After they become compromised, Lady Amelia and factory-owner Benedict are forced to marry. Can two people of such different backgrounds find their way to true love?

At first, Amelia and Benedict try to force their values and habits on each other. In time, as they get to know each other, they grow together. It was nice to see them develop as people through their relationship. The plot with the steam engine investors was also interesting and kept the pace moving.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

How to Survive a Scandal by debut author Samara Parish is a fabulously fresh take on regency romance. This fish out of water story delivers everything readers expect from the genre plus so much more.

After being found in compromising situation, Lady Amelia Crofton is dumped by her Duke fiancé and quickly married off to lowly Benedict Asterly, a mere country Mister and son of a footman.

Amelia struggles to accept her new life at first, but soon discovers that the skills which made her a society darling can be put to use as she carves out a place for herself in her new husband’s home and business. Benedict admires the way Amelia can overcome any challenge thrown at her. Before long he battles growing feelings for his new wife, despite his loathing of the aristocracy. The simmering chemistry and developing relationship between these two is a masterclass in conflict and sexual tension.

But possibly my favourite thing about this book is how it deviates from the usual London setting and focuses on life in the country. The exploration of class struggles and political divide among the townspeople and the out-of-touch aristocrats felt fresh and timely.

I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Betrothed to the Duke of Wildeforde for most of her life, Lady Amelia Crofton, the only child of the Earl of Crofton and reigning belle of the ton is tired of waiting for the duke to finally set a wedding date and means to convince him that it is time to wed! In her rush to get to his estate, she leaves unprepared for winter travel and without her maid – mistakes that will change her life forever when she ends up stranded and half-frozen to death on the road. But, as luck would have it (or not), she is saved by Wildeforde’s neighbor and one-time friend, Mr. Benedict Asterly.

Benedict “Ben” Asterly is a self-made man, the son of a misalliance between the daughter of a marquess and a footman, Ben has no liking for the Aristocracy, especially when he saw how unhappy his mother was in his father’s world. His distrust for nobles increased when his mother left them and disintegrated, even more, when he found her alone and dying and her father refused to help. Since then, Ben has avoided interacting with the nobility – but when he is found in a state of undress with Lady Amelia by her father, her fiancé, and a gossipy neighbor, his honor will not let her be ruined, so much to her horror, he offers to marry her.

At first, their marriage seems like it will be just as awful as his parent’s was, but Amelia surprises him time and again and he finds himself agreeing to changes that he has always been adamantly opposed to. Additionally, Amelia’s connections and standing in the ton may be exactly what he needs to secure a lucrative contract to build trains for an American company. Things seem to be going well and Amelia feels like she has finally found her “place” and begins to open her heart to Ben and his young sister, but her happiness is cut short when a tragedy has Ben questioning his actions of late and placing the blame for everything squarely on Amelia. Can these two find their way back to the happiness they had just begun to share? Or will past hurts make a future together impossible?

What a great debut novel! It is a well-written, nicely-paced, fresh, and original story with very likable and relatable characters. This book is a great “fish out of water” type story with strong characters, warm love scenes, detailed character growth, wonderful secondary characters, betrayal, misassumptions, some shocking twists and turns, a dash of angst, some interesting historical facts woven into the story, and a very lovely HEA complete with a touching epilogue. I enjoyed the story despite some title errors and a couple of questionable timeline plot points (it is important to note that the copy I read was an ARC/Proof and any errors/inconsistencies I noted may well be corrected in the final, published copy.). Overall, for a debut, this book was outstanding and I believe Ms. Parish will quickly become a “must-read” author for historical romance lovers! This is the first book in the series and I am happy to recommend this title and will be impatiently waiting for the next installment!

I loved this debut novel from author Samara Parish! Benedict and Amelia are TOTALLY my type of couple--grump and sunshine. Well, sort of. Benedict saves Amelia's life and is forced wed as a result of this. The man she is promised to is a complete butthead. Even after knowing she hasn't been compromised by Benedict, he STILL refuses to marry her because it would hurt his family's reputation. UGH.

Benedict is definitely my type of hero--strong, silent, and loyal. He agrees to marry her--even though both of them don't want to--and becomes her husband to save her from scandal. I love his rough exterior, but I also love his gushiness underneath it all. And I LOVE the relationship between he and his sister.

Amelia--at first--really ticked me off. She was so snobby and mean to Benedict. Little by little, however, we see WHY she is so cold and detached. It was wonderful to see her grow into the woman she becomes.

The only small issue I had with this was the sort of closed-door scenes we get. I like a little more steam.

Overall, I adored this novel and its characters and can't wait for the next book in the series! Excellent job, Ms. Parish!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

How to Survive a Scandal piqued my interest, as it has everything I’m looking for in a historical romance: a working class hero with cynicism for the aristocracy, an ice-queen heroine thrown out of her element by said hero, and the promise or some class warfare that doesn’t skimp on the issues of the period. And it met my expectations in pretty much all regards.

While I was inclined to sympathize more with Benedict due to his background, I liked that both were equally fleshed out. Each had an opportunity to be challenged and outside their element, yet attempting to prove what they could do for the other. While Amelia comes off as a snob sometimes, it becomes apparent how sheltered and naive she was, and I loved her coming to realize she really holds no value to her society “friends” for herself, but rather her connections to the men in her life dampening her desire to be in their company. And while Benedict is resigned against engaging with snobby Society types more than necessary, he does so in an attempt to make her happy. I was a bit annoyed that the story pulled the “he’s the heir to a title” card, but I quickly forgave this when I saw how it further added layers to the relationship between them.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and am looking forward to what Samara Parrish writes next, although somewhat hesitantly. The Duke of Wildeforde’s book has already been announced, and while he does have a few nice moments in the book, Benedict’s assessment of the Duke as “a deceitful arse,” with whom he has a bit of a bitter history, one which is not addressed beyond a passing mention, but suggests something happened that led them to go from friends to something a bit more contentious. Perhaps that will be addressed in the next book a bit more?

This is a fresh take on Regency romance, and both newer and more experienced readers will surely enjoy it.

I have never heard of this author and I have never read any of her books. But this book is going on my keeper shelf.
The heroine is an older debutante that is waiting for her 'betrothed since childhood' to set a date for the wedding. She is rescued from a winter storm and damaged carriage from a man who is the son of a footman. He has to remove some of her wet clothing and her father, betrothed and local aristocrat find them.in an abandoned cottage and make the wrong assumptions. She she has to marry the footman's son. But she has been raised and trained to be a duchess. The hero doesn't want to marry a 'Lady'. He doesn't want anything to do with the aristocracy at all. He just wants to build steam engines and sell the to rich Americans, no aristocrats. After the marriage to the footman's son, the heroine goes to live in his manor. Parts of it are closed, and have been for years. The hero has a twelve year old sisiter and the heroine makes friends with her right away. The hero wants his wife to be useful and tells her she has chores to do. She does her own interpretation of his chores.
This book was a different interpretation of an aristocrat marrying down in society. I was impressed with this author's use of characters and descriptive settings to create a new and interesting version. This was a story about two people who have to overcome their own insecurities to allow the other person in. I liked this story very much. It was hard to put down, thank goodness my husband was helping me cook. There were no spelling or grammatical errors (which is a pey peeve of mine) and the story was clearly written. I give this bok 5 stars, a place on my keeper shelf and a recommendation to read. Thank you for writing this book.

A fun forced marriage/ a fish out of water kind of situation.

Lady Amelia and Mr. Benedict are thrown into a forced marriage situation due to his basic kindness of saving her from freezing to death. *This happens in the first chapter* The chemistry between the main characters was on point for me, and the banter with all side characters really brought this book to life. The growth of both characters, I feel more Lady Amelia's but both had growth, was a wonderful addition to the story. This helped the characters not fall flat. If you are looking for a good historical story that isn't super overdone, this one is a winner.

Amelia is a proper young lady, the height of fashion in the ton and groomed to be a duchess practically her whole life. But when she gets herself in a bit of trouble and ends up in a compromising situation with her rescuer, Amelia is forced into marriage with him and knows all her plans are ruined. Benedict is an untitled son of a footman, resentful of the aristocracy and everything it represents – which now includes his new wife. Miles away from London society and with no household to run, Amelia vows to make Benedict’s life miserable. But when Amelia realizes that her duchess training could actually help Benedict’s business, she sets out to prove to him that high society isn’t all that bad. As London society clashes with small town politics, Amelia and Benedict’s marriage will be tested. Only forgiving and forgetting the past will allow them to have a future together.

How to Survive a Scandal is a wonderful start to a new series by Parish, a series fans of Regency romances will surely love. The compromising situation scenario may not be new to the Regency romance genre, but Parish definitely made the story her own by adding an enemies to lovers element between Benedict and Amelia. Told from alternating views, we really get to see Amelia and Benedict evolve as characters throughout the story. Amelia goes through the biggest transformation in this story, starting out as an icy aristocrat and ending up in love and happy in the last place she ever imagined herself.

This novel is a clean romance, fading to black for anything more than kissing. Parish may keep the heat to a minimum, but there is still plenty of love and romance between Amelia and Benedict. While I don’t normally go for clean romances, especially when there are compromising situations afoot, I didn’t find How to Survive a Scandal lacking. The banter between Benedict and Amelia added an extra level to the story and Parish was able to create sexy scenes that didn’t involve explicit sex, making How to Survive a Scandal a great, if not tame, read for fans of both clean and erotic romances.

How to Survive a Scandal is the first novel in Parish’s new Rebels with a Cause series. Each book will focus on a different couple, so while we might be done with Amelia and Benedict’s story, Parish does tease us with the next couple throughout this story and I’m eager to see how the next romance comes together and plays out on the page.

Even though I don’t normally gravitate towards clean romances, I thoroughly enjoyed Amelia and Benedict’s story. How to Survive a Scandal is a great addition to the Regency romance genre.

All her life, Lady Amelia Crofton has expected to become a duchess and has prepared for nothing else. But all that planning is shattered when an unfortunate incident sees her compromised into marriage with untitled, ill-mannered Benedict Asterly. Amelia is left adrift and uncertain, especially when she finds herself feeling a pull toward this man she could never have prepared for.

Benedict Asterly thought only to save Amelia’s life, not see himself bound forever to a high in the instep society lady. His hatred of the aristocracy has developed from a young age so he’s very leery of his new wife and suspicious when she offers to help after news of his marriage jeopardizes his business interests. He’s not prepared when Amelia proves to be different from his expectations in many ways and finds his well-guarded heart in danger.

This is a new book from a debut author, and it has so much potential and quite a lot going for it. Sadly, there were aspects here that I enjoyed and others that just didn’t work for me. Amelia as the spoiler, self-centered debutante came off as a bit overdrawn and it took her too long in her development for me—my dislike of her had already solidified by the time there was any improvement and she kept regressing back to that old hateful behavior too often for me to really get past it, especially since she was usually able to recognize when she was doing it. It annoyed me how little respect Amelia showed Benedict as she completely upended his world, threatened his business, and made decisions about the raising of his sister without consulting him, all the while only focused on how awful things now were for her. Amelia and Benedict did both show a great deal of character development as she learned to be her own person and to think of others rather than just herself and he learned he could have associations with the aristocracy without losing himself. Unfortunately, it was three steps forward, two steps back with this couple and Amelia did nothing to make Benedict feel like he was enough for her. He also did himself no favors by trying to please everyone and spreading himself too thin. I didn’t like the feeling that Amelia was finding herself while Benedict was losing himself. There were several missed opportunities for true communication between Benedict and Amelia, especially in the bedroom, that would’ve made all the difference in the strength of their connection, but sadly these scenes faded to black or devolved into more arguments, making the relationship never quite seem stable, even in the end. Their relationship was interesting, it just felt rather incomplete for me and I wasn’t sure they were wholly solid even at the end, largely because this one featured my pet peeve, the third act separation.

There was a lot of plot going on here with conflict coming from Benedict’s business contracts and his relationship with the villagers, as well as Amelia’s attempts to continue her position in the aristocracy, along with their attempts to establish their married relationship. There was quite enough conflict already between Amelia and Benedict before all this extra turmoil was added. The ending was unexpectedly dramatic, which I didn’t mind at all, but it still left me feeling like Benedict spent all of his time working to take care of everyone else and receiving nothing in return. I think more intimacy shown between Amelia and Benedict would’ve helped a lot, even if it was just some intimate, heartfelt conversation. Overall, this was a strong debut, even if it had some elements I didn’t care for. I liked the secondary characters and look forward to Fiona’s story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Amelia makes one mistake and is forced into marriage to Benedict. They are from different classes and different backgrounds. Will the attraction Amelia feels be enough?

This might be my first marriage of convenience book and I'm not sure the trope is for me! I wanted a little more depth to some of the characters. Overall a quick cute read though! Thank you NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This first in the series is a great romance of opposites attracting. The heroine, in particular, is well written.

Marriages of Convenience are one of my favorite troupes. Especially if they are caused by a "ruining" of some sort. So I was excited that early on our characters Benedict and Lady Amelia are forced to marry after being caught in a compromising situation finds them in close proximity with each other. Lady Amelia wouldn't have been caught dead with someone like Benedict, a man with no title, when she has been raised her whole life of the promise of becoming a duchess. 

These two individuals are ones that would never knowingly cross each others paths. Benedict, has no use or respect for the aristocracy. He is a man that works hard and takes care of his sister and resents a marriage that makes him look either like a scoundrel that compromised a lady, or a social climber trying to further his own agendas. Lady Amelia doesn't want to live in the country with some bumpkin when her whole life has been centered around being part of the ton. 

What works so well is we see how limited Amelia has been prepared for life, as the life of a aristocratic woman, is limited to social skills and ladylike pursuits. Nothing about what it means to work hard, or read for fun. Things that most normal people do. And Benedict, it's easy to understand why he has such a disdain for society that he has been outside of, as the games the aristocrats play with one another are cruel. All of their life experiences shade how they treat one another and how difficult it is when they start feeling attraction to one another, as each represents a life they do not want. 

But what would have made this a really good story would have been more scenes of intimacy. When we see Amelia and Benedict warming up to each other and ready to turn their marriage from sham into something for intimate, these details take place behind the scenes. Now, I am not saying I need graphic sex in a story to hold my interest or to enjoy it, but I feel like I missed out of the vulnerability of these two characters. Instead of seeing how it plays out, Amelia giving into her attraction to Benedict and vice versa, we are only told that they are making love to one another. 

I think that's why I have to rate it a 3.5 because while I enjoyed seeing how Amelia and Benedict worked together within each others worlds and how they were trying to cope with that, I never got a sense of true intimacy from them as we were never privy to those private moments together. Had I been able to see and feel what it was like between the two of them letting their guards down and being intimate together I think it would have made all their strife and conflict towards the end feel much more impactful.

I loved this book so much. I devoured this story of a society lady caught in a completely innocent but compromising position with a working man. I loved how they influenced each other to grow and change through their adaptation to this unexpected marriage. His younger sister is a delight. The townspeople and staff are so much fun. I flew through this story. However, I always feel like the in between space of heat leading to a closed door is confusing for a reader and really wished that it was either/or instead of it n between.

“How to Survive a Scandal” by Samara Parish is a first for this author to this reader. The story is about Lady Amelia and Mr. Benedict Asterly. Upon being caught in a compromising position, they were forced into a marriage of inconvenience. However, the problem between the two is that the heroine has been raised to be a lady and married to a duke. She has no inclination of living a life outside of being catered to and living the high societal life as part of the London ton. On the other hand, there is the hero who has lived among and worked with the common people.

Early on in the story, the heroine is portrayed as shallow and self-centered. Not having to work for anything or the ability to do household chores uncommon to her, she later transforms into a caring and loveable person although she can’t forget her past and upbringing. I enjoyed how the author developed this character to change her way of thinking and know that it is not all about her but those that count on her that makes her a worthy and loveable person in the end. For the hero, his untitled and wishes to never become a titled gentleman. Unfortunately, the duty falls in his life at the death of a cousin who he barely knew. He has strained relations with his grandfather and resents a mother who abandoned him when he was young, thus his dislike for the aristocrats and society. Again, I liked the development of this character and having him understand that becoming a gentleman with a title does not change the person inside or the beliefs you hold.

Typically, I like to see more intimacy in my historical novels and this one fell short in that category. There could have been more relationship building between the H/h instead of the confrontational meetings that was a bit much in the story. The story was nicely written but only kept me moderately interested.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Lady Amelia is saved from freezing to death after a carriage mishap by passing businessman Benedict. Unfortunately, they're discovered as he's trying to warm up the delirious debutante, and her half-dressed state leads to an immediate threat of scandal. Amelia's ducal fiance breaks off their long-standing engagement, and she and Benedict are forced into a marriage of convenience neither wants. Amelia has been trained as a future duchess, which makes her completely unequipped to handle a middle-class household with an inventor and his young sister.

Amelia is an interesting character. So often in historical romance, the heroine automatically has very modern ideas, even if she's been raised traditionally. Lady Amelia is much more of her time--she doesn't read for pleasure, she's never set foot in a kitchen, and she doesn't know how to talk to her husband's working-class business partners. But once she decides to meet the challenge of her new life, it's a joy to watch her grow into her role as an independent woman. Benedict is a less-developed character, but he also develops over the book in interesting ways, and the two are a formidable pair. Plus their chemistry is smoldering.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Opposites attract and combust in this British historical romance set in the early industrial era. It’s distinctive but I found the political and class conflict between the earl’s daughter forced to marry an industrial engineer with left leanings and working class roots to be muddled and unsatisfying. The climax involved actual pitchforks and felt a bit overwrought and out of place in a story that only skimmed the surface of the issues it raised.
2.5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There are several reasons why I gave this book four stars instead of five. There were excellent sections, and there were themes that became tiresome. This is a start to a new series, and I think it will improve with each installment. The book had exceptional writing; it also had ideas that I wish would have been handled differently.

Benedict and Amelia are forced into marriage after a misunderstanding compromises Amelia. The couple is night and day different. Their clashing chemistry was electric. Being so different, it is reasonable that they would fight. This tension between the pair was believable. However, they fought every few pages. I found the constant fighting and confrontation somewhat overwhelming at times.

The separation between the aristocracy and working class is highlighted splendidly. The growing affection between the couple is honest. The love built slowly, which gave the relationship validity. As different as they were, it would take time for the love to grow, and I felt this plot point reflected that concept. The only negative point I felt was that the romance took second place to the action and backdrop of the plot. Sometimes the couple’s dynamic got lost in turmoil around them. The locations of the factory and house party kept the story moving quickly. The unrest of the villagers and laborers gave a realistic feel. The conundrum in the plot of who we are versus who we have the potential to be is well executed.

Amelia’s good qualities were buried deep, but she blooms into a self-sufficient person with purpose. Benedict’s prejudices with the upper class run deep, but he slowly realizes nothing is set in stone. The couple created strength within each other’s weaknesses. The secondary characters were vividly written and carried the plot at times. Amelia’s previous suitor was selfish on the surface but had hidden layers as the plot unfolded. Benedict’s business partners had strong personalities. Cassandra, Benedict’s younger sister, stole the scenes with her sweet spirit. The aristocracy, which was the antagonist the majority of the book, still proved helpful at times. Amelia was excellent at navigating between the two classes, which helped her achieve the desired outcome. The secondary couple who are the focus of the second book is set up well, and I look forward to reading their story.

I enjoyed this book. I would have loved this book if the confrontational aspect had been toned down a little. That is a personal preference. The plot was sharp and intelligent. The dialogue could be both loving and vicious. I think the novel conveyed its themes of class differences and the world’s expectations versus a person’s true worth superbly. I desperately wanted the couple to succeed. I cared about these characters, and the ending was excellent. Overall this was a fun, thought-provoking, well-executed read.

I received this ARC through Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing). This is my honest, voluntary opinion.

This delicious Regency debut novel is amazing. This book is a really interesting tale of an arranged marriage.
When Benedict rescued a freezing young Lady he thinks it's a good deed done until he is caught with her.
Amelia was raised to be a duchess until she's caught with a untitled gentleman. Now that seems to be the worst thing that could happen to her.
This is a delightful book which deserves a five star review.
This author's debut novel is amazing!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

3.5 stars

This book was really great right from the beginning. Lots of action and quick wit and really harsh anger 🤣. I loved it! I liked how different it was and I really felt for these two characters coming together.

I really felt like it needed a bit more heart for me to really believe the love story, but that may have just been the very low steam level that I hadn’t expected from the cover. That may just be my personal preference, but physical intimacy plays such a big role in romance if the emotional intimacy isn’t over the top amazing IMO.

I’m just thinking that with a cover like that there should not be closed door love scenes. It’s very misleading 🤣

There were a lot of moments I wished had be included in the story that I felt like could’ve added some depth, but overall I enjoyed it and thought it was a great debut and will be reading the next one!

This book was given to me by NetGalley and Forever publishing. Thank you!


(Review and drawing will come to my IG in the coming weeks)

So the beginning really sucked me in! Instant action. I really liked this one of forced marriage due to a scandal and then learning Benedict's background was really interesting. Watching Amelia and Benedict learning to figure out their roles in their new relationship that can benefit them both was also fun. Although I did enjoy it, I just wished there was more heat to this one. Wilde's story is next!

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.