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booksuperpower's review against another edition
4.0
Lady Be Good by Meredith Duran is a 2015 Pocket Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book as an XOXpert- The official street team of XOXO After Dark.
How is it that I have not read anything by this author previously? Well, now that she is on my radar, I will be adding more of her books to my TBR list.
Lilah comes from a family of thieves, but it is her greatest wish to live a decent, honest life. That goal means ever so much more to her now, since she wishes to honor her sister's memory. But, her uncle is still holding onto her, trying to keep her down. So, after finally breaking free of him, she finds she must perform one last job to keep anyone from finding out who she really is.
Enter Viscount Palmer, Christian Stratton, who catches Lilah in a compromising position and uses it to his advantage. In order to get what she needs, Lilah must spy on the woman Christian wishes to marry, in hopes of winning her over.
As many who follow my reviews can attest to, I have been struggling with historical romance novels as of late, and actually stopped reading them so often as a result. So, it was very refreshing to have been introduced to this series.
This story is a fun read, but it's not filled with fluffy silliness about poor rakish rogues and Dukes and arranged marriages. This story has well defined and developed characters with some meaty issues to attend to.
The chemistry between Lilah and Christian sparkled from their very first interactions with each other. The author teases us with their flirtation building the tension between them with sharp witty dialogue and by putting them an unusual situation, with Lilah trapped by Christian's blackmail.
Christian is a conflicted man trying to avenge the death of his brother and protect his family. He's riddled with guilt and often feels unworthy of this reputation as a war hero. He can be gruff and unyielding at times, but is was so fun watching Lilah wrap him around her little finger.
The secondary characters were also a well defined and I found Catherine to be quite an interesting character. I hope to see a book dedicated to her because I think there is still a lot to know about her and it would be fun to see someone try to win her over romantically. I would also like to see an update regarding Christian's sister someday.
Naturally, I must complain about a few modern terms and phrases slipping through the cracks, but it only happened a couple of times. The first part of the story was a little sluggish at times, but once the characters and the various threads began to take shape, the story became quite absorbing, filled with action, intrigue and of course some steamy romance.
Overall, this is a charming and delightful historical romance, quite refreshing and original. 4 stars
How is it that I have not read anything by this author previously? Well, now that she is on my radar, I will be adding more of her books to my TBR list.
Lilah comes from a family of thieves, but it is her greatest wish to live a decent, honest life. That goal means ever so much more to her now, since she wishes to honor her sister's memory. But, her uncle is still holding onto her, trying to keep her down. So, after finally breaking free of him, she finds she must perform one last job to keep anyone from finding out who she really is.
Enter Viscount Palmer, Christian Stratton, who catches Lilah in a compromising position and uses it to his advantage. In order to get what she needs, Lilah must spy on the woman Christian wishes to marry, in hopes of winning her over.
As many who follow my reviews can attest to, I have been struggling with historical romance novels as of late, and actually stopped reading them so often as a result. So, it was very refreshing to have been introduced to this series.
This story is a fun read, but it's not filled with fluffy silliness about poor rakish rogues and Dukes and arranged marriages. This story has well defined and developed characters with some meaty issues to attend to.
The chemistry between Lilah and Christian sparkled from their very first interactions with each other. The author teases us with their flirtation building the tension between them with sharp witty dialogue and by putting them an unusual situation, with Lilah trapped by Christian's blackmail.
Christian is a conflicted man trying to avenge the death of his brother and protect his family. He's riddled with guilt and often feels unworthy of this reputation as a war hero. He can be gruff and unyielding at times, but is was so fun watching Lilah wrap him around her little finger.
The secondary characters were also a well defined and I found Catherine to be quite an interesting character. I hope to see a book dedicated to her because I think there is still a lot to know about her and it would be fun to see someone try to win her over romantically. I would also like to see an update regarding Christian's sister someday.
Naturally, I must complain about a few modern terms and phrases slipping through the cracks, but it only happened a couple of times. The first part of the story was a little sluggish at times, but once the characters and the various threads began to take shape, the story became quite absorbing, filled with action, intrigue and of course some steamy romance.
Overall, this is a charming and delightful historical romance, quite refreshing and original. 4 stars
dreamofwinter's review against another edition
4.0
This went from good to really good to great by the end. The pairing got more believable and the characters grew more likable. Some of the action in the final third was a bit rushed, but I was thrilled to have a self-rescuing heroine!
sandywilliams03's review against another edition
5.0
I've been on a book slump for forever. Just couldn't seem to motivate myself to pick up something and read. But for Reasons, I haven't been able to sleep easily lately, so I was determined to find a good book to read. On a whim, I checked to see if Meredith Duran had anything new out, since it had been a while since I read her last book. Lo and behold, she had TWO books out that I hadn't read. Happy me!
Lady Be Good was just as great as the rest of Duran's books. I loved Lilah, a former thief trying to make an honest life for herself. She was not a push over.
Palmer was an interesting character. I did have a little trouble picturing his personality in my mind. He was a war hero. A song was written about him. Everyone knew and respected him, and he acted like the typical charming bachelor. But then sometimes, he acted like Duran's usual solemn, brooding characters. That's what I saw most of the time while reading, so any time the happy-go-lucky Palmer was mentioned, it kind of jerked me out of the story a bit. It just didn't fit with what I felt Palmer was. But despite that, I totally didn't mind him. Loved him just like all of Duran's other characters.
Duran--and Joanna Bourne--is the author I read when I feel like all my descriptions are blah. She has a way with putting words together to show more than just surface looks. It's a talent I desperately wish I had. But I totally lack it, so I always hope that, by reading her books over and over again, I'll eventually absorb at least a part of her skill.
Let me show you what I mean. My typical description would go something like this: "A dark lock of hair escaped from her pontytail. Palmer wanted to tuck it behind her ear."
Duran's description: "A dark lock had escaped, and unfurled along her throat like a suggestion: touch me here."
See how much better that is?
Here's another great description: "That startled him. He laughed, flashing white teeth. One of his incisors was slightly crooked. A relief, to spot that imperfection."
Look what Duran did there. She made the story move along, told us that the hero smiled while showing us the emotion of the heroine, with a super short paragraph that described a slightly crooked tooth. It's freaking brilliant.
I could go on and on with little, almost insignificant descriptions that have such a huge impact on the story and writing, but let's just see all of Duran's books are worth reading.
The only part of this book that I thought could be better was the ending. Not the ENDING ending, but how Lilah gets out of the predicament at the end, and how the villain was dealt with. I kind of wanted that whole part to be more excruciating, but...
SPOILER WARNING...
... she and Catherine just kind of moseyed their way to freedom.
That's such a minor issue, though. The entire book was an enjoyable read, and the moment I finished it, I bought the next book.
P.S. Oh, wait! I did have another issue. This is spoilery too, so you might stop reading.
So, the whole Palmer can't be with Lilah thing because it puts her in danger? I didn't understand that. I didn't understand why he needed to forever push her away and marry Catherine. All he had to do was temporarily pretend Lilah didn't exist. Then, once he took care of the villain, he could be with her with no problems. Or am I wrong? Did I just totally miss the reason why he tried to snub her completely?
Lady Be Good was just as great as the rest of Duran's books. I loved Lilah, a former thief trying to make an honest life for herself. She was not a push over.
Palmer was an interesting character. I did have a little trouble picturing his personality in my mind. He was a war hero. A song was written about him. Everyone knew and respected him, and he acted like the typical charming bachelor. But then sometimes, he acted like Duran's usual solemn, brooding characters. That's what I saw most of the time while reading, so any time the happy-go-lucky Palmer was mentioned, it kind of jerked me out of the story a bit. It just didn't fit with what I felt Palmer was. But despite that, I totally didn't mind him. Loved him just like all of Duran's other characters.
Duran--and Joanna Bourne--is the author I read when I feel like all my descriptions are blah. She has a way with putting words together to show more than just surface looks. It's a talent I desperately wish I had. But I totally lack it, so I always hope that, by reading her books over and over again, I'll eventually absorb at least a part of her skill.
Let me show you what I mean. My typical description would go something like this: "A dark lock of hair escaped from her pontytail. Palmer wanted to tuck it behind her ear."
Duran's description: "A dark lock had escaped, and unfurled along her throat like a suggestion: touch me here."
See how much better that is?
Here's another great description: "That startled him. He laughed, flashing white teeth. One of his incisors was slightly crooked. A relief, to spot that imperfection."
Look what Duran did there. She made the story move along, told us that the hero smiled while showing us the emotion of the heroine, with a super short paragraph that described a slightly crooked tooth. It's freaking brilliant.
I could go on and on with little, almost insignificant descriptions that have such a huge impact on the story and writing, but let's just see all of Duran's books are worth reading.
The only part of this book that I thought could be better was the ending. Not the ENDING ending, but how Lilah gets out of the predicament at the end, and how the villain was dealt with. I kind of wanted that whole part to be more excruciating, but...
SPOILER WARNING...
... she and Catherine just kind of moseyed their way to freedom.
That's such a minor issue, though. The entire book was an enjoyable read, and the moment I finished it, I bought the next book.
P.S. Oh, wait! I did have another issue. This is spoilery too, so you might stop reading.
So, the whole Palmer can't be with Lilah thing because it puts her in danger? I didn't understand that. I didn't understand why he needed to forever push her away and marry Catherine. All he had to do was temporarily pretend Lilah didn't exist. Then, once he took care of the villain, he could be with her with no problems. Or am I wrong? Did I just totally miss the reason why he tried to snub her completely?
thebee's review against another edition
5.0
Could watch these two pretend not to have a crush on each other while Catherine exclaims about another goddamn ceramic FOR YEARS!!
I adore these three.
I adore these three.
cauthons's review against another edition
2.0
one long string of meh, from the danger-that-wasn't to the fake-courtship-that-never-went-anywhere, to the random as hell sequel bait that got tacked on the end. honestly, by the end of things, it was almost nonsensical
ashesmann's review against another edition
2.0
Hmm. This one was a little different. To understand why I'm not a huge fan you need to understand I don't read sex scenes. I have zero interest. I enjoy my sex life, and SUPER don't care about anyone else's. Usually, there's things to skip toward the end of a book. This one was flipped. The last half I actually really liked and would have rated higher, but I had to skip too much of the beginning. I also thought Christian was overly pushy, bossy, and physically aggressive. Pretty much the opposite to what I'm in love with in real life. I really wanted Lilah to go disappear for a while, or at least stay angry when Christian proposes a marriage of convenience to another woman. She is just so understanding of all of his bad behavior. Somewhere in the middle would be nice. And why did Lilah have to leave? Or Christian get engaged to another? Were they just going to be over forever? It seemed a little unclear to me. It did get better, but if only it could have been like the last part the whole time.
romancelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I started Meredith Duran's Rules for the Reckless series many years ago, but I somehow never got the chance to continue reading it after Fool Me Twice. The last couple of years have been lacking in good historical romances. Big publishers have been releasing some pretty disappointing historicals lately, so I decided it was time to 1) discover new indie historical romance authors and 2) go back to authors that I know won't disappoint me. Hence, my return to this series.
Lady Be Good is superbly written. Duran's prose hits the perfect balance for me: it's poetic and vivid, but not overburdened by verbosity and endless metaphors. Duran takes an old and tired plotline — that of the hero's enemy coming for his loved ones — and twists it around with the addition of a heroine who comes from a family of criminals. The romance, despite starting off with a banging meet cute, is more or less steady because of the setting. Majority of this book takes place in the countryside, so the setting is quite static and a bit slow moving. But this quiet setting and pace provide the perfect backdrop for Christian and Lilah's romance to take the spotlight. What I love the most is that the steadiness of the relationship development does not undermine the sexual tension at all. It in fact increases the simmering sexual tension between the hero and heroine.
I really enjoyed reading this book and now I am even more excited to read the next one!!! I'm so curious to find out how Nick and Catherine will navigate a marriage of convenience.
Lady Be Good is superbly written. Duran's prose hits the perfect balance for me: it's poetic and vivid, but not overburdened by verbosity and endless metaphors. Duran takes an old and tired plotline — that of the hero's enemy coming for his loved ones — and twists it around with the addition of a heroine who comes from a family of criminals. The romance, despite starting off with a banging meet cute, is more or less steady because of the setting. Majority of this book takes place in the countryside, so the setting is quite static and a bit slow moving. But this quiet setting and pace provide the perfect backdrop for Christian and Lilah's romance to take the spotlight. What I love the most is that the steadiness of the relationship development does not undermine the sexual tension at all. It in fact increases the simmering sexual tension between the hero and heroine.
I really enjoyed reading this book and now I am even more excited to read the next one!!! I'm so curious to find out how Nick and Catherine will navigate a marriage of convenience.
rissahoo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
itisallmydoing's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Meredith Duran delivers again! I described the first two books as throwing three darts at a board of tropes and then adding two more 70% of the way through for fun, and she somehow makes it work. This one, she decided to go big from page 1. I'm about to make a huge mistake and start the next one.