Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on
We first meet Sebastian Ballister as a child and watch him develop into the devil the Marquees of Dain. We immediately feel sorry for this awkward unloved little boy and watch him grow into quite the scoundrel. Despite his behavior and looks, Chase made me fall in love with this tortured soul from the very first pages, and allowed that love to grow and bloom.
Jessica Trent was born in the wrong era. She is strong, confident, knowledgeable, a sound businessperson and forced to deal with her daft brother. I adored Jessica from her tenacious determination to her canny ability to see behind Dain’s cold exterior. When her brother begins cleaning out the family coffers, she learns he has befriended Dain and too many nights of gambling and woman will soon leave them in the poor house.
Dain and Jessica- When these two meet you can feel the air sizzle. They are the perfect storm of heat, passion, and anger (frustration). Words spring to mind when I think of them, “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Haters to Lovers.” The world sees Dain as ugly, with a huge nose and massive hands, but to Jessica he is gorgeous. Her attraction befuddles him. Their conversations and bickering wrapped in wit and Italian were among some of the best I have ever read. Chase created some of the funniest scenes between them; I laughed, cried and stopped to listen to scenes again. Just imagining this tiny wisp of a girl giving this giant a set down was delicious.
“Jessica, you are a pain in the arse, do you know that? If I were not so immensely fond of you, I should throw you out the window.” She wrapped her arms about his waist and laid her head against his chest. “Not merely ‘fond,’ but ‘immensely fond.’ Oh Dain, I do believe I shall swoon.” “Not now,” he said crossly. “I haven’t time to pick you up.”
“And so I beat him and beat him until he kissed me. And then I kept on beating him until he did it properly.”
“You refuse to listen. Because, like every other man, you can keep only one idea in your head at a time-usually the wrong one.”
“I love these pet names,” she said, gazing soulfully up into his eyes, “Nitwit. Sap skull. Termagant. How they make my heart flutter!”
“Dain kept his gaze on his plate and concentrated on swallowing the morsel he’d just very nearly choked on. She was possessive… about him.
The beautiful, mad creature – or blind and deaf creature, or whatever she was – coolly announced it as one might say, “Pass the salt cellar,” without the smallest awareness that the earth had just tilted on its axis.”
Lord of Scoundrels was a delightful tale that kept me enthralled and will forever be a favorite. The romance was slow building with moments of heat, passion and banter. Dain’s use of Italian love phrases curled my toes and seeing this tortured character grow was my undoing. The twists and turns made me laugh and gasp. Chase provided wonderful secondary characters and my favorite had to be Jessica’s Grandmother Genevieve. Wait until you meet her she is ornery and feisty.
Kate Reading is the narrator, and she did a wonderful job of reading this tale. She captured the characters from their wit to shock and made their banter come to life.
Fans of wicked banter, fleshed out characters, and the haters to lovers’ troupe will find this tale delightful. Listen to it, I promise it will make you smile :)
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 23 April, 2014: Finished reading
- 23 April, 2014: Reviewed