A Dangerous Beauty

By: Sophia Nash

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by the removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. (The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce)

A Courageous Outcast...

Rosamunde Baird has lost everything and has no choice but to accept an invitation to spend a season with a dowager duchess and her clandestine ladies' club. Determined to stay in the shadows and live quietly, she has sworn never again to come face-to-face with adventure and temptation, two things that brought her ruin years ago. But then the duke of Helston dangles before her the very things she craves most....

Lord Fire and Ice....

Mysterious Luc St. Aubyn has a much-deserved reputation for exuding blistering passion at night and frost the morning after. What demons drive this audacious war hero to hide secrets about the dowager's club and his devilish dictionary? When he's blindsided by his reactions to a virtuous siren, he has no choice but to reveal all during a scandal that will doom them...or save them, if only they dare to believe in love.

©2007 Sophia Nash (P)2008 Recorded Books, LLC

A touch above most

Any additional comments?

This book is a touch above most historical romances. It is more polished and has a tone somewhat reminiscent of Jane Eyre. The heroine is horribly and wrongfully ruined and marries another man to escape the demand that she marry the man who supposedly scandalized her but who doesn't want her. Bad mistake because the man she marries is a lowlife abuser and she is stuck with him for a few years until he dies. She is still young and beautiful, but still stigmatized by what happened to cause her to marry the creep. Now she and her sister are out of a home unless she marries the heir of her abusive dead husband, who is also a lowlife. Thankfully the heroine is asked to visit a country party by a Dower Duchess who collects lost souls. The current Duke is in residence at the party and he and the heroine have great chemistry. You must listen to the book to find out if the heroine can overcome her damaged reputation and if she can find true love.

stop the regrets!

Story line interesting but the constant regrets about the past bogged down the pace. This was particularly notable during love scenes.

Excellent

Bianca Amato is the perfect reader for this book filled with scandal, misunderstanding, stubborn pride and in the end true love. The characters are more interesting than most and there are some entertaining twists. Most enjoyable.

Fantastic narration, unforgettable story

What made the experience of listening to A Dangerous Beauty the most enjoyable?

Bianca Amato is incomparable when it comes to narrating emotion-packed novels. Her voice is fantastic, and she infuses each phrase with the right emotion and cadence for each character, and for the written word. She also is one of the few women narrators I've come across who can do male voices well. This story by Sophia Nash is superb. But Amato's interpretation carries it with a grace and power that forces you to swiftly become captivated. This is one of those rare audiobooks that I quickly opt to hear a second time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Luc (although Rosamunde is close behind). Both the hero and heroine are multi-faceted, and have made mistakes in the past that have forced both to closet their emotions in the present. Both misinterpret the other, but it's not in the melodramatic way that one often sees in Regency romances. It's subtle. A third strong character is his grandmother, Ata. She is opposed to their match, but she's otherwise in Rosamunde's court. Nash makes Ata a much more nuanced character than the usual resistant relative.. And Grace, the countess, is fabulous as well. Most of the characters break the mold, showing the mixed sides of human nature.

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

YES...Loved her in Tracy Ann Warren's "The Husband Trap,'' and its sequels, and in "The Paid Companion'' by Amanda Quick. But what sold me on Amato was her narration of Mary Balogh's "The Proposal," part one of her 7-part Survivors Series. Balogh's biggest mistake was to switch narrators for the rest of the series. Amato was exquisite. Audible should hire her to re-record the rest.

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

Passion: A curse, and a savior.

Solid HR , fun

Any additional comments?

The story flows well, the characters are interesting. Good start of Historical Romance series. Fun to listen to.

BA is one of my favorite narrators, she does a good job in this book, although I think she did better in other books.

Story: 4 stars, interesting characters, good writing, good flow for HR. Entertaining.
Narration: 4 stars, good
Relationships/ heat: nice development of the relationship, not a classic therefor more interesting. Mild heat with appropriate emotions.
Overall: worth a credit, will get the next book in the series

Loves this book from beginning to end

I loved this book from beginning to end. The narration was great. This book made me cry and laugh.

Addicted

Oh my goodness this book took me on a trip. I loved all the characters (some most definitely less than most though) and I loved the development. The main characters spoke to me and I was easily drawn into this book. I didn't know it was possible to be addicted to a book but this one did it. It was just...oh words can't explain it...and if I try I'll ugly cry again about how beautiful it was. Just read it. Go on. Stop reading this stupid review and go.

A Thouroughly Entertaining Listen

Kudos to Sophia Nash and Bianca Amato for a book that intrigued and entertained. I didn't want to stop listening even for sleep. Would love to see more from this author. Bianca did a stellar job with the various characters and their feelings. More from both, please.

Fun story with perfect narration!

Enjoyed every word. I especially loved the banter between the Duke and his grandmother. It had me laughing out loud several times. I will definitely listen to this again!

Loved the first half and the ending

Well written and well narrated. I felt there was too much manufactured drama in the second half of the book. I skimmed and skipped parts after about 60%. I enjoyed the first half of the book and the characters. It may just be me, but the two main characters had way too much drama after they realized they loved the other. It was at least a third of the book. I actually set this on aside for several months.