Not Quite a Lady

Carsington Brothers Series

By: Loretta Chase

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Darius Carsington is a spectacularly attractive rake, who's all brains and brawn...and no heart; a man who's equally expert at bedding loose-moraled women and writing scholarly papers. He finds society's "perfect darlings" exceedingly boring. Then why is he so intrigued by the supposedly faultless Lady Charlotte Hayward? Darius senses a crack under her polished surface - and finding it is a challenge he can't resist. Lady Charlotte is so beautiful, charming, and gracious that no one has noticed how expert she's been at not getting married. Early on, she learned a painful lesson about trust...and temptation. In the years since, she's devoted her life to being all she should be, and she's not about to let a man like Carsington entice her into doing everything she shouldn't. But the demands of the heart can easily overpower the rules of manners and morals. And sometimes, even the best-behaved lady must follow her instincts, even if it means risking it all.

©2007 Loretta Chekani (P)2016 Loretta Chekani

Another one knocked out of the park

The book was wonderful. The banter between H&H was hilarious, it had a difficult subject matter and approached it very well.
All around worth listening to

Loretta Chase never disappoints

This is not my favorite work by LC but it is a REALLY good book addressing illegitimacy in the early 1800's among the female nobility. The story is also about the fourth son winning the heart of one of the most beautiful ladies of her time. Lady Charlotte is not just beautiful, however. She is loved by everyone and is sweet natured, caring, loving and very clever.
The hero grows more and more on you as the story continues since initially, personality wise, he does not have much to offer. He actually becomes very likable and nobel by the end of the book and manages to change the direction of his life almost entirely. A lovely story. Well worth the credit.

A favorite

This is such a great story. I loved all the Carsington stories but Darius is my favorite. This is a sweet romance. Not a villain or a horrible other woman in sight. Everyone is basically a good person. It is just a sexy, fun and touching story. It is funny (the laundry room) and heartfelt. An all around lovely book ... expertly performed by Kate Reading. Highly recommend.

Sweet story

This is a very satisfying story. I loved that there wasn’t a lot of internal suffering over first world problems. Charlotte’s crisis at age 16 and the solution she and her new compassionate stepmother carried out expressed the opinion and unfairness on the ton. The relationships were sweet and the dialogue witty. Balls were dropped here and there but overall, I believe this was a sweet well written regency romance.

Loretta Chase is a genius

This is now one of my favorites! Loretta Chase is a genius.

I liked everything about this. The lead characters are wonderful. Pip is a cutie. The story is quite interesting and the narration is superb. Nothing wrong with this one.

Bring on the next in the series!

Wonderful book and perfect naration

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

Her reading is always so beautiful. She has the range to do male characters well without trying to force her voice into strange, harsh intonation. I'd listen to her read the phone book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh...I'm not much of a cry-er at books, but there was a scene toward the end that just about brought me to tears!! Not going to spoil it.

Any additional comments?

This story is just lovely - unconventional and compelling. The antagonist is interesting. I mean, I HATE HIM, but Chase also makes his motives and actions understandable.

Last but Not Least

This is the last book in the Carsington Brothers Series and is a hoot. Loretta Chase has this wonderful nack of developing characters that are multi-dimensional. Charlotte is strong, smart, witty and makes a fantastic main character. Darius, the rake, is ruled by a logical side...though he, too, is witty, persistent and impetuous when he comes into close proximity to her. The push and pull of these two characters is masterfully done.

True that one finds part of the storyline to be quite fictional...but remember, this is a work of fiction and is meant to be an escape from all the craziness or dullness in your daily life.

All the supporting characters are also well developed. It's so sad that we have no other brothers to vicariously step into their lives for a short while and lose ourselves in it.

Witty dialogue had me laughing throughout

I really enjoyed the dialogue between the hero and heroine. It was witty with innuendo and verbal fun combat. You could see the characters really liked each other.

Modern Shakespeare

Love her humor love the performance she does not follow the routine predictable Romance. I will keep reading her forever. Thank you for the laughs!!

I Loved This Story

From its opening, this story grabbed me. I cried and laughed throughout. Though there was an underlying sadness to the story’s premise, Loretta Chase gave us characters who were more honest and interesting than found in most historical romances, and that honesty translated to a satisfying realism and hope-filled tenderness.

This was my first book of the Carsington series (read out of order) and was just fine as a stand alone story. As usual, Kate Reading was the perfect narrator. She makes any book an enjoyable listen.