Seduction & Scandal

By: Charlotte Featherstone

Narrated by: Helen Stern

With the scandalous nature of her birth to live down, Isabella Fairmont dreams of a proper marriage—even if a passionless one. She saves her deepest desires for the novel she dares to pen, wherein a handsome lord with dark powers seduces her. But then her courtship with an appropriate suitor is threatened by the sudden attentions of the reclusive Earl of Black… whose pale blue eyes and brooding sensuality are exactly as she described in her book.

Isabella tries to resist the mysterious Earl. Yet as he pursues her, with inexplicable knowledge of her past and kisses that consume her, Isabella fears she will succumb.

If only the earl could tell Isabella the truth. With very real, and treacherous, thieves endangering her life, Black will need to protect Isabella from the very people she trusts the most.

©2011 Charlotte Featherstone (P)2011 Harlequin Enterprises

Pretty good

Overall this book was pretty good but I also think the narrator makes a huge difference. This narrator wasn’t my favorite compared to others I’ve listened to. She needed to have better accents and voices for the separate characters.

Interesting Novel

Seduction & Scandal is the first book in this series. It's not as good as the second one, but is still pretty good. If you are listening to the beginning of this novel and think to yourself, "Wow, this is really weird," don't worry about it. That's just the intro, and is explained pretty quickly. There is a piece of jewelry that plays a really important role in this story--sort of like a romanticized Lord of the Rings. There is a paranormal aspect to this series that initially comes off as strange. Nonetheless, the story of Isabella and Lord Black is an intriguing one. They both wrestle with their past and finding a way to not let that past get in the way of their relationship.

Good introduction to the Brethren Guardians

Read from July 19, 2012 to July 30, 2012 and from June 11, 2013 to June 19, 2013

4.25 stars

While Featherstone needs a better editor to eliminate repetitive words/phrases as well as those that don't quite make sense, she's an excellent storyteller, and this was a fabulous introduction to her--and to the world of the Brethren Guardians. Such a good introduction, in fact, that I immediately downloaded the second book!

June 2013: Re-Listen Update
I enjoyed this book almost as much the second time around as the first. Featherstone's need for a better editor was much more noticeable this time around, but at least this time her tendency to repeat a word multiple times in a sentence/paragraph amused rather than annoyed me. Narrator Helen Stern is fantastic, especially giving different accents and tones to help differentiate the characters. Overall, still a 4 star book for the second time around.

Complex story is an unexpected gem

The description for this book does not tell of how much there really is going on in this story. The complex mystery makes this much more interesting than the standard regency romance. Murder, ghosts, Knights Templar and more bring these characters’ world to life.

This book is the first in a trilogy and although able to stand on it’s own, the story of the Templars crosses through all three.

Great read

This book is definately worth your time and credit. The tone is dark and the Earl of Black is awesome. It is not a predictable plot like many "romance" stories. Nothing less that I have come to expect from Carlotte Featherstone. The narrater did a great job by keeping all the voices deistinct and not mauling the male voices.