Some Like It Scandalous is so cute it should be a scandal of its own

If Some Like it Scandalous’ debate on the power of makeup embedded into a romance story doesn’t pull you in, the hero probably will.

Some Like it Scandalous, Maya Rodale’s follow-up to Duchess by Design, doesn’t give the traditional answer to “what’s in a name?” And why should it, when it’s a hurtful name that can last over a decade, and when the person who gave you the name is now arranged to be your husband for a multitude of reasons?

It’s really just one of the questions that Daisy Swan has to reckon with in this title, but it’s the kickoff, at the very least. With Theo Prescott (the Third!) in her life again, she’ll have to if she wants to succeed in her own goals.

And her goals are pretty impressive. Much like the previous title, this book takes a look at something that’s usually coded as feminine, and actually thinks about it, offering different viewpoints. In this case, it’s cosmetics and beauty products, because Daisy is a chemist who puts together a night moisturizer, and has designs for more. Theo, meanwhile, turns out to have a knack for marketing and advertising, so they decide to pretend to be going through with the engagement while making money.

Honestly, Theo might be one of my favorite romance heroes of the year so far. Sometimes, you just need a soft guy who learns that he’s actually soft through the novel, who is desperately looking for a purpose in life because all he knows is that his purpose is “not that.” Yes, Daisy is a great pairing with him — the two have chemistry, pun intended for once — but I found him compelling more often.

He’s the source of most of the cute moments, and while the love scenes are appropriately steamy, as you may expect, he’s at his best when he’s talking about feelings, and not necessarily the usual gooey ones we expect from our romance heroes. It’s a sentence that doesn’t get to be written often, but Theo deserves it.

This reviewer is bound to be honest, so there are things that I didn’t like. This book’s first few chapters didn’t quite grab me, but it gets better quickly instead of making you wait for a payoff. Daisy’s dialogue, in particular, seems really stilted, moreso than throughout the rest of the book, and she doesn’t lose any of her intelligence. It’s likely meant to be some character development for her, but instead it just comes off as awkward for all the wrong reasons. This isn’t to say that I don’t find Daisy interesting — I do, and her emotional journey is a really important one — just that it took longer for that spark of interest to catch.

Some Like it Scandalous is on sale now.