Cupboard Kisses

By: Barbara Metzger

Narrated by: Stevie Zimmerman

Well-bred orphan Cristabel Swann tolerates her thankless teaching job - until her uncle dies unexpectedly. Arriving in London to claim her inheritance, Cristabel encounters something else entirely - a loutish naval captain who won all of the old man's property in an evening's gambling, leaving his niece nothing but debt! To his credit, Captain Chase recognizes her desperation and offers her a position as landlady of a boarding house in Kensington.

Cristabel is happy with her new situation and with the female tenants of the house. They are exceedingly well-dressed for working-class girls and have many admirers. Cristabel soon has a beau of her own - the dashing Lord Winstoke, who seems just a tad familiar, both in appearance and in attitude. Of course, Cristabel maintains propriety in every situation. But she cannot understand why the men she meets are so forward. Could it be the company she keeps?

©2011 Barbara Metzger (P)2013 Untreed Reads Publishing

Forgettable But Fun. Listen While You Fold Laundry

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Sure. I didn't like it as much as Metzger's 'A Loyal Companion' (which I loved), but it was still a nice enough way to pass the time. Forgettable, but nice. Basically, it's a good thing to have on in the background when you're doing chores or whatever. Doesn't require a whole lot of attention, but still keeps you entertained.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The heroine's obliviousness to the fact she's become the landlady to a 'house of ill repute' led to some pretty funny scenes.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Christabel finally figures out she's living in a bordello and cleans house (literally and figuratively). It's especially satisfying when she kicks the scummy fellow out on his ear.

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

I actually did listen to it in one day. I was stuck in bed sick and just wanted to listen to something nice, unchallenging, and entertaining. This fit the bill.

Any additional comments?

Despite the fact that the heroine is living in a bordello (without her knowledge—she think's she's a respectable landlady with borders that keep odd hours. Ha!), the book is very clean. As long as that part of the plot doesn't bother you, I'd say it's a perfectly fine audio to give to teens etc. As an aside, the audio quality still isn't perfect here, but it's than 'A Loyal Companion." The story is fun enough it's worth a few repeated lines or shaky audio here and there.

One of Barbara Metzger 's best

A truly enjoyable story. It was well read.
Good , clean and very funny. Highly recommended too.

More Barbara Metzger, please!

This is a traditional romance with lots of humour.

I love reading and rereading Barbara Metzger's and Mary Balogh's earlier books. I hope more of these are available soon for audible release.

Cupboard Kisses

Thanks to the kindle editions, I have read almost all of Barbara Metzger's books. She is definitely a favorite author. This just wasn't one of my favorites. It was certainly entertaining just not my favorite of her many works.

Stevie did an amazing job as a narrator!

Just okay

Sweet story but nothing exceptional. Good for a nice afternoon relaxing and a quick listen. There was a strange hollow sound with the audio like it was recorded in a room that did have good acoustics.

Silliness and ......

This book was completely silly, impossibly ridiculous and FUNNY! Considering it takes place in a "bordello" run by a innocent who thinks it's a boarding house..... but it was fun to listen to.

Narrator: brilliant!

Heat Factor: surprisingly cold.

Creditworthy? Yes!

Light fare

Stevie's performances are always worth listening to. This story felt a little too tedious to me as it played out all the villainy. Still, with skipping a few parts, I enjoyed making it to the end.

What was it about again?

I really couldn’t tell you about much this story or how it all came together in the end. Seems longer than the 5 hours. Narrator was good.