The Unlikely Lady

Playful Brides, Book 3

By: Valerie Bowman

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Certain that no man wants a bluestocking for a wife, Miss Jane Lowndes is careful to wield her books and her spectacles as weapons against matrimony. Convincing her ambitious mama that she's content to stay a spinster is easier said than done, however. It's a good thing that Jane is not above a bit of manufactured scandal if it will keep her from the altar and the argumentative, contrary Lord Garrett Upton....

With the war over, Garrett is determined to enjoy his bachelor's life while he can, even when it means attending a celebration of a friend's wedding - and suffering Jane's notorious disdain. But when a masquerade ball leads to a mistaken kiss, he's surprised to learn that Jane's bookish exterior hides a truly passionate soul. When two very headstrong people are determined to remain unattached, can love lead to a happy ending?

Contains mature themes.

©2015 June Third Enterprises LLC (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Bowman keeps her prose and characters fresh and interesting; her book is an entertaining renewal of a classic plotline and well worth reading." ( Kirkus)

Hooray for bluestockings!

I love bluestockings! This was quite entertaining with good characters. Much better than the preceding book.

Isabella is a wonderful villain.

Narration was good. Justine Eyre can be a bit "breathy" but, overall, does a good job.

Enjoyable story.

This was an enjoyable story. I really liked Jane. She was smart, witty, sarcastic and funny. I liked Garrett too. He was handsome and mysterious. They had some good chemistry that was real and genuine. There was also a very nicely written sex scene.

The story line and plot was pretty good. There was some fun antics done by Lucy and crew that made you LOL. There was a couple surprises you didn't see coming and a lot of fun moments.

I am bummed that the first two books in this series are narrated by someone else that I cannot stand to listen too, and believe she should only ever narrate childrens books. So I listen to them. Sigh....

As far as the narration, Justine Eyre did a good job. She does a pretty good job on the male voices, and her reading voice is nice. I can listen to her and enjoy the story.

Amusing

I found the story amusing although a bit predictable but enjoyable nevertheless. The narrator is a tad slow but not bad. All you really need to do is to get the speed on 1.25 and it will be fine ..

A perfect 3rd installment!

I really liked this book... it didn't need to be so long... not by half. Yet the time literally flew by. This works well as a stand alone novel but I highly recommend you listen to the series in order... (Each book gives away the one before!)

The characters aren't all fluff, the heroine is flawed in her own way and the hero has much to work out on his own. All the characters have distinct personalities which are easy to get to know... kind of like making friends. There is humor and heartache and many facets to spark and shine.

Dare I hope to see Daphne's story arrive to audible soon? I have much enjoyed the three to date. Altho' I hope they choose another narrator.

NARRATOR : Justine Eyre is not one of my favorites. Her style of delivery makes getting going with the listen a little rough until I stopped hearing her and just heard the story. Quite often I noticed the male voices.... they just seem much older than they are. All in all not bad, just not one I rush to listen to. I often choose one with a different narrator first... depending on whose work is available. (I have almost all the historical romances other than early american) I see many a review saying this narrator ruined a otherwise good book. I personally don't feel that strongly.

CREDITWORTHY? : yes... BUT listen to the sample to hear the narrator first.

HEAT FACTOR: Slightly steamy.... appropriate to the story, not graphic, but still quite 'warm'.

Love hate friendship

Jane was a bit on the intelligent side of life. She was a wallflower with strong friends and a bit of a competitive streak. She had a on going thing with Lord Garrett Upton. Garrett was the one man that could push her buttons every time he came in the room. For years they had this little game going. Was it really over the play Much a Do about Nothing or something more.

I loved watching Jane become more than the books she carried. I in turned loved watching as Garrett became the man that I thought he was from the first book of the series. It was enjoyable. He was a man that was scarred by one event and was set to pay for it for the last ten years. There was someone willing to take advantage of his misfortune.

Watching these two come together and then they realize the threads holding them tight was just so fun. Jane does have backbone.

Justine Eyre will always be my go to for the narration of historical romance. She brings so much life and joy to the characters and its almost like watching the play before my eyes. She nails the accents, diction, clarity of gender and rich full character identities.