In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady

By Gayle Callen

“Gayle Callen writes one dazzling gem of a book after another.”

—Christina Dodd

 

In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady is the first book in a delectable new series by fan favorite Gayle Callen in which three gentlemen wager that they will find and seduce an apparently shameless beauty who posed for a scandalous portrait. The USA Today bestselling, Holt Medallion and the Laurel Wreath Award-winning author offers readers the flip side of her popular Sons of Scandal trilogy, presenting the delightfully romantic stories of the aristocratic sisters of the heroes from Never Dare a Duke, Never Trust a Scoundrel, and Never Marry a Stranger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 27, 2010
• ISBN: 9780061991233

Gayle Callen

After a detour through fitness instructing and computer programming, Gayle Callen found the life she'd always dreamed of as a romance writer. This USA Today bestselling author has written more than twenty historical romances for Avon Books, and her novels have won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the Booksellers' Best Award, and been translated into eleven different languages. The mother of three grown children, an avid crafter, singer, and outdoor enthusiast, Gayle lives in Central New York with her dog, Uma, and her husband, Jim the Romance Hero. She also writes contemporary romances as Emma Cane.

Reviews for In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book felt sort of dumbed down, every single thing was spelled out in case anyone might not be following along. There's no need to assess the characters for yourself, Callen will tell you what you should be thinking... Just lots of telling when she should be showing really. No subtlety, no nuance, nothing especially interesting or creative. Lots of awfully convenient but highly unlikely events. I thought perhaps it was her first attempt at writing a historical romance, but no, she's written many of them, this is just how she chooses to write I guess. I really expected to give this book two stars for all the above reasons, (and at the start I was definitely just slogging through), but it ended up in a sort of simple entertainment by the end that I enjoyed more than I was bothered by the problems, so I'm rounding up to three stars.

[addictofromance · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Every Gentleman in London has seen the most sensual painting, that has them all wondering who this mysterious lady could be? And why would she do such a thing? So when three young women come in the night, in hopes of stealing the painting in hopes that no one would be able to guess who, they are caught red handed by Julian Delane and his two friends. Then there is a wager placed between them, on who can guess the true identity of this woman, but if they never guess right, then the three woman get to keep it. So goes the battle between friends and sexes. However Rebecca Leland never thought that this painting and the necklace that she carries called "Scandalous Lady" would draw so much attention to herself, attention that puts her life in danger. So she flee's London, however Julian follows her and then vows to protect her until they know who is behind it. In this enticing book we see how Julian realizes how precious Rebecca is to him, and they neither of them wants to give up the priceless love they have found in each others arms.I found this one to be a endearing but also a adventurous story. At the beginning we have this silly wager between these two, but then the plot really thickens up with excitement when Rebecca's life is in danger, but what she never suspects is that Julian is a fierce protector and lover. I truly loved the plot and all of the characters in this book. Both main and sub ones. Rebecca is a spirited young lady, but has suffered much in her young life as well. Even though she has been surrounded by loved ones, her childhood was filled with illness after illness, never being able to live a life of adventure that she has only dreamed of. She has such a inner strength and perserverance to not be afraid of illness, but to live every moment with adventure and passion. Julian's family name is filled with scandal, however he knows that once he finds the truth of his father's death, than he will be able to clear his name, and the answer is in Rebecca, who holds the very item that once was his father's. But through this adventure they both are driven into, they realize the biggest one of all is finding true love and a passion that consumes them both. I have to say this is one of my favorite series of Gayle Callen, and I am looking forward to read the future stories between Julian's two friends and Rebecca's two cousins since this is Book 1 in the series. I have no complaints to this book apart from the fact of the flow of the book. It wasn't all consistent but for the most part was a engaging read with some good passion, excitment and adventure, and a tender love story.

[larissalyons_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first story I've read by Gayle Callen and I love the action and surprising plot twists. The train scene especially was loads of fun. A great start to a new trilogy and I cannot wait to devour the other two!