Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel

Scoundrels of St. James, Book 4

De: Lorraine Heath

Narrado por: Susan Ericksen, Antony Ferguson

On a quest to avenge her sister's death, Eleanor Watkins never expected to fall for the man following her through pleasure gardens and into ballrooms. But soon nothing can keep her from the arms of the sinfully attractive scoundrel, not even the dangerous secrets she keeps. Strong, compassionate, and utterly irresistible, James is all she desires. But can she trust him enough to let herself succumb to all the pleasures that midnight allows?

James Swindler has worked hard to atone for his unsavory past. He is now as at home in London's glittering salons as he is in the roughest streets. But when the inspector is tasked with keeping watch on a mysterious lady suspected of nefarious deeds, he is determined to use his skills at seduction to lure Eleanor into revealing her plans. Instead, he is the one seduced, turning away from everything he holds dear in order to protect her - no matter the cost to his heart.

©2011 Jan Nowasky (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Really good addition to the series! :D

4-4.5 stars

This was a really good story. I liked Eleanor and James and their story was very good with some and unexpected twists that kept me interested until the end.

Eleanor is a young woman with an agenda. Her parents have both died, leaving the family with little money. Eleanor's sister went to London to have a "season" and try to find a husband the year before but returned troubled and later killed herself. When Eleanor found out the reasons for her sister's actions she was determined to make the guilty party pay, even if she has to go to London and make him pay herself.

Swindler is an inspector with the Scotland Yard. This is his dream job because he has a deep passion for seeing justice done. He was orphaned young and grew up in a group of child thieves (growing up with Luke, Jack and Fannie from the first 3 books). Swindler has remained close to his childhood friends to this day. Swindler has had an infatuation with Frannie since they were young and thought when she married Sterling (in book #3) he'd never find a woman for himself.

Eleanor knows the man who was responsible for her sister's plight and when she gets to London she starts following him, looking for info so she can proceed with her plan of revenge. She happens to be following him late at night in an area of town that's not necessarily safe for a lady alone when she's almost accosted by some other men who think they can carry her off for some fun against her will. Swindler was sent to follow the lady by his boss and happens to be close and save Eleanor from being taken against her will. Swindler is following her because Lord she was following got rather freaked out by her following him and asked the Scotland Yard to look in to it. Swindler didn't think she could be a real threat to the Lord but does his job. After saving her, he decides it's easy to keep an eye on her if he plays court on her. He goes to see Eleanor the next day and is rather distressed that his normal reserve has escaped him. He finds that Eleanor affects him greatly and he doesn't want to worry about his case so much as getting closer to her. Regardless of his concerns, Swindler pays court to Eleanor and they end up spending much time together. He's very surprised to find that the more time he spends with Eleanor, the more his previous infatuation with Frannie disappeared until he can only think of Eleanor. Eleanor wants to trust Swindler with what is going on but fears that he'll stop her or report her and she won't be able to do what needs to be done. She grows to care about Swindler a lot though and wishes things didn't have to go the way she's sure they will.

To be honest, there's a rather unexpected twist that comes in to play...a couple twists actually. Something unexpected happens and it brings about other things but I can't really talk about it without revealing a very important twist. Lets just say that things are difficult for the 2 MCs because of their lies in the beginning but that doesn't mean they didn't develope true feelings for each other. I understood Swindler's reasons behind his actions and liked the way he handled things. Eleanor was a very good female lead and I liked the way she was with Swindler and in general. Regardless of their shaky start, I enjoyed seeing them work their way to something together that could last and seeing how the crime drama part of the story played out as well. Overall I thought the story was very interesting and engaging and I loved how it ended and seeing them get their HEA together.

I really enjoyed this story. The MCs were likable on their own and I loved seeing them get together. The story was really good with enough intrigue and suspense to keep things interesting. Overall I really liked this book and I think it's my favorite of the series so far. I'd recommend this story. Thumbs up. :D

Pleasantly surprised

I am enjoying this series. They are light reads but not lacking in quality. The author has done a great job and the reader is so good. If your looking for a light read but nothing too intense these are great. They have all the care and development but remain fairly light and totally enjoyable.

Best of the 4 book series

Plot twists kept you listening to the finish. Thought this book was the best in the 4 book series. Hope Lorraine writes about the last of the Fagan children-Graver.

I just discovered Ms Heath, and now I'm hooked!

What made the experience of listening to Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel the most enjoyable?

I thought this series was very interestingly based on the cast of Oliver! How clever to give it a subtle sense of that story.

Have you listened to any of Susan Ericksen and Antony Ferguson ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Susan Erickson did a good job on the narration.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait to get the next Lorraine Heath audio book. What a great way to take a walk or work in the yard, and still get to hear a great story!

A good mistery with a bit of romance

A very good mistery that outsmarts the listener. The romance story was not that good. No fireworks, no butterflies but still interesting. Very good narration.

I did not see that one coming!

Loved this book. Not your typical bodice ripper. There's a real story, a murder, a mystery to untangle. Without giving away spoilers I will just say I did not see the twists and turns of this story. Loved it. However, I will say that the reader will get much more enjoyment out of it if they read the books in order. All the characters will make much more sense. Two thumbs up!

Loved it

Would you listen to Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel again? Why?

What a great book to spend the weekend with. It is well worth the credit. I love this author.

Wonderful series with fantastic narration!

I have so enjoyed Ms Heath's take on Dickens Oliver Twist! so well written with narration by Susan Erickson! Truly a master of this art. I will read all her books!

Started slow (very slow) but ended GREAT!

This was a very slow to start book. About 1/3 into the story it picked up and was GREAT!
The narration was good as always.
This is not as good as the first story in the Scoundrels but it is still pretty good.

Another good story

I would have trouble deciding which of the four books in this series is my favorite. They were all good stories with enough plots and twists to keep my interest. The performances were great. I really enjoyed the series, and the way each sotry builds on the past stories. I thought they were worth the credits.