Noble Intentions

Noble Series, Book 1

By: Katie MacAlister

Narrated by: Alison Larkin

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Noble Britton suffered greatly at the hands of his first wife, and he refuses to fall into the same trap again. This time he intends to marry a quiet, biddable woman who will not draw attention to herself or cause scandal. Gillian Leigh's honest manner and spontaneous laughter attract him immediately. It matters little that she is accident-prone; he can provide the structure necessary to guide her. But unconventional to the tips of her half-American toes, his new bride turns the tables on him, wreaking havoc on his orderly life. Perpetually one step behind his beguiling spouse, Noble suffers a banged-up head, a black eye, and a broken nose before he realizes Gillian has healed his soul and proven that their union is no heedless tumble, but the swoon of true love.

©2011 Katie MacAlister (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This story is a true romp. There is much to laugh at when listening to this book and much to miss when it is over. A true 'keeper' that will have [listeners] looking forward to the next one in the series." ( RT Book Reviews)

Definitely Entertaining

What did you love best about Noble Intentions?

I laughed out loud!

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

at first i thought her voice was a little too thin for the character but after a very short time i realized it was PERFECT for the heroine.

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

When i wasn't laughing out loud i was smiling.

Needing a good laugh.... Oh my

Would you listen to Noble Intentions again? Why?

There is just something about romantic comedy that puts one in the right frame of mind.

What other book might you compare Noble Intentions to and why?

This book reminded me a little of Mary Balogh’s or Lisa Kleypas’ historical series though this book seem to be more comedic rather than the comic relief you get with Mary or Lisa’s books. The humor is just right and well placed

Which scene was your favorite?

There were many but perhaps the scene where the Husband realizes his wife is meeting with his former "Lady Bugs (mistresses)"

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The moments with Nick (the Earl's son) were very touching. It is not very many women who can open there hearts to their husbands illegitimate children particularly doing this era.

Funny + Witty Make Unusual Romance

I assumed that Katie McAllister make her own signature by creating funny and witty leading female character, that makes her story enjoyable as light romance, especially if you looking for something uncomplicated story to listen at the end of the day. I love the way the narrator bring out the characters so well makes the story much more entertaining.

STUPID!!!!

Wow, truly a stupid book. At first, I thought the story would be flavored with a bit of silliness. Perhaps dome madcap adventures like 70s sitcoms. This was mainly assumed because of the flakiness of the FMC. Unfortunately, the author took ridiculous nativity to an unbelievable level. The content became so absurd, and the FMC so dumb all humor left the tale. Instead, the material began to drag on, beating what might have been an outline of a funny situation into drudgery. I struggled to read past ch 9. I caught myself yelling at the idiot, Shut up and get on with it because there was no story, really. Just a bunch of descriptions of the couples lust fueled moments... they are endless and get old really quick.
EDITING, EDITING EDITING perhaps would have saved it. However, that didn't happen. instead, they picked a narrator who exacerbated the lunacy and made unlikable characters even more disappointing.

Airheaded, inane and uneven

Three strikes and this was out as a book I would recommend.
Mild spoilers follow, but it’s the only way to convey the ludicrousness of this book
and why it was a complete fail.

(1) Airheaded
I forgive a lot in my regency heroine, but Jillian’s level of bimbo is off the charts. Think of over eager puppies or I Dream of Jeannie’s childlike exuberance as she “helps” her astronaut master. Precocious and innocent is one thing; TSTL is another. What is charming about a nonstop chatterbox who constantly says her inner monologue out loud, blithely (and repeatedly) meets with Noble’s sworn enemy, and is all-in on Team Noble by their second meeting?

Then there’s Noble, who wants a bland, biddable wife and marries Jillian after their two interactions where she’s anything but bland and shows zero tendency towards biddable. He’s also gone years without investigating or making any attempt to clear his name for murder. He, too, is obtuse and TSTL.
Is there anything he does throughout the book to show he’s worthy of her love? No, other than giving her plenty of O’s. [The overacted cheesiness of the sex scenes is perhaps a fourth strike]

(2) Inane
This was every silly contrivance of regency romance delivered pell-mell, like a Three Stooges sitcom.
You know the sketch about who’s on first? It’s funny for a few minutes, but annoying the longer it continues. Here, for instance, there’s multiple times when Jillian says things and Noble “hilariously” misunderstands.

Random comedic bits are thrown down for 11 hours. Eleven. Hours. There’s farting, barfing dogs.
Her cluztiness breaking things and causing fires. A manservant with a hooked hand, who talks like a pirate. Triplets on staff. Him being chained naked to a bed and her thinking someone broke his Johnson because it’s flaccid. If you like slapstick, 70s style comedy, the kind that comes with laugh tracks
(Benny Hill, Laugh In), then this might work for you.

(3) Uneven
The Scooby Doo vibe of Jillian as danger-prone Daphne might have been easier to take if the mystery didn’t involve the sexual torture and murder of women, traumatizing a child, and saving the day by snapping a man’s neck. The final third of this book clashes horribly with the bubbly rest.

Ultimately, this wasn’t just juvenile, it was infantile. The childlike, breathy narration for Jillian and unsexy voicing for Noble didn’t help, nor did the sex, torture and murder, all of which have no place in what was otherwise a children’s book.

Ridiculous

This book was nonsensical and the humor was silly. I’ve read books that had me laughing out loud with witty humor and even slapstick scenes but this was definitely not intelligent humor. Most of it was corny and just plain silly. Then to top it off she throws in a very grave subject matter that didn’t fit with the silliness at all. The narrator was competent, I’ve heard much better. However, maybe it was just the book’s content that made the narration not as good as it would’ve been with different material. I will not listen to any more of this authors books.

Narrator detracted from the story

What would have made Noble Intentions better?

I better Narrator, maybe Anne Flosnik could have saved this book. At least I know not to waste my time on purchasing or listening to the rest of the series or anything narrated by Alison Larkin again.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Nora Roberts

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Alison Larkin?

Anne Flosnik

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

save your credit and money

This book was more like a cartoon...

Did Alison Larkin do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narrator was fine.

Any additional comments?

I truly felt like I was listening to a Scooby do comic,

JUST AWFUL!! Not worth the credit!

What would have made Noble Intentions better?

Maybe better narration could've made a mediocre, silly, unintelligent storyline into a passable 11 hours but even that may be a stretch. I'm halfway through and for the first time EVER I'm considering not finishing and getting my credit back. It is that awful.

Would you ever listen to anything by Katie MacAlister again?

doubtful

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Her "american" accent coupled with her attempt to portray Gillian as dopey really comes across like nails on a chalkboard.

Any additional comments?

The dialogue is trite and the humor is unsophisticated and far from amusing. The heroine is insipid, moronic, and silly and there is little to make you want to know her or be anything other than annoyed by her. The story takes various cliches from the historical romance genre and mashes it together in a very unpleasant manner. Does this author think she's amusing or clever? Far from it. I can't for the life of me warm up to any of the characters and I don't care about what happens to them. Really, we've all read the tortured hero who's afraid to love a hundred times - it's nothing new. But Katie MacAlister has failed to give us a reason to care about Noble and his redemption and she has failed to give us a heroine that we can champion. She wants us to believe their love-making is this soulful experience but she has failed to give us the connection necessary to make it believable. I will never again try a new author with so few reviews!!

I l good

I laughed and laughed I could not put it down read it now it will be enjoyable great story!