Love and the Shameless Lady (Scandalous Kisses Book 3) Kindle Edition

*Reviewed for Books & Benches *

Barbara Monajem is a new author for me. Therefore, I didn't know what to expect of her book, Love and the Shameless Lady. What a beautiful surprise! Now I know for sure that I'll check her next book! This novel has a plot so intriguing that I kept turning page after page, and it kept my interest until the end. It's a wonderful historical tale filled with suspense, emotion, humor, and of course romance. This author did not disappoint me!

It tells the story of Daisy and Julian. Daisy, a disgraced lady, is resigned to work at a inn during the day while at night, writes romantic stories with a spicy touch! Julian is the perfect gentleman, and a scholar excelling in espionage. While investigating to find smugglers, he meets Daisy and soon becomes very intrigued by this mysterious woman. When he discovers that her life is being threatened, he will try to protect her by gaining her trust. Is the death threat that Daisy received related to the stories she wrote? As time goes by, they will share secrets that will create a stronger relationship that could bloom to love. Sparks flare all over! Some scenes sizzle! Beautiful chemistry between Daisy and Julian!

I really enjoyed Love and the Shameless Lady! I haven’t read her two previous stories in her Scandalous Kisses series. Can it be read as a standalone? Yes, definitely! I will surely watch her next books!

Barbara Monajem is a new author for me and I'm glad I discovered her. She adds a great voice to others in the genre such as Sherry Thomas and of course, Mary Balough. I enjoyed the story; Monajem puts a twist on what could have been the same theme recurring in Regency novels.
The plot is well thought out and the dialogue moves right along. The characters have rich substance.
I would recommend this book and author to anyone who enjoys the historical romance genre. I hope to see more of Monajem's work.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, however, I would have enjoyed reading it anyway.

So can anyone tell me if rock buns exist? I bet they do, because author Barbara Monajem does her research detailing much for the reader’s pleasure. ( I found them and left you with a recipe below!)

This story is just as delightful as everything else I’ve read from this author. She manages to ensnare the reader without resorting to dire straits, but rather the quaintness of the setting in a humorous situation. Did you take a look at the cover? It says it all!

Rock Buns play a large role in this story – I have never heard of them. Here’s a recipe. I wonder if it’s better than Daisy’s?

Ingredients:
200 g self-raising flour
75 g margarine
75 g Caster sugar
50 g chocolate chips
1 egg
1-2 tbsp water

1.Set oven to 210 C / gas mark 7. Grease a baking tray
2.Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl
3.Cut the margarine into cubes and then rub into the flour using your fingertips. The mixture should then resemble breadcrumbs
4.Add the sugar and chocolate chips into the mixture. Mix using a wooden spoon
5.Break egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork. Add egg to mixing bowl and mix. Add 1 - 2 tbsp of water if the mixture does not stick together. The mixture must be firm enough to stand alone on the baking tray in lumps.
6.Place heaps of the mixture on the tray. Make sure that they are all an even size. Bake them for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Miss Daisy, for that is what she prefers to be known as, has changed her life. She lives among ‘real’ people, people who don’t get hung up on the properness of a situation. She’s lives in an inn, the Diving Duck, even though she comes from a well-heeled family, however the Warrens tend to have tarnished reputations. It’s just in their blood.

Miss Daisy has a yearning to live life. She’d love to see the world and experience it all. She started with seducing a gypsy. Of course, she regrets it – the experience wasn’t what she thought it would be. Unfortunately, society has ostracized her, as they would all women doing what she’s done, and so to save her family from further embarrassment, she moves to the inn. Her habit of scowling and being nasty tempered keeps most people away from her. But Miss Daisy has more than a nasty temper. She has a nasty habit. She writes. She writes novels and hides her writing and dealings with the publisher by also working on a cook book. Her books are of feisty woman, doing what she wishes her life has been. It’s a total secret, about writing, and she is quite successful with it, but the cat’s out of the bag, and with that her life spins out of control and we get to enjoy the roller coaster ride.

While Miss Daisy has a secret, so does one Sir Julian Kerr. Spies need to stay incognito. His family is known for their polite, demur demeanor. He is kindness itself. No one would suspect his profession while playing the role of a scholar. He hates his job; he hates sneaking into people’s lives and informing on them. When he meets Miss Daisy at the Diving Duck, he is amused, intrigued and just plain curious about her, because she doesn’t add up. Two and two are not four with Miss Daisy. But attracted he is, even though she scowls and is ill-tempered most the time. Sir Julian knows she’s hiding something and the spy in him needs to fetter it out.

Another character of import is Gloriana. A social climber, determined to catch a man higher than her station, she is or was best friends with Daisy. We glimpse the softer side of her nature, however, she’s out to get what she wants. But, the problem is, what does she want? She’s a most enjoyable, complex person, as many of us are!

Truly enjoyable with humor lurking ‘round the corner, I recommend the series and the book.

I found this to be delightful! I devoured the entire series after reading the description of this book since I love connected books (caveat: it's not necessary to read the books in order or read all of them to understand the events and the characters). I'm so glad I stumbled upon this book; I'm a sucker for books with spies and a sucker for strong women who overcome crappy circumstances or even crappier men. I'm also pleased that I accidentally found this book only a week after it was released, because I absolutely adore reading an entire series back-to-back.

All three books were enjoyable, but this was a real stand-out. I read a lot of books, especially with Kindle Unlimited, and many good stories suffer from poor editing; this is NOT one of those! (In fact, the major reason I read reviews these days - since people have their own opinions on likable characters or sex scenes - is to find out if the book is actually readable, or if a lack of editing makes it too much work.) The story, the pacing, the characters, the writing, the dialogue, (the grammar!) were all well done.

My only disappointment is that I read the entire series (at least so far????) in two days, and now I'm going to have to go find something else that will likely be less engaging or less well written (since I've already burned through my budget of non-Kindle Unlimited books for the month, haha).

Lady Daisy Warren is shunned by her own class and has left it to work in an Inn serving drinks, waiting tables and cooking. On the side she writes romance novels. In her novels she uses some of the patrons as inspiration for her characters never using their names of course but writing about smugglers and the like until one day she gets a letter threatening her life if she publishes her next book. She meets Julian Kerr who is a spy investigating two Frenchmen who he believes to be up to no good. Miss Daisy wants nothing to do with him as she doesn't like any man since the one she trusted once ruined her.
This story will keep you on the edge of your seat and turning pages trying to figure out who would want Daisy dead and why. I loved all the supporting characters as much as the main ones in this book.
Ms. Monajem knocks it out of the park again with Love and The Shameless Lady!
Suspense,intrigue,love and romance novels, need I say more?