Scandal Wears Satin

May 7, 2012
A scheming milliner finds love with an obstinate lord in 1830s London in Chase’s delightful second Dressmakers installment (after Silk Is for Seduction). Dressmaker Marcelline Noirot married a duke and earned the enmity of the wealthy Lady Warford, who subsequently blackballed the Noirot family dress shop. Nonetheless, her sister Sophy intends to keep dressing Lady Warford’s daughter, Clara, despite Sophy’s inconvenient attraction to Clara’s rakish brother, Lord Longmore. When scandal forces Clara into an engagement to the scheming Lord Adderley and threatens to deprive Maison Noirot of its star client, Sophy must put all her cleverness and charm to the test to save the business without losing her heart. While the situation of the Noirots often strains belief, the lively romance between two refreshingly direct lovers is generally pleasing, and thorough historical research is displayed to advantage in the detailed descriptions of the exaggerated fashions of the era and amusing excerpts from real and fictional periodicals.

Starred review from June 15, 2012

Sophy Noirot and her sisters will do just about anything to sustain their fledgling dressmaking establishment, Maison Noirot. But Sophy's elder sister's slightly scandalous marriage to a duke makes a vicious enemy of the influential mother of the duke's original intended, Clara Fairfax, and their clientele begins to dwindle. Now Sophy--unparalleled saleswoman and most observant society sleuth and clandestine gossip columnist--crafts a brilliant deception aimed at rescuing not only her shop's business and her family's reputation but Clara's future as well. Passion, revenge, and sheer determination fuel the clever, beautifully unfolding plot as Clara's brother the virile Lord Longmore, who's had Sophy in his sights all along, ramps up the romantic stakes and a superb cast of supporting characters (a cheeky street urchin is unforgettable) add to the fun. VERDICT Flawless pacing, effervescent wit, and nonstop humor that ranges from subtle to outright hilarious come together in a satisfying, delectably descriptive romp that sees another of the scandal-ridden Dreadful DeLuceys happily matched. Chase (Silk Is for Seduction) lives in Worcester, MA. [See the Q&A with Chase on p. 60.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2012
Maison Noirot, the dress shop owned by Sophy Noirot and her sisters, Marcelline and Leonie, is teetering on the brink of disaster. A very cranky Lady Warford, who holds a grudge against Marcelline for stealing away her daughter Clara's fiance, the Duke of Clevedon, is doing her best to drive business away from the shop. Curiously, their best customer is Clara, who could care less about Clevedon and is engaged to the penniless Lord Adderley, who can't pay his own debts, let alone the staggering sums Clara spends on frocks. Worse yet, the Noirots' greatest business rival, Horrible Hortense Downes, seems to be rapidly regaining ground. Sophy is certain she can resolve all these problems if Clara's brother, Henry Fairfax, the annoyingly sexy Earl of Longmore, would simply get out of her way and out of her life. With her usual superb sense of style, Chase once again creates the fictional equivalent of haute couture, expertly tailoring her engaging characters and cleverly constructed plot, then dressing the whole thing up in a dazzling combination of irresistible wit and seductive passion that is the essence of romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)