A Beginner’s Guide to Scandal by Alivia Fleur

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Tales from Honeysuckle Street, #1

Release Date: April 18, 2023

Years ago, Hamish Dalton the forgotten younger son of an earl, and Iris Abberton, the adopted daughter of a rich businessman were the best of friends, but tragedy tore them apart and they didn’t see each other for almost 13 years. Hamish is now the heir to his father’s earldom and chaffing under his constant criticisms and the pressure of living up to the ghost of his elder brother. He has been sent back to London to find a proper wife, but Hamish has other plans, he plans to start a scandal to upset his father and ruin his plans. His problem is, he doesn’t really know how to go about it, so he goes to his Aunt Tilly, who was disowned years ago and then became a courtesan to support herself. She agrees to help him, thrilled his plan are finally in motion, he returns to his house and is surprised to see his childhood friend and neighbor, Iris. He can’t believe she hasn’t married and moved away. He finds himself drawn to her, and despite his plans to thwart his father, he can’t seem to stay away from her.

Iris Abberton has loved Hamish Dalton for as long as she can remember and was heartbroken when he left after the accident that killed his mother and elder brother. She tried to stay in touch with him, but he never replied to her letters, so she stopped writing. She and her father spent years traveling the world and expanding their business, but now her father’s memory is declining and she is desperately trying to hide that fact from the company’s board, they have no idea that Iris has been running things for her father and wants to join the board and expand the business. She has plans to see this happen, but then Hamish returns and she can’t resist him. But when his plans succeed, it destroys hers and for the first time ever, Iris walks away from Hamish. Can he find a way to make things right and win her back or has he truly lost the only woman he ever loved?

This was an interesting and steamy story of reunited lovers and their bumpy road to HEA. The book is filled with emotion, hijinx, forbidden love, steamy love scenes, heartache, wonderful secondary characters, groveling, second chances, and finally a HEA. I enjoyed this book, I would have liked to see Hamish right his wrongs a bit quicker, and an epilogue a few years later would have been nice. But overall, it was a good read and I would be happy to recommend this title. This is the first book in a new series, but the author states each book can be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*