Now I want more!

Carla Kelly is one of my all-time favorite authors. I was so excited to see that one of her books is finalky an audiobook. I own every one her books in print as well as ebook format. Her regency stories and westerns are extremely well researched, fun to read. and make you feel like you're right there with her characters. I've spent many happy hours rereading her stories, and now I hope to listen to them as well. The narrator did a fantastic job. Her British. Irish, and Virginian accents were a delight. Please make more audiobooks of Carla's stories. I'd love to hear Courting Carrie in Wonderland, Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand, or any of the Royal Navy or St. Brendan's books. More please!!!

3 people found this helpful

Loved the quick witted relationship

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The storyline and narrator is a genius. I laughed often and loved the characters

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable. Characters with Depth.

Good combination of humor and seriousness. Enjoyed the narrator. The two main characters had complexity and depth. All the others seemed to just be there to move the story along. Glad to come across this new-to-me author.

1 person found this helpful

FINALLY!!!

Finally Carla Kelly novels on audio!! She is one of my favorite authors and the narrator is perfect - hope she reads more books for Carla. She has captured Lord Ragsdale's sence of humor perfectly. So often great books are ruined by a horrible narrator so am very pleased with this combination. Looking forward to all of Carla's books on audio! Thank you!

1 person found this helpful

A complete joy

I don’t usually write reviews, however, this one deserves a note of gratitude to the author. I also enjoyed the narrator immensely! This is my first encounter with a Carla Kelly novel, and be assured that I will be looking for more after this delightful love story. I only wish that it could have continued. Do yourself the favor of enjoying this clean read as well!

Nicole
C-ville, Virginia- USA

Don’t judge this book by its cover!

Reforming Lord Ragsdale

I think we (the 20-30-40 somethings) sometimes forget the great writing doesn’t have to always be “super new”! I know we all like the Jane Austen, Bronte sisters books too, but there are great books from in between those two time periods as well.

For example, Reforming Lord Ragsdale caught my eye because of the new updated audiobook cover and blurb. I didn’t realize until I was knee deep in the story that he is originally from 1995, and the cover…well, let’s say the orbital cover definitely looks line 90s material. Lol (not bashing it, I’m an 80s baby and grew up in the 90s).

So this review would not have happened based on cover alone!

Review:
I loved this story. It’s about an Irish maid who is indentured to an idiot American living in England during the 1800s. He is a perpetual gambler and wagers up the rest of her servitude as collateral for his gambling debts.

Except, in walks the scared British Lord Ragsdale, known rake among society. He steps in and wins Emma’s indenturement, and instantly regretted it because she’s Irish. And there is no room for another servant within his household. That is until Emma makes him sign a contract that she will help him become reformed from his wicked ways enough to win the heart of an honorable lady.

But in the process, the two lose their hearts to each other. Will a rake actually be reformed? Can an Irish Miss make it in a British Lord’s home?

Great narration made up for an ‘ok’ story.

I would have given the story itself two and a half stars if I were able; but since I lean slightly more to the two than the three, two it is.

That isn’t to say it was a bad story. It was solidly ‘ok’. An easy romance and one you will likely enjoy but also likely not enough to want to listen to it again.

The main heroine, Emma, is an Irish woman who has suffered through English torment and torture. She now finds herself, accidentally, working for the English Lord Ragsdale.

Lord Ragsdale is an ex-military man who lost an eye during the battle against the Irish and who also lost his father in that same fight…

Wanting to search for her family she had lost contact with during the war, Emma’s plan is to reform the Lord, sort out his debts and hope he will set her free so she may continue the search for her family.

…And you guessed it… they fall in love along the way.

Now. Emma was quite an interesting character; which I am very grateful of since she is our main character. Her backstory is solid and her motives throughout the story are consistent and sensible.

Ragsdale, however, was lacking. He was portrayed; at the beginning; as having a severe grudge against the Irish for the loss of his eye and his father. However, his transition from hating them to actively feeling genuine emotions for Emma and even being offended when others treat her badly because of her nationality is far FAR too smooth and quick. To the point where I find it almost unbelievable. He hardly; if ever; finds himself in some sort of emotional turmoil over his previous misconceptions of the Irish and just… shrugs it all off; forgets his own troubled past after only a very short confession to Emma and that’s that. I would have liked to see far more of that conflict between being an Englishman who is supposed to hate the Irish and hold a grudge against them, and coming to terms that he might indeed be falling in love with his new Irish servant… A missed opportunity.

My biggest annoyance was, however, not with the story itself, but with the way it was written. Every few minutes, you will get an insight into what the characters are thinking. Entirely pointless observations which detract so much and leave absolutely NOTHING to the subtle imagination of the rest of the writing. Everything is spelled out for the reader/listener; as if we would otherwise not understand. It left me feeling a bit belittled.

Let’s end on a positive note then. The narration was brilliant. The voices sounded genuine and it was so pleasant to listen to. If it weren’t for Dianna Graham’s narration, I might not have been quite as forgiving to the forgettable story.

Very enjoyable!

Entertaining tale. Great narration. I really enjoy Carla Kelly's writing. The H & h histories revealed slowly but story never boring. Long standing prejudices between the main characters reversed. Side characters were entertaining.. Heroine is bright and used what power she had to her advantage. Both main characters were likable and relatable. .

Love Carla Kelly

I wish all her books were on Audible - she's an amazing author. If you're looking for a clean read, a little romance, and historical fiction this is the book for you. Highly entertaining and the narrator is top notch.

What an Intriguing Story

The text was well written and engaging. The characters were very developed. Lord Ragsdale was pretty clever and Emma kept him on his toes.. The writing style was consistent and the exposition didn't slow the plot overly much. I would definitely recommend that you make this purchase. You won't be disappointed.