Surprising Lord Jack

Duchess of Love Series, Book 2

By: Sally MacKenzie

Narrated by: Abby Craden

Frances Hadley has managed her family's estate for years. So why can't she request her own dowry? She'll have to go to London herself and knock some sense into the men interfering in her life. With the nonsense she's dealt with lately, though, there's no way she's going as a woman. A pair of breeches and a quick chop of her red curls, and she'll have much less to worry about....

Jack Valentine, third son of the famous Duchess of Love, is through being pursued by pushy young ladies. One particularly determined miss has run him out of his own house party. Luckily the inn has one bed left - Jack just has to share with a rather entertaining red-headed youth. Perhaps the two of them should ride to London together. It will make a pleasant escape from his mother's matchmaking melodrama!

©2013 Sally MacKenzie (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"MacKenzie has penned another humorous Regency-era gem that will get a collective thumbs-up from [fans]." ( Booklist)

Fun story - don’t like the narrator

I have read a couple of books by this author and enjoyed them. Like most romances of this type the story is fun but rather predictable. The same can be said of Georgette Heyer but her books are more fun and set more firmly in the period. This book is amusing and does keep one’s interest

I found the narrator very distracting- she is not an English English Native speaker and her speech and pronunciation idiosyncrasies are annoying to someone who is. She sounds like a caricature with occasional Eastern European overtones. It is clear that no one has mentioned how to pronounce “ton” denoting the fashionable set - it is a word borrowed from French and pronounced accordingly. I know the author is American too but her slips out of English English are fewer (mostly omitting “the and “and”) and less grating I will keep listening to this author even with this narrator but with reservations.
One would think Tantor Audio could afford a better narrator……

Not as good as Bedding Lord Ned...

This story is a little more silly that the first books and I don't think the narrator did as smooth a job. I would like to read the next book though when it's available.

Emotions, uncertainty and family dynamics.

Not as good as the Ned’s story but decent enough to finish. Francis was so up and down with her moods, misplaced frustrations, and lack of self-worth, making it difficult to want to finish the listening but I got through it. Francis was faced with a lot and entitled to her feelings but for me personally, I prefer characters to remain consistent. If you’re going to be tough then be tough and don’t crumble and cry or be at a loss for words, when you should have plenty of words to offer a “proper set down,” to those who deserve it most. I realize it’s how the author created this character but it didn’t do her justice. Overall, decent and you hear about previous characters.

Lovely Mystery (&) Romance

I loved this book in the series. As in the other books the characters feel genuine, thus so does their falling for each other. But the murderer (i.e., the slasher) adds a dimension reminiscent of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. A terrific read.

Not That Great

I wished the heroine had more personality and was a tad bit braver. She was always stammering and acting scared.