The Luckiest Lady in London

By: Sherry Thomas

Narrated by: Corrie James

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Felix Rivendale, the Marquess of Wrenworth, is The Ideal Gentleman, a man all men want to be and all women want to possess. Even Felix himself almost believes this golden image. But underneath is a damaged soul soothed only by public adulation.

Louisa Cantwell needs to marry well to support her sisters. She does not, however, want Lord Wrenworth - though he seems inexplicably interested in her. She mistrusts his outward perfection, and the praise he garners everywhere he goes.

Still, when he is the only man to propose at the end of the London season, she reluctantly accepts.

Louisa does not understand her husband's mysterious purposes, but she cannot deny the pleasure her body takes in his touch. Nor can she deny the pull this magnetic man exerts upon her. But does she dare to fall in love with a man so full of dark secrets, any one of which could devastate her, if she were to get any closer?

©2013 Sherry Thomas (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Thomas's characters are intelligent and multidimensional, and each scene is expertly crafted and rich in details." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

Disappointed

I did struggle with this Sherry Thomas novel. Others she has written were much finer tuned to the romance. I really disliked the mediocre efforts of the author to make a mountain out of a molehill. Louisa gave up on Felix for some ridiculous reason and the rest of the story was just slooowww. Louisa was a drag. The sex was thrown in to keep the reader hoping for a redeeming moment. I did enjoy the references to astronomy and math however.

Complicated angst and love

Five lucky stars to this clever reworking of the gorgeous, perfect man marrying the impecunious, plain girl. And then falling in love.

Lovely story, extremely well-written

This is my first Sherry Thomas story, and it sent me to the web searching for more, It is so well-written with interesting dialogue, fully fleshed-out characters and a plot that has twists and turns that are psychologically motivated and completely believable. Felix Rivendell is the perfect gentleman, but his difficult upbringing leads to dark motives in his otherwise perfect demeanor. Rebecca Cantwell needs to marry, and she seems to be the last person a suitor like Felix would seek. But he sees in her the complement to his own dark personality, and because she distrusts him, he mistakenly believes she understands his dark side. Despite incredible and incandescent sexual chemistry, it turns out his motivations are not clear to her, and he must prove his love in a way that makes her trust him. How he does that makes him a thoroughly lovable hero and the story a delightful listen.

Excellent romance

What did you love best about The Luckiest Lady in London?

The way the characters understood each other. Neither was what they appeared to be and they were the only ones who recognized it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Louisa because she was the epitome of a plucky heroine.

Which character – as performed by Corrie James – was your favorite?

She performed all the characters flawlessly.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, then I wanted to start all over.

Surprisingly Fresh

I have read many romance novels, but I was pleasantly surprised by the candor at the beginning of this book. I wouldn't say that I couldn't see what was coming next, but I appreciated no false drama. I also appreciated a strong heroine and hero. The author did a good job of developing the characters.

Jane Eyre meets Horny Hilda

This book has the press and disconnection of Jane Eyre saddled with the wanton desire of soft porn writing. Wouldn't call it a romance novel, but yet it had its moments of romantic tension. Good listen, but I hadn't been watching the timer and was stunned when it suddenly ended. I would have enjoyed some happily ever after.

Fairly Good

Although the spicy bits could have more lurid detail. A very interesting tale of a tightly laced rake. And the woman who tames him.

Great Narrator & Good Story...

I almost didn't listen to this Sherry Thomas because of poor reviews, but since I've enjoyed so many of her other books, I decided to go ahead. I can only say I'm very, very glad I did! Ms. Thomas employs psychology in the development of her characters that plays out in ways true to the study of human behavior - this is one of the aspects of her writing that I enjoy the most, and I was not disappointed here.

If this is your first Sherry Thomas, you need to know: 1) these characters are more psychologically complex than possibly any of her others... there is a definite "darker" motif and less classic morality in them, and 2) there is more focus on sexuality in this novel than her others.

But if you think you can handle that, this book was excellent... and it was a pleasure to listen to a novel with characters who are allowed to be who they actually are: complex individuals, struggling (as humans do) with the morally complex issues of life.

Wonderful Historical Romance

I really enjoyed this book. It is a delightful story about trust, image and finding love. The characters are exceptionally portrayed as intelligent, realistic people.
Felix, Lord Wrenworth is the Ideal Gentleman in London, mothers wanted their daughters to marry him and gentleman wanted to be like him. It is unfortunate that it was just a façade he created to hide the truth. He feels like a fraud thinking he is as unworthy as his parents treated him.
Louisa Cantwell is from a poor family, she is looking for a husband that will not only care for her but also her family, she is worried that some of her four sisters may not make marriage matches. At her first ball she meets Lord Wrenworth and immediately senses things are not what they seem. She detects dislike from him and knows he see through her charade. What she does not know is why after that evening he continues to seek her out. To help matters, her sponsor, Lady Balfour continues to make sure they meet at various places – accidentally of course.
When he first suggests his plan, making her his mistress, she knows he is no Ideal Gentleman and quickly says no, but when he is about to wear her down he does the unthinkable and proposes marriage. Although she now has what she wants, she now wants so much more from him.
This is a wonderful story about falling in love. I so enjoyed Louisa, she is smart and knows what she needs to do in life, not only to survive but also take care of her family, yet when she reaches her goal, she wants and deserves so much more. I also like how the author portrays her as a woman that knows her sexuality and lets Felix know, there are some very interesting conversations that take place. The two of them together are amazing, and the chemistry between them sizzles. The problems start with trust and getting past the illusion Felix has created about himself, The Ideal Gentleman, a man that is perfect in every way. I like that they both could see through their charades as soon as they met, he knew she was looking for a wealthy man and she knew he was not as perfect as he portrayed.
The plot progression is good but you should realize there is no big drama or action that takes place, just the angst of two people struggling with getting to know each other, trusting enough to let the other in and getting through the emotional pain from past and present. The relationship grows slowly with a few emotional bumps in the road to make things interesting. She does not trust he will never get tired of her and he does not believe she will love the real Felix. However their connection progresses and I especially enjoyed that they shared a love of math and astronomy which brings them together. The transformation of their relationship is so engaging as we watch them both changed in the end.

Corrie James was good with the delivery of the story

Really good

I liked that there was a lot involved in them falling in love. There were interactions. There wasn’t a typical storyline of someone trying to kill someone which gets boring. This story was about them. Parts made my heart ache. A couple things that annoyed me was that she got mad at him for something so minor yet wasn’t mad hardly at all or long enough for something really cruel he had done early in the marriage. Also, the love scenes could have been more detailed and steamy.