Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover

Avon

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover
Sarah MacLean
2014

The Summary
"By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal.  But the truth is far more shocking--in London's darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city's most legendary gaming hell.  For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered...until now.

"Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness.  He knows she is more than she seems, and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana's secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear...including her heart."

The Good
I was curiously caught up in this story.  It was a bit like a soap opera--dramatic and heart-wrenching and saccharine sweet simultaneously--and, once I was hooked, I couldn't seem to stop.  I found myself committed to the story, because it was complex and rather exciting.

While I wouldn't call it the best audiobook which I've had the pleasure of hearing, it wasn't a bad story.  I mean, character development is decent and romantic entanglements were fairly believable.  Plus, I loved the fact that the main female protagonist took charge of her life and decided she would no longer remain under the thumb of Victorian social expectations.

Honestly, I found Georgiana's courage and her plan to quietly undermine society refreshing.  Her activities, while rather far fetched, make her a formidable and forbidding woman.  She's not a shrinking violet, she's not a damsel in distress; in fact, she can take care of herself and she's done so for nigh on ten years.  Personally, I appreciate that in a character.

The Bad
Justine Eyre did a nice job narrating Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover.  She fits Georgiana's character quite well; however, I hated listening to Temple's voice.  For some reason, her male voices made me cringe.  It wasn't quite to the nails-on-a-chalkboard level, but it did make me think of grinding my teeth.

I'll be honest, I just couldn't stand it and, occasionally, I had to take my earbuds out to take a break.

The Ugly
Mature content.

If it's not explicit sex scenes, then it's domestic abuse and a general array of vices.  Definitely not for younger readers.