First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Julia Quinn’s Rokesby-Bridgerton / Bridgerton Prequels series (honestly, the series name seems to change with each book published!) continues with book four, First Comes Scandal, a funny, sweet friends-to-lovers story in which the youngest Rokesby son, Nicholas, finds his HEA with the elder Bridgerton sister, Georgiana. The series has been a bit of a mixed bag; I liked the first two books, but the third, The Other Miss Bridgerton, was a bit of a disappointment, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this one. After the first couple of chapters, I thought I’d be able to report that it was something of an improvement – until it got bogged down around the end of the first half and never regained its initial momentum.

Nicholas Rokesby, who is studying medicine in Edinburgh, is rather alarmed to receive a summons from his father Lord Manston asking him to return home immediately. Fearing tragedy and disaster, Nicholas embarks on the five day journey to Kent – only to find out that he’s travelled all that way, in the middle of the term and right before his exams, because Georgiana Bridgerton – who is his father’s goddaughter as well as one of Nicholas’ oldest friends – is in a fix and he wants Nicholas to get her out of it.

Georgiana – Georgie – Bridgerton, twenty-six and still unmarried, isn’t against the institution but she wants to marry someone she loves. With a substantial dowry, she has her share of ardent suitors, although sadly, most of them are ardent for her money. Lord Manston tells his son that Georgie was abducted a few days earlier by one of her suitors, Freddie Oakes, and even though she was only “in his custody” for a day (and she wasn’t “violated”), her reputation is in tatters. The only way to salvage it is for Nicholas to marry her.

Unsurprisingly, Nicholas is furious at having been summoned home for such a reason, and is even more put out at his father’s insistence that marrying Georgie is his duty. He tries to explain that his studies don’t allow him time for a wife; his father points out that Georgie needs his name, not his time:

“I can’t marry someone with the express intention of ignoring her.”

“I hope that does not prove to be the case,” his father responded. “I am merely trying to point out that your cooperation in this matter does not have to adversely impact your life at this crucial juncture.”

 “That was an awful lot of words to tell me, in effect, to be a bad husband.”

For her part, Georgie is equally appalled at the prospect of being forced to get married simply because of the inconsiderate actions of one stupid, selfish man. It’s not Nicholas she objects to so much as the circumstances under which he makes her an offer; she doesn’t want to be anyone’s charity project or sacrifice, and she doesn’t want to get married without love.

The first part of the story is very well done and pulled me in right from the start. Nicholas’ conversations with his father about what men of their class usually expect from marriage (and which Nicholas mostly disagrees with) are insightful as is the later conversation with Georgie when she tries to make him understand her reasons for refusing him:

“You get to call yourself a hero, saving poor little ruined Georgiana Bridgerton. Whereas I—I get to decide between the man who ruined me and a man who pities me.”

But after this, things take a downward turn and the plot, such as it is, completely fizzles out. Georgie – of course – changes her mind (after seeing Nicholas treat the stupid Freddie after he breaks his arm and realises that competence is HOT), the wedding happens and the newlyweds set off for Edinburgh with two coaches, a load of servants they didn’t want and Georgie’s very noisy cats.

And the journey seems to go on FOR EVER. The book is twenty-four chapters in all, the wedding happens at the beginning of chapter thirteen (the listener doesn’t witness it) and by chapter nineteen they STILL haven’t reached their destination. There are a couple of misadventures along the way which serve primarily to put off their wedding night – and once that happens, it’s suddenly Edinburgh, three weeks later.

I suppose the degree to which you will enjoy this will depend on how much you enjoy banter and cameos from baby Bridgertons (Anthony and Benedict appear as boys, and Colin as a baby). The banter, it has to be said, is something at which the author excels and it’s very good indeed. Nicholas and Georgie are fun, intelligent and likeable characters who are obviously extremely well-suited; he’s kind and thoughtful and not at all dismissive of her interest in medicine; she’s clever, funny and practical, and they communicate well. But ultimately, I didn’t think their relationship changed very much from being friends to lovers (other than the addition of sex). We only know they’re friends because we’re told they are, and they only interact once before Nicholas proposes. It seems, from that scene, that they’re able to talk honestly and be themselves around each other, and that doesn’t change after they’re married.

Rosalyn Landor elevates any book she narrates, and it was mostly her performance that got me through the second half of this one. In fact, the chapters that detailed the journey to Edinburgh were made bearable mostly because she kept me giggling with her cat voices – seriously, there are a LOT of cat-moments and her purring and growling and general pissed-off-cat sounds were awesome. Everything else about her performance is of course, perfectly judged and polished; her timing in the bantering exchanges is spot on, the differentiation between the various family members and other secondary characters is excellent and even her child voices are good. The two principals sound exactly as they should – Georgie’s no-nonsense manner is expertly conveyed and Nicholas’ voice is attractive and appropriately masculine.

But even an excellent performance like this one can’t disguise the book’s weaknesses. The first part is really good, and had the rest of the story continued along the same lines, I’d be awarding it a higher rating, but ultimately, the lack of plot made First Comes Scandal feel like a novella that had been padded out to make a full length book and the lack of conflict made it rather, well, dull.

But YMMV. If you’re looking for a low-angst romance with plenty of fluff, well-written banter, angry cats and a virgin hero, this might be right up your alley.

Caz

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