Scandalous Books

For this week’s blog, I am stepping away from all things magical and moving into something that is a little more, let’s say, **whispers** scandalous.  I am currently reading The King’s Bed: Sex and Power in the Court of Charles II by Don Jordan & Michael Walsh.  While reading this book, I began finding myself intrigued in the many secrets that King Charles II had kept during his reign.  Thus, this inspired me to provide a listing of books that have everything to do with scandals.  

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Do you like old Hollywood scandals?  I was certainly drawn into reading this book by the synopsis that was provide on the Book of the Month Club website.  Many might think that this is a nonfiction book, but it is actually a complete work of fiction.  As for myself, I thought that Evelyn Hugo was a real actress.  Reid is able to incorporate various scandals that have happened during the old Hollywood days like the husbands of Elizabeth Taylor, and she was able to make this character a life of her own.  As you are reading the book, you are drawn into not only the old Hollywood lifestyle but also Evelyn Hugo’s story.  Aside from the many marriages that Evelyn Hugo had, there are other elements that I am afraid must be kept secret.

Gabriel’s Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

While the first book in the Gabriel’s Inferno series does not have much of a scandal, it certainly does introduce the characters and how their love will certainly affect them later on in the book series.  I came across this book after reading the most notable scandalous book, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James.  If you did not enjoy Fifty Shades of Grey and you felt that it was considered not good writing, then you will certainly enjoy Gabriel’s Inferno.  Reynard is able to bring an elegant, sophisticated, and romantic story in this love story.  The scandal of this story can be that a professor falls in love with his student.  Don’t worry the student is in her early twenties and going for her graduate degree.  Now, dating student is certainly forbidden when it comes the higher education environment.  So, their relationship must be kept secret.  Will their love be able to last once their relationship becomes more known?

 The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh

Another Book of the Month pick, The Blinds certainly does have elements of a scandal.  However, the entire book is about these people that live in a town that is isolated from the rest of the world, and they are not for sure why they are there.  The people are brought to this town because of something they had done.  But once they enter the town, all their memories are erased.  The people are unsure of why they are there.  Everything is comes to head when two of these people end up dead.  Now, slowly throughout the book the people’s secrets begin to come out in the open.  I found this book to be smart and clever in the story, and I was certainly kept on my toes.

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

Are you a fan of The Crucible?  Well, Salem Falls, will certainly be a perfect fit for you.  Picoult is able to take the Salem Witch Trials and add a modern twist.  A stranger comes to the New England town of Salem Falls to start a new life, but finds himself in trouble.  This stranger was escaping from scandal, and now is being placed back into a new one.  Another book that contains tons of mystery that is chalked full of secrets, Salem Falls, will certainly keep you reading up at night to find out the truth of what is happening in this town.

Are you willing to share any books with scandal?  Please feel free to comment below with any suggestions.