REVIEW: Scandalized by Ivy Owens

OUR REVIEW:

I really, really enjoyed reading Scandalized. It reminded me of the books Court and I read when we first started this blog (a zillion years ago?). It captured the magic of young professionals and that whirlwind times of their lives colliding with the magic of a whirlwind love affair. 

Gigi is coming off a mentally draining investigative reporting job in London and a delayed flight that just extends her exhaustion as she waits to make her final connection home. Alec is also waiting on that connection that gets delayed overnight. They both end up at the same hotel, desperate for a bed to sleep in, when Gigi finally realizes she recognizes Alec as a childhood friend. When Alec snags the last room and offers Gigi a place to take a quick shower before she hunts for a room of her own. One thing leads to another and a drink turns into a night that romance novels are made of. 

When they land in LA and Gigi learns who Alec is to the rest of the world, she has some decisions to make. Of course she decides to see where things go and gahhh I just loved their romance journey. I loved their getting to know each other again, their covert meetings, their chemistry, the way they see each other, appreciate each other, support each other--I love it all. Plot-wise, I liked how their separate lives intertwined, even as they still had very different lives and livelihoods. Their jobs were definitely front and center as a major component of this novel and yet, I really felt that my focus was always drawn to their burgeoning love--something that seemed so improbable given their careers and the short amount of time they had to spend with each other. So, I obviously detested that they had to hurt before they could heal but I knew it was coming and, thankfully, Ivy Owens didn't leave me hanging for long before she got us to their HEA. And while I enjoyed the ending, I couldn't help but wish for more because I was that invested. 

I realized I'm late to this party; this novel has been out for a while now but when it went on sale this week, I snatched it up to see what all the hype was about and I truly was not disappointed. I am eager to see if/what Ivy Owens publishes next. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3I15GGq

SYNOPSIS:

A one-night stand between two old childhood friends turns into something more, but when a scandal threatens to tear them apart, they must decide how hard to fight for love—a steamy romance written under the pseudonym Ivy Owens by Christina Lauren coauthor Lauren Billings.

Exhausted and on deadline with a story that could make or break her career, investigative journalist Georgia Ross is on the verge of a meltdown when a cancelled flight leaves her stuck in the airport overnight. But when a familiar face appears—the older brother of her childhood friend—and offers help, Gigi seems to have caught a break.

Alec Kim is handsome, humble, and kind—exactly the sort of man that Gigi has forgotten existed after her own painful heartbreaks. An evening of reconnection followed by a night of no-strings-attached passion with Alec feels like a gift—that is, until Gigi finally realizes that their childhood connection isn’t the only reason he seems so familiar to her.

Alec is determined to prove to Gigi that he is truly the man she thinks he is, even if it means coming clean about his fame—and his family’s connection to the story Gigi’s been working so hard to break. But as their feelings for each other grow deeper, Gigi and Alec must navigate a new reality…one where both of their hard-won careers are put directly in the path of an international scandal.