The Harlot Countess

Wicked Deceptions Series #2

By: Joanna Shupe

Narrated by: Carmen Rose

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Fact: Drawing under a male pseudonym, Maggie is known as Lemarc. Her (his!) favorite object of ridicule: Simon Barrett, earl of Winchester. He's a rising star in Parliament - and a former confidant and love interest of Maggie's who believed a rumor that vexes her to this day.

Fiction: Maggie is the half-Irish harlot who seduced her best friend's husband on the eve of their wedding. She is to be feared and loathed, as she will lift her skirts for anything in breeches. Still crushed by Simon's betrayal, Maggie has no intention of letting the ton crush her as well. In fact Lemarc's cartoons have made Simon a laughingstock... but now it appears that Maggie may have been wrong about what happened years ago and that Simon has been secretly yearning for her since...forever. Could it be that the heart is mightier than the pen and the sword after all?

©2015 Joanna Shupe (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Steady pacing, delightful characters and an ability to build steamy sexual tension make for a lively love story." ( RT Book Reviews)

Great storyline!

First, the narrator is perfect. Some of my favorite authors have ruined their books by permitting bad narrators to read them for Audio books. For example, if you see a book narrated by Jenny Sterlin, do not consider buying it.

But this narrator and the plot were great! Loved it and will be buying the next book in the series as soon as this review is completed!

A bit too long

The misunderstandings got to be a bit much and the length of time before a conclusion was reached was overlong. It could have easily been an hour shorter

Good Book

I love Maggie and Simon. I like how Maggie keep Simon guessing. Can't wait for book 3.

Had to take a star away

Overall, the characters were interesting, the love scenes scorching without being vulgar, and the hero & heroine complex and delightful. The only negative is that the story was unnecessarily long due to the usual drawn out miscommunication between the lovers. It’s cute at the beginning, but super frustrating when one has already gotten through 3/4 of the audiobook. The author is great and the narrator is awesome. I’m glad I didn’t have to use a credit. It was included in the membership. It’s worth listening to again.

My Musings

I am so glad I found this amazing series. I read the first book and had to immediately purchase the second one. The Harlot Countess pulled me into the glittering world of Regency England with the vivid descriptions of the attire and setting.

Maggie, the widowed Lady Hawkins, is an artist known as Lemarc. Her drawings depict members of society in less than favorable light, especially Simon Barrett, the eighth Earl of Winchester, a man who wants to become prime minister someday.

The last thing Simon needs is for his peers to remember his reckless youth, but Lemarc is determined to sabotage his efforts to gain political support for a bill he wants to pass in Parliament, a bill that is near and dear to his heart. Never mind his goals to become prime minister.

When circumstances place him in the path of the woman who broke his heart many years ago, he has to decide whether revenge or love is more important. Can he trust this woman, or should he crush her?

This is a fast-paced, exciting read with great characters, even though, at times, I struggled to like the hero. Ultimately, he is a character I love to hate. He truly fought his feelings to the bitter end, holding onto his firm belief in Maggie’s perfidy. Even when faced with the true, he still wanted to hold onto his resentment. It may sound like I didn’t enjoy Simon, but I truly did. He’s deliciously flawed in the best way.

Maggie is also a flawed character. She is definitely feisty and independent, but while I understand she was deeply hurt when Simon turned his back on her without even giving her a chance to explain what really happened, her grudge against him seemed a bit too over the top. What about the blackguard who caused her ruination? She left him alone until he comes back into her life. Whether I truly fell in love with her character, I found her deliciously complex.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator is fantastic. I will definitely be looking for other books performed by Carmen Rose. She reads with a great deal of passion without becoming too dramatic, and she does an outstanding job on the male voices. She is a true delight to listen to.

If you like a romance with plenty of angst and passion, then you will enjoy The Harlot Countess as much as I did. This is a great series, so glad I found it. Happy reading!

Good Story. Entertaining and Enjoyable.

This was another good story by Joanna Shupe. I liked Maggie the heroine, she was so snubbed by the ton at her debut but years later she overcame it and became a very strong, smart, beautiful character. Simon was great too, handsome, smart, strong and a rich Earl. The chemistry between them was good, the sex was good. There was less sex in this book than the last book by far. But it was still hot and steamy and well written.

I liked the story line and plot. It was good, easy to follow along with a bit of villainy thrown in.
There is lots and lots of dialogue through out the entire book. Love lots of dialogue and it was good too.

The characters were well developed and the characters from the previous book make an appearance. There was not a lot of angst or misunderstandings, just a little so that was a bonus for sure. But things get cleared up quickly, since there is dialogue and the actually communicate and don't just read each others expressions and assume a bunch of BS. LOL

As for the narration. I was okay, better than some. I say Carmen Rose definately needs to work on her male voices sounding so high pitched and the reading voice is still a bit robotic but that does seem to be getting better. She does throw in emotion by could work on that too a little. She is not the best but not the worst I have listened too.

So far I have enjoyed these first two books and will be starting on the last one in this series. They are very enjoyable.

I wish there were more Joanna Shupe audios

This book #2 in the series is awesome. Well worth the credit. Joanna Shupe knows what women like and gives it in the romance dept. I only wish she had more books out on audible. This story captivated you as much as the first book. The romance is hot and sensual but done romantically not trashy like so many books out there. Really worth the time. Now on to book #3 by Joanna Shupe. She’s great!!!!!!!

Very good.

Enjoyable, with romance, deception, angst and a little mystery. I think this will continue. At the risk of not spoiling the story. all wasn't cleared up.😱 Give it an honest try.

A Surprising 4.5

I enjoyed this book. It was one of the better offerings from the Audible Plus catalog and free with my membership. The story was well-paced and the plot kept my interest. The Harlot Countess was based on one of my favorite tropes- “second chance love“/“carrying a flame for him/her“
The h and H were estranged due to a “big misunderstanding.” Normally, I find that a turn off, but in this case, the misunderstanding was resolved well before the end of the book, which allowed the h and H to face and overcome other challenges together.
The main characters were interesting and well developed. They were what I would call “mature“ characters, meaning that they had some depth and complexity unlike the cardboard characters one sometimes finds in this type of novel.
One of the other reviewers commented on the amount of sex in this book. It’s true there was a little more than usual amount of steam in this HR but I didn’t consider it gratuitous. I felt that the sex furthered the plot by reflecting the intensity of the characters feelings for each other when they were weren’t able to express them in words.
Still, if you are someone who prefers “clean” romances, or gets impatient with long sex scenes, this might not be the story for you.

Just a good read

A little long. Read hoping the end would give the readers a worth while ending and was disappointed. Over all though it was good.