Lessons of Desire

By: Madeline Hunter

Narrated by: Jill Tanner

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Madeline Hunter stokes the fires with this sinfully delicious tale of an unjustly imprisoned woman and her savior.

When publisher Phaedra Blair is released from confinement, she has Lord Elliot Rothwell to thank. But she soon learns Rothwell's ulterior motive - to prevent her from publishing a manuscript that would scandalize his family. Yet Phaedra doesn't mind playing Rothwell's erotic games - and she is every bit his match.

©2007 Madeline Hunter (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Endured Only To Hear Elliot and Phaedra's Story

Madeline Hunter is the Best! However, Jill Tanner is not; she has a good regency voice, but not for romance.,,,mysteries or suspense maybe. She honestly sounds like my grandmother reading which did not allow me to thoroughly enjoy the more romantic parts of this work. To begin the series with Susan Duerden (my fav) in "Rules", and then switch to Ms. Tanner in "Lessons", was quite upsetting. At least in "Secrets" Ms. Hunter mercifully employed Simon Prebble, whose voice is a bit too "male" for the female performance, but emphatically more endurable than Ms. Tanner's. I love my grandmother, but I DO NOT want her voice in my head when I am being a bit naughty!!!!!

Not what you may think, but still very good.

A story that has and old time way breaking away the barriers of the Man vs. Women. Both characters are very strong, and sometimes down right erritating to the point that you want to yell at them to "wake up". If you like the 1800's, a lesson in compromise and a great desire for romance - than this one is for you!

Struggling to get through the first half!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narration is cold and haughty. It's difficult to distinguish the characters from the aloofness and unemotional tone of the narration. Mostly I feel like the characters are unlikable.

Would you recommend Lessons of Desire to your friends? Why or why not?

No. I will finish it because I paid for it, but I mostly use the book to fall asleep. Sounds rude, but it is absolutely true.

What didn’t you like about Jill Tanner’s performance?

She is emotionless. Her narration causes the characters to come off as emotionless and unlikable. I cannot cheer for them or even like them. They seem to have no pathos.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. I don't care about the objectives of the characters. The seduction scenes are so cold that I cannot believe that anything meaningful exists between the characters other than calculated manipulation.

Any additional comments?

I will not take another chance on this author or narrator because I cannot tell if the problem is with one, the other, or both.

Yawwwwwn!!

I don’t like submitting negative reviews, yet this story was too long and too boring. I liked Elliot but Phaedra got on my nerves. I also don’t like spoilers. Needless to say, skip this book. You won’t miss much for continuity with the series. This should’ve been a novella. The narrator, Jill Tanner, is one of my favorites. A shame her talent was wasted here.
I’m hoping the next book in the series is a worthwhile listen.

Disheartening until the end

Is life-long commitment without marriage enough historically? Is it today? Do the children of these relationships suffer? Is it right for certain people and their emotional well being? Love, commitment, and marriage are not easy but this story tries to make one believe it is worth the effort.

Great

The story was well done. I love the characters and their complicated lives and ideals. The romance was unusual and intriguing. Meredith writes engaging love scenes that are sensuous and romantic. It was a different type of love story with a satisfying end.

Much Ado About Nothing

Struggled to finish and I usually can't put the author's books down. The narration didn't help. Thumbs down on the story and narration.

Terrible Narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I am not sure what would make it better..but for starters a good narrator. I keep forgetting how awful Jill Tanner is. The men sound like women, so it's like girlfriends talking to each other and there is no difference, so everyone sounds like the same person. Just terrible and not in the least sexy. Especially in this book where there is a "battle of the sexes" , but it sounds so strange when the male dialogue discussing "men" sounds like a girl...very disturbing and does not convey any male/female chemistry.

Has Lessons of Desire turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes

What didn’t you like about Jill Tanner’s performance?

She is just a reader with no thought for the speech patterns or accents for dialogue. She is better at reading a catalogue or user guide. her voice is so devoid of expression it puts you to sleep. that's not good for a romance. It's like she has never had a real emotion in her life.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

good luck, as it was part of the Romance package, so it's like I got it for free, as I just replaced it with a better book. I would only recommend trying it if you have the package.

Any additional comments?

Authors should really be careful about their narrators. A bad narrator like Jill Tanner can destroy the possibility of customers wanting to continue with a series. I would not want to purchase another book if the series if she is reading it. From other reviews I am not saying anything new, but still needs noting. There are other series that I refuse to purchase if Jill Tanner is reading.

Poor Elliot. What a shrew.

I don’t think I’ve ever listened to or read a story with a less likeable heroine.

Outdated Battle of Sexes. Absolutely Ridiculous Situations

Not worth your time. Wish I had read the reviews before downloading.

There’s a very persistent battle of the sexes theme, and it’s done in a very not subtle way. It feels like feminist men vs women battle of the sexes comedy movies from the 70s and 80s. Except it isn’t a comedy. How is it possible that this book was published in 2007?? It gets to a point where you want to say “ok, I get it, can we please add in some character development or fun conversation?” It felt like the book was 50% very not subtle battle of the sexes, 10% regency romance, and 40% ridiculous situations.

Speaking of the ridiculous situations, SPOILER - seriously?? An entire town holds a revolt where they imprison a lady and then to resolve the rioting when the whole town forces a marriage?? Seriously. What. For real?

Also not loving that there’s a recurring theme that if you’re a feminist, you purposefully provoke people and are ostracized everywhere you go. It is possible to believe in feminist values without being obnoxious, and it’s so weird to me that the author decided to portray a supposed figure of female empowerment in a way that made her a social leper at best and accused of being a whore who’ll be imprisoned for life (maybe killed?) at worst.