What a Reckless Rogue Needs by Vicky Dreiling

Narrated by Elizabeth Jasicki

Colin Brockhurst, Earl of Ravenshire has a problem. His father has informed him he is going to sell a family property if Colin doesn’t get married in the next six weeks. Colin had always thought he would inherit the property; he spent his early years there and it’s where his mother is buried. Now his father is telling him that he has to get leg shackled or else lose the family home.

Colin returns home, determined to show his father why he deserves Sommerall. Only he runs into a snag. The snag, or Lady Angeline Brenham (the bane of his early existence) and her family, are staying at his father’s house for a family house party. His father refuses to discuss the matter with Colin, insisting he find a bride or else. Colin refuses to rush the job of finding a wife; after all, he will be stuck with her for the rest of his life. It is not a task that one rushes. Surprisingly, Lady Angeline agrees with Colin, which surprises him as he and Angeline have never agreed on anything. He begins to wonder if he has underestimated Angeline all this time.

I have read a few Dreiling titles previously and thought What a Reckless Rogue Needs would be a pleasant way to spend a day. How wrong I was! The main two characters are so frustrating and unlikeable. Both have an abundance of pride and none of the charm required to draw me to their characters. As a result, I neither cared nor was interested in seeing Colin and Angeline come together. I counted the hours until the book was over.

Unfortunately, even the plot is boring and only highlights each of the characters’ flaws. There are many other ways Colin could have acquired his property other than giving into his father’s demands but he didn’t seem motivated. All of his solutions served to show how little respect he has for others – including Angeline – and an unwillingness to work against expectations.

What a Reckless Rogue Needs is only my second Elizabeth Jasicki performance. In the past, I had issues with odd pausing which I am pleased to say is not present in this book. However, her way of making sentences sound longer than they should be is very much still evident. She was guilty of this with Angeline’s character, as with every word, she drips condescension even when she is not trying to. Her speech is sooo verrry loonng and draawwn out; practically every vowel she spoke is rounded out. Lady Angeline could have been the mean girl of this book with a voice like that!

Jasicki also makes Colin’s name sound like “colon”. And let me tell you, as much as I appreciate my colon, I don’t find it sexy! The rest of her performance is okay, nothing totally bad like too many breaths or slurring but how she chose to portray Angeline made a bad plot all the worse. I can’t say I won’t listen to Jasicki again since I have heard worse performances but also because… I still have another Dreiling/Jasicki review title to go.

Diana

Narration:  B-

Book Content:  C-

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  None

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Recorded Books

What a Reckless Rogue Needs was provided to AudioGals by Recorded Books for review.