After five years, Lord Sorin Latham returns to England after leaving it behind to avoid the temptation of a young woman he knew he loved deeply, but she was way too young for what he craved. He is now the Earl of Wincanton of Holly Hall and life will become quite interesting when he and the young lady meet again, but Lady Eleanor is now very much grown up into a beautiful woman.

Lady Eleanor (Ellie) Cramley is celebrating her 21st birthday. She has lived with her cousin, Charles Ashford, and his wife Rowena since her parents died in a tragic accident. They have been very good to her. Ellie is a wealthy heiress and her cousins just want her to make a good and happy marriage.

Ellie is looking forward to seeing Sorin again. They have been friends for a long time. When Ellie was just 15, Sorin had returned from a long absence and Ellie was so happy to see her friend again, that she reached out to hug him. To her dismay, he set her aside telling her that it is unseemly of her to hug a man like that. Deeply hurt, she is determined to act cool to him when she sees him at her birthday party. When Sorin sees Ellie again, he is delighted by the beautiful young woman she has become.

Sorin, his mother, Ellie, her family, and her friend, Caroline, all travel to London for the Season. Unfortunately, an irritating man, Sir Yarborough and his equally irritating mother manage to get a ride with them to London making the trip miserable for all. Yarborough has decided that he will marry Ellie as he needs her money.

While there is a big attraction between Sorin and Ellie, neither of them seems to be able to express their feelings to the other. In the meantime, Yarborough's persistence becomes a real problem. Whom will Ellie marry?

Reading SCANDAL OF THE SEASON by Liana LeFay was like watching a tennis match. Sorin loves Ellie and starts to reach out only to pull himself back. The same goes for Ellie. I found this not only frustrating, but also very irritating after awhile. The cat and mouse game found in some novels is fine for a short period of time. But when the entire book is filled with this, I lose interest very quickly. However, I think the author writes well and I would like to try more of her books. I'm hoping this one is just a one-off.