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Cover of A Breath of Scandal

A Breath of Scandal

Connie Mason

384 pages

A sweeping, old-school historical romance where rugged survival gives way to ballroom intrigue and undeniable passion.

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What it feels like

Reading this book feels like stepping into the golden age of historical romance, where the stakes are life-and-death and the passion is immediate and all-consuming. The narrative moves at a brisk, adventurous pace, sweeping the reader from the rugged, wind-swept shores of Scotland to the glittering, gossip-filled ballrooms of London. The mood is unabashedly romantic and slightly dangerous, steeped in the thrill of hidden identities and secret lives. The prose is emotionally heightened, leaning into classic tropes with sweeping declarations and vivid sensory details that amplify the intense connection between the leads. It is a perfect escape for readers who crave old-school, high-stakes love stories where clashing worlds, desperate rescues, and undeniable chemistry ultimately conquer the rigid rules of high society.

Mood
  • romantic
  • adventurous
  • sweeping
  • suspenseful
Tone
  • dramatic
  • passionate
  • earnest
  • swoony
Pace
brisk
Themes
hidden identities · clashing worlds · healing through love · duty vs. desire · fated connection
The writing
Descriptive and emotionally heightened, leaning into classic historical romance tropes with sweeping declarations and vivid sensory details.
The arc
Moves from desperate survival and immediate, intense attraction to a fraught, society-bound reunion that ultimately yields to vulnerable, enduring love.
Who it's for
Readers who love old-school, high-stakes historical romances featuring secret agents, mistaken identities, and passionate reunions in ballrooms.
Content notes
  • violence
  • kidnapping
  • period-typical prejudice

About the book

3.73 · Rating details · 342 Ratings · 19 Reviews

She claimed him as her husband without even knowing his name. Now she will risk everything to keep his secret—but can she give her heart without having his love in return?

Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield by day and secret agent of the crown by night, has sworn never to love another woman. But then a mission goes wrong, and Julian is left for dead, his only hope a seductively mysterious gypsy woman named Lara. And when she marries him under gypsy law for his own protection, Julian is too entranced with the dark beauty to deny himself the benefits of their marriage. Yet even as he longs for their idyllic interlude to last, Julian knows his presence alone puts her very life in danger. Until he discovers Lara in the one place he never expected to see his wild gypsy enchantress...the one place where he isn't sure he can protect her—or his own heart.

From the moment Lady Lara, half-gypsy daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, finds a wounded stranger washed up on Scotland's rugged shore, she knows their destinies will be forever entangled. So when a band of smugglers comes looking for the dashing stranger, Lara doesn't hesitate to claim him as her husband "Drago." But when her mysterious husband goes back to his own world—and its dark secrets—Lara returns to her father to take her place as his heiress...never expecting to find her Drago across the earl's crowded ballroom. And although he still enthralls her, Lara is determined that she will never truly be his wife until he surrenders his heart as well.

Description from Open Library.

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