Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 (It was a bit easier to listen to on audio – but I was ready for this to end multiple times before it did)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 (I could have used some more background on both the mains but especially the hero)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡(There was a bit but then they fell into each other pretty easily)
Romance: 💞💞💞 (There was some to me – but also both these characters did things I thought were very unromantic to each other and hurtful)
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (the scenes were a bit...light? On the explicitness? They were average steamy...but missing something for me. Maybe a touch of emotional pull?)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine, and also some from side characters (at least one)
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: They at a ball together pretty soon in, but I think first real interaction is a bit later on (about 18% or so)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to audiobook from library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: I read it years ago and didn’t love it – but the author commented on a review post I had for it and said she was redoing the novel and hoped I would try it again. I decided to give a more detailed review and a second chance!
Mains cishet hero and heroine, M/F romance, vampire hero/human heroine

Should I read in order?
This is the first in Ann’s Scandals with Bite series.

Basic plot:
Angelica wants to be ruined in society for freedom, but Ian plans on following through with the wedding to help his reputation...

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – 1821
- London setting
- paranormal historical – there is a secret society of vampires that live among the living
- vampire hero / human heroine
- compromised heroine
- miscommunication trope!
- author heroine
- duke hero
- child free HEA
- medium steam – there are a number of scenes, but they felt a touch light in description/length

Ages:
- hero is 224 years old but looks around 30, heroine is early 20s

First line:
“Ruined.” Angelica Winthrop tasted the word on her tongue and found it to be delicious.

My thoughts:
I read this one years ago and really didn’t like it. It just had lots of things I’m not the biggest fan of in romance. I was curious about it being rereleased and wanted to get a better idea of the steam since I didn’t take notes the first read.

So this time, I did still have similar issues but I think I liked it more! I can like the miscommunication trope – especially when it adds angst to their relationship. But I didn’t find that it did that here, because they were still intimate with each other and it just wasn’t eating them up like I wanted it to 😆

I did get mildly annoyed with the villains again, but this go round I rather liked the ending. The sex between them was really light (I don’t know why it drives me so insane when anyone fucks before the mains….but it does!!! haha!) so not THAT bad…

But I can’t say I really liked either of these main characters and that’s where the book really suffered for me. I was just thinking both of them do things that make me scratch my head, or just be so frustrated with them. And something the hero does to the heroine...well I couldn’t come back from that.

So overall I liked this one more this time but it’s not a fave for me. But if you are in the mood for some London vampires I do encourage you to give it a go!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 1
Average rating: 3 stars
Favorite book: This is my only book by Ann

Endearments

The hero calls the heroine ‘angel’. 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- some scenes of starving children
- vampire feeding
- some scenes of violence, including attempted murder and murder on page
Author content warnings? Didn’t see any

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  No 

Hows the consent? 

  I think it’s fine? 

Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) 

  There are some minor scenes with children in the story, but no main side characters. It’s mentioned the hero cannot have children 

23% - brief mention of sex (villains?)
35% - kiss
40%-ish – kiss
48% - villain sex (brief and vague)
54% - sex
60%ish – sex
88% - her on top
(might have been one more scene? I can’t recall...)

Old, mean, salty review from 2018

 
I have been putting off writing a review of this book because basically I don’t want to relive any part of it.

I gave this book one star. My first one star review. I just...ugh. I gnashed my teeth this entire book. It had like everything in it that I dislike in a story.

Multiple peoples perspectives outside of the H/h. Like 2 or 3. And one is only in like half the book. Like the character isn’t even in it for the end. Why waste my time? I felt like it didn’t provide any amazing insight into the plot that couldn’t have been done on a smaller scale. Some was just pointless.

Reading about love scenes from non main characters ESPECIALLY before the H/h have interaction. I just don’t like it. It makes me feel like I’m watching a play on stage but there’s like a random tapdancing mouse on the side. Like it should be awesome but it’s actually distracting because he’s not a good tap dancer. 😆 I know I’m great with analogies. Hence why I read and don’t write. These weren’t really descriptive love scenes but it again just felt unneeded.

I didn’t like the heroine. She came off like a raging psycho to me who basically was super selfish and hated most everyone.

THE BIG MISCOMMUNICATION. Not one, which is enough to make me want to howl at the moon but two, or possibly 3. Don’t make me go back and check. Overhearing a sentence because you’re eavesdropping, misconstruing, not talking for months...dumb dumb dumb. And this is totally my personality flaw. I have to talk about everything so I can’t imagine being upset with my husband and not working it out for months. No.

I don’t remember what else annoyed me about this book. Everything. Just everything.