TEST
One of the greatest thrills about reading, for me, is to begin a new book and within the first few pages realize that it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. I get a shiver and I breathe a sigh of contentment and just fall into state of near total euphoria. This book will reside on my bedside table for months or longer, so I’ll have it near to reread a favorite bit of dialogue, a particularly wonderful scene or simply experience the same heartfelt emotion it evokes in me one more time. I cherish these books. I live for these books. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase is one of these books.
Miss Jessica Trent arrives in Paris to rescue her dim-witted brother, Bertie, from a ruinous association with a group of rogues known for their hard and fast life of debauchery. The leader of this group is Sebastian, Marquess of Dain.
Sebastian relishes his role as the lecherous Lord of Scoundrels. Upon his birth, Dain’s horrified father deemed his son an “abomination.” Cursed and scorned as a child with a “grossly overlarge nose” and “ill-proportioned limbs” inherited from his Italian mother’s side of the family, Dain had always been the outcast because of his big body and swarthy visage. To compensate for this lack of esteem and love in his life, Dain resolves never to care for another person and to live only for his own dissolute pleasure.
When Jessica meets the cause of her brother’s potential downfall, she is instantly smitten. She is inexplicably drawn to the big, dark, hulking brute and she doesn’t know what to do about it. Dain is equally attracted to Jessica which is unacceptable to him since she is a well-bred lady, single by her own choosing and a bluestocking. These qualities are missing from the courtesans inhabiting Dain’s world.
Their relationship is further complicated by a rare and valuable Russian icon which Jessica spots at an antique shop during her first encounter with Sebastian. Dain is outraged that the impudent Miss Trent has possession of something he covets, so he sets out of buy it from her. Jessica, sensing she has an opportunity to remove her brother from Dain’s wicked influence, offers to give the icon to him if he will agree to send her brother back home. Dain will not be manipulated by any woman. He refuses to negotiate. Jessica will not sell the icon. They come to a dangerously explosive impasse.
The icon is forgotten though, when Jessica and Dain are caught in a scandalously compromising position during a formal ball. Dain, thinking he’s been deliberately entrapped, abandons her and walks away. In the eyes of society, Jessica is ruined. A coldly resolute Jessica decides to have her revenge and does what any self-respecting woman would do; she hires a lawyer to obtain a financial settlement! Dain, realizing that such an action would make him a laughingstock and concluding that there is no other way to save his pride and Jessica’s reputation, offers marriage. They return to England and marry.
After the wedding and a tense honeymoon trip to Dain’s ancestral home in Devon, Jessica realizes that Dain’s troubled childhood makes him distrustful of her ardent attentions and Dain is wary of letting his guard down and showing how much he truly cares for his wife. Their relationship is strained further when a former mistress arrives on the scene with Dain’s illegitimate son. Jessica again takes the initiative and forces Dain to accept responsibility for the boy and come to terms with his painful childhood. In doing so, Dain finally accepts Jessica’s love for him and this allows him to express his own love and need for her.
I had grown accustomed to reading about gorgeous virgin heroines who were brought to their sexual and emotional awakening by strong, equally gorgeous heroes. So from the first page of Lord of Scoundrels we are treated to a grand story with wonderfully realized characters who break the standard romance novel stereotype.
I was thoroughly enchanted by Jessica’s refreshing and realistic acceptance of her attraction to Dain and her intuitive knowledge of the “male mentality.” Her character alone would have earned praise from me (Jessica is no simpering Miss!) but to have an equally strong hero is a real bonus. Dain is not your above-average, dashing, gorgeous gentlemen. He’s big, he’s brutal, he’s befuddled by the one woman he’s ever wanted or needed, Jessica.
The dialogue is dazzling. The main characters’ introductory dialogue would be worth the price of this book but it only gets better. The story had me engrossed from the first page to the last and I appreciated Chase’s wit and pace which was quick and smart throughout. The verbal humor in this book puts every other author’s use of it in the shade. The secondary characters were mere wisps, but artfully drawn and necessary to move the story along.
Lord of Scoundrels succeeds on all levels. Ms. Chase has taken a conventional plot and given it new depth and breadth. This novel will appeal to readers who delight in strong and intelligent characters and to readers who want to know what makes a character tick. Most impressive of all, Lord of Scoundrels is a wickedly witty and luscious love story. All hail Loretta Chase! This book is a cherished keeper.
Grade: A
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 15/04/97
Publication Date: 1995
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Over the years, AAR has had many a guest reviewer. If we don't know the name of the reviewer, we've placed their reviews under this generic name.
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I adore LOS. It is so CLEVER.
Absolutely blooming brilliant book. One minute you are laughing your head off and another you feel so much for the hero and heroine. I loved both characters so much and this is really on the top shelf of my books. I can read this book over and over again. I thoroughly recommend it for everyone. five star book, if I could would give it 100 stars.
Interesting comment from nblibgirl. I am surprised, now and then, when I read a comment here or elsewhere that readers have not read Heyer let alone heard of her. After all, her last book, Lady of Quality, was published in 1972. I daresay that means that many of those who roost here were born long after that and maybe think she was someone their mothers or grandmothers read. It is pleasing, therefore, as someone who has loved her books for many, many years, to read, now and then, of someone completely unaware of her picking up one of her books and falling in love. There are, of course, those who can’t get into her prose because they started reading romance in more recent times when, frankly, some of it is so dire, immature, badly written, poorly researched, politically correct and utterly formulaic. Heyer does not suffer much from 20:20 hindsight, my biggest bugbear in historical romantic fiction. Personally, in my own Top 100, Jane Austen would top it and Georgette Heyer would be Number 2.
Like others here, I liked Lord of Scoundrels but prefer or rate more highly Mr. Impossible, Lord Perfect and Dukes Prefer Blondes.
A more interesting question for me is, would Loretta Chase rate more highly than Georgette Heyer as a writer of romances? Based on placement of titles in various lists, it could be argued that readers like Chase more than Heyer but if we had to rank order authors would Heyer be so far down the Top 100 list? I think it would be much closer.
LOS is one of my favorites because it avoids all the stupidities many romance novelists make their supposedly intelligent heroines do just to advance a creaky plot. No lost letters, no contrived misunderstandings, no unattractive fits of pique. It is refreshing for Jessica to be honest and direct in her dealings with Dain who is also not your standard issue romantic hero though when he murmurs Italian love words…what’s not to like? For example, when a blackmailer wants her to deliver a precious object she’s given to Dain, Jessica doesn’t steal it setting up terrible disappointment in her husband. She informs him that regrettably she has to take back her gift and why…with the result that he solves the dilemma. Honesty and trust between partners are the sexiest qualities!
Having just reread LoS, I too noticed how both characters confront their obstacles head on. I do really like this aspect of the book. It feels like a breath of fresh air in a genre overloaded with big misunderstandings. It also puts the burden on characterization to move the story forward.
I love it. It is one of my go to comfort rereads. Like someone stated earlier, it’s the banter that does it for me. Chase is one of the best at nanter and at eliciting emotions when you least expect it.
My favorite Chases are: her trads, The Last Hellion, Lord Perfect, Mr. Impossible, and Dukes Prefer Blondes (just who thought this was a good title?). LoS isn’t even close in quality IMO.
I like the book very much, but adore “Lord Perfect” and especially “Mr. Impossible.” Right now, I prefer the absymally entitled Dukes Prefer Blondes” which is both hilarious and very romantic with some of the same aspects of “LOS.”
I love Dukes Prefer Blondes (the book, not the title!), Lynda, and can’t fathom why it isn’t more popular.
I just adore Dukes Prefer Blondes (agree though that the title is silly!). Like Caz, I too don’t know why it isn’t more popular. It’s one of her best, in my opinion.
I agree with PatW, IMO, ‘The Last Hellion’ is a much better book than LoS.. I also like ‘Lord Perfect’ and ‘Mr. Impossible’ more than LoS. When I checked my kindle I found that I had 4 pages of Loretta Chase novels but LoS isn’t one of them! The amazon price is more than I want to pay for a book that I thought was just okay.
I still love it. I often think that perhaps my view of it is coloured by nostalgia, but then I read or listen to it again and realise it isn’t. There are other excellent books out there, but not many that pull everything together in quite such a successful and endearing way.
I have the book, but still haven’t read it. I started it, but when it didn’t capture my interest, I put it down. So many people love it that I keep meaning to pick it back up and try again.
I’ve always thought that The Last Hellion was way way better than LOS
This one is still to me the quintessential Chase. The banter, the humor, the poignancy, the larger than life hero, and the uber-sharp heroine who outwits everyone – it just all works for me. During a recent reread, I found that Dain is surprisingly more sympathetic than I expected. Sure, he’s still a lout a lot of the time but he’s also terribly traumatized by a vicious childhood and the resultant low self-esteem shapes the man he’s become. I know there’s been quite a bit of critique of Jessica having to bear much of the burden of reforming Dain, and she definitely does, but I found this time that I respected her uplifting of the man she loved. The way she spoke to him and about him so fearlessly of her desire and love just struck me as so wonderfully romantic. Dain never stood a chance against her as a nemesis but when she begins confessing her true feelings, he’s a goner. It’s all just perfectly put together and still makes me laugh out loud.
AMEN!
My feelings exactly! It is one of the few of my older keepers that have stood the test of time.
I am in the minority here. I think this book was and is just okay.
I actively dislike it.
Does this book stand up for everyone else? I confess back in the day the heroine was interesting but I never cared much for the hero. It’s one of those books that are talked about a lot but I confess it’s not one I pick up to reread. How many people would still list it at number one? Or even at toward the top of their lists?
This amazes me. I can’t think of a single book that would have this sort of consensus today.
I wonder if it continues to be rated No 1 out of nostalgia and habit? I read it back in the day and I enjoyed it, but I also enjoyed plenty of Balogh, Brockway, Putney and Quinn books of that era, which was a golden age for European historicals. Is LoS so much better than the rest of them? And I wonder if there’s a difference between the opinions of those who read it when first published and those who read it later, once the book had acquired the status of a romance classic? And finally, I think it benefits from being published prior to the fragmentation of the market caused by ebooks and self-publishing, back when most romance readers read the same books.
I think that’s a big part of it. I will say that, for me personally, there are other books on our Top Ten that would never make my personal list. This one might.