Breath of Scandal

I picked up Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown at a local thrift store for $0.20. It sounded intriguing, and after giving up on Deadly Housewives, this one was the nearest book in reach so I grabbed it. I am glad I did. This one was wonderful and filled with emotions. I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

On a rainy Saturday night, Jade Sperry endured a young woman's worst nightmare at the hands of three local hell-raisers. Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedyu, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy "company town" where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family. And she never forgot their spoiled son, who, with his two friends, changed her life forever. Someday, somehow, she'd return, exact a just revenge- and free herself from fear, and the powerful family that could destroy her.

I am having a hard time on what to say about this book. It is told over a period of time, about 20 years, I believe, and tells the story on many of the side characters. While there are quite a few characters mentioned in the story, it is not so complicated that I had to keep looking back and reminding who everyone was. The romance was late to develop, but once it did, it was beautiful. I got a great sense of the characters thoughts and motivations, and it was so touching. Also, Jade reminded me of Faith from the Linda Howard I just read, that really overcomes a lot of problems and obstacles that I have a feeling most people would use as crutches. While I tend to read romantic suspense, this was low on the suspense but just a wonderful read. I know I have read or heard other Brown books (on CD, which I always have in my car) but am not sure of which ones. All I know is if they are all as good as this one was, then I plan on checking some others out. I would love any opinions you all may have. The only reason why I took away a half of a point was because I am not sure it will stay with me as long as some other "perfect" reads have.

I subbed yesterday, all day, for kindergarteners, and when I got home, I was exhausted. I did little reading and went to bed early after staying up late to watch the horrible, disgusting, Wings' game the night before. I had about 150 pages left of this book and read it in about an hour today because I was so engrossed. My next book will be one of the selections from the library, probably the Robb. Happy reading and have a great weekend!