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    Shameless
    Shameless
    Shameless
    Audiobook11 hours

    Shameless

    Written by Anne Stuart

    Narrated by Susan Ericksen

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A long string of tragic loves haunts Viscount Benedick Francis Alistair Rohan. Cool and cynical, he's weary of life's fickle games and wants a prim and proper wife he can ignore while indulging his sensual appetites.

    Lady Melisande Carstairs is nothing less than a tornado storming into Benedick's measured life. Possessed of boundless energy and the soul of a reformer, Melisande always conquers, whether it's saving the souls of soiled doves or seducing the man she's inconveniently fallen for. When she informs Benedick that his brother's newly revived Heavenly Host has graduated from simple carnal debauchery to sadistic violence, he's compelled to investigate, undercover. Under those covers, however, is Melisande herself, playing a dangerous game in the name of justice.

    And the Heavenly Host has just seen her hand, and more.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 6, 2011
    ISBN9781452671031
    Shameless
    Author

    Anne Stuart

    Anne Stuart loves Japanese rock and roll, wearable art, Spike, her two kids, Clairefontaine paper, quilting, her delicious husband of thirty-four years, fellow writers, her three cats, telling stories and living in Vermont. She's not too crazy about politics and diets and a winter that never ends, but then, life's always a trade-off. Visit her at www.Anne-Stuart.com.

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    Reviews for Shameless

    4/5

    77 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 3/5
      What can I say? Benedick just doesn't have the same bad-boy vibe as the other men in this series and Melisandre is a bit too self-righteous for me. The story seems a little tired and unrealistic, and I think bringing back the Heavenly Host again was a mistake. It's not a bad book on its own, but following the others in this series, it is a let-down. I read them all in a row, and Breathless was soooo good. I'm hoping the next (and final) book is better.
    • 3/5
      We have the Viscount Benedick Rohan, a man who lost two wives to childbirth complications, venture to London to find a, oh, so proper wife he can wed, bed, impregnate for the oh, so important heir and spare (if I had a sibling you best be knowing I'd refer to them as the spare), and then abandon/ignore to run off merrily with some mistress.
      He arrives home to find his baby brother a shell of a man, due to his injuries he received from fighting in the Afgan Wars, addicted to opium, and doing secretly naughty things as a member of, those oh, so scandalously bored aristocrat's group, The Heavenly Host.
      This prompts him to order in his evening's entertainment (totally understand, I check the pizza delivery box way more than the pickup one) who arrives eager to please, but oh, wait! The evening's entertainment comes along with a side of avenging angel!

      Thus, we meet Lady Melisande Carstairs. A widow who now devotes her time to sheltering and helping fallen women rehab and transition to what are deemed more respectable lines of work. Melisande is a tough cookie, take no shit, butt kicking, never been french kissed, never been fully undressed for sexual congress...er, what? Yes, our heroine, is of course, while having had partook, is vastly inexperienced and naive about bed sport. Guess, who is going to enlighten her....

      While Ms. Stuart's quality writing is present, Benedick is not her average hero. He lacks the heaping amounts of darkness that his predecessors had. This might make him more appealing to the masses. Melisande, while more of a believable, in her actions and thoughts, character, never really distinguishes herself from the many, many, many plucky/innocent regency misses. Where they shine is in Ms. Stuart's ability to construct caustic, witty, and push/pull sexual tension banter. This was my favorite aspect of the book.

      The main story thread of Benedick and Melisande investigating the Heavenly Host, he to try to save his brother and her to try to save the women forced to participate, was slow and meh for me. It's the reason our characters are thrown together but like I said, the dialogue is where this book excels.

      This started off strong and really sagged towards the middle and end. Yes, yes, I get it, you're afraid she'll die in childbirth and you're afraid he'll suck in bed and not really love you. Stuff it and just give me more banter!

      All in all a decent regency read but probably just for the OCD people who want to finish up the series.

      *Scorpion and Miranda make an appearance in this :) They are from book 3 "Breathless" which was my favorite from the series but should be warned Scorpion was one hell of a DARK character.
      **Also, we get a smattering of tidbits about the sidecouple (Benedick's brother and Melisande's bf) in this book and whoa doggy do I want to read their story.
    • 2/5
      My least favorite of the Rohan series, based on the weak mystery and a general disinterest in the tropes driving the hero and heroine. The Heavenly Host are clearly identified as the "bad guys" from the get go, and having Brandon limp around in an opium haze while Melisande and Benedick take *forever* to solve the mystery was painful considering all the women being raped and mutilated in the background. While Melisande wasn't a Secret Virgin, she was close, and while Benedick plays a good, damaged I-Can-Never-Love-Again hero, the chemistry I enjoyed so much in previous books was lacking. When characters you enjoy get embroiled in over the top, Gothic mischief, it's entertaining. With this group, it was the straw that broke this reader's back.
    • 4/5
      I am generally not a fan of romance novels. I was for the most part pleasantly surprised by this book. Anne's characters are interesting and somewhat believable. Anne evidently has some understanding of love making for she provides some insight into proper technique. I was not offended by the graphic descriptions and actually found it educational. I was disappointed with the solution that Anne developed for the saving of Betsy (on the alter). The solution is too improbable and too convenient. The epilog leaves one wondering about the final outcome of Emma and Brandon. Overall an entertaining book.
    • 3/5
      Reviewed by ShannonReview copy provided by NetGalley (reposted from Shannon's website, with permission)Benedick Rohan has to find another wife and produce an heir or two. To most people, these 2 things might be fairly easy to do. For Benedick, it seems that every time he thinks he's going to get everything required of him, they are taken away...be it the wife or his heir. So it's with very callus requirements that he begins his search for a wife. One that will obey him in all things, provide him his heir and then live secluded in the country while he leads his life in London. First and foremost though, was finding one of those marvelous lady's of the night to help slack the lust that has building during his year of mourning. Melisande Carstairs has made it her life's work to remove the girls working in houses of ill repute and teaching them there is more to life than lying on their backs and hopefully finding gainful employment. She never enjoyed sex during her marriage to her very elderly husband or the one other man she attempted relations with, so she figures it must be like that with all men, therefore something she should save these woman from. She's even managed to take the best known madame, Mrs. Cadbury, and encouraged her to close her doors and come to help her manage her house, aka Dovecote. Unfortunately for Melisande, Mrs. Cadbury happened to employee a certain girl who was quite skilled and has been requested to visit one Viscount Rohan. Said girl decided that performing her special skill for the Viscount (who all the girls thinks is dreamy) is better than doing what's she's currently doing, so she takes off. Melisande is hot on her heels and comes face to face with Benedick. Of course, Benedick is a complete ass and Melisande is up really high on her high horse, but the match has been set....and what a match it is. Melisande wants to help save everyone. No matter how dangerous the situation or how damaging to her reputation, she wants to make someone else's life better. After all, what is she going to do with all the money her late husband left her? So when she finds out that the Heavenly Host has been taking innocent girls and performing vile things on them, she's determined to help. She figures to enlist Benedick, seeing as his younger brother is involved. She never expected to actual fall for the condescending ass. For Benedick, Melisande was the last thing he wanted to deal with. He wanted someone to slack his lust and then find the wife he can ignore. What he didn't need was this meddlesome woman poking her noise where it didn't belong, especially the Heavenly Host and their sexual exploits. Unfortunately, Melisande was the one woman that wouldn't bend to Benedick's whim and could verbally spare with him where no one else could. When he started to find himself thinking of her non-stop, he knew he was in trouble. The story started out slow, but about a quarter of the way through started to pick up steam. I enjoyed the altercations between Benedick and Melisande, especially how despite themselves they couldn't seem to stay away from each other or their stance on the other person. This was a good read that will entertain you and keep you wondering what could happen next.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book I read by Anne Stuart and I enjoyed it a lot. I love historical romances and Shameless was all about what is proper for a lady and having a reputation in society. What I loved though was how Melisande didn't care about her reputation and just did what she wanted to, kind a stick it to the man attitude. People could talk about her and how it was degrading to help prostitutes find a new life, but she didn't care. All she cared about was helping people, oh and being with Benedick. I loved their passion and chemistry in this book. What started off as a harmless game for Benedick turned into something much more that he was very afraid of feeling. He was just so adorable in his protective ways while trying to fight his undeniable attraction to Melisande. My only problem with this book is that some parts moved too fast and others moved too slow. If there was a happy medium for the entire book, then it would have been better. But as it is, Shameless was a very enjoyable historical romance full of kidnappings, a mystery, and a very hot romance.