Seduction & Scandal by Charlotte Featherstone

There’s just something about Charlotte Featherstone’s writing that sweeps me away into another time and place, and I don’t feel like I’m merely reading a story, but living a dream!

The first time I met Death, it was at a ball and we danced a waltz, and I feared him, feared the things he made me feel, made me want. That night I ran from him, but Death was right behind me, chasing me and I wanted him to catch me.

Isabella Fairmont is a young woman who has known hunger, pain and scandal. The daughter of a woman who gave her heart and her body to a man who she fancied herself in love with, Issy has had to live with the memories of what it was like to be poor and looked down on by the ton. When her mother passed away, Issy was taken in by her uncle and was given the kind of life she should have had. But she can’t put her mother’s past behind her and doesn’t plan to make the same mistakes, so she’s settled on an appropriate, respectable man to marry. But Isabella lives out her dreams in her writing where love, desire and passion are safe to experience. But when she meets Lord Black and he evokes those feelings in her outside of the pages of her book, she finds herself torn between longing for what he offers, and fearing it.

Never tell what you know. Never say what you are. Never lose faith in your purpose, for the kingdom to come will have need of you and your sons.

The mysterious Earl of Black is no stranger to scandal. Having been suspect in the death of his mother, brother and fiancée, he’s become reclusive, hiding dangerous secrets of his own. As a member of the Brethren Guardians, he protects valuable, centuries old artifacts that, should they fall into the wrong hands, could destroy the world. He knows of Isabella’s past, and knows the woman she’s become - and he wants her with a depth of desire that is nearly uncontrollable.

“Why, Isabella Fairmont - ” Lucy beamed incredulously “- you have, at last, been properly seduced!”

Isabella tries to resist the mysterious Lord Black, but with his pale blue eyes and brooding sensuality that are exactly as she described Death in her book, she finds herself drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and realizes that she may not have the strength to refuse him.

“I will admit it is a rather strange concept.”

I truly enjoyed the very unique storyline, and while there were some slow moments that are common when we’re being introduced to a new series and its world, Seduction & Scandal was a beautiful tale full of intrigue, excitement and passion. Issy and Lord Black are a perfect match and I was anxious to see them finally get the happily ever after they so deserved!

I’m looking forward to the next installment of the Brethren Guardians, Pride & Passion, the story of Issy’s cousin, Lady Lucy Ashton, and the “stuffy” Duke of Sussex.