Seduction & Scandal

De: Charlotte Featherstone

Narrado por: Helen Stern

With the scandalous nature of her birth to live down, Isabella Fairmont dreams of a proper marriage—even if a passionless one. She saves her deepest desires for the novel she dares to pen, wherein a handsome lord with dark powers seduces her. But then her courtship with an appropriate suitor is threatened by the sudden attentions of the reclusive Earl of Black… whose pale blue eyes and brooding sensuality are exactly as she described in her book.

Isabella tries to resist the mysterious Earl. Yet as he pursues her, with inexplicable knowledge of her past and kisses that consume her, Isabella fears she will succumb.

If only the earl could tell Isabella the truth. With very real, and treacherous, thieves endangering her life, Black will need to protect Isabella from the very people she trusts the most.

©2011 Charlotte Featherstone (P)2011 Harlequin Enterprises

Pretty good

Overall this book was pretty good but I also think the narrator makes a huge difference. This narrator wasn’t my favorite compared to others I’ve listened to. She needed to have better accents and voices for the separate characters.

Interesting Novel

Seduction & Scandal is the first book in this series. It's not as good as the second one, but is still pretty good. If you are listening to the beginning of this novel and think to yourself, "Wow, this is really weird," don't worry about it. That's just the intro, and is explained pretty quickly. There is a piece of jewelry that plays a really important role in this story--sort of like a romanticized Lord of the Rings. There is a paranormal aspect to this series that initially comes off as strange. Nonetheless, the story of Isabella and Lord Black is an intriguing one. They both wrestle with their past and finding a way to not let that past get in the way of their relationship.

Good introduction to the Brethren Guardians

Read from July 19, 2012 to July 30, 2012 and from June 11, 2013 to June 19, 2013

4.25 stars

While Featherstone needs a better editor to eliminate repetitive words/phrases as well as those that don't quite make sense, she's an excellent storyteller, and this was a fabulous introduction to her--and to the world of the Brethren Guardians. Such a good introduction, in fact, that I immediately downloaded the second book!

June 2013: Re-Listen Update
I enjoyed this book almost as much the second time around as the first. Featherstone's need for a better editor was much more noticeable this time around, but at least this time her tendency to repeat a word multiple times in a sentence/paragraph amused rather than annoyed me. Narrator Helen Stern is fantastic, especially giving different accents and tones to help differentiate the characters. Overall, still a 4 star book for the second time around.

Complex story is an unexpected gem

The description for this book does not tell of how much there really is going on in this story. The complex mystery makes this much more interesting than the standard regency romance. Murder, ghosts, Knights Templar and more bring these characters’ world to life.

This book is the first in a trilogy and although able to stand on it’s own, the story of the Templars crosses through all three.

Great read

This book is definately worth your time and credit. The tone is dark and the Earl of Black is awesome. It is not a predictable plot like many "romance" stories. Nothing less that I have come to expect from Carlotte Featherstone. The narrater did a great job by keeping all the voices deistinct and not mauling the male voices.

Great new series

Where does Seduction & Scandal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 5

What did you like best about this story?

The Mystery of the artifacts

What about Helen Stern’s performance did you like?

Really like her narration. she has a great voice.

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

When Lord Black admits to Isabelle, that he has known her for longer then she thought

Any additional comments?

Great 1st book, I'm on to the second , and it is also very good, can't wait fro part 3.

Hot & steamy with suspense!

Where does Seduction & Scandal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Pretty high up there. I really enjoyed this book and the narrator was fantastic. This was my first Charlotte Featherstone book and I can't wait to listen to the next book in this series.

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

This is my first listen to Helen Stern and I'll definitely be listening to more books read by her.

Repetition Not Always Entertaining...

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Frustrated with "Death"...

Any additional comments?

I found this audio to be somewhat confusing. The narrators voice wasn't very distinctive going from character to character, male to female, except for the Welsh character. On top of that, it wasn't always clear when the scene was reality or a dream. The whole repetition of the "Death" theme throughout the book became so tedious I found myself rolling my eyes and saying here we go again over and over and over... ugh! I read the second book first, not realizing this is a series, since Audible did not indicate it, and found it to be exceptional. Overall I'm glad I listened to this one and was worth the credit only to help understand the characters and story in more detail as setup for the remaining books.

Hot Air

It could have been good. It was annoying though, simply because it focused on a book she was writing and not this book. Plus, there is a great deal of people talking about sex, but no one actually having it. Yawn. Also, if she said the word passion again I would have liked to the other 400 times she said it.

Greatly enjoyed!

First read from author and she left me quite impressed! I'm looking forward to more from her starting with the next in this series.

Performance was as well wonderful!

This is reminiscent of one of my favorite authors in my youth, Victoria Holt, but the adult content Ms. Holt did not include in her books. It has a pseudo Gothic Victorian vibe which I adore. This had everything except humor, which is just about the only thing that could have possibly made this read even better.

Ms. Featherstone did an exceptional job of weaving an engaging tale with mystery, likable characters, plot and rare to find incredibly executed deliciously sensual eroticism that burns to a boil throughout the book. She managed what most authors cannot in this day and age because mostly come across raunchy and crass. I highly recommend this book, narrator and author!