Lord of Scoundrels: 3 (The Scoundrels Series, 3)

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So many friends recommended that I read Lord of Scoundrels, and I can’t believe it took me so long to pick up this book! He learns how to make money very well and spends his time drinking, gambling and hiring prostitutes because he doesn't think a normal woman would be with him for anything other than his money and title. Author Anne Browning Walker, in a similar list of "Smart Romance Books" for Publishers Weekly, included Lord of Scoundrels and observed Chase's penchant for "creating smart, thoughtful, witty, and well-meaning heroines". Not that Kate Reading didn't do a wonderful job but I find her voice distracting sometimes especially while voicing Dain. Dain coldly departs, assuming Jessica invited the others to force him to honorably marry her, leaving her angry that he would leave her reputation in tatters so casually.

Eventually, with Jessica's prodding, Dain is persuaded to rescue the neglected boy from his mother's clutches. If you haven't read a historical in a while, you can't go wrong with this one--I urge anyone to try it. Dain cannot resist her, even knowing that she is much too good for him, and will change his life irrevocably. Spending his money on women every night, drinking and gambling was what Dain enjoyed…and could easily afford. I love the fact that she shot him after he did her wrong and flipantly told her to shoot him if she didn't like it!The Marquess is disgusted with the child, describing him as the "Devil's spawn" and a "wizened olive thing with large black eyes, ill-proportioned limbs, and a grossly oversize nose". Champtois not only did not glance toward the door, but gave no sign of seeing, hearing, or thinking anything unrelated to the Marquess of Dain.

I'm so glad that this wicked hero was able to be redeemed, and I enjoyed reading about his stubborn journey towards love. Wishing to depict Jessica as the "Extreme Female", Chase emphasizes her clothing and gives Dain "a chance to exercise his caustic wit", as he deems the latest fashions to be ridiculous. I have absolutely no reservations in saying, this is my favorite book of all time (or at least tied with Jane Eyre for favorite, which is nothing to sneeze at).

There was only one major conflict after a good amount of relationship building and enemies to lovers banter.

Since her reputation was on the brink of ruin, she went after him relentlessly, not in the pursuing sense but in the "to ruin his life" sense. There's a statement made by Jessica where she thinks or says she cannot resist him, and he is baffled that she would feel that way, used to being considered ugly as sin. Jessica differs from many other Chase heroines by being interested in fashion; the author felt that "the way they dress, to a great extent, tells us who they are, in the same way that other heroines’ simpler or less fashionable attire expresses something about them".If things had been toned down just a little, then I think I would have felt a lot more involved in this book instead of feeling like a slightly bemused outsider watching these crazy antics.