The Straight-Laced Duke Selbourne

By: Kasey Michaels

Narrated by: Richard Turner

Sophie Winstead is utterly perfect, from the top of her tousled honey-brown ringlets to the tips of her dainty pink toes. Indeed, any man in London Society would want her. The problem for Sophie lay in what they wanted from her. For Sophie is the orphaned daughter of one Constance Winstead, the Widow Winstead, mistress of many men during her abbreviated lifetime. Woo her, win her, yes. Marry her? Don’t be ridiculous!

When the Duke of Selbourne and his lovely Connie met an extremely public and indiscreet end at a country party, Sophie was crushed by her double loss, for she had grown to love “Uncle Cesse” very much. She cried for days before her only companion (a French courtesan turned lady’s maid) slowly and carefully brought her back to her usual sunny, perfect self.

The Duke’s son took refuge in anger, railed at the mess his father had left behind, and swore that he would never, never ever, follow in his father’s irresponsible footsteps. For three long years Bramwell Seaton, the new Duke, toed every line, broke no rules; why, he’d even become engaged to the perfect, staid, beauty who would make him a suitable wife. He might not have been precisely a happy man, but he had managed to rub the tarnish from the family escutcheon.

You know what’s coming, right?

Bramwell’s father had left behind a mess he could not ignore, and he suddenly found himself reluctantly chaperoning Sophie for the Spring Season. Sophie - accompanied by her maid, her parrot (a bird with the memory of an elephant), and a larcenous monkey - dazzled everyone in the Duke’s household, from his aunt to the lowliest scullery maid. Why, she even gained the approval of Bramwell’s fiancée, who offered to help steer Sophie in avoiding the many pitfalls of polite Society.

You know who didn’t have any intention of succumbing to Sophie’s charms.

Sophie being who she so naturally was, and Bram being a recent reinvention of the bright, charming man he’d been before his father’s “fall from grace”, it isn’t a question of if the Duke will realize where his true happiness lies, but only one of when.

©2018 Kathryn Seidick (P)2019 Kathryn Seidick

Fun Frolic

When I began listening to this book, I was reminded initially of Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy, which is one of my favorite Heyer books. But Kasey Michaels quickly made this her own book. The characters are fun, the story is entertaining and the narration is spot-on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Fun, creative and fast paced!

Finally a romance story that reminds women that what's between your legs is worth protecting and should not be easily given away. Too many of these romance stories "put the cart before the horse". They give away their body and their heart without knowing if they are loved or cared for. The character Sophie reminds kind-hearted women of the heartache they endure when they give their love away too easily!! Good job Kasey Michaels!!!!!

I loved it!

The Straight-Laced Duke Selbourne by Kasey Michaels and narrated by Richard Turner was totally delightful!
Note: this review contains spoilers!
I’ve read and listened to a lot of books. Lots and lots of them. They make me smile, cry, maybe chuckle. Once I was so shocked, I dropped my iPad! But there have been very few stories that make me laugh so hard, I can’t read! And that was just in the prelude! Okay, two people died, but still!
Even if there were times when the reader might know more of what was going on than either the Duke or the lovely Sophie, I didn’t care. This romp through the London Season was so delightful, so funny, so well done by Richard Turner, I couldn’t stop listening if I wanted to!
You really need to listen to this wonderful story. I already am a follower of Kasey Michaels, now I’m one of Richard Turner, too!

Hilarious

I loved the original version of this book, so it is no surprise that I love this one, too. It is a wonderful comedy filled with an awful lot of plotting, but who exactly is doing the manipulating? It is impossible to tell until the end! I also enjoyed Richard Turner's performance of the audiobook. He has a lovely way with these characters and the irony flying all around. He kept me laughing while I was on my daily walk. I highly recommend this!

Delightful!

Delightful and hilarious! This really was a joy to listen to and such fun. Richard Turner's narration added significantly to the humor and fun of the book. He simply nails each character drawing on a wide arrange of voices all perfectly suited. This really was a find! The prologue is reputed to be one of the funniest in Reg. Rom. but I found the rest of the book much more amusing -- especially the Duke. I was concerned early on that heroine Sophie would be too conniving and manipulative, but before too much had developed, Ms. Michaels lets us in on Sophie's perspective and motivation. So, please stick with it at least until that conversation between H and h -- it is not too far into the story. After that, cheering her on becomes easy. This truly is a romp.

Love it!

Superb narrator! His voice is smooth and the diction was perfect. I loved the story and the characters. This is a redone older Kasey Michaels book and it is just delightful. I love her style.

Fun Story!

I found this an absolutely delightful romantic romp. The story is a little unusual, due mainly to the odd history between Bram and Sophie. There are a few humorous twists and turns that require a raised eyebrow or a shake of the head. Bram, 9th Duke Selbourne, former soldier and fun-loving man about town, is now quite staid, actually stodgy. Sophie is a contrary ray of bright sunshine. The other characters are each charming in their own way, and that includes a monkey and a parrot. I enjoyed Richard Turner’s narration. He not only has a wide range of voices, but captures the personality and attitude of each character. A lovely story with likeable characters.

A charming enjoyable confection

Sophie and Bramwell react in opposite ways to the scandalous deaths of their parents, but each with the same objective of shoring up a barrier to protect their vulnerability.

Therefore, when Bram is tricked into assisting Sophie to make her Season debut, the conclusion is all but inevitable--they each breach the other's shell, of course.

Richard Turner brings a deft touch of dryness to the narration, lending a wry humour to a story that could become too arch if read with more flourish. Instead, the tone is light and funny: screwball comedy meets Regency romp.

I received a copy of this audiobook for a fair evaluation about a month ago, and I'm sorry that life intruded and I delayed beginning it, thereby depriving myself of several hours of enjoyment.

lukewarm

The narrator was great and did a great job in what he had to work with in this story. The plot was cute and good and could have gone better but the story droned on and on with paths that could have been avoided. It could have been a romantic comedy but they missed the boat. I stopped listening mid way......maybe it got better as it went on,,,,I will never know

Just don’t waste your time and credit

This book is so ridiculous! Narrations is awful! The heroine is manipulative in the worst kind of way that it made my skin crawl. The way she speaks and says things is disgusting. The hero in this book is supposed to be straight-laced and yet he cheats on his fiancé with the heroine. He gets manipulated by the heroine that asks him to kiss her. No words to that. And heroine gets together in the same room with 3 of her mother’s lovers and gives them kisses and hugs them all like they are her real uncles. It’s beyond stupid. I listen to a lot of romance books but this is perfect combination of awful story and narration. I m sorry, but it’s true.