Shameless

House of Rohan Series, Book 4

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

A long string of tragic loves haunts Viscount Benedick Francis Alistair Rohan. Cool and cynical, he's weary of life's fickle games and wants a prim and proper wife he can ignore while indulging his sensual appetites.

Lady Melisande Carstairs is nothing less than a tornado storming into Benedick's measured life. Possessed of boundless energy and the soul of a reformer, Melisande always conquers, whether it's saving the souls of soiled doves or seducing the man she's inconveniently fallen for. When she informs Benedick that his brother's newly revived Heavenly Host has graduated from simple carnal debauchery to sadistic violence, he's compelled to investigate, undercover. Under those covers, however, is Melisande herself, playing a dangerous game in the name of justice. And the Heavenly Host has just seen her hand, and more.

Pay another visit to the House of Rohan.

©2011 Anne Kristine Stuart Ohlrogge (P)2011 Tantor

An Enjoyable Book

I enjoyed listening to this book. I loved the giving personality of Melisande and her determination. Benedick's thinking and attitude was not good but understandable because of his background. I like the way previous characters were included in this story. I do not like how the story ends and never know what happened to Brandon and Emma. This book was written sometime ago. Will there ever be another one. I don't like the way the series leaves you hanging. Oh, you find out what happens to the main characters but not the secondary ones.

Second time is a charm

I had listened to Susan's narration once and was sorely disappointed with her performance on that book...I am glad to say she did a far better job with this series...it helps that this was a different kind of series based on generations.....I think the whole summoning the devil and all that was taking it to a different turn but it was a strong enjoyable and entertaining series.

Worth a listen

More tame than the other books. I loved both the leads on this one - very lovable. Book #3 is still my favorite.

Don Quicks-Oat? Really??

If the producer listened to this, the mispronunciation of Don Quixote evidently didn't leap out and slap his ears as it did mine. Glaring errors like that one can distract me for hours from what might otherwise be a fine story.

In this case, the story was a rather weak addition to the Rohan series. The female protagonist isn't terribly interesting, and the Rohan offspring whose attention she draws is not wicked at all, just a bit crude for her taste. He's a rake of course, but seems to be missing the anti-hero gene that made his father and brother irresistible..

"Shameless" has merit because it's an Anne Stuart novel, even if not one of her best. The narration, imperfect throughout the series because of the fake English accent, has by Book 4 become downright annoying.

Love this family.

What made the experience of listening to Shameless the most enjoyable?

I enjoy the Rohan family stories. The Rohan's (both husbands/wives/heroine's) are fabulously fun personalities. I did find myself laughing out loud in a few places.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shameless?

The tiny gun - too funny.

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

She's always pleasant to listen to.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A devilish affair.

Any additional comments?

Not one of the best in the series but definitely a nice escape and fun listen. Looking forward to the next one. Keep them coming Anne.

Least favorite of the series. Still good.

I've enjoyed "The House of Rohan" series. Mild bodice ripper, Regency romances. Anti heros that you can fall in love with. Heroines that are damsel in destress, because of the anti-hero. But strong enough to rescue themselves.

This is my least favorite installment. The heroine was tedious and very difficult to cheer for. Asks the hero for help. Then fights his help every step of the way. The premise of her righteous anger was a simple plot devise: all of the aristocratics-bad. All lower class-victims and good. That simplistic writing is not Anne Stuart's usual fare.

Still. I have enjoyed the series overall.

Getting It On In A Tunnel

Surprisingly this fourth book was a little tamer and returned nearer to what can usually be expected of a regency romance (don't they all have some cult virgin sacrificing?) There’s still the presence of the Heavenly Host, but the main characters force us to view it mainly from an outside/detached perspective. I enjoyed all 11+ hours and have no major complaints. Melisande was a likable character as she was dedicated to a cause and was actively working towards improving society. I was initially concerned that Benedick would live up to the second half of his name, but he underwent the love transformation that I like to see, and he became more and more relatable and interesting as the story progressed. I like how the couple partnered up and worked together to uncover the mystery of the Heavenly Host. Kind of like Good Cop, Hot Cop... In between the steamy lust-fest (and the tunnel bump-and-grind session), there's a couple rather sweet moments. The secondary love story was almost non-existent here, and I wish there had been a little more to it. In the end, I think the main characters worked well together and it was an enjoyable, mostly trauma-free listen!

*no sacrificial virgins were harmed in the writing of this review

Gothic and sexy

This follows the same formula as its predecessors. A beautiful Rohan rake meets stubborn girl with average looks and falls in love. Nicknamed Charity for her good works the widowed Lady Carstairs spends her fortune getting young girls off the streets to be housed and trained for employment under her roof. Associating so closely with the whores and lower class of London has made her a social pariah, but as she has no plans to ever remarry she doesn't care. But her girls start turning up dead at the hands of a mysterious sex cult called the Heavenly Host. To investigate the cult and ultimately save her girls she must enlist the help of Lord Rohan, whose family has old ties with the cult. Benedict Rohan -like his predecessors- sees the naive, feisty girl as a plaything to tease and taunt and agrees to help her. Along the way he loses his heart to her and must fight to save her from the clutches of the evil sex cult.
To my delight no secondary romance!! The best friend DIDN'T fall in love with some random dude after 5 seconds. They built up her character and gave a first interaction with a hint of more to come. She probably has her own book. Finally! Strong female bestie is getting her due respect.
If I had any criticism it would be that the plot focused a little too much on Rohan seducing and not enough on the overarching plot of stopping the evil sex cult. I mean, I don't want to give spoilers, but it was akin to those scary movies where the stupid teenagers take a break running away from the mutant shark/serial killer to make out. Its just frustrating. Like, "REALLY dudes? You're going to do that NOW?! Lives are endangered! Yours included. Time sensitive threats still in play and you're doing that NOW?" I mean I guess the main point of the book is to be sexy. It's just a pet peeve really. I guess I don't buy the premise that a person would feel horny in a situation like that.
I very much liked the characters and it was fun to see other Rohans guest staring as support characters.

Great story

A action packed from the first chapter. Involving the whole crew . I really liked this book.

The end of a wonderful series. Re: Susan Ericksen

I love Anne Stuart's Rohan books. I didn't like the third book as much as the first two, but this one was very good. (Ruthless and Reckless are two of my favorite audiobooks.)

I'm responding here to Susan who complained that the narration was unbearable. Susan Ericksen is one of the most well loved and well respected narrators in Audio Books. She is flawless in every book that she reads. And if she doesn't say Don Quixote quite the same as you do, consider that you are from Georgia.

Ericksen began her auidio career in west Michigan when Brilliance Audio was a start-up company. The amount of work she does to get her characters voice and accents right is amazing. Check out her biography from Audiophile Magazine. She also works hand in hand with BBC productions for their recordings and is renown for her study of accents and ability to do various English accents, depending on the character's location and background.

She has received so many awards it's hard to count.

I write this knowing it may not be read. But I listen to so many audiobooks, that I am shocked when someone goes off on one of the absolute finest female Narrators on audible. Only Rosalyn Landors as widely respected.