• Lord of Scoundrels

  • By: Loretta Chase
  • Narrated by: Kate Reading
  • Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,335 ratings)

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Lord of Scoundrels  By  cover art

Lord of Scoundrels

By: Loretta Chase
Narrated by: Kate Reading
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Publisher's summary

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i>They call him many names, but angelic isn't one of them.

Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the "Bane and Blight of the Ballisters", and he wants nothing to do with respectable women. He's determined to continue doing what he does best - sin and sin again - and all's going swimmingly…until the day a shop door opens and she walks in.

She's too intelligent to fall for the worst man in the world.

Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she's going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him - and with him her family and future - means taking on the devil himself, she won't back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible that the person who needs saving most is Jessica herself.

©1995 Loretta Chekani (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

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What listeners say about Lord of Scoundrels

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,172
  • 4 Stars
    787
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    56
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    705
  • 3 Stars
    264
  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If you want historical romance, this is a good one

Great characters, witty and creative dialogue. Fun to watch their relationship develop. This is the story of learning to love for Sebastian.

Story brief: Sebastian was not loved as a child and he grew up mean, yet smart. Jessica is competent, smart and not afraid of him. Their relationship is battling each other, with each one winning certain rounds.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Kate Reading did a fine job.

DATA:
Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: five. Setting: 1828 Paris, France and England. There is also a back story of Sebastian's birth in 1795 and his growing up. Copyright: 1995. Genre: historical romance.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hot HOT!

It was hard to read about Sebastian's (Dain's pronounced like the dog Great Dane) childhood. He really had it bad. Once I dropped a tear over his childhood though, I was overwhelmed with what he had choosen to do with his adulthood. Amassing wealth in any way possible, Orgeys, Drinking, Gambling, but NEVER seducing. He always paid for his services. Some were descriptive and most were not. Everything he did with Jessica (Jess) however was in full detail not excluding the emotional baggage and intelligent banter. I applaud the writer on all the dialogue. Witty and effusive!

I am not a listener of sex scenes, so I fast forward to the next dialogue.....I did a lot of fast forwarding.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

GOBBLED THIS BOOK UP!!!!

Well, I found it really hard to click the pause button on this one!!!

WOW! This book is true to the raving reviews. Loretta Chase has created two leads, Sebastian Ballister (the notorious Marquess of Dain) and Jessica Trent (the woman who caught his eye) with psychological and developmental backgrounds that compliment and interlock their love and need for one another in such a deeper level than most romances.

Sabastian's background was definitely the most hurtful and psychologically damaging. His ability to deal with the rejection of his father, the abandonment of his mother, bullies at his school, and the difficulty connecting with women demonstrated his powerful coping skills and resiliency. OMG!!--This man is the epitome of resiliency!!! Nonetheless, he still needed healing for the things that were not right in his life.---Enter the beautiful, intelligent, witty and big-hearted Jessica to come and scramble up Sabastian's life of debauchery and pull him in like a magnet to her. When both meet for the first time in a shop in Paris, their chemistry was so tangible it felt like a humming buzz that only got stronger as the story progressed!

This book is full of great scenes and dialogues between the two leads throughout their relationship development. There are also very interesting relationships between Jessica and her grandmother, Genevieve, her nit-wit of a brother Bertrie and her ability to connect with little Dominic. It was also interesting to see how Sabastian dealt with his greedy, inner circle of friends when their own lives began to unravel.

In reading/listening to this book, I laughed, I teared up, I felt excited and there were also some interesting "putting the puzzle pieces" together moments. Overall, this book was powerful because it showcased the healing power of love and how the cycle of mistakes made by a previous generation does not have to be carried over to the next. I loved how Sabastian (or Dain as he is referred to throughout the book) and Jessica's love story created a new legacy for their family. Jessica was the conduit for the healing...she was exactly what Dain needed, and Dain fulfilled her every fantasy. That's my kind of romance and HEA!!!

Narrator: Kate Reading is excellent! She did a superb job! This is one wonderful audiobook experience!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Different

This wasn’t a typical romance book she gave the main characters were different with good personalities
I especially like the female characters attitude
The intimate scenes were written well and well placed within the book I think you would enjoy it it’s funny cute heartwarming and like I said love scenes were placed well

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful in every way

This is only the second time I have given a 5 star review in the 5 yrs I have been reading romance novels. This story had my most favorite heroine ever. She was all I could hope for and more than I could dream of. The hero was an great character and paired together this story had all you could want. This is my first time with this author, but not my last !! The narration was riveting at times, and I enjoyed the male characters as much as the females.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is what all romance novels should strive to be.

The story pulls you in from the beginning, and can't put it down. No matter how long between relistening to it I can't stay away too long. Then, I laugh, and cry, and, wonder how it's possible to feel sympathetic toward both main characters. This book is a treasure.

Kate Reading did a beautiful narration for this book. I'm always amazed at the talent it takes to perform so many characters one after another. It is stunning, and very appreciated.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • CJ
  • 02-10-15

My issue was with the hero

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

What I expected.

What does Kate Reading bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She did a nice job

Any additional comments?

This is my first book by Loretta Chase.

Even though I did not love this book, I will read more by Loretta Chase. The heroine is wonderful. I loved her patience and her kindness and Jess does have a heart of gold. She cares not only for her family but for others as well. However, I could not stand the hero. I love the cruel and tortured heroes. Love them. However, I did not even want Sebastian a.k.a Lord Dain to even be with the beautiful Jessica. No matter what she did, what she gave, he would show 1 minute of kindness and then a day of hurtful behavior. It was one step forward, two steps back. At 78%, he showed he cared for her, but I feel that the rest of her life she would have to deal with this guessing game with Sebastian. Groveling is not a word that Sebastian knows. Jessica would be the only one reassuring Sebastian and not the other way around. I understand why Sebastian would not open up to Jessica, but even in his POV, he sounded so cold. So uncaring to what he was making her feel.
At first I loved how Lord Dain was all “I care for nothing or no one” but would think and kind of stalk Jessica, but then it was all about him.

I see all the high ratings and this book is one of those stories that just did not work for me. It is too long for me to wait until almost the very end to see how the hero really feels about people other than himself. Sebastian and his behavior became exhausting.

Things I loved:

Jessica

Genevieve – Jessica’s grandmother

The bets that were going on when Jessica and Lord Dane were having their spats. Even the prostitutes were making bets. I loved it.

The kiss in Paris. Wow that was hot. From there it kind of fell apart for me.

The writing was good.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Perfect Regency Romance!

If you like fiery, strong spirited heroines that are not afraid to stray from the conventional, you will like this book.

If you like brooding, arrogant, pig headed heroes with a hidden broken core needing repair from a clever female who can disguise her interventions, you will like this story.

If you can recognize the brilliance of Kate Reading's flawless narration, you will like this story.

Personally I adored it all!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Kind of Enjoyable

Lord Dane is a bitter rake hell who meets his match in the beautiful Lady Jessica Trent. She is an educated spinster whose intellect is every bit a match for his. Her attraction to him is in direct opposition to everything he believes himself to be, and that's the crux of the conflict between them. He does some very nasty things to her, but for some reason she see's through his hateful behavior and self loathing to the man beneath, and uses all of her wits to show him he is worthy of love, and not the monster he believes himself to be.

The plot was clever, particularly in the first half. I loved the Bertie character and found him very funny. Still overall the story always seemed to be just short of romantic for me. Why would any woman find a man with two busty whores on his lap worth her time? He was nasty, insulting and cruel by turns, yet she hung on like a barnacle. Sometimes I just didn't get it. Even when the big showdown occurred, it was hard to believe she didn't make the pig work for it. Animal attraction can only go so far when you're being psychologically tortured by a man. And even after they married, he continued to take out his self hatred on her. I hated that.

The first 2/3's of the story is engaging, though I felt it went distinctly over-board at points along the way and should have ended sooner than it did. Still it was a decent listen and the main characters were interesting if you didn't insist on logic or emotional believability.

The best part about Lord of Scoundrels is the narration by Kate Reading. Any other reader and I probably would have lost interest.



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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love this book

Setting: Paris, France and Devon, England 1828
Genre: Romance

Kate Reading performed this book very well. Her vocal range is good, allowing for excellent differentiation between male and female, and each character has his or her own voice.

Sebastian Ballister, Marquess of Dain is, by his own definition, a big, ugly brute. He knows he's ugly because his mother left when he was 8 years old, and he thinks it was his fault. He thinks that if he had been better, if he had been more lovable, she would not have left him behind. His father was a stern, cold man who offered no affection at all, and essentially abandoned him to school after his mother left. Sebastian has a sort of internal dictionary which helps him define people and events around him. When he meets Jessica Trent, he has to keep editing his dictionary because she is unlike any other female with whom he has associated. Jess is a 27 year old no-nonsense spinster who helped raise her brother and nine sons of cousins, so she knows how to deal with boys of any age. She is a strong willed, intelligent lady. But Sebastian does not like dealing with ladies. One of them had tried to trap him into marriage in the past,mso between that and his mother's abandonment, he has little respect for the species. He would rather deal with casual, purchased women, because they will hang around no matter how ugly he is. Jess sees Sebastian as a big, gorgeous, strong man. She hates that she is attracted to him at such a very animal level, but she can't seem to shake it. The attraction is mutual and, as they try to resist it, they become a spectator sport for the gossips of Society in Paris. Both Sebastian and Jessica have reputations to protect, and their attraction isn't helping.

The humor in this book is just wonderful. You will laugh at both situations and dialogue as you get to know these two, but you'll also feel for them as they work through their issues. There are no instances of gratuitous tear jerking, and the points of view stay mainly with the protagonists. There's also more show than tell in the writing style. I think that this is one of the best romances I've ever read. It could be used as an example for aspiring writers to study.

Definitely worth the credit.

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