Don’t Tempt Me by Loretta Chase

Narrated by Kate Reading

Wonderful as it is to have another new-to-audio story from the terrific team of Loretta Chase and Kate Reading, I’m a little bit sad, too, as Don’t Tempt Me and Your Scandalous Ways complete the set of recordings of Ms Chase’s backlist titles. In case someone with clout is reading this, I’m sure fans won’t object to recordings of the novellas – The Mad Earl’s Bride would be at the top of MY list! But in the meantime, we have a number of terrific recordings to listen to while we wait for something new : )

Don’t Tempt Me tells the story of a young woman, Zoe Octavia Lexham, who, at the age of twelve was abducted while on a trip to Egypt with her parents. Over the past dozen years, there have been many women turning up on Lord Lexham’s doorstep claiming to be his missing daughter, but all have been frauds. Until now. The real Zoe has at last managed to escape from her captivity and has made her way home with the assistance of the British Consulate – and her family is now faced with the prospect of re-integrating her into society and acclimating her to the position that is her due as the daughter of a peer of the realm.

But help is on hand in the shape of Lucien de Grey, Duke of Marchmont and long-standing friend of the family. Marchmont and his brother Gerard more or less grew up with the Lexham siblings, and Lucien is strongly attached to Lord Lexham, who has been like a father to him since the death of his own father, and who later provided the comfort and support Lucien needed when Gerard died. Already deeply affected by their deaths, the disappearance of Zoe – who might have annoyed the hell out of him but with whom he nonetheless shared a bond – was the last straw, and Lucien closed himself off to the finer feelings, living his life since in a kind of haze of boredom and gentle inebriation. He’s also very handsome, extremely charming and obscenely rich – so in spite of his cynicism and sarcastic tongue, is the most sought after bachelor in the ton. If anyone can smooth Zoe’s way back into society, it’s Marchmont.

But the Lucien Zoe meets isn’t the one she remembers. The laughter and the easy smiles are gone, replaced by a man who is nothing like the boy she knew.  Even so, she can’t deny that he’s gorgeous and that when she looks at him she experiences all the feelings and longings she has learned of but never felt. Lucien is similarly struck, but has no wish to become entangled with Zoe – or any young lady, for that matter – and intends to fulfil his promise to Lexham by making his daughter socially acceptable and helping her to find a suitable husband. After that, she can get on with her life and he with his.

Until around the last quarter of the book, this is pretty much the story. It’s about Zoe and Lucien rediscovering each other and – sort of – picking up where they left off as adolescents, as well as his gradual “awakening” from the fog of detachment he’s lived in for more than a decade. But as is ever the case with this author, what really makes the story and raises it above the ordinary is the characterisation, the dialogue, the chemistry between the leads and the humour. Lucien is selfish, sarcastic and arrogant, all qualities which should make him completely unlikeable; but in the hands of Loretta Chase he’s also sexy, endearing, funny and in dire need of a hug or three. Most of the humour in the book comes from the fact that Zoe’s life as the second wife of the young Yusri Pasha has seen her grow up in a harem and her education has not been one that befits a young English lady. She is naturally forthright and talks of sexual matters without the slightest embarrassment or inhibition, which, of course, leads to some outrage on the part of her mother and sisters. I was giggling to myself at the scene in which she attempts to tell them that her husband was impotent and struggles to find the English word for his ‘instrument of delight’; or when she tells everyone that she knows ‘all the arts of pleasing a man’ and almost sends her sisters into fits of the vapours.

The mystery element which is introduced into the later stages of the story feels a little as though it has been tacked on, but it does serve a purpose within the story and provides the impetus for Lucien to finally face up to the harm done by his laziness and to start taking charge of his life and making decisions for himself. It’s a little melodramatic, but it does work within the overall context, and I rather liked hearing the previously walled-off Lucien behaving like the most besotted man in London.

This audiobook is narrated by Kate Reading. The End.

What else is there to say? As Melinda says in her review of Your Scandalous Ways, anyone who reads our reviews regularly will know what a terrific narrator she is and how highly we think of her – and, I’m sure, will no doubt have already experienced some – or all – of the other available titles from this hugely talented author/narrator team. Ms. Reading’s pacing and character differentiation are excellent, and her delivery of the deadpan wit and humour that are so integral a part of the author’s work is absolute perfection. All the secondary characters are fully realised; I’ve noticed that she has an especially nice line in stringent, disapproving matrons! Lucien’s bored, aristocratic drawl is spot on for the character, and Zoe’s husky, very slightly accented speech conveys her “otherness” superbly well. But it’s not just the humour where this narrator excels – she is just as good at capturing the deeper emotional nuances, too; in fact, in the scene near the end when Lucien’s fear for Zoe’s life finally sees him breaking down, the catch in her voice, the strength of the emotion she is putting into just a few words is so brilliantly conveyed that I may have had a little sniffle on the quiet.

Don’t Tempt Me may not be my favourite of Loretta Chase’s books, but it’s still a strongly observed, sexy and witty character-driven romance. Her choice of Kate Reading to narrate these audiobooks was an inspired one, as the latter’s multi-faceted, highly accomplished performances have added so much to the author’s words that it’s difficult to imagine, now, going back to the printed versions (although I’m sure I will!)

Bravissima! ladies. Thank you for the many hours of entertainment you’ve provided us all over the past few years – and here’s hoping for more in the future.

Caz

Narration: A+

Book Content: B

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence Rating: Minimal

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: NYLA

Don't Tempt Me was provided to AudioGals by NYLA for a review.