154 of 156 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic! The utlimate reformed rake!, November 11, 2003
It's a rare book that can sustain an average 5 star rating over 56 reviews (at least as of this writing)! This is one of those books that I'd heard about for years and seen in lots of favourites and Desert Island Keepers lists. It had been on my TBR shelf for several months and now I'm wondering what took me so long to read it - I loved it!
This really is the ultimate rake reformed story. Though I did not enjoy reading about Sebastian's unhappy childhood and torturous years at Eton, it had to be endured for the reader to understand the man he became. Seemingly without conscience, a man who uses people, considers women either bothersome (ladies) or sex objects (prostitutes), drinker, gambler and uncaring bad influence on younger, impressionable and less wealthy hangers-on. And one such hanger-on is Jessica Trent's idiot of a younger brother Bertie who is quickly going through the family's money in an effort to fit in and keep up with the infamous Marquess of Dain. Jessica and her grandmother have traveled to Paris determined to reclaim Bertie from Dain's destructive influence. But when Jessica actually meets Dain, she is frustrated and annoyed to discover that she is extremely attracted to the devil. What a bother! But she is still determined to extricate Bertie and forces a confrontation that he cannot ignore!
Upon meeting the delectable Miss Trent, Dain is no less attracted to Jessica and no more pleased about it. He's avoided society ladies for most of his adult life (ever since one tried to lure him into marriage for his money) and the only women he spends time with are prostitutes. But Jessica has quickly gotten under his skin and when they have several very public encounters that can only be described as scandalously inappropriate he is determined not to be brought to the altar. But he underestimates Jessica's need for justice and eventually gives in. If it's marriage to Lord Beelzebub she wants, so be it!
Of course neither expects much from this marriage, but both are pleasantly surprised. Jessica seems unflappable handling everything Dain throws her way with calm efficiency and confidence. Dain can't help but be impressed. And Dain slowly reveals himself to be quite human after all. So how can Jessica help but fall for him? But does this mean smooth sailing for this couple? Not likely!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I did not care for Dain at the start, but by the end I really liked him a lot. Especially in his dealings with his illegitimate son. Conversely I really like Jessica throughout. She's tough as nails, determined, witty and nothing gets her down. Actually, as others have pointed out, she may border on too perfect! A highly recommended read!
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94 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is THE ONE..., June 23, 2003
I have read hundreds of romance novels. I have my share of favorite authors and have seldom ventured on the untried ones. I have never done any review of any single book because I have yet to find one I can call as THE ONE, which is worth the time and the effort to give praise to an author for a romance book that's superbly done. It takes a real good book to write a review. The Lord of Scoundrels in THE ONE.
I bought this book, my first of Loretta Chase, on the strength of the reviews in the amazon.com site and I am very happy I did. It is lush, witty, entertaining and very sensual- the elements romance readers look for in a book worth to be in a keeper's shelf. No complicated plot but with very good, characterizations, witty dialogues and unforgettable scenes that make the book worth keeping.
Dialogue sparkles and sparks fly between the two main characters: Lord Dain, the dark, tortured reprobate, who had very little opinion of himself but who was hopelessly besotted with the "needle-tongued, conceited, provoking ape leader of a lady" and Jessica, the beautiful, strong-minded, sensuous spinster who in her words declared "I've been in lust with you from the moment I met you". The sizzling verbal fights are very captivating. The "animal lust" and the deep desire for conquest and possession just leap off the pages to keep the reader enthralled. Lord Dain's use of the endearments in Italian during their very intimate moments makes the story even more romantic and titillating. But wait, please let me include the notorious punchline, "I should like to see you try".
When I finished the book, I read it again and again and then again most especially some of the very poignant, even hilarious and totally comical scenes, i.e. the preconceived notions of Lord Belzeebub about the "carnage he thought his overwroght imagination had pictured" in bedding his virgin wife. You will find yourself smiling and later laughing out so loud. And of course their romantic and passionate encounters are original and unforgetable they are so totally hot, hot, hot!!!
Scenes like the unbutonning of the gloves, the lamppost incident, Lady Wallingdon's party, the Hyde Park with Jessica on Lord Dain's lap, the brawl with Ainswood, they are so vivid and well played out that you will in turn even fantasize some more scenes of your own of Lord Dain and Jessica!
There are two scorchingly sensual and highly erotic highlights in the book that romance reader will remember:
1. The showdown between Lord Dain and Jessica barely three days wed
2. The boxing bout they attended that culminated in Jessica's declaration of her love for Sebastian again and again while against the pillar in a burial ground attached to a tiny crumbling church.
But of course, who will ever forget the way Jessica sought satisfaction for the very scandalously compromising and public position he put her in: "her bodice undone and sagging to the waist, his tongue down her throat, his filthy hand up her skirt?"
I totally agree with Lord Dain's rumination while leisurely taking his bath after successfully "tumbling" his wife,"Since the Almighty had not done him a single act of kindness in at least twenty-five years, Dain thought it was about bloody time...."
Yes, the Lord of Scoundrels, the dark and tortured Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain deserves the beautiful, virginal and passionate Jessica Trent.
To Ms. Loretta Chase, your Lord of Scoundrels is absolutely WONDERFUL! It is an absolute MUST for romance readers.
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60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funniest, sexiest, and most emotional book I've read..., March 20, 2000
By A Customer
I love romance books, but originality is scarce. In a genre where too many books seem to blend together until I can hardly tell them apart, LORD OF SCOUNDRELS is a true original. I haven't read anything like it. Dain and Jessica are a very unique, loveable, frustrating, sexy couple. But there is so much more to it than that and I fear I don't have the words. Only this: DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK! Reading it was a true pleasure. Jessica calls Dain Lord Beelzebub. I loved that she wasn't clueless or skittish around Dain. Dain has been used to most people, especially women, looking at him as though he is a freak. He's big, brutish, and a bully. He's also a "whoremonger" who has sworn never to get involved with a lady. But Jessica gets under his skin upon their first meeting. She accepts the fact that for the first time in her life, she has fallen in MAJOR lust with a man. This is where the fun begins. The prose is fluid, lyrical, and smooth. It NEVER falters. The dialogue is the most original and witty dialogue I've read in a very long time. Don't miss it!
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