A Dangerous Kind of Lady by Mia Vincy

Narrated by Kate Reading

I was one of the lucky ones who received an advanced reader copy of A Dangerous Kind of Lady in June, andI loved it – but I waited to write a review until I finished listening to the audiobook. I mistakenly assumed the audio couldn’t improve on the text, and I worried I wouldn’t like Ms. Reading’s portrayal of our heroine, Arabella Larke, whom we met in A Wicked Kind of Husband, the first Longhope Abbey novel. Reading’s slightly nasal, borderline disdainful sounding Arabella in earlier books didn’t work for me, and I was concerned about a full-length novel in this same voice. Fortunately, while Ms. Reading’s performance doesn’t vary from the earlier books, my feelings about Arabella – and her story arc – did; I liked her more! I also think Reading nailed this character from the get-go. In this entertaining and absolutely lovely third Longhope Abbeybook we get to know the hidden side of proud, flawed, sharp-tongued Arabella, as she fights falling in love with the man brave enough to love her, Guy Roth, Marquess of Hardbury.

Arabella Larke spent a lifetime trying and failing to live up to her father’s expectations. Since the death of her twin brother as a young boy, Mr. Larke has treated her as little more than an inconvenient and tiresome thorn in his side. But rather than reveal her hurt at his dismissive attitude, Arabella buried her truest self, replacing it with an aloof, ice cold persona that keeps strangers – and sometimes friends – at a distance. Although clever, loyal, and good to those she loves, she hides this version of herself away, afraid to be vulnerable with anyone but herself.

When A Dangerous Kind of Lady begins, Mr. Larke has determined it’s time for Arabella to marry. Betrothed as a young girl to her childhood nemesis (and neighbor) Guy Roth – who’s spent the past eight years abroad in an attempt to escape his corrupt, controlling father – she’s so far managed to put her father off. But now that Guy is back (to assume his title as Marquess of Harbury), he’s made it clear he no longer intends to honor the betrothal and will not marry her. While Arabella doesn’t believe in love or happily ever after, and she hasn’t pined after Guy, he was still a convenient excuse to avoid considering anyone else. But she’s finally run out of time. Undeterred by Hardbury’s refusal to marry his bothersome daughter, Mr. Larke quickly finds another bachelor to take Guy’s place. Much to his delight, Lord Sculthorpe, a handsome war hero, offers to marry Arabella instead. He threatens to cut Arabella off if she doesn’t marry Sculthorpe and is unwilling to entertain any other options for her future. Unfortunately, Sculthorpe’s perverted and not-so-secret fascination with Arabella’s virginity, along with his repellant personality, leave Arabella frightened and scared of their future together. Desperate for anyone else as a prospective husband, she schemes to find an alternate solution.

Enter Guy Roth, the man she was supposed to marry.

As a young boy, Guy was often frustrated by Arabella’s competitive nature. She wasn’t like other girls and it annoyed him. Ahem. And although most of the ton believed he fled England eight years earlier after a disastrous failed love affair, the truth was more complicated. Guy was heartbroken and hurt, but he also needed to escape from his father’s near total control of every aspect of his life. Now that he’s returned to England, he has no plans to honor any commitment his father made on his behalf – including marriage to sharp-tongued, ambitious – though surprisingly attractive, Arabella Larke.

When Arabella cleverly finagles a meeting with Guy at a costume ball, and then suggests they fake a betrothal for a few weeks, he cuts her off and doesn’t give her a chance to explain her scheme. He mistakenly assumes she’s trying to trap him into marriage, and so he ignores her attempts to convince him the temporary arrangement could benefit him, too (marriage minded mamas have him in their sights). He rudely rebuffs her, even after she attempts to soften him with conversation about his two younger sisters, now under the guardianship of one of his father’s cronies. Guy doesn’t need Arabella meddling in family matters and is well aware their guardian is up to no good. He dismisses her concerns and tells her to mind her own business.

Arabella is frustrated, but undeterred. She decides to play along with the engagement and then jilt Sculthorpe. But her father spoils her plan by moving up the wedding date, leaving her no time to jilt her betrothed. Increasingly frantic and terrified by Sculthorpe’s smug references to her virginity, she decides to spoil his fun and lose her virginity on her own terms.

While there are multiple plotlines that overlap as the novel unfolds, Ms. Vincy deftly moves the story along – cleverly stringing together seemingly disparate threads. Arabella is tormented by her relationships with her father, with Sculthorpe, and with Guy, and spends much of the novel simply trying to understand her feelings and how to regain the steely control she’s known for. She’s overwhelmed by her attraction to Guy – who’s everything she’s ever secretly desired in a partner – but she’s hidden herself so deeply behind her defensive walls, she struggles to break through them. Meanwhile, Guy is equally bewildered by his feelings for Arabella – does he even like her? (yes!) – and he’s determined to regain custody of his beloved sister Freddy, and younger half-sister Ursula. Guy and Arabella have lots of lovely, sharp and witty conversations with one another, sexy interludes…and fights. Guy doesn’t trust Arabella even though he longs to, and Arabella won’t let him see the vulnerable, fragile woman that she sometimes fails to hide. It’s one step forward, two steps back, and meanwhile, everyone else is up to no good!

There’s the obviously evil Sculthorpe; Mr. Larke – who comes off even worse in audio than he did in the book; Arabella’s mother who loves her and knows her better than anyone – and might be the most Machiavellian of them all; Guy’s siblings with whom he struggles to forge a relationship; the evil guardian lurking in the background; and then Arabella and Guy themselves. All of these compelling characters are masterfully rendered, and none feel superfluous to the narrative. It’s a lot; Ms. Vincy makes it work.

But what about Ms. Reading’s performance? Well, in a nutshell, it’s brilliant. Her Arabella is a masterstroke – readers experience the same sense of frustration and tenderness Guy does as they get to know Arabella and unearth all the many facets of her character: the aloof, sometimes droll, sometimes haughty persona she adopts as a protective measure, and the vulnerable girl/woman who simply wants to be loved and acknowledged. I came to love Arabella despite her protective, prickly thorns, and Ms. Reading deserves all the kudos for humanizing this challenging character. Meanwhile, she strikes just the right balance of machismo, bemusement, and tenderness, in her rendition of Guy – and once again, I’ve fallen in love with her interpretation of a man I already liked a lot! Her Guy is mischievous and playful one moment, and tender and affected in the next. It’s a lovely balance. I have few complaints about any of the other secondary characters and her Sculthorpe is nicely creepy and sleazy, but I wasn’t as enamored of her interpretation of Guy’s younger sister Freddy. Frankly, she sounded like she was high most of the time, and I didn’t have that sense when I read the book.

A Dangerous Kind of Lady is dangerous indeed! To your pocketbook! But it’s worth every penny to listen to this one (and then read it, too!), it’s another hit from the uber talented Mia Vincy. I can’t wait for Juno’s story in A Scandalous Kind of Duke.

Em

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