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verisarg's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
rellimreads's review against another edition
2.0
Note: At the time of this review the audio is included in Audible Plus.
The blurb sounded interesting as I tend to like romance that has a little mystery/suspense in it. Things were fairly predictable, in a comfort read kind of way. I enjoyed the bones of the story but sometimes the execution felt a little off. There weren’t explanations for why some of the characters were making choices or keeping secrets that they were keeping - which made it harder to completely buy in to the plot. Transitions from one scene to another could be so abrupt I’d replay thinking there was a glitch in the audio.
The Duke “training” Elizabeth vacillated between descriptive and vague. The scenes of foreplay and oral were more evocative than most of the penetrative sex scenes.
I liked that Elizabeth was a strong, intelligent, and creative lead. Unfortunately this was sometimes undermined with actions that felt inconsistent with her character and were added to further the plot. The Duke was burned in the past and his “vow not to love again” is one of my least favorite tropes. It led to a great deal of angst that went on a bit too long. He could also be quite nasty and I didn’t feel like that was properly atoned for.
I actually appreciated many of the secondary characters more. Since they’re free to borrow via Audible Plus I may try more of the series.
Narration:
I truly enjoyed Julie Maisey’s narration. She did a great job with all the accents and emotions. A delight to listen to.
The blurb sounded interesting as I tend to like romance that has a little mystery/suspense in it. Things were fairly predictable, in a comfort read kind of way. I enjoyed the bones of the story but sometimes the execution felt a little off. There weren’t explanations for why some of the characters were making choices or keeping secrets that they were keeping - which made it harder to completely buy in to the plot. Transitions from one scene to another could be so abrupt I’d replay thinking there was a glitch in the audio.
The Duke “training” Elizabeth vacillated between descriptive and vague. The scenes of foreplay and oral were more evocative than most of the penetrative sex scenes.
I liked that Elizabeth was a strong, intelligent, and creative lead. Unfortunately this was sometimes undermined with actions that felt inconsistent with her character and were added to further the plot. The Duke was burned in the past and his “vow not to love again” is one of my least favorite tropes. It led to a great deal of angst that went on a bit too long. He could also be quite nasty and I didn’t feel like that was properly atoned for.
I actually appreciated many of the secondary characters more. Since they’re free to borrow via Audible Plus I may try more of the series.
Narration:
I truly enjoyed Julie Maisey’s narration. She did a great job with all the accents and emotions. A delight to listen to.
suzysuzy34's review against another edition
2.0
Narration ⭐️⭐️
Story ⭐️⭐️
Went into this thinking it would be more erotic/sensual especially with the name of the of the tittle. I didn’t feel Elizabeth was educated in anything particular and when she was being educated the H would suddenly storm off. Didn’t particularly like the H or h and didn’t like the mystery plot. Sorry just my opinion. Hopefully others will like the book.
Story ⭐️⭐️
Went into this thinking it would be more erotic/sensual especially with the name of the of the tittle. I didn’t feel Elizabeth was educated in anything particular and when she was being educated the H would suddenly storm off. Didn’t particularly like the H or h and didn’t like the mystery plot. Sorry just my opinion. Hopefully others will like the book.
eg_m's review against another edition
4.0
Improbable with a few sizable plot-holes, but entertaining with interesting characters.
sallyan's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
muse19's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
maferg01's review against another edition
4.0
This was such an enjoyable book that I read it in 2 days. It is a bit lighter on steamy scenes than the Simply series but very heavy on plot and an all around excellent read. I enjoyed Elizabeth and Gervase together immensly. They played off each other well.
lassarina's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected to! I wasn't super thrilled with the last Kate Pearce book I read, but this one was really quite enjoyable. I was hooked from the beginning of the premise: Elizabeth, having been wagered to settle her stepfather's debts in a card game, asks Gervaise, the Duke of Diable Delamere, to educate her so that she can become a courtesan. The duke agrees, and quickly discovers that she is very smart and knows several languages, so he determines to use her puzzle-solving and linguistic abilities to help him avert a plot to assassinate the Prince Regent. In the meantime, he teaches her about seduction, while intending to hold himself aloof (and we all know how well that goes, don't we?)
I really enjoyed the cast of side characters and the feeling that there was more going on than the generic whirl of the ton and high society. The stakes of the assassination felt real. I didn't like how obvious the straw villain was; I knew from the minute that character stepped on the page that something was not right, and this grew only more obvious as time went by, until I was frustrated that Gervaise didn't seem to see it too. I make some allowances for the blindness of friendship and history, but really, somebody should've cottoned on substantially before they did.
I really enjoyed that Elizabeth was razor-smart and allowed to be so; I loved that she was valued for that and her abilities were accepted at face value. I loved the sexy scenes, which were just the right blend of specific and glossing over (okay, once or twice I rolled my eyes because it got to the point of straining disbelief, but what else is fantasy for?) I loved the way she adapted to circumstances that were frankly ruinous: she looked at her options, calculated the possible paths, picked one, and dedicated herself to it.
I mentioned before that the side characters were great, and I'll reiterate that. I'm really looking forward to other books in the series when those characters get to shine even more on their own (one thing this book did really, really well was draw the relationships between characters in a way that felt real and deep.)
I really enjoyed the cast of side characters and the feeling that there was more going on than the generic whirl of the ton and high society. The stakes of the assassination felt real. I didn't like how obvious the straw villain was; I knew from the minute that character stepped on the page that something was not right, and this grew only more obvious as time went by, until I was frustrated that Gervaise didn't seem to see it too. I make some allowances for the blindness of friendship and history, but really, somebody should've cottoned on substantially before they did.
I really enjoyed that Elizabeth was razor-smart and allowed to be so; I loved that she was valued for that and her abilities were accepted at face value. I loved the sexy scenes, which were just the right blend of specific and glossing over (okay, once or twice I rolled my eyes because it got to the point of straining disbelief, but what else is fantasy for?) I loved the way she adapted to circumstances that were frankly ruinous: she looked at her options, calculated the possible paths, picked one, and dedicated herself to it.
I mentioned before that the side characters were great, and I'll reiterate that. I'm really looking forward to other books in the series when those characters get to shine even more on their own (one thing this book did really, really well was draw the relationships between characters in a way that felt real and deep.)
glo68's review against another edition
5.0
I found the audiobook of this wonderful novel on Audible for free and I've never been happier!
Great book, so hot! The duke is a sexy, dangerous bastard (!) and I fell in love with him since the beginning! Great side characters as well. I look forward to listening to the other books of the series. I liked the spy plot, even if I found it a little too complicated. And yes, I'd have liked the duke to grovel much more at the end.
As for some objections I read in other reviews, yes, he was French, but he was English as well. It's clearly stated in the book that his family came from both countries. And yes, "his" daughter is 18, but he did say he married at 15!
I loved the narrator, Julie Maisey, as well.
Great book, so hot! The duke is a sexy, dangerous bastard (!) and I fell in love with him since the beginning! Great side characters as well. I look forward to listening to the other books of the series. I liked the spy plot, even if I found it a little too complicated. And yes, I'd have liked the duke to grovel much more at the end.
As for some objections I read in other reviews, yes, he was French, but he was English as well. It's clearly stated in the book that his family came from both countries. And yes, "his" daughter is 18, but he did say he married at 15!
I loved the narrator, Julie Maisey, as well.