Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

I selected this book to review from NetGalley’s focus on romance newsletter because I felt like a light and easy read. Turns out NetGalley has a different definition of contemporary romance than the bookstore.

It’s a lesson in labeling and advertising, because at first I had a hard time getting into the story. It not only broke with romance conventions, but it threw them completely out the window.

So, lesson one is to read this as a book, not a genre.

Lesson two … well there wasn’t one. The minute I let go of my genre expectations, I was sunk…into the story in the best way possible.

Leith puts together a complex tale of the life of a British politician, the risks of gossip, and of having enemies no matter how small or petty the cause. The novel explores the dangers with dancing on the edge of that political life for the business folks involved in keeping the gears oiled.

A Serving of Scandal also explores the reality of relationships and expectations, showing how people can grow apart or find deeper connections, but also the little lies people tell themselves either because they fear the unknown, or want something unattainable.

To give you some idea of what I mean, I’ll give you just a taste of the story, with all attempts made to avoid spoilers:

Kate is a single mom and a talented chef who is making her living catering largely to government offices. She catches the taste buds and then the intellectual interest of Oliver, next in line for the prime minister if he doesn’t screw it up.

The first time he comes to thank her for a delicious meal, it’s just that. But they get talking. He’s thrilled at her no-nonsense honesty when he’s surrounded by politicians around which he has to watch his wording and gets back much of the same.

Unlike the rush and tumble of most romances, they don’t fall into bed. Their connection grows into a strong friendship, sharing stories of their kids, and even Oliver’s wife.

And that was the initial block for me. Oliver is married with two kids. He believes he loves his wife, believes she loves him too, but things have changed. They used to challenge each other intellectually, but Ruth is turned off by the reality of politics and by Oliver buying into a system he joined to enact change.

It’s a complex situation already, but then everything is turned upside down by a rumor, a false rumor at that, but one which brings a whiff of scandal and destroys lives left and right.

I highly recommend this book. It’s a fascinating insight into the life of a politician, and those elements seem to translate into US politics as well, though I don’t know about how other countries balance the personal and political enough to say about a wider lesson. But don’t think it’s all about politics, because it’s not. A Serving of Scandal offers a close look at how people grow together and apart as well, both in Oliver and Kate’s friendship, and how Ruth and Oliver have moved away from the things that first connected them.

I can’t say anything further without putting in serious spoilers, but know this… If they use the cover blurb included in the galley, it’ll lead you astray and drop you into the expectation vs. book place I started with. Instead, let the book tell you its tale. Everything in the blurb is true. Nothing in the blurb is true. It all depends on how you read it.

This is a reprint, but the latest publication will be released on August 6th, 2013, including an eBook version as well. ( )

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