Review and Giveaway: Above Scandal by Joan Leacott

Above Scandal by Joan Leacott

(blurb): Three generations of Rossetti women are hoarding secrets.

Cathy Rossetti’s secret is Hayley, her outspoken ten-year-old daughter who’s about to meet her family for the first time. Sadly, it’s taken a terminal illness to bring Cathy back to her hometown.

The elder generation of Rossetti women guards a thirty-year old secret with the power to rock Cathy’s world. Will her mother take their secret to her grave, or will her aunt break her punishing vow of silence?

Hayley hates secrets, so she’s sleuthing around Clarence Bay looking for her daddy. Is it her new BFF’s father or mayoral candidate Ryan Chisholm or Ryan’s handsome campaign manager?

Ryan has a secret, too. He’s still in love with Cathy, his high-school sweetheart. For a man running his election campaign on a platform of honesty, this could cause problems. Will dumping his popular fiancée cost him the election? And if Cathy still loves him after eleven years absence, she’s not telling.

Come meet the neighbours. They'll keep your secrets.

Book Information:

Age Group: Adult
Genre: Small town contemporary romance


Review:

I absolutely loved Above Scandal! For those of you that are wondering what small town life is like - just read this book (hah!). Seriously though. Having grown up in a small town myself, I can appreciate the skill that it takes to keep a secret...well...secret. And even if it's the tiniest secret in the world, the gossip troupes have a way of figuring it out and turning it into the biggest talk of the town! So you can only imagine what happens when something big really does hit a small town.

Big as in a girl who suddenly moves away as a teenager, finds her way back about a decade later. And not only is she living a lifestyle that's a 180 of the town, but she has a daughter and no husband. Throw into the mix that she is of a strong Italian family, moving back to a town with ideals of the 1800's and you've got yourself enough town whispering - and upfront backhanded remarks - to last a lifetime.

What I loved: All of the characters were wonderfully developed. Cathy (aka Caterina - one of my favorite names) is a strong female lead who's always made the best of her situation - which I love! She doesn't let the snide remarks of family and the community deter her love for her life or choices, and she always stands up for what she believes in. She also has a daughter who is written to a T as to how a girl her age should act. There are many times that I find the children in the books to almost be more unbelievable than the parents, simply because their dialog and actions are outside of their age group (e.g., either acting too young or too old for their age).

And then there's Ryan...if every man (or woman for that matter) had his ideals and beliefs - this world would be a much better place. I fell in love with Ryan from the get-go; his charming personality and gorgeous looks that could put a Prince to shame. What I enjoyed most about Ryan's character is his reaction to events taking place. Without giving too much away, I much expected more cliché reactions from him than what I got. So his character was a great needed change from those that I have been reading a lot about lately. Ryan is a man - in every sense of the word - and he isn't afraid to be a man.

I also loved all of the supporting characters because they did the job that they are supposed to do - support. As you're reading, you're not finding out about a bunch of unnecessary information about these characters. You're simply finding enough background information on them to explain their actions and thought-process - all of which helps explain why Cathy and Ryan are the way that they are.

What I disliked: Honestly, there wasn't much - other than the witch of a "human being" that was known as Momma. I'm pretty sure she lacked a soul. But that is obviously no flaw of the book. It's what made it so great! I was worried a little about the pacing towards the end of the book. But once I finished, I decided that it was right on.

Ratings:

Romance: great character connection and tension. A couple of steamy scenes.
Character development: *****
Plot progression: *****

My Rating:








GoodReads: 4.5
Amazon: 4.5

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