A Loving Scoundrel [Library Binding]

Johanna Lindsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2008

Enter the privileged world of English aristocrats and experience the passion, intrigue, and romantic pleasures of the incomparable Malorys - a family of dashing rogues, rakehell adventurers, and spirited ladies. Now Jeremy, the son of gentleman pirate James Malory, falls in love. . . . When Danny, a young woman who grew up on the streets of London with no memory of her real family, is banished from her gang because she helped handsome rakehell Jeremy Malory steal back the jewels his friend lost in a card game, Danny demands that Jeremy give her a job. She is determined to become respectable in order to fulfill her dream of marrying and starting a family. Intrigued by her beauty and spunk, Jeremy hires Danny as his upstairs maid, although he wants her as his mistress. Under the tutelage of Jeremy and his cousin Regina, Danny blossoms into a lady. Although she is drawn to Jeremy by passionate feelings she has never experienced before, she refuses to be anything more than a servant to him because she knows he is not the marrying kind. When Danny undergoes a Cinderella-like transformation and poses as Jeremy’s new love in an attempt to help him avert a scandal, a few highly placed members of the ton remark on how familiar Danny looks. Now tongues are wagging, raising the question of her true identity, which threatens not only Danny’s chances of capturing Jeremy’s heart but her very life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lindsey's formula for bestselling historical romance features modern-thinking heroes and heroines in old-fashioned clothing, who meet in scenes reminiscent of favorite classics-and who then jump into bed with an enthusiasm that would make the authors of said classics blush. Her latest Regency picks up the Malory series (Gentle Rogue, etc.) after a long hiatus, to focus on Jeremy Malory. Raised a pirate but now enjoying the Malory fortune, socially prominent but streetwise Jeremy meets his match in Danny, a beautiful orphan with no memory of her past, who lives dressed as a boy with a group of London pickpockets. After catching her trying to rob him in a sketchy tavern, he promises to release her only after she breaks into the country home of a dastardly nobleman who cheated Jeremy's friend out of precious family heirlooms. Jeremy goes along for the ride, and when they're caught in the act, it takes Danny's quick wit and Jeremy's steady nerve to escape. Oliver Twist becomes Pygmalion as Danny becomes a maid in Jeremy's household and later tries to pass as a highborn lady to help her master escape the clutches of a scheming heiress. Of course, Danny has more in common with highborn ladies than she realizes, and the reader knows that eventually Danny will learn who she is and uncover the evildoer who stole her birthright. The fun of this costume drama, after all, is not in guessing what happens next but in knowing what will and savoring the anticipation. Lindsey brings nothing new to the mix, but she stirs it up with so much energy and spirit that it's hard not to find it delicious.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

For 15 years, Danny has been living with a group of orphan thieves, masquerading as a boy, but now, thanks to one highborn rogue, she has lost the only home she's ever known. Determined to make Jeremy Malory pay for trapping her into stealing back his friend's family heirlooms, Danny coerces Jeremy into giving her a respectable job as his new upstairs maid. Jeremy would rather that she become his mistress, but all he can convince her to do is pretend to be his new romantic interest in order to save him from a marriage-minded heiress. While Jeremy and Danny indulge in their little game of seduction, Danny is recognized by the man who killed her parents and thought he had also done away with their young daughter. Best-selling Lindsey returns to her Malory family series after a 13-year hiatus with a terrific tale about a wickedly seductive hero and a wonderfully unconventional heroine, infusing this fairy-tale-like love story with a dash of danger in a successful bid to please readers who like witty and sinfully sensual Regency romances. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 444 pages
• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-05-29; Reprint edition (May 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143529260X
• ISBN-13: 978-1435292604
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,962,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

johanna Lindsey is one of the most popular authors of romantic fiction, with more than sixty million copies of her novels sold. World renowned for her novels of "first-rate romance" (New York Daily News), Lindsey is the author of forty-three previous bestselling novels, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Lindsey lives in Maine with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Danny Is An Awesome Heroine; Jeremy His Loveable Self, September 6, 2004

By 

Dakota "daxydakota" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Loving Scoundrel (Malory Novels (Atria Books)) (Hardcover)

Jeremy finally falls in love.... I read "A Loving Scoundrel" in about 5 hours; couldn't put in down, really. Yes, it was predictable. Yes, the girl is always beautiful and ends up being really obnoxiously rich. Yes, the danger never really seems threatening. But it still was a bloody good read. I think I like Danny the best of all the Malory novel heroines (even better than Georgina, who is such a feisty girl). First, Danny is a street urchin, a thief who talks like gutter trash and keeps a mouse as a pet. This is no pampered princess here. Danny actually works hard to survive; plus, she has goals that very few romance novel heroines ever have. Where most heroines just go about the book wanting to marry and live happily ever after, Danny wants to marry AND help other orphans by running an orphanage. I found this to be sweet and commendable, as well as most happily un-heroine like. Danny is also blunt, which is nice, since she becomes quite the challenge for young scamp Jeremy, who has gads of girls falling all over themselves trying to get his notice. Having read about Jeremy for at least the last 15 years, I feel like I've grown up with him, and so it was fun to see him, near my own age, in his own story and struggling with romance. I loved how Danny denied him ... that boy was never denied anything before! Speaking of denying, there are a few reviews distastefully likening Danny and Jeremy's first night together as date rape. If you read more carefully, you would have noticed how much Danny was dying to have him since the moment they first met; on the night in question, yes, she was tipsy, but she had also made up her mind (was "tired of fighting it") to be with Jeremy ("Was he afraid she'd stop him? Not a chance, when she had such an amazing urge to feel his naked body against hers"). That is quite MORE than willing, thank you very much. Anyway, as Malory novels go, this one was fun, especially since it revolved around servants rather than aristocrats. Thankfully, this one also had the least amount of back-story and Malory family reunions (sacrilegious, I know) than the past few novels in the series, which was refreshing, really, since it allowed us to concentrate on the lovers and not family shenanigans. Some people may also harp on how unrealistic maid-turned-lady may be (dare we suggest they read "Pygmalion"?), but it worked for me. All in all, I enjoyed "A Loving Scoundrel," but would suggest reading it after you read the 6 other Malory novels that proceed it (starting with "Love Only Once"), just to find out why we Malory fans LOVE Jeremy and to know all the history of the unforgettable Malory family.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Malorys strike again., May 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Loving Scoundrel (Malory Novels (Atria Books)) (Hardcover)

Our beloved Malorys are back. We all waited in anticipation for the newest installment and Lindsey doesn't disappoint. Jeremy is now 25 years old and moving into a home of his own. Following in the footsteps of his father and uncles, Jeremy is taking the ton, namely the ladies, by storm. However, Percy, Jeremy's & Derek's bumbling friend, in typical fashion, has found himself in a bit of trouble and Jeremy comes to the rescue. Percy has lost two family heirlooms to a rather unscrupulous person and it is up to Jeremy to get them back. Only a Malory would think of using a thief to rob a thief. But this is where the trouble begins. Who would have thought Jeremy would choose a pickpocket who has been masquerading as a boy for 15 years? Danny, the pickpocket is an interesting character and doesn't give in easy to the charming and lovable Malory scoundrel.
I was a bit disappointed that there was not more interaction with his family, but overall it was a wonderful book and I look forward to the continuation of the Malory saga.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love those Malorys!, July 29, 2004

By 

FizzySmile (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Loving Scoundrel (Malory Novels (Atria Books)) (Hardcover)

The first Johanna Lindsey novel I ever read, probably when I was about 13, was Love Only Once, the first in the Malory family series, and it remains my one true favorite of Johanna Lindsey. I can't even count how many times I have read it since that first time. In A Loving Scoundrel: A Malory Novel, the author brings us back to that wonderfully fun, romantic and exciting family that produces more brave,flawed and sexy rakes and intelligent, independent and beautiful ladies than any family has a right to. What I love about Lindsey is she doesn't just write novels from the womans perspective as the main character, but also from the mans, such as she did in A Loving Scoundrel, where she gives Jeremy his chance to shine on his own. While there is always intrigue,romance,antagonists and some delicious love scenes, she also fleshes out characters you feel you know, novel to novel and can genuinely care about. I haven't loved every novel. Some of her more recent works have felt like she rushed through them, but I truly enjoyed this one, as I felt she got back to her Malory roots. I read this book in a day, and as is typical when I read, little else got done. When I read, I look to be entertained, its my favorite form of escapism, and Lindsey delivers in this novel. If you are a Lindsey fan, pick this up soon! If you haven't read her before, I highly recommend beginning with Love Only Once and then reading all the novels in the Malory family. Once you start with Johanna Lindsey, you are compelled to read them all. Not all her novels are based on the Malory family, but I admit, these are my favorites. Set aside some time, as Jeremy and Danny will demand your undivided attention!