BOOK REVIEW- BEYOND SCANDAL AND DESIRE by Lorraine Heath

At birth, Mick Trewlove, the illegitimate son of a duke, was handed over to a commoner. Despite his lowly upbringing, Mick has become a successful businessman, but all his wealth hasn’t satisfied his need for revenge against the man who still won’t acknowledge him. What else can Mick do but destroy the duke’s legitimate son—and woo the heir’s betrothed into his own unloving arms . . .

Orphaned and sheltered, Lady Aslyn Hastings longs for a bit of adventure. With her intended often preoccupied, Aslyn finds herself drawn to a darkly handsome entrepreneur who seems to understand her so well. Surely a lady of her station should avoid Mick Trewlove. If only he weren’t so irresistible . . .

As secrets are about to be exposed, Mick must decide if his plan for vengeance is worth risking what his heart truly desires.   AMAZON  4 STARS

A good story with a huge, startling surprise at the end. It was one that I never saw coming and I thought I had some of it all figured out.  I did wonder how Mick and Aslyn could ever get together but I never figured out how that could happen.  I liked that the author came up with a creative solution. 

Both Mick and Aslyn were great main characters.  It didn't take long to get drawn to Mick; he was quite the interesting person. He really had pulled himself up by his bootstraps.  He began to become quite the wealthy businessman because of his vision, insight, his ability to read people and understand the business world.  Of course, vengeance was part of what was fueling him.  Also wanting something better for his Mum and his other "loosely adopted"  bastard brothers and sisters.  They also added some flavor to the story. In this area and several areas of the book it was emotional and at times heartbreaking. 

 It took a little longer for me to be drawn to Aslyn because she was so over protected that she seemed to have very thoughts of her own.  And when she did, she kept it in tight lock down out of affection to her guardians.  But as time went on, you could begin to see that she had courage and a lot of goodness with just a touch of naughtiness too.  Which Mick and Aslyn do some exploring with, the naughtiness that is. 

It's always a delight when the author goes so far as giving a good Epilogue at the end of the book.  I appreciated this one a lot.