I love friends to lovers stories but this one fell flat for me. I just never felt any romantic chemistry between Evan and Kate. They had great banter between them as friends but to me it never went passed that. I also thought the suspenseful side of the story could have been developed a little more. It would have been nice to see the Anne Jones story pursued. All in all, not a bad read but not great either.

Cambridge, England - 1818

Evan Rhys gives lectures which informs the public about fake Roman antiquities that have become quite worrisome to dealers and collectors. Evan spent four years at Cambridge studying history and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.

During one of his lectures, he hears and recognizes the voice of the woman he has loved for so long. Abigail Catherine (Kate) Durham, the Irish Countess of Whelan and widow of his best friend, Conall Ritchie Durham, the late fifth Earl of Whelan. Evan has not seen nor heard from her for two years and his is determined to avoid her. However, he feels he must be courteous so he acknowledges her and meets her twin brother, Mr. Jonah Chandler.

Kate has two children and her mother-in-law in Ireland. Her late husband, Conall, had been unfaithful to her and money was always tight and he spent freely. He had died in a fall in a steeplechase accident. Now, Kate has come to ask her father for money to cover the debts that Conall left her.

While in England, Kate enjoys seeing her family and friends again and Evan stays with her family. But her father is unable to help her so she heads back to Ireland and Evan goes with her. Their friendship soon turns to an attraction that cannot be denied. During their trip, they stop at Evan’s home for a visit. Seeing Evan’s mother’s sarcasm and belittling toward him helps explain some of his feelings of inadequacy. Picking up on this, Kate manages to make a mockery of his parents’ comments to Evan without them realizing it. This makes for some humorous reading.

Back at Kate’s home in Ireland, her two children are happy to see her and Evan again. When events occur that show someone doesn’t want him around, he is determined to stay and solve the problem.

This was an interesting story. The one thing that bothered me was the excessive verbiage that seemed to be written simply to fill space. Other than that, I liked the hero and heroine and hoped they would find a way to have a future together.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book played out very much like book one in the series for me. It was so slow in the beginning I almost didn’t finish and then at about 2/3 of the way through it picked up to go taking off at a gallop. Theresa Romain can write beautiful prose and dialog but I do wish she would not put us to sleep early in the book. There is a scene with Kate’s children and Evan that did provide quite a bit of plot information but it went on way too long. Some coincidences were just a bit TOO coincidental, and the wrap up left me scratching my head wondering “Why?” All that being said, it still was a good book. Yes, I know after all my peeves, that doesn’t make sense, but it is a good read in spite of the flaws. If you like the historical facts about horse racing in the Regency Era then this book is very well researched, as is the first in the series.

Scandalous Ever After, by Theresa Romain is a historical regency romance.

Due to her late husband's debts, Lady Kate Whelan arrives in England to seek financial assistance. Unexpectedly, she discovers her friend, Evan Rhys. Even though they haven't spoken since her husband's death, Kate and Evan rekindle their friendship, which leads to a romantic relationship. As their story continues, they are forced to deal with various secrets and issues complicating their lives.

Since it's the second book in the Romance of the Turf series, it's recommended to start with the first book, yet it's not necessary to read the books in order.

Scandalous Ever After is slightly slow paced, yet it's geared towards historical regency romance fans.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Scandalous Ever After is the second book in Theresa Romain’s Romance of the Turf series of Regency romance novels.

Evan Rhys is an antiquities expert who is planning to go to Greece, but his plans change when Lady Kate Whelan arrives unexpectedly after one of his magic lantern presentations. Kate was married to Evan’s best friend Conn, who tragically passed away two years ago. Evan had been a frequent houseguest at Conn’s Irish estate, but he has not visited- or seen Kate- since Conn’s funeral.

There is a horse racing connection to be found here- Kate’s father has one of the finest stables in the district, and in fact, Kate and Conn met all those years ago because Conn traveled to England in search of horses and returned to Ireland with a young wife. There is also the matter of strange occurrences near the Irish estate. However, both of those elements take a back seat to a much simpler story of two people trying to figure out where their relationship stands and what they mean to each other. Evan has been in love with Kate since the first time he met her, and he hated the way that Conn took Kate for granted by being unfaithful numerous times. Frankly, Kate is not sure what she wants, but she feels overwhelmed by the demands of the estate, and she appreciates the comforting presence of an old friend.

Scandalous Ever After has the perfect balance of humor and angst. Evan and Kate have good chemistry together, but there is definitely some struggling as they redefine their relationship. My favorite parts of the story would have to be the visit with Evan’s family in Wales when they were en route back to Ireland and when we finally meet Kate’s mother-in-law- good old Gwyn.

I would absolutely recommend Scandalous Ever After to fans of historical romance. I first discovered Theresa Romain earlier this year when I read Passion Favors the Bold, an entry in her Royal Rewards series. I have not read A Gentleman’s Game, the first Romance of the Turf book, but Scandalous Ever After functions well as a standalone. I have, however, added A Gentleman’s Game to my (never-ending) reading queue and I am looking forward to reading more of Romain’s books in the future.

I've heard a lot of great things about Theresa Romain's historical romances from fellow reviewers here at AAR. So, when I saw Scandalous Ever After, book two in the author's Romance of the Turf series, I was eager to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. Ms. Romain's writing contains many of my favorite things in a historical romance: smart banter, a heroine who isn't afraid to stand up for herself and her beliefs, and sensuality that practically makes my iPad sizzle. The fact that the hero conducts himself very well is a plus, too.

Although this is the second book in a series, it stands perfectly well on its own. Having said that, I plan to pick up book one, A Gentleman's Game, really soon, as I'm eager to see how things got started.

Kate, the widowed Countess of Whelan, is returning home to Newmarket for the first time since her husband's death two years earlier. Her mourning is complete, and she must now turn her attentions to saving her son's ancestral holdings. Kate's late husband, Con, was something of a wastrel, content to live far beyond his means, and unwilling to take his marriage vows seriously. After his death, the local magistrate bought up Con's debts, and now expects Kate to pay him an exorbitant amount of money before year's end, something she's unable to do. Con was never a great provider for his wife and young children, so Kate is hoping her father will able to help her out of the situation she now finds herself in.

While she's in Newmarket, she attends a lecture about false antiquities given by her long-time friend Evan Rhys. She hasn't seen Evan since the day of Con's death, and she's more than a little hurt by his long absence. Even so, she's willing to put the past behind them, if only Evan can be persuaded to be part of her life again.

Evan is shocked to see Kate in the audience. He's secretly loved her since the day Con - his best friend - introduced them. He believes he has hidden his feelings well, but without Con to act as a buffer, he didn't think it wise to spend time with Kate and the children. Plus, he and Con argued on the day of the latter’s unfortunate riding accident, and Evan harbors some guilt over the harsh words they exchanged. But once he's face-to-face with Kate, Evan realizes he can't keep his distance from her any longer. Now that her husband is no longer in the picture, might Evan have a chance to win Kate's heart?

Evan and Kate quickly fall back into their old relationship. Kate is glad to have Evan in her life again because no one, not even her late husband, knows her the way Evan does, and she can use all the support she can get in these very difficult times. Evan wants to be more than a friend to Kate, but he knows he's got to take his time wooing her.

It soon becomes apparent to the reader that Evan is interested in more than simple antiquities. He's hot on the trail of a smuggling ring, and, hoping to find answers in Ireland, he agrees to accompany Kate back to Whelan House as he has reason to believe the smugglers are operating somewhere near there. He also offers to help Kate out of her financial difficulties, something her father is unable to do, but Kate refuses his offer of help, unwilling to depend on anyone but herself to save her young son's birthright.

Once Kate and Evan set foot on Irish soil, it's obvious there’s something more than smuggling going on near Kate's estate. In fact, Evan uncovers information that points to Con's death being something other than the riding accident everyone claims it to be. Alarmed, but determined to get to the bottom of things, Kate and Evan join forces to uncover the truth, putting themselves directly in the path of grave danger.

There were times I was quite exasperated by Kate's behavior. Her desire to stand on her own two feet is admirable for the most part, but it causes her to push Evan away on several different occasions. Luckily, Evan is a patient man, and Kate is eventually persuaded to let him in, but it takes her quite some time to get there. She spends far too much time remembering her marriage to Con and how it turned sour, and it almost seems as if she expects Evan to treat her just as shabbily as Con had. She seems to have trouble realizing that, even though Evan was Con's closest friend, he's a totally different man, who had, in fact, had had words with Con about his ill treatment of Kate several times over the thirteen years of their marriage. Once Kate decides to admit her love for Evan, things go quite a bit more smoothly, but this doesn't happen until pretty close to the novel's end.

The mystery element of the story works well to help Kate realize just how much she cares for Evan. The more she learns about Con's last days, the more she comes to understand just how different Evan is, and when a sinister plot threatens to take everything she holds dear, Kate is forced to make some difficult decisions about her future.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a confrontation between Kate, Evan, and the villains, because what actually happens is almost anticlimactic. Sure, the mystery is solved, but it’s a little too neat and tidy for my taste. Even so, Scandalous Ever After was a super enjoyable read, and I definitely plan to check out the author's backlist.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

Friends who long to be lovers, but fear crossing the line, Kate and Evan tiptoe around their feelings, but crave each other’s company.

The death of Kate’s husband, who was Evan’s best friend, leaves each of them with a heavy load; hers is a load of debts left by her unfaithful husband and Evan’s is a load of guilt. How they work through the conflicts makes attention-keeping reading.

When Nora and Declan, Kate’s children, enter the picture, with their views about life before and after their father’s death, the story gains depth. Their actions and words show so much about how children see, the often complicated, ways that adults handle things.

Kate and Evan are in the company of both their families as they find their way. The contrast in their families’ life styles and the way they see themselves reveals much about how Kate and Evan came to be the way they are – interesting reading. It is easy to see how the world has been gray to Evan most of his life.

The secondary characters, like Janet Ahearn and Mary O’Dowd, along with the back stories and how they figure into the things Kate and Evan must sort out dovetail together in intriguing ways. They even fit in with some of the underhanded ways of the antagonist, Finnian Driscoll.

I particularly enjoyed the dialogue with the nuance, humor, and understatement. The author has an amazing way of writing so the reader feels as if she is right there in the experience with the characters.

Scandalous Ever After by Theresa RomainI really liked the first book in this series and was looking forward the second. In this book, Kate Whelan is visiting her father, hoping to borrow money to shore up the estate her late husband decimated with his gambling. While there, she sees that Evan Rhys is doing a lecture and decides to go and see her husband's best friend. The three of them used to be great friends, but then came the steeplechase when her husband died and she hasn't seen Evan since.
Evan didn't feel like he could stay when he felt such guilt over the accident that took his best friend. But now that it's years later? He's ready to go after woman he's always loved. Of course it's never just that simple. Problems from both the past and the present rear up to make the course of Twu Lurv not so smooth.
And, while this was a nice story, there were a LOT of rocks on the path to HEA. Some of those rocks? Kate and Evan themselves. There's a lot of angst in this book. Will regular Romaine readers still enjoy it? Probably. But not as much as the first book.

Three stars
This comes out July 1

Evan has pined for Kate since the moment they met - when his best friend Con introduced her as his wife. Kate has longed for Evan almost as long.

When the story opens, Con is dead and it's been two years since Kate and Evan have seen each other. But in the middle of a lecture Evan is giving about antiquities, something stirs the hairs on the back of his neck. When a woman's voice shouts out a question, he recognizes it instantly as Kate's. Kate never understood why Evan fled Ireland after Con's death - and stayed away. Visiting her family in England, she heard Evan Rhys was giving a lecture, and she had to go. Kate remains behind after the lecture ends, and it's clear from the moment they set eyes on one another, their affection for each other is unchanged.

That first conversation is charged - Evan's absence has weighed on both of them - but their friendship, affection for each other and witty banter picks up as if they were never apart. Before long, they've made plans to remain together through Kate's return home to Ireland.

I loved this friends to lovers romance so much more than I thought I would. Kate is prickly, sensitive and bewildered by the strength of her love and affection for Evan. But she never thought she could have him - after all, he was Con's best friend and she was his husband. When he vanished after Con's death, she despaired but hoped he would one day find his way home to her in Ireland. Evan is charming, sweet and kind -and also plagued with depression. He fell in love with Kate and struggled with his feelings during their marriage, but when Con died - shortly after they argued - he blamed himself for his death. When they reunite after his lecture, both want more from the relationship.

Scandalous Ever After unfolds as Kate and Evan slowly forge a new partnership. It's one step forward, two steps back the whole way through - but what an entertaining and romantic trip it is. Kate and Evan are intensely attracted to one another and have great chemistry. I particularly loved their verbal exchanges - whether joking, flirting, arguing, or trying to confess their deepest, darkest secrets - and they're a highlight of the novel. Secondary characters are also well done, and even this 'children don't belong in romance novels' cynic loved the interplay between Kate and her children, and Evan and the children. Evan is such a terrific match for Kate and I fell hard for this flawed and wonderful character. Plagued by bouts of depression - 'when the gray descends' - and doubts about his relationship to Kate, he's a sensitive, charming foil to an intense, confused and tender Kate. They bring out each other's best and Ms. Romain does a terrific job translating their affection from the page.

There's A LOT going in this story on outside of the relationship between Evan and Kate. Smuggling, illegitimate children, mistresses, criminal masterminds and their not-as-sharp lackey's...Ms. Romain keeps readers busy (and entertained) as she artfully balances the romance and the mystery that brings Evan and Kate together - FINALLY. Con's past casts a long shadow...and really, though Ms. Romain does an admirable job trying to convince us he wasn't a totally bad guy (he was a good dad and friend to Evan), I'm not a Con-vert. (ha!) I didn't like him, his behavior or his past shenanigans.

I hadn't read the novella or novel that preceded this one in the Romance of the Turf series, but you better believe I picked them up as soon as I finished this one. Scandalous Ever After is romantic, funny and charming and wonderful. So good.

The first chapter of this book immediately grabbed me and I was excited to read this book. However, as the storyline progressed, I became less and less enamored of the plot. The internal dialogue of Evan and Kate seemed to go on and on and repeated way too much.

Ms. Romain is a talented write and her writing was first rate, and I did like both Evan and Kate. Kate had put herself in a category box and couldn't see herself as anything else besides being countess, wife, mother and she was limiting her options in life. Evan has loved Kate from the moment he met her and suffers through years of heartache after loving his best friend's wife. I thought the twist was good, but there's a big thread left hanging that I thought was important to the storyline. Perhaps it will be answered in the next book in the series.

Does love really heal all wounds?
After being widowed by a steeplechase accident in Ireland, Lady Kate Whelan abandons the turf. But once her mourning is complete, her late husband's debts drive her to seek help in Newmarket amidst the whirl of a race meet. There she encounters antiquities expert Evan Rhys, her late husband's roguish friend―whom she hasn't seen since the day of his lordship's mysterious death.

Now that fate has reunited them, Evan seizes the chance to win over the woman he's always loved. But once back within the old stone walls of Whelan House, long-held secrets come to light that shake up everything Kate thought she knew about her marriage. Now she wonders who she can trust with her heart―and Evan must decide between love and a truth that will separate him from all his heart desires.

Two years ago Evan and his best friend, Conall, got into an argument and Even then left the country of Ireland, never to return. He found out later that his friend had fallen from a horse and died that very day. He’d blamed himself for his friends death. He also has massive guilt because from the day Conall had brought his English wife home, Evan had been in love with her.

Evan is lecturing in London when the object of his affections, Kate, strolls in. He immediately changes his travel plans and heads to her family seat in Newmarket with her – with plans to travel with her to Ireland afterward. He finally believes it’s time to make his move on Kate, but she’s not ready to accept that her life can change from what it’s been these past two years. She also has worries that going to bed with Evan will ruin their friendship.

When they eventually make it back to Ireland Kate is even more determined to keep Evan at bay but he doesn’t allow that. He needs to make her see that they can be good together. He also finds something that might prove that his friend, Kate’s husband didn’t die in an accident but was murdered.

This was a sweet fiends to lovers story. I really liked both Kate and Evan and their witty banter made me laugh throughout the book. No matter what was happening Evan was always there with his light-heartedness and I loved it.

The romance between the two kind of grew organically and at times I wished as a reader that I could have understood Kate a bit better when it came to Evan. It was like she was falling in love with him but we weren’t exactly told that. I don’t know how to explain it. Anyway, this is the reason for the 4 stars rather than higher.

Overall I found the book to be quite enjoyable and I truly appreciated Ms. Romain’s sense of humor.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This will post as a guest review on Book Binge.
bookbinge.com

Very disappointed in this book. There was a lot of meat in this story to tell but it was full of immaterial "filler" that served to drag the story down

Maybe 3.5 stars

Kate, the Countess of Whelan and Evan Rhys have a history. Evan has been in love with Kate since the day he met her - as the bride of his best friend. The three of them shared a deep friendship - but all that changed when Kate's husband Con died in a racing accident.

Evan left shortly before Con died, after they had a heated agreement. Evan finally gave in to his anger of the way Con treated Kate and his responsibilities. He left never intending to return.

Two years later, Kate is back in England trying to secure a loan to pay off her late husband's debts and to save her son's legacy. She learns that Evan is lecturing not far from her families home and she seeks him out. Evan has been fighting depression his entire life and Kate seems to be the only person that keeps the "gray" from consuming him. He has stayed away for the last two years because he feels unworthy and guilty. But seeing Kate again smashes all his reasons for staying away. He has been trying to find the source of forgeries used to smuggle and Kate's appearance is the perfect excuse to return to Ireland.

They try to pick up their friendship where they left off, but there are things that need to be said and feelings that need to be explored. When they take their relationship to the next level, Kate immediately regrets it - even though she instigated the interlude. Kate wants things with Evan to be like they were and can't understand his withdrawal from her.

They return to Ireland and begin to investigate the forgeries and their feelings for each other. Each of them learns some hard truths and begin to come to terms with the changes between them.

When Evan's life is in peril - Kate finally acknowledges her true feelings and lets go of her fears and past hurts.

I liked the story, but I didn't love it. The writing felt a bit disjointed and was at times confusing to follow. Although, I was impressed with the author's portrayal of Evan - his unrequited love for Kate, his guilt over Con, his struggle with depression and his refusal to accept a half-life with Kate - it was really well done and completely believable.

All in all a decent read and I would be happy to recommend it to others.

This was an amazing read. A mix of romance, steam, drama and mystery.

I so adore how deeply and well Romain explores the internal lives of her characters. They are so well-crafted, and laid so bare, that this almost feels like getting a glimpse inside a couple's real love story. This is another excellent turn from one of the genre's truest talents!

A decent way to pass the time... a very unexpected love story!