• Not Quite a Lady

  • Carsington Brothers Series
  • By: Loretta Chase
  • Narrated by: Kate Reading
  • Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (801 ratings)

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Not Quite a Lady  By  cover art

Not Quite a Lady

By: Loretta Chase
Narrated by: Kate Reading
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Publisher's summary

Darius Carsington is a spectacularly attractive rake, who's all brains and brawn...and no heart; a man who's equally expert at bedding loose-moraled women and writing scholarly papers. He finds society's "perfect darlings" exceedingly boring. Then why is he so intrigued by the supposedly faultless Lady Charlotte Hayward? Darius senses a crack under her polished surface - and finding it is a challenge he can't resist. Lady Charlotte is so beautiful, charming, and gracious that no one has noticed how expert she's been at not getting married. Early on, she learned a painful lesson about trust...and temptation. In the years since, she's devoted her life to being all she should be, and she's not about to let a man like Carsington entice her into doing everything she shouldn't. But the demands of the heart can easily overpower the rules of manners and morals. And sometimes, even the best-behaved lady must follow her instincts, even if it means risking it all.

©2007 Loretta Chekani (P)2016 Loretta Chekani

What listeners say about Not Quite a Lady

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting story with wonderful characters

Kate Reading is AMAZING! (now that the obvious is out of the way :o)

Loretta Chase is a character writer - more to the point - a character interaction / dialogue writer. She can have (but usually doesn't) a lack luster story but her characters interactions and dialogue make the whole book wonderful.

This book had a little different story - not the typical girl looking for a man - falls in love with a rake. This is more girl is NOT looking for a man - falls for a rake - but has a secret that could ruin her family name. Okay the rake in this situation is the youngest Carsington brother - Darius. He is hard NOT to fall for. He's good looking (& knows it), charismatic (and knows it), and Oh those hands! Plus he takes a young unwanted boy who under his wing which makes him irresistible.

Charlotte is a great character and I absolutely love the interaction between her and Darius. I loved this book and it is definitely worth a credit!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loretta Chase never disappoints

This is not my favorite work by LC but it is a REALLY good book addressing illegitimacy in the early 1800's among the female nobility. The story is also about the fourth son winning the heart of one of the most beautiful ladies of her time. Lady Charlotte is not just beautiful, however. She is loved by everyone and is sweet natured, caring, loving and very clever.
The hero grows more and more on you as the story continues since initially, personality wise, he does not have much to offer. He actually becomes very likable and nobel by the end of the book and manages to change the direction of his life almost entirely. A lovely story. Well worth the credit.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Kate Reading: perfect narrator for Loretta Chase

4.5 stars because there are a few plot holes, but really, it's Loretta Chase so how bad could it be?

I am blessed with a poor memory. I say "blessed" because this means that I can read a book for a second time and not remember what's going to happen next. Saves me a lot of money on buying new books.

Anyway, I read Not Quite a Lady three years ago and gave it four stars. Kate Reading's narration was, as usual, spot on, so I bumped up my rating a bit. Truly, Kate Reading is the perfect narrator for Loretta Chase's books. She handles Chase's trademark rapid-fire banter perfectly.

In a couple of years, I no doubt will listen again and enjoy it just as much as the first time.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Witty dialogue had me laughing throughout

I really enjoyed the dialogue between the hero and heroine. It was witty with innuendo and verbal fun combat. You could see the characters really liked each other.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

He accepts her past in the present...

Our couple helped each other overcome their challenges. His challenges - not knowing love for women (only physical relationships) and a father that thought little of him. Her challenges - the secret that had a child in her teens and refusing to get involved with to avoid the pain of love. They a drawn to each other and begin to trust and share.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Could be so much better.

Well, this was a book I brought on the recommendations of some other listeners. I was a little disappointed by what I heard. First, the narrator is not very good with voices. She never seemed to put her whole self into the words, so she never came across as if she connected with the character she happened to be reading. I could never really get into the story or the feelings of the characters because she was so off.

The story could have been so much better if there has really been a story. Just seemed to me to be thrown together just to publish. It didn't have enough of a bite for my taste. There were also some issues that never seemed to be solved, like, how did the retired officer find out about Lady Charlotte having a son out of wedlock? Why did he try to send the child away in such an under-handed manner even after she said no to his proposal? I ask that question because I never felt that he was truly in love with her.

Anyway, the story just never resonated with me, and I felt very let down after this listen. I have other books by Loretta Chase, but this one I wish I had passed on.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loretta Chase is a genius

This is now one of my favorites! Loretta Chase is a genius.

I liked everything about this. The lead characters are wonderful. Pip is a cutie. The story is quite interesting and the narration is superb. Nothing wrong with this one.

Bring on the next in the series!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A disreputable Lady

I love this book. The more I read Loretta Chase- the more I enjoy her books.
I could not stop listening except for sleep and such.
Being a fallen lady in secret, I felt with our heroine with all her inner turmoil over her past. I think everyone can understand having regrets about the past. Our hero was supposedly heartless, but he was just to intellectual for most characters. His intellect allowed him to be very modern in his thinking about our heroine's past.
The narration was great.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book and perfect naration

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

Her reading is always so beautiful. She has the range to do male characters well without trying to force her voice into strange, harsh intonation. I'd listen to her read the phone book.

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

Oh...I'm not much of a cry-er at books, but there was a scene toward the end that just about brought me to tears!! Not going to spoil it.

Any additional comments?

This story is just lovely - unconventional and compelling. The antagonist is interesting. I mean, I HATE HIM, but Chase also makes his motives and actions understandable.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Modern Shakespeare

Love her humor love the performance she does not follow the routine predictable Romance. I will keep reading her forever. Thank you for the laughs!!

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2 people found this helpful