Sometimes a Rogue

Lost Lords, Book 5

By: Mary Jo Putney

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Sometimes...

Even the most proper young lady yearns for adventure. But when the very well bred Miss Sarah Clarke-Townsend impulsively takes the place of her pregnant twin, it puts her own life at risk. If the kidnappers after her sister discover they've abducted Sarah instead, she will surely pay with her life....

A rogue...

Rob Carmichael survived his disastrous family by turning his back on his heritage and becoming a formidable Bow Street Runner with a talent for rescuing damsels in distress. But Sarah is one damsel who is equal to whatever comes. Whether racing across Ireland with her roguish rescuer or throwing herself into his arms, she challenges Rob at every turn.

©2013 Mary Jo Putney (P)2014 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Exquisitely and sensitively written." ( Library Journal)

"Intoxicating and not-to-be missed." (Romantic Times)

Good

It wasn’t as good as her other books but it was still good. It was very interesting how she brought characters from previous books to the helpers and villains in this one. It was very cool to “see” old friends.

Enjoyable listen

Good balance of adventure, romance and depth. The narrator was pleasing to to listen to and added emotion to the story

Rob reconciled

Borrowed through my Audible Plus membership.
Putney is one of my favorite early historical romance writers and is good at adding suspense.
Rob Carmichael tracks Sarah Clarke-Townsend into Ireland when she was kidnapped by rebels who were targeting her sister Mariah, the Duchess. He frees her and they dodge rebels and storms only to be tossed up on the beach by his family home. To his major consternation, Rob finds out he’s the new Earl. His brother died of a riding accident after Rob started the hunt for Sarah, and his father died only months before.
Sarah helps Rob deal with his grandmother, a thieving manager, the castle, the estate, his finances, and the daughter he never knew about. As soon as Sarah’s family receives word, they all travel to join Sarah and Rob. After going back and forth they decide to marry and family stays to help prepare and party.
The humor in some events and dialogue made this story for me. For those needing suspense, those pesky rebels manage to turn up again. The surprise is surely who is behind those rebels.
I was disappointed in Crossley’s narration as he kept giving Ash some weird sort of half Indian accent, and goofed up some other character voices.

She is as roguish as he is!

He is a Bow Street Runner, in the right place at the right time.
She is a twin sister, willing to place herself in danger, to prevent her sister and unborn child being taken by kidnappers.
They come together, after a flight across England and Ireland. Working together, to elude the rogues intent on mayhem and possible murder.
Yes, another romance, with drama and adventure at its core.
A rather good read, or if listening to the audiobooks, a rather engaging tale, with the narrator's vocalizations characters adding further dimension to the overall experience.

Slow

The plot sounded so good in theory, but this was lamentably boring and slow paced. With an hour left to finish I found myself falling asleep every time I attempted to listen.

Mary Jo Putney has a number of great books, but this one falls a bit short, imo. There is nothing particularly “wrong” with the writing, but aside from kidnapping scoundrels (who play a minor part) conflict is minimal and the things that contrive to keep the couple apart are overly simplistic and easily overcome. It seems that this story simply goes on and on with nothing of any importance really happening. In all honesty, it would have been far more interesting to read about Rob and his teenage love affair which resulted in him having a child out of wedlock. It’s a shame the author killed off his first love. She was a far more interesting character.

The narrator, too, is an unfortunate choice. His voice choices make every character sound very unattractive, both physically and in temperament.