women’s issues, choices, opportunities and lives for the better. There’s so much for thought here – from Theo’s own issues with his father to Daisy’s curiosity and fragility, to the feeling that the two are so well matched both in temperament best seen in their bickering, that it is a couple that is meant to be together, even when they don’t see it themselves. Rodale has created another couple to love who feel very modern while still taking the opportunity to show the constraints placed on their behavior and choices, making this a historic novel and storyline to adore. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.