The title of this book lets the reader know right off that this isn't going to be a typical story line. I mean how can a scandal be proper? Generally in books of this era anyone trying to create a scandal is considered the bad person. I would want to protect the character that is the victim in the scandal. But the author has us loving Grace so much from the beginning that we rather hope she will succeed. The meeting of Grace and Nate is unusual and cute. And I wasn't really sure how it was all going to play out in time. I mean I knew there would be the happily ever after but I didn't know how they would get to that point.
Grace is pretty hopeless in the art of flirting and she is even worse at trying to compromise someone. I'm pretty sure when attempting this, one would want to leave their victim in the dark as to the goal instead of stating it straight out. But because she is so blundering at all of it she is even more adorable.
Her family however are not adorable. Particularly her step-uncle. He is a horrible person in every way.
Nate is pretty bad at avoiding compromising situations even when he is aware of what he is walking into. He can't quite walk away. But it is endearing since he is always concerned for her and therefore follows along.

I am so excited to have found a new to me author. This historical romance is humorous. In fact, I found myself giggling out loud a few times. I also enjoyed the unique storyline. I found it to be original. The heroine and hero are pretty open about their feelings for each other. I found that part to be refreshing. Most books aren't like that. This a clean read with swoon worthy kisses. This was a fun read for me. I enjoyed it and will look for more books by this author.
*I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

I could totally relate to Grace-she just wants a family of her own. She wants to be loved & wanted. She thinks her dreams are finally coming true, but instead her aunt's husband is a disgusting man who gives her two weeks to entrap a man.While Grace objects to the plan, what other choice does she have? She is abysmal at flirting-which is fun to read about. She was so bad at entrapping him, she is lucky it all ended like it did!
Hatch does a great job with the characters in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed how Grace and Nate's relationship evolved throughout the book. Her aunt, uncle and cousin are great side characters. I will definitely add this to my "to be read again" pile!

‘A Proper Scandal’ captivated me from the beginning until the end. How could Nate Barton fail to fall in love with Grace, when I as a reader was captivated by her charm. Grace, have been orphaned and living with the vicar and his family for the past six years, has been asked to leave and move to London with her aunt. She soon realises that life with her uncle, puts her in danger, as his advances become more threatening. With her aunt proposing that the only solution is for Grace to find a husband in two weeks, her uncle wants her to marry the man of his choice, that will ultimately save him from debt. Yet through it all, Grace manages to maintain her innocence whilst avowing that she will have a family that will love her.
Nate Barton, a young businessman who has had success in the railroad industry, meets Grace at the railway, when she first arrives in London. Nate is captivated by Grace’s beauty and finds himself drawn to her, despite her somewhat forward questions. Believing him to be the man that will solve all her problems, Grace tries to put them both in a situation that would demand they marry. Yet all goes astray, leaving both Nate and Grace wondering whether they will have a future together.
The exchange between Grace and Nate was incredibly delightful and witty. The storyline highlighted a sweet romance whilst at the same time, presenting a clever story filled with misunderstandings. The secondary characters are cleverly interwoven into the story, given greater depth yet never detracting from Nate and Grace’s romance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Esther Hatch. I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(4.5 stars) - a delightful surprise

Reminiscent in many ways of Kathleen Baldwin's amusing "My Notorious Aunt" series (which I also highly recommend). This book is not a comedy, though, so much as a lighthearted story with numerous comedic moments There were several points where I actually laughed out loud.

Grace is an intelligent girl but open & a bit naive She's been raised genteelly, however, her parents are dead, and because of her beauty along with a generous dowry, she finds herself in an extremely desperate position. Nathaniel is the classic workingman hero who's really a perfect gentleman, but he's been burnt before so he's focused on his business and has no time for romance.
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Nate finds himself more than a little attracted to Grace, but majorly confused - she's not just traveling a different path from the standard London miss; she's forging a quirky trail And that gets past her past his walls of resistance and leaves him very much intrigued. And increasingly, frustratingly tempted.

It was so much fun watching the relationship develop between these two. And just when things seem headed toward their happily-ever-after, the plot takes a surprise twist and things really get muddled. I couldn't read it fast enough. Now I'm fervently hoping that the author gives us a sequel, maybe with Georgina, Richardson or Lord Bryant, or even someone new so long as we can have another dose!.

Clean Romance Level: passionate kisses, several encounters with rakes & suggestive remarks
There is a scene where a man tries to force himself on a woman which, though not particularly graphic (nothing worse than a PG rating) may be traumatic for some

While I enjoyed this story, it felt scattered and all over the place. It was an excellent effort for a period piece story, but it didn't quite get there for me. Grace's personality never seemed settled. The author makes a big show of her voice, yet she only uses it once. She's proper, yet she tries to compromise a man. Nate seems unwilling to deal with women again, yet he finds himself in awkward positions with Grace. The character growth and detail were also lacking.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Grace is beautiful and it has caused her nothing but trouble. Her parents both died when she was a teenager and the local vicar and his family took her in. She has earned her keep, participating in the church choir and doing various work around the house. But now that the family's two daughters are of an age to marry, their mother fears that Grace's beauty and dowry are standing in the way of her daughters receiving offers. She is told she must leave, luckily she has an aunt with whom she can stay. They had became estranged after her parents death, as her aunt was not only suffering the grief of losing her sister, but her own husband had recently passed as well. Grace is determined that she will make herself useful and make a home with her aunt and her family, but shortly after arriving in London she learns that this isn't the safest place for her to be. With pressure from all sides, she must try to find the protection of a husband in just two short weeks in order to find herself a safer living arrangement. But to secure not just a proposal, but a marriage in so short a time she will need to try to orchestrate a scandal to trap the young man.

Due to circumstances out of her control, she's stuck in some really difficult circumstances. Her options to change her life are slim, essentially she can get a job or get married. Either be beholden to an employer, but earn her own income or be beholden to a huband but mistress of the house. She quickly decides against employment, so she must marry. If she can find the right man though, it can't be so bad right?

I really enjoyed this book, it was so sweet and amusing. It's really a fun take on a historical romance, Grace is not the poised society girl in most romances and she's a bit modern too. For a woman named Grace, she sure does awkwardly and ungainly bumble her way through London society. She has spent her entire life in a small town, the last several years at the home of a vicar, she is quite naive, so she's making the best of it that she can. I loved it though, as I'm sure that is just what I would be like if I ever had to brave the intricacies of mingling with the ton. Her being so awkward really endeared her to me.

In enters Nate and a long series of awkward but sweet interactions in which one is never sure how how the other feels. And Grace has a knack for being adorable and charming but yet messing up their every interaction all at the same time. He is both confused and intruiged by her. He wants nothing more than to distance himself from her and focus on his railroad company, but she has the tendency to appear in unexpected places.

I loved this book, but the last five to ten pages kind of ruined the ending for me just because they were so cheesy and unrealistic, that it detracted from the rest fo the book for me. It almost felt like the ending of a completely different book. Sure there was humor and things being a bit far-fetched earlier in the book, but it was so over-the-top in the last few pages and felt like it was trying too hard to be amusing. Had the final scene on the street not happened the way it did, I would have had absolutely no critiques.

I hadn't heard of this author before, but after reading A Proper Scandal, I think I'll have to check out her other book.

I would recommend this book to someone who is a ran of clean historical mysteries and is looking to something amusing and light to read.

Thank you to Covenant Communications and NetGalley who shared a copy of this book with me, this is my honest review.

I'm a little hesitant about giving this review, because it's a struggle to be truly fair. This isn't my normal type of book, but it sounded good and I wanted to try something different.

Personally, it was a little too sweet for me. It almost read like a fairy tale to me. However, if this were my type of book I probably would have loved it. I liked the writing style and was really rooting for the good guys, and mentally booing the bad guy.

Thank you to net galley for the advance copy.

Esther Hatch has written a delightful, fun, and clean romance. Grace, an orphan, just wants a loving family to belong to once more. Due to a few unfortunate circumstances she finds herself with a timeline of two weeks to secure herself a husband. This brings about quite a few tricky and awkward encounters for her as she tries to ensnare the man she wants to marry. I really enjoyed this book. Grace’s character is young and a little naive but she’s not afraid to speak her mind. The situation that she meets her love interest in is one of my favorite moments of the book. I loved rooting for everything to work out for Grace and the man she loves.

Grace is in quite a mess! I loved her tenacity despite her discomfort with her circumstances. She desperately misses her parents, but realizes that nobody is there to save her, she must make the best of it and choose the path that will determine how the rest of her life turns out. She has her sights set on Nate, and even though he is determined to never be taken advantage of by a scheming woman again, he can't resist her sweet personality and genuine compassion. They had a fun meet-cute that set the stage for the informal banter they enjoy for the rest of the book. I loved the contrasts in the characters and story that makes them question what is real, what are everyone's secrets, and how on earth is everything going to turn out?! Strong characterization and the steady pace of the interesting plot made this a book I couldn't put down! Highly recommend!!!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

I really liked the characters in these story. Nate though he struggled was a true gentlemen. I thought Grace fit her name really well. The Uncle was a true weasel. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would read another from this author.