My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Palace of Rogues, #7

Release Date: April 23. 2024

The jaded MP, Dominic Kirke, Baron Kirke takes a room at the Grand Palace on the Thames hotel when his house is nearly burned down by his now ex-mistress. Dominic just wants peace and quiet to do his work, but his first night is disturbed by his downstairs “neighbor”. He is surprised to find the neighbor is a lovely young woman, fresh from the country and set to spend her first season in London. Innocents are not his thing and he plans to steer clear of her, but thanks to the rules of the hotel and social engagements, their paths keep crossing and soon Dominic finds himself enchanted with Catherine Keating, but he still keeps her at an arm’s length by calling her Keating and but still feels protective of her and warns her of the dangers of the ton. Dominic knows he is wrong for her, he has loved before and has secrets, but the chemistry between them is strong. He knows letting her go is the right thing to do and tries to distance himself. But when a well-intentioned act goes horribly wrong, her season is ruined, he offers to make things right, only to be rejected. Can he make it right or is he doomed to living with a broken heart forever?

Catherine Keating comes to London with high hopes of finding a husband, but nothing is going right, first her aunt is injured, leaving her alone at the Grand Palace on the Thames, then her chaperone is more interested in gambling than making introductions, her wardrobe is outdated and makes her the subject of cruel jabs, and the only man that makes her heart beat faster is grumpy Lord Kirke, who has made it abundantly clear that there cannot and will not be anything beyond friendship between them. To make matters worse the more time she spends with him, the deeper she falls for him, but once he shares his past with her, she knows that she cannot be his future and tries to move on. But when viscous gossip ruins her season, she confronts Lord Kirke and is horrified by his martyr-like proposal. She had hoped for love and was crushed, leaving her no choice but to return home in disgrace. But separation only increases her heartache and Kirke makes no attempt to contact her. Will she find her HEA or is she too doomed to live with a broken heart?

This was another great, well-written installment of the Palace of Rogues series and might be the most emotional one yet! Catherine and Dominic are such wonderful characters and I was rooting for them right from the start, but their journey to happily ever after is not an easy one, but what a ride it is!!! The book has witty banter, lots of emotion, secrets, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, heartbreaking revelations, slow burn age-gap romance, uncertainty, heartache, tears, a healthy dose of angst and finally an amazing ending complete with an epilogue. I just loved this book so much and highly recommend it – it is the seventh book in the series, but it can easily 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.*