Beyond Seduction

A Bastion Club Novel

By: Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A little bit wild and undeniably brave, the gentlemen of the Bastion Club have pursued adventures far and wide. But their exploits at home could prove to be the riskiest of all as they hunt an elusive target: the perfect bride.

In a moment of recklessness, Gervase Tregarth, sixth Earl of Crowhurst, swears he’ll marry the next eligible lady to cross his path. Cloistered at his ancestral castle in Cornwall, with nary a suitable woman for miles, he never expects he’ll have to fulfill his pledge, at least not until the London season begins. But then he meets his neighbor, the very appealing Madeline Gascoigne.

Years of secret service to the Crown have taught Gervase the value of always having a loophole - there will be no wedding if he and Madeline are not compatible in every way. So he sets out to prove that they would make a most dreadful match by luring her into his arms and, ultimately, his bed. From their very first kiss, Gervase discovers that the headstrong and independent Madeline is no meek country miss - and that the fire between them will burn long beyond that first seduction.

Stephanie Laurens began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career when her novels captivated readers around the globe, making her one of the romance world’s most beloved and popular authors. She has been writing for more than twenty years and is a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling author.

©2007 Savdek Management Proprietory, Ltd. (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A reliable serving of rogues and romance.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Performance is Beyond Torturous

I have this book in E format and love it. It has the same failings that most Regency books have, heroine is unbelievably independent for the time, but that can be overlooked. What is grating is her refusal to give her consent to marriage unless he declares love. Truly, you have given your body, several times, love him, and very well may be pregnant, but no way will you marry him unless he prostrates himself at your dainty feet.

But what truly makes this book unbearable as an audible is the reader. Steven Crossley is horrible. The woman sound like banchees I would not want to marry much less no, the men have no idea when to sound gentle or seductive or strong.

I will never purchase anything narrated by him again, and I thought Jill Tanner was bad.

Great series! Great plot!

I first read and loved this book in paperback, and have now (finally) gotten it on audiobook! Especially since the paperback is in shreds!
Each of the Bastion Club series can stand alone, but they call and coerce you to read all of them!
Set in time just after Waterloo, this collection of retired spies are all titled and must find wives. But on their own terms! In this one, the earl has been sabotaged in his hunting in London by his loving half-sisters. At their insistence, he looks closer to home and nearly falls on his face when he sees who he has overlooked. And then the fun and romance begins, complete with villains, smugglers, murder, and more. The plot is complex and has many twists.
Steven Crossley does a great job of differentiating the characters and adding to their depth.

Why change readers?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The publisher should never have changed readers. I certainly would never have chosen this reader. Romance is not Crossley's

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have deleted the Tin Mine scam, seeing that it never went anywhere anyway. I also would have had more of the Bastian Club involved and a much stronger story line dealing with them.

Would you be willing to try another one of Steven Crossley???s performances?

I like his reading of the Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series, but I would not try another romance. Looking at his list of books, he normally doesn't read romances.

Was Beyond Seduction worth the listening time?

I have purchased all the books in this series before this one, and this one was just too dull and boring. Not worth the money.

Any additional comments?

I have been waiting for the last three books of the Bastian Club to come out in audio. There is no way, though that I would purchase them because of the reader. I will pick up these books at the local library. I will read them rather than listen to them.

Same story…

Same story just about a different couple. With that said, I still enjoy them. I’m still debating if I like this narrator.

Great addition to the Bastion Club series

What a great addition to the tales of the Bastion Club members! Gervais will absolutely tear your heart out with his patience, determination, and understanding.

Great story...Horrible Narrator

This was one of my favorite Bastion Club stories, it has more interaction with DL and their past as spies.

I waited years for an audio version and I can't believe the publishers settled on this narrator for the last of the Bastion Club stories. He can't act so he just gives a very boring reading of a great story. The female voices are screeches that are almost too painful to listen to.

My advice to male narrators, their is nothing you can do to sound like a woman, just soften your voice for the female roles. Trying to raise your voice just makes for a bad comedy and is painful on the ears.

What a waste.

Why go to London for a wife when....

Date: 1816 early July
Chronology: set after TO DISTRACTION, before THE EDGE OF DESIRE.
Gervase Tregarth is called home again due to his sisters’ campaign to keep him from marrying a London debutante. In frustration he makes an agreement with them that he’ll seriously consider marrying the first woman he meets locally. In his entrance hall, Gervase sees their neighbor Madeleine Gascoigne who is the guardian for her 3 younger brothers. When Gervase takes a really good look he’s more than surprised with how much he likes what he sees.
I enjoyed Harry, Edmund and Benjamin having their part in events, but I would have better enjoyed the story if Belinda, Annabelle and Jane didn’t appear then disappear, repeat.
Anyway, the plot heats up when the boys find a brooch in the sand when scavenging and Dalziel’s last traitor has been watching for a missing smuggled shipment from France with his final payment of goods.
Malcolm Sinclair makes another appearance in the beginning of this story. He hasn’t yet learned his lesson of using his intelligence for good or ill, but moves on when he recognizes Gervase Tregarth.
Crossley has a very pleasant voice and I like his narration of the general text and male characters. I could wish for more talent with female characters, but at least there were no major nerve-scraping mispronunciations.

The narrator sounded like Dame Edna. Jesus what a horrible choice for female voices.

I’ve read the book. The narration is unlistenable if that’s a word. Unlike Simon Prebble who seems to catch female cadence, lilt, and tone very well, this man sounds like a female impersonator. Very bad.

A Good Book Harmed by the Narration

What made the experience of listening to Beyond Seduction the most enjoyable?

I enjoy the series.

What other book might you compare Beyond Seduction to and why?

Any of the other Bastion Club books.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Steven Crossley?

I would have much preferred to have Jill Tanner as the narrator. I found this reading to be tedious and I wasn't able to concentrate on the story when the narration was so different than the previous books and not half as good. Pronunciations were different (Dalziel, for example) and I found that distracting. I especially found Crossley's women's voices to be both annoying AND distracting. This is a terrible thing to do to the author's work.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had an extreme reaction to the narration from the very beginning.

Any additional comments?

It's a shame that a decent book was made almost "unreadable" by the very poor decision (for whatever reason) to change narrators in the series and to select such a poor one. The story is good.

Love the characters

Madeline is my favourite Bastion club heroine. She actually IS a strong, independent woman and a lot of authors could learn how to write one from Stephanie Laurens!

Madeline runs the Gascoigne estate in lieu of her much younger brothers. She spends her days out riding, gives advice to local farmers and gentry alike, keeps up on their mining and investments, is a mother to her younger borthers and still finds time to be seduced by the hero Earl on the neighbouring estate when he returns from war. She comes off as intelligent and capable without being arrogant - a really likable leading lady.

Their love story is slow but passionate, and it was incredibly enjoyable to listen to Gervase decide Madeline was going to be his Countess then pursue her until she agreed.

The story is well-woven and the surrounding cast make the story even more enjoyable, the only let down is the characterisation of the female voices. The women all sound as though the narrator is mocking them, which I don't think he is.

That's not insurmountable - the story is so good I went back for a second listen.