Thursday

Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress by Elizabeth Boyle

http://www.elizabethboyle.com/
I have been following the story of Philippa and Dash since they were introduced in This Rake of Mine, so I believe my expectations were pretty high. I have to say I was a little disappointed in Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress.

This story takes place 20 some years after Confessions of a Little Black Gown and its cliffhanger ending. There are two love stories in this book, one told through flashbacks of when Dash and Philippa were young. The young flashbacks fill in the blanks from the other books. The other love story is the reunion between Dash and Philippa, and this is the weak part of the story. I love older characters in books and think there should be more of them, however, there didn’t seem to be any chemistry between the older Dash and Philippa.

Philippa’s life has been fairly easy, while Dash has turned into a mean drunk. Without giving too much away, I don’t think that the loose ends were tied very well in this story.

So, the flashbacks are good, the reunion is lackluster and there is a little bit of another cliffhanger at the end of the book.
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot

1 comment:

Melissa said...

Dash and Pippin's story finally! I was appalled initially at discovering they had been torn apart for 20 something years and wondered if people could rediscover that young love again. I was heartbroken by the ending of the previous book and had not expected the characters to be separated for so long.

The first half of the book was hard to read. Dash, who I idealized in the other books, is a wastrel hate-filled man. It was hard to read these scenes and I was very disappointed in the characters. The more I thought on it, I realized the author had to show the re-sparking of the characters passion for one another and their need to get past their own self-loathing for past decisions.

Once Dash throws the alcohol overboard, I breezed through the book. Our old hero was back with his sparkling charm and wooed are heroine. There were several humorous moments involving the adult children's reaction to the parents lust. Also the sex scene in the cabin was hot!

Overall I liked the book though I found it hard to read the beginning. I can't wait to read John's story next.