Review--Married by Scandal by Tessonja Odette

 

She’ll marry a prince if she must.
But fall in love?
Never.

The first time Amelie Fairfield fell in love, she started a war. Now, the part-human, part-fae fashion designer has sworn off romance to focus on her career. But when her name makes headlines in the worst possible way, there’s only one thing she can do to escape scandal—marry a human prince and make everyone forget about the career-killing rumors.

To solidify peace between the humans and fae, Prince Albert must take a fae bride. As sister to the fae queen, Amelie is the perfect candidate. If only she could say the same for the rakish prince she’ll have to marry. At least his devilish charm and good looks keep society fixated on him and not her.

But scandal becomes the least of Amelie’s worries when she embarks upon an engagement tour. She’ll need to convince the aristocracy that her arranged marriage is a true love match…without falling in love. Just when she thinks she has it all under control, the prince reveals a secret that suggests he might not be the man she thought. In fact, he might not be a prince at all…

Can Amelie juggle a world of fashion, unexpected espionage, and dating her not-so-fake fiancé? Or will her closed-off heart prove to be her biggest hurdle yet?

Married by Scandal is the third book in the Arranged Marriages of the Fae series, a multi-author collaboration of romantic fantasy stand-alone novellas, designed to be read independently. Together, they feature arranged marriages in fae fantasy and offer complete romances while also allowing the reader to enjoy a variety of tones and approaches. Perfect for romantic fantasy readers with busy lives who love swoony romance.

Married by Scandal is set in the same world as The Fair Isle Trilogy and the Entangled with Fae series. Journey back to Faerwyvae or start your adventure here for the first time!

Tessonja Odette’s Married by Scandal is a novella that takes place in The Fair Isle Trilogy that I still need to read, but was able to follow along easily enough. There are minor spoilers but I’m sure I’ll forget once I circle back around to that trilogy! Lol.

Amelie’s reputation had been sullied by an amorous client who quite literally couldn’t keep it in his pants when Amelie was trying to get his fitting measurements for new clothing. Her sister Evie is a fae queen and when she offers a solution to her to help mend her reputation Amelie decides to take it. 

The deal is that she’s to marry a fae prince from a neighboring kingdom to foster goodwill between their kingdoms. Amelie makes it clear that it’s to be a marriage in name only, something that is acceptable among the fae kind and it’s a done deal.

When Amelie first meets Albert, she’s not overly impressed as he plays up the drunken frat boy persona very well but he ends up being the opposite of that on their next meeting. Amelie isn’t sure what to think of her future husband as he’s not exactly what she was expecting. And we soon learn that Albert has secrets of his own.

This was such an entertaining story! I am miffed at myself for not remembering that it came from an earlier series of Odette’s but I feel like it’s minor spoilers for it as I get the sense I would’ve figured out enough to know Amelie’s outcome as well. Lol.

The storyline was fairly simple surrounding the fake marriage, scandals, and other cover ups. There’s still a heated romance between Amelie and Albert that’s enough to make your toes curl! This is the kind of novella I love to read! While the plot is simple enough, there’s enough storyline to keep things interesting!

All in all, this was a delightful read! I am looking forward to reading the series this takes place in. I found myself completely immersed and hooked into this story and look forward to returning to this world in the future. 

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars