I think I might be becoming a lover of romance like this! Intelligent, witty and genuinely funny. Give me two people who can challenge each other, a plot that knows how ridiculous it is, and enough feeling beneath the jokes to make me care. Scandal of the Summer gave me all of that.
Lady Ruby Ballimore’s trouble begins when she points out that a marquess’s expensive Greek statues are fakes. She’s correct, which makes the resulting scandal all the more infuriating. Hoping to escape London and her father’s disappointment, Ruby takes two friends to an apparently empty Cornwall estate. Their invitation's forged, but they soon discover that the household staff have a few inventions of their own.
Captain Malcolm Archer and his former crew are living at the estate under false pretences while running a smuggling operation. Three unexpected guests could ruin everything, so Malcolm tries to frighten them away. Ruby is considerably harder to unsettle than he expects.
Ruby was the reason this book worked so well for me. She’s observant and outspoken, but she isn’t oblivious to the effect her words have on other people. She wants to be herself and still be loved by her father. That vulnerability gives weight to a story full of pranks, disguises and increasingly improbable events.
Malcolm's a very good match for her. He’s charming, inventive and thoroughly dishonest when a scheme calls for it, yet his loyalty to his crew is sincere. I loved watching Ruby see through him and Malcolm recognise that her honesty is one of her best qualities. Their exchanges are sharp, their attraction's convincing, and the humour grows out of who they are.
The romance is also quite explicit. That can be a sticking point for me when it takes over a book or substitutes for a relationship. Here, I was invested in the conversation and connection between Ruby and Malcolm, although I would have happily spent more time with them and a little less time on the later complications.
The book becomes busier as it goes, with a large supporting cast and a plot that keeps finding another turn to take. I had fun with much of the chaos, but the final stretch felt hurried. A little more breathing room for the central relationship would have made the ending stronger for me.
Still, four stars feels right. Scandal of the Summer made me laugh, gave me a heroine I wanted to champion, and reminded me how much I enjoy a romance in which both people are clever enough to keep surprising each other. Alexandra Vasti’s version of Regency society is gloriously unruly, and I’m keen to see which of these characters gets into trouble next.
💌 Read this if you enjoy witty Regency romance with a seaside setting
🏛️ An outspoken heiress who spots a fake and causes a scandal
⚓ A charming smuggler and a household full of secrets
🎭 False identities, elaborate schemes and romantic tension
🤝 Loyal friendships, found family and plenty of humour⚠️ Contains explicit sexual content, strong language, kidnapping and some violence.
Book Details
Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
Paperback ISBN
978-1805466505 — Corvus paperback edition published on 25 June 2026 and available through Australian retailers.
Hardcover ISBN
No standard hardcover edition could be verified from the UK or US publisher listings. Special hardcover editions may exist, but an ISBN should not be assigned without identifying the specific edition.
eBook ISBN
978-1805466512 — Corvus eBook edition published on 25 June 2026 and listed by Australian retailers.
Audiobook ISBN
979-8349163944 — unabridged digital audiobook edition published by Dreamscape Media on 23 June 2026.
Genre
Historical Romance; Regency Romance; Romantic Comedy; Adult Romance.
Subgenre
Steamy Regency Romance; Seaside Romance; Cross-Class Romance; Romantic Adventure; Historical Romantic Comedy.
Tropes / Literary Threads
Runaway heiress; charming smuggler; false identities; forged invitation; forced proximity; antagonists to lovers; clever heroine; found family; loyal friendships; counterfeit antiquities; seaside estate; elaborate schemes; political intrigue.
Publisher
Corvus — an imprint of Atlantic Books — publishes the UK paperback and eBook editions available to Australian readers.
Series
Flirty Rotten Scoundrels, Book 1.
Formats Available
Paperback; eBook; Kindle; EPUB; Unabridged Digital Audiobook. A standard hardcover edition could not be verified.
Audiobook Narrator
Mhairi Morrison.
Audiobook Length
12 hours and 13 minutes — unabridged English-language recording.
Original Release Date
23 June 2026 — US publication by St. Martin’s Griffin.
Australian Release Date
25 June 2026 — Corvus paperback and eBook editions are listed by the publisher for this date; Australian retailers list the eBook with the same date. \
Page Count
368 pages — publisher-listed print edition.
Where to Buy Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
📚 Amazon
Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase through my Amazon affiliate links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I also encourage supporting Australian booksellers such as QBD Books, independent booksellers, and self-published authors whenever possible.
Danielle Robinson is a literary critic and writer whose
work explores literature through the
lens of atmosphere, memory, culture, and emotional experience. Holding a double degree in philosophy and theology, she combines academic insight with a deeply refined aesthetic sensibility shaped by more than three decades working across the creative industries as an internationally published, multi-award-winning makeup artist, fashion stylist, and interior stager.
She reads widely and rigorously, reading and reviewing more than 200 books each year as both an ARC reader and commissioned critic. Through Silk & Sentences, Danielle approaches literature as something immersive and lived with — not simply stories to consume, but works that shape the way we think, feel, and move through the world.
She writes from her semi-rural Queensland home, where she lives with Alex, her husband of 33 years, their dogs Oscar and Paige, and an ever-growing library of books.
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