Desired

De: Nicola Cornick

Narrado por: Polly Lee

Teresa, Dowager Marchioness of Darent, is rumored to have exhausted her four deceased husbands with her insatiable needs. So it’s no surprise that every rake in the ton wants to bed her. If they only knew… through clever marriages to men who would ask nothing of her physical self, Tessa has remained rather innocent in the ways of the bedroom. But now she’s on the verge of losing everything and wants to take care of the stepson she’s grown to adore.

Enter Captain Owen Purchase. The handsome American adventurer has come into the title of Viscount Rothbury. And the rumors surrounding his injuries at sea suggest that he could fit Tessa’s requirements. But little does Tessa realize that the gossipmongers are wrong. She just might lose her heart, and her desires, to the most unlikely of men….

©2011 Nicola Cornick (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Unrealistic!

"Desired" has an interesting beginning as Taresa (Tess) Darent, the Dowager Marchioness of Darent, attempts to elude raiding redcoats searching for radical reformers, by tying a sheet around her waist and slipping out the window of The Temple of Venus Brothel-- into the waiting hands of Owen Purchase, the Viscount Rothbury, who has been sent by the Home Secretary to arrest the reformers.

I began losing interest when Lady Tess's personality did not stay consistent with the bravado of the woman who eluded the Redcoats and tricked Vicount Rothbury to escape. Having the intellect to be the brains behind the reformers, she "didn't think" too many times, when making foolish decisions. Tess acts in ways that don’t make sense. She endangers herself and Owen.

The story does not flow smoothly--sometimes too many unneeded details, other times events seem to be thrown in with no foundation. Although alluded to, I thought more details about Tess’s and Tom Bradshaw’s past would have made the story more interesting.

Polly Lee has a nice voice, but she does not do male voices well. She's a good reader, but not a performer. The narrator did not have the ability to draw me into the story.

Although there were parts of "Desired" I found interesting, the story is not cohesive, so could not hold my interest.

I do not consider it credit worthy.

Entertaining and educational

What did you like best about this story?

Really liked the H and H. Good character development.

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

Thought the narrator was excellent. She sounded like Ashford MacNab who is one of my favorite narrators.

Any additional comments?

Freedom of speech. We have always had it, so it was shocking to really realize how one could actually be hanged for having the audicicasity to draw political cartoons.
Very good story and well done.

Kept me listening but needs a rewrite.

This one was a mixed bag for me. I liked the sweet interplay between the characters, and the romance. But the plot was unnecessarily complicated. The h's back story was compelling and deserved a better plot that didn't include her involvement in politics, and a weird side story of a disgraced friend, etc. There was too much attention taken away from the romance that didn't need to be there, or was just badly handled.

It didn't help that the H's voice, as portrayed by Polly Lee, made him sound a too feminine and sweet, but the dialogue between the H and h was well written. There is a better book in here, but only with some rewritting.

Other than that, I enjoyed it, and I'd give Nicola Cornick another read.

It deserves 3-1/2 stars, but not 4.

Good Story!

This is my second book by Nicola Cornick and I will definitely be reading and listening to more. I like that she has a sub-story playing out in addition to the main story line and this book definitely leaves the sub-story hanging. I can't wait to see how it plays out in the next book --- I sure hope it plays out in the next book.

I like Nicola's characters and the plot. I think she is a very talented story-teller and I wish that more of her books were available through Audible.

Polly Lee did not bring the male voices to life in this particular book. I've listened to her narrate other books and she has done a much better job male voices. I think that since the main male character had an American accent instead of a British accent it through her off a bit. I'll definitely continue to listen to other books narrated by Polly Lee.

Pure romance

What did you love best about Desired?

I haven't read a historical romance in quite some time. This one was a perfect change from my usual fare. Light and romantic with humorous quirks sprinkled in. I really enjoyed it.