Customer Reviews

Never a Lady

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Madame Alexandra Larchmont, fortune teller, is always on the look-out for the dark haired, green-eyed man who her cards have always warned her about. A former theif, she pulled herself from the bowels of London to become a celebrity of sorts, entertaining the ton.

Colin, Viscount Sutton, can't get past his recurring nighmares and a sense of doom that his life is about to end. Retired from a life of a Spy, his new mission in London is to find a bride and fulfill his responsibility by producing an heir.

Spying a woman leaping from a window, Colin is shocked to find that the dark beauty is the theif who once tried to steal his pocket watch and has haunted his dreams all the years since. Escaping from a room where she's overheard a murderous plot, Alexandra is equally stunned to find herself face-to-face with the green-eyed dark man.

Colin, suspicious of Alexandra's activities, hires her to perform private card readings for him. Alexandra, although wary, accepts. She is in desperate need of money in order to provide a safe haven for the street children she keeps at home.

Colins cards show deceite, betrayal, and doom. Although he doesn't believe in this nonsense at first, slowly he can't escape the fact that someone may be trying to kill him.

Colin, Alexandra and Nathan (Not Quite a Gentleman) band together to unravel this murderous plot.

I really enjoyed this book, not as much as Nathans though. The romance was very good, but highly unlikely. In reality, Alexandra would have accepted being his mistress. But this isn't reality. A bit surgar coated if you ask me, although ending was nicely done.

If you liked any of D'Alessandro's other books (The Bride Theif, Red Roses Mean Love etc) you'll like this one too. Not a deep emotional read, but some good romantic fluff.

Haunted by premonitions of his own death, Colin, Viscount Sutton, heads to London. He needs to marry a suitable wife and beget an heir before the worst befalls him. However, he is sidetracked in his wife search when he attends a society soiree and encounters the beguiling Madame Alexandra ("Alex") Larchmont. Alex is a renowned society fortune teller whose card readings are amazingly accurate. Colin met Alex four years earlier under very different circumstances. She was poor and dirty and attempting to pickpocket his gold watch. He caught her in the act, she cryptically responded, "It's you," and then ran away before he could even learn her name.

Despite their brief first meeting, they are clearly part of each other's destiny. Alex is certain Colin is the green-eyed, dark-haired man the cards have always predicted for her future. And Colin has never been able to forget his mysterious thief. No sooner are they reacquainted, then they are caught up in a double murder, an overheard murder plot, an assailant on the prowl, and some rather dire predictions from the cards. Although from vastly different worlds, their lives and hearts become more and more entwined. They know a future together for a viscount and a fortune teller (of dubious background) is simply not possible - or is it?

This story held my interest throughout. I liked the lead couple and enjoyed their verbal interplay. Although both had their secrets, their conversations were refreshingly straightforward and often funny. The love scenes were more sexual than sensual - they could have used a bit more tenderness - and the resolution to the murder mystery was a little pat. Overall though, the story was enjoyable, with a satisfying ending.

What a great combination! This was a well written story that had me hooked from the beginning. It contains a lot of this author's trademark humor and was an entertaining and emotional read as well. The attraction between the H/H was there from the beginning and there was good tension between the two. The relationship between the brothers Nathan and Colin was a nice touch to the story. Well written and fun read.

I really enjoyed the storyline where the heroine is a reformed pickpocket who became a professional tarot card reader, quite different than the norm. The plot is strong as is the writing. The love scenes are way R rated.

The only thing I don't like is that in both D'alessandro books I've read so far, the heroines looked the same: not beautiful because of mismatched features. I don't quite know how to picture the mismatched features, I'm afraid to. May come up with an ogre! But the guys are gorgeous.

This was the first book I had read by Jacquie D'Alessandro. Her work was quite reminiscent of Teresa Medeiros or Julia Quinn. I particularly liked the witty banter that occurred between Colin and Alex. Alex was certainly no wilting flower! It was a fun, light-hearted read, and I would read it again.

Colin Oliver, Viscount Sutton has come to London on a mission. Feelings of melancholy and doom coupled with reaching the age of his mother's death have him prompted him to get down to business to wed and secure his title by producing an heir. Several times Colin had been to London before, always looking for face so memorable but only glimpsed for a scant moment four years before. Prepared to abandon his search for that elusive dream he was astounded when across the ballroom floor he got his first glimpse of the newest toast of the ton, the famous fortune teller and saw the face that haunted him.

Madame Alexandra Larchmont knew how fleeting the novelty of her fortune-telling would be as an amusement for the ton. It was imperative she earn as much as possible in order to save what children she could from the vermin ridden streets of London. Spying Colin, the face of her dreams across the ballroom floor was a shock and in her efforts to hide she unwittingly overheard plans being made to commit murder. The only person that might be able to help would be Colin, the one person who could expose her for a fake. When it appears Colin doesn't recall that monumental moment of four years ago, and in spite of the folly of spending more time in his company, Alexandra cannot leave when his cards show him to be in danger. However, the real danger was in Alexandra becoming more and more susceptible to the impossible yearnings of her heart.

*** I've long been a fan of Ms. D'Alessandro's and her most recent Regency NEVER A LADY only cements my admiration for this vibrant wordsmith who's charismatic prose is a guarantee of providing the utmost in reading entertainment. She fashions her main protagonists with depth of personality making them seem larger than life and in this example the reader will be totally captivated by Alexandra, a product of the mean streets of London who makes it her mission to save as many of the unfortunate children as she can. Colin is fashioned with the undeniable stamp of an honorable gentleman who had been captivated by the dirty face of young girl who had once tried to pick his pockets. He'd let her slip away once and had suffered years of torment in wishing he knew what had happened to her; if she had managed to survive. While the romance and sensual elements were the prominent plot to this story, the mystery of who, what and why someone was to be murdered helped to keep the pace lively and the story rushing towards it's inevitable climax. Moreover, in addition to keeping the richness of this well-rounded story D'Allessandro inserts a plethora of engaging secondary characters including the very cunning six year old Robbie, Colin's brother Nathan, and a boot chewing dog aptly named B.C. All in all, a totally enchanting read that is sure to please.

Marilyn Rondeau, Official Reviewer for THE MYSTIC CASTLE

I purchased this book because it got great reviews. I was one of the best romance novels that I have read. The characters just jump off the pages and their interaction is simply marvelous.

This was my first book by Jacquie D'Alessandro and it was superb. I loved her humorous writing style and her frequent jaw-dropping love scenes. The story is a tale of romance between two lovers, Colin Oliver Viscount Sutton & Alexandra Larchmont- a common fortune teller. They are head-over-heels for eachother but cannot pursue it because of past secrets, murderous plots, social rules, and other events. The relationship between Colin & Alexandra ensures that there is never a dull moment in this delightful romp. However, the story would have been more satisfying if it had an epilogue- for that I give it 4 1/2 stars. Alexandra agrees to marry Colin and then the book just ends. It would have been nice to see if Colin does the things that he promised to Alexandra and also to see if she accomplishes her dream of helping under priveledged children. But, for my first Jacquie D'Alessandro book it was a great read that now has me wanting to read her other books. Two thumbs up for Never A Lady- a well deserved 4 1/2 stars.

Obviously I'm going against the grain here, but I did not like this novel. Despite a few flaws (Alex and Colin's thoughts were often repetitive, Colin's weird word-combining, the overtly sensual way that Alex ate the sweets in front of him - but not doing it on purpose, of course (sarcasm), etc.), I found the first 200+ pages decently enjoyable and was looking forward to seeing what would happen and how they would end up together. Once they decided to have an affair, all the annoyances coalesced and the book soured for me (not based on the affair decision) - I actually started to skim portions of the book, which is very rare for me. The characters were really wonderful at the beginning and so I was all the more disappointed that though I felt they could have resulted in a great love story, I didn't find one in Never A Lady.

PROS:
I appreciated that Alex was not considered beautiful in the conventional sense, but Colin found her so, and that Colin wasn't absolutely perfect, having a slight limp. Also, the relationship between Nathan and Colin was enjoyable and I liked the banter back and forth. The love scenes are well-written (for D'Alessandro fans, you'll be surprised to find them much more R-rated (or higher) than D'Alessandro normally has in her books).

CONS:
I found Alex and Colin's attraction for each other excessive and slightly ridiculous, especially in the beginning of the book. The fact that they have longed for each other for four years after seeing each other once - give me a break! And then, after they reconnect, it's surprising that they are not constantly having sex or buildings aren't on fire around them, considering the extensive insight we have into their thoughts of how sexually obsessed they are with each other (finger touches bring on sexual images lasting for paragraphs and of course their eyes, which seemed prone to evoking constant illicit thoughts). Because there didn't seem to be any intellectual or emotional basis for their connection, it kind of spoiled their physical one for me - D'Alessandro writes the sexual tension well, but between Alex and Colin I found it hard to believe or really appreciate.

NOTE:
I have not read D'Alessandro's Not Quite A Gentleman, which precedes this book, so though you can read this book as a stand-alone, I was a little lost on the back story of what happened between Colin and Nathan four years ago.

BOTTOM LINE:
D'Alessandro has much better works, in this humble reviewer's opinion, so read The Bride Thief or Red Roses Mean Love instead.

This was my first Jacquie D'Alessandro book and it got me hooked on her other books. It's sexy and the plot was interesting. I read this book before reading the prequel, Not Quite a Gentlemen. I didn't know there was a prequel but there were events in the story that made you realize there had to be a prequel because some stuff weren't elaborated enough. It doesn't mean you can't read this book, because it can be treated as it's own.

Colin Oliver, Viscount Sutton has a feeling that his life is in danger. It's just a feeling that he has and nightmares that goes along with it. In a ballroom, he meets face-to-face with this woman that has been haunting his dreams ever since he was pick-pocket by her 4 years ago. This woman happens to be the fortune teller Alexandra Larchmont. Alexandra recognizes Colin instantly due to his eyes and she vividly remembers him from the incident 4 years ago. She's frightened because she doesn't want him reporting her to the authorities.

They get to know each other through her readings of him and she sees death and turmoil in his readings. It's a really neat plot line with her being a fortune teller.

This is also a very sexy and hot book and I highly recommend.