Passions of a Wicked Earl

By: Lorraine Heath

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Known throughout for his prowess in the bedroom, Morgan Lyons, the eighth Earl of Westcliffe, cannot forgive an unpardonable affront to his honor. Discovering his young bride in the arms of his brother was a staggering blow - so he banished the beautiful deceiver to the country and devoted himself to the pursuit of carnal pleasure.

Claire Lyons was an innocent, frightened girl on her wedding day, seeking chaste comfort from a childhood friend. Now, years later, she has blossomed magnificently and has returned to London with one goal in mind: the seduction of her notorious husband. Unskilled in the sensual arts, she burns nonetheless for the kisses too long denied her. And she has but one Season to win back the heart of the rogue she betrayed.

They are masters of seduction, London's greatest lovers. Living for pleasure, they will give their hearts to no one... until love takes them by surprise.

©2010, 2011 Jan Nowasky (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

"Plenty of... twists and turns appear en route to the passionate conclusion. Complex, emotional romance and a hint of mystery complete this tale, which will have readers eagerly anticipating the next installment." ( Publishers Weekly)

loved this book

Would you listen to Passions of a Wicked Earl again? Why?

This is the first book I have read by this author and would deffinitely read more. Great regency romance.

Great book

I would recommend this book if your looking for a great love story. Great book

Wonderful start to a great series

Westcilffe is a bit hard to like in the beginning of this book. He doesn't have very many redeemable qualities....until he lets Claire into his heart. They have a beautiful romance. Plenty of steamy love scenes and some heart wrenching serious moments. Heath always adds some dark or troubled elements to her stories. This is no exception, but "IT" (because I don't want to spoil anything) isn't superficial - "IT" has a place to make the story better.

BUT!!!! Oh Westcliffe has a real problem letting his wife explain anything and he has some major trust issues! (which are understandable - but annoying)

This story will make you laugh, smile, cry, scream - but after the halfway point - you will not want to stop listening for any reason!

I gave it only 3 stars because the story took a little too long to really draw me in...but once it did - I was hooked!

The Dutchess and Leo are GREAT supporting characters. They play a role through all three books. The Dutchess's relationship with each of her sons weaves its way into each son's story as well.

Don't miss this series. Book 2 is a 4 star by the way!

Surprising End, Emotional love story

Another stoic Englishman who never has felt loved and claims he is incapable of love. BUT turned out to be a great, at times tense, at times sad, but wonderful love story. The last 2-3 hours were packed with unexpected twists tying all threads together. Another great book from this author who now ranks in my rope 5 of authors.

Can't Get Enough

The fantastic combination of Lorraine Heath writing and Anne Flosnik narrating is guaranteed to be good.

This story is a perfect example. My only complaint is that the antagonist might have been developed a little more to build suspense.


That aside, great love story. Great listen!!

As a narrator, Anne Flosnik grows on you - at least she has grown on me. I recall sometime ago complaining about her narration, but after a number of excellent performances, I'm sold on her.

LOVELY LITTLE STORY

Would you listen to Passions of a Wicked Earl again? Why?

Yes, because I love stories like this. Always get caught up with them.

What other book might you compare Passions of a Wicked Earl to and why?

Did not hear much yet so can't compare it.

Have you listened to any of Anne Flosnik’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I love her way of reading.

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

Yes when she lost the child.

Meh - Could be better

Would you try another book from Lorraine Heath and/or Anne Flosnik?

I'll continue listening to books by Lorraine Heath, though hopefully not with Anne Flosnik as narrator. I am not at all a fan of Ms. Flosnik's reading style, finding it overly-dramatic and rather staccato.

Would you recommend Passions of a Wicked Earl to your friends? Why or why not?

This was neither the best nor the worst of Lorraine Heath's works. I did not find the hero very likable until near the end, the 'misunderstanding' at the beginning of the relationship seemed very far-fetched and highly contrived, and the heroine was very girlish and dramatic. I also found the blatant adultery of the 'hero' hard to overlook. He did redeem himself somewhat near the end though, acting selflessly in an effort to ensure her happiness, which salvaged the story a bit for me.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Anne Flosnik has several bad narrating habits that detracted from my enjoyment of the book. For instance, she tends to draaaaaw out the last word in a sentence if she's trying to make it seem dramatic - which lends itself more to melodrama than drama. She also needs to relax some. Her diction is so PAINFULLY precise and staccato that it's more like being bludgeoned with words than being read to. Her female characters tend to sound either uptight or feather-headed and her males come across as very gruff.

Disappointed

It started off badly with the poor narration. The readers voices did not distinguished the characters and was done poorly. The story line was disappointing and lack realism. I've already bought the other 2 books since Lorraine usually does a good job. Hopefully, they are better than this.

Probably should read not listen to this one

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Although the story was good, the narrator's voice almost made me stop listening within the first 5 minutes. I won't be listening to the second book in the series just because of her narration.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The male and female lead were good characters but the sister was as irritating as the narrator.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anne Flosnik?

Susan Erickson is the best!!!

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

A little light for a movie.

So much better than the Audible reviews

It was such a surprise to read the book and find it so wonderfully entertaining. I always look at amazon reviewer’s feedback prior to purchasing because they are not influenced by the narrator’s performance. As we all know a narrator can really make a book or ruin it for all. When I saw the high ratings, I decided to give the book a shot. I very much enjoyed the story and liked the push and pull between the hero and heroine. The story was completely believable and although I am not a huge fan of Ann Flosnik, I though her performance was okay. The book does not contain complicated characters or a clever plot, especially since I guessed who was behind all the mystery prior to the unveiling, but overall I still enjoyed the story very much, enough to finish it all in one day.