As a longtime fan of Caroline Linden’s books, I was excited to see this new book in her Scandal series* and it’s a jewel. It’s hero is an explorer and its heroine has a scandalous past. This historical romance was everything I hoped for and I can’t wait for readers to discover it!

Evangeline has a scandalous reputation after being married and widowed twice. The ton tells stories–some untrue–about her complicity in her husbands’ deaths and the affairs she had. She’s had enough of being gossiped about and she certainly doesn’t wish to get married again and thus has moved to the country to live quietly.

One evening, while visiting her best friend in London, Evangeline goes to hear Sir Richard Campion, a famous Swiss explorer, talk about his latest travel adventures. When she is introduced to him, they are instantly smitten and share a steamy night together at her friend’s home. Evangeline sneaks off in the night (she doesn’t want to fall in love again and he is thirty-two, ten years younger than she is!) He is ready to give up his travels to be with her, but when he can’t find her, he leaves for Russia on his next adventure.

Four years later he returns to England after his sister’s husband dies from a sudden illness. His sister asks him to stay to help her with her boys and so he looks for a home in the country and finds a home near Evangeline! He is thrilled. He’s never forgotten her and hopes to start anew with her. They talk about his travels and he brings her wildflowers. They both have cute dogs and they make each other laugh (and me too). I loved how Richard understands and cares for Evangeline and his sister’s family, too. He thinks Evangeline is beautiful, clever and kind. They attend the opera, dinner parties and have an affair, which they try to keep secret, but Evangeline’s never been good at avoiding scandal! (I did wonder at times if Evangeline was very unlucky or just really bad at being discreet.) 

It was special to read a romance with an older couple. There is also a sweet secondary romance between Richard’s best friend and his sister. I was surprised to see how the story came together at the end. I recommend this to readers that enjoy historical romances with scandals, cute dogs and steamy love scenes.

*Readers of the Scandal series will recognize Evangeline and Richard from Love and Other Scandals.