Friday, April 17, 2015

Viscount Vagabond Regency Noblemen Book 1 by Loretta Chase

Published & Release Date: NYLA, November 9, 2012

Time and setting: London, England  

Genre: Traditional Regency Romance

Length: 228 pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweet Heart

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

A charming, traditional Regency romance from New York Times bestselling author, Loretta Chase! 

“What's gotten into you, dashing about to make a man's poor, tired head spin?... Oh, all right. I'll chase you if you like." He started to get up, changed his mind, and slumped back against the pillow. "Only it's such a bother." 

Catherine Pelliston has just escaped a forced marriage to an obnoxious friend of her unreliable father; and now she's truly in the soup; kidnapped and helpless in a London brothel! And though she's been rescued by the very inebriated Max Demowery, Viscount Rand, she may be in even greater danger of falling in love with the shockingly outrageous, scandalously improper Viscount Vagabond!

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Vikki’s Musings

What a sweet romance! It has been a while since I have read a book by Loretta Chase. I am so glad I stumbled across this downloaded it on my Kindle a few months ago. Since the book was free, I had downloaded the audio book as well. While it took a bit of time before I could read this wonderful story, it is a true treasure! It reminds me of one of the many Georgette Heyer regencies I read years ago as a young girl.

Catherine Pelliston awakens to the sight of a man entering the room—a room she is being held in against her will by the way—who is stripping off his neckcloth and then his shirt. She stares in amazement, but then her analytical mind begins to consider:

Was it usual for the masculine chest to be covered with fine, light hair? If usual, what possible purpose could such growth serve? (This had me chuckling and settling in for what I hoped would be a light-hearted read. I was not disappointed.) Catherine quickly tells the intoxicated Adonis that she is there against her will and asks him to help her.

Max Demowery, Viscount Rand, does not believe her tale, but nonetheless purchases her release from the madam and carries her protesting, to his lodging and deposits her in his bed. Before he has a chance to sample her charms, she says:

“I will not cooperate,” she gasped.

“No, of course you won’t. It’s just my luck, ain’t it, this night of all the rest?” He turned and left the room.

This begins the delightfully amusing tale of an innocent young miss and a devilish rake, a troupe I adore and Viscount Vagabond fits this perfectly. Catherine leads Max on a wild chase throughout this excellent romantic story, giving him the chance to play the hero on several occasions.

Catherine is a wonderful character, a bit of a waif with a dash of spunky kid thrown in. I fell in love with her from the first page and as the story unfolds, my feelings continued to grow. Her character is naïve and sweet, yet not syrupy at all. Her determination to make it on her own had me rooting for her success.

Max Demowery is the quintessential bad boy, yet with a tender heart, even though he tries very hard to hide it. His gentleness when dealing with the young waif Catherine finds, put a smile on my face and had my heart melting. I have always loved a bad boy redeemed by the right woman. I better since I married one myself. Is it any wonder I love that type of hero?

The pacing of the story is excellent and I could not put it down, or stop listening. The secondary characters added greatly to Viscount Vagabond, and I have already downloaded The Devil’s Delilah, book 2 in the series, which is Jack Langdon’s story, one of Catherine’s suitors.

I want to mention the narration. Stevie Zimmerman is fantastic. I could easily distinguish all the characters. Her voice brought all the characters to life for me. She does an excellent job with the male voices, giving them a raspy tone, whether it is Rand or the little boy Jemmy. My only concern with the narration was that at times it sounded as if Rand was speaking at a distance or something, not enough to distract me, but enough that I noticed it. I think that had to do with the production of the audio book, not the narrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed this enchanting tale of love and mishap, and I highly recommend Viscount Vagabond. If you enjoy traditional regencies, then this is one you will not want to miss. I am sure you will love it as much as I did. Happy reading!
  



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