Mr. Malcolm's List

By: Suzanne Allain

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor insistent on a wife who meets the strictest of requirements—deserves his comeuppance.

The Honourable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. As the target of matchmaking mothers and desperate debutantes, he's determined to avoid the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who will meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. But after years of searching, he's beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. Until Selina Dalton arrives in town.

Selina, a vicar's daughter of limited means and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend Julia Thistlewaite invites her to London, until she learns it's all part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr. Malcolm. Selina is reluctant to participate in Julia's scheme, especially after meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who appears to be very different from the arrogant scoundrel of Julia's description.

But when Mr. Malcolm begins judging Selina against his unattainable standards, Selina decides that she has some qualifications of her own. And if he is to meet them he must reveal the real man behind...Mr. Malcolm's List.

Silly

The book was silky and lighthearted, good for some moods. What made me rate it so poorly was the narration. The actor didn’t make a difference or even pause slightly between the different characters in the book.

Pleasing Short Book

Somewhat predictable, but delightful nonetheless. It kept my interest and made me smile many times. Well written and even more creatively performed.

Better as a movie ?

I liked the idea of this story, but the authors execution was less than thrilling. It started out good, but got a bit boring towards the middle and end. I Was getting annoyed by the main character Celina, as she lacked any kind of backbone until the very end, and Julia’s character changed too quickly and really without any support for that change, other than a paragraph thrown in randomly, probably due to an editorial suggestion that her about face needed to be explained. I know this is filming as a movie right now and will probably translate better as a film than the novel.

Malcolm was a jerk

The narrator matched the humor and energy of the story but read a littletoo quickly. The book started out very good and then Mr. Malcolm became very dislikable to me. If that was the author's desired effect then it worked. It made me truly angry to listen to him treat Selina that way. Not a great basis for a relationship...

Great fun!

Fun fun fun! The story is such whimsical fun! It's a beautiful romance wrapped in witty dialogue, outrageous schemes, and romps into hilariously amusing escapades! I am considering it one of my favorites of the year!