The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane: Rhymes With Love

Written by Elizabeth Boyle

Narrated by Susan Duerden

In New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle's fourth novel in the Rhymes With Love series, a resolute young woman goes toe-to-toe with the Beast of Mayfair

She has no desire for love . . .

As she arrives in Mayfair, Louisa Tempest is horrified when her incorrigible cat bolts from the carriage and dashes into a neighbor's house, where she comes face-to-face with the reclusive Viscount Wakefield. But even more dismaying than his foul temper is the disarray in which she finds his home. Convinced his demeanor would improve if his household were in order, Louisa resolves to put everything to rights.

. . . until she meets the viscount who lives down the lane

Much to his chagrin, Wakefield finds it impossible to keep the meddling Louisa out of his home, invading his daily life with her ""improvements,"" and his nights with the tempting desires she sparks inside him. Wounded in the war, he's scorned society ever since his return . . . until Louisa opens the door to his heart and convinces him to give love a second chance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062359636

Elizabeth Boyle

Elizabeth Boyle has always loved romance and now lives it each and every day by writing adventurous and passionate stories that readers from all around the world have described as “page-turners.” Since her first book was published, she’s seen her romances become New York Times and USA Today bestsellers and has won the RWA RITA® and the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards. She resides in Seattle with her family, her garden, and her always-growing collection of yarn. Readers can visit her at www.elizabethboyle.com, or follow her own adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  www.avonromance.com www.facebook.com/avonromance 

Reviews for The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane

[thehistorychic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Listened for Fun (Audible)Overall Rating: 4.50Story Rating: 4.25Character Rating: 4.75Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)First Thought when Finished: The Viscount Who Lived down the Lane by Elizabeth Boyle was an emotionally fun read!Read It File It Thoughts (short review): This was my kind of historical romance: issues dealt with, spunky leading lady (with a bit of a meddlesome personality), damaged leading man (war damage), and a story that made me both laugh & tear up! Miss Tempest is going down as one of my favorite leading ladies!Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Susan Duerden / Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins I am a fan of Susan's narration skills. She has great pacing! She can make spunky characters shine and her male voices aren't bad either. Historical romance and her voice are a great match!

[whiskeyinthejar-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars

Very light and fluffy humorous regency romance,there were two or three heavier moments when the male lead is dealing with the death of a friend who fought in the war with him. Completely disregards time period's societal rules and had a chaotic messy ending where everything but the kitchen sink was thrown in. It was a fun romp though and I'll be on the lookout for the next book in the series.

[thelustyliterate-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 Stars | Hot SteamI can't believe I haven't tried Elizabeth Boyle's historicals until now! Shame on me! Her writing is superb! Perfectly plotted, intricate but light, charming, and wonderfully sensual.Louisa and Pierson's romance kept me up for hours last night! There is nothing quite like a scarred, grumpy, and dashing man and a sunny and lovely girl next door who views his "no" as a challenge. I can't wait to continue the series and see what happens to Lavinia, Tuck, Roselie, and Brody. I'm hooked!

[kasey007 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elizabeth Boyle has written another charming historical romance in her "Rhymes With Love" series. The Viscount Who Lives Down the Lane is the delightful love story of the spinster and the wounded warrior, Miss Louisa Tempest and Pierson Stratton, Viscount Wakefield.It all starts with an invitation from the Louisa and Lavinia Tempest's godmother to spend the remainder of the season in London. The twins are from Kempton, a village that has cursed its young women. If they marry, awful things will happen. However, lately three spinsters from the village have found their happy-ever-after so maybe there is hope for the sisters. (For those stories check out Along Came a Duke, And the Miss Ran Away with the Rake, and If Wishes Were Earls.)So Louisa and Lavina Tempest are on their way to London, though Louisa is just along to help her sister find a husband. She, unlike her sister, plans to remain unmarried. However, as they arrive at their destination in London her cat Hannibal escapes his basket. This leads to an unwanted encounter with the Viscount next door. Lives are about to change.I enjoyed watching Louisa and Pierson fall in love. The initial spark starts them down the road to happily ever after. There are many bumps along the way. Louisa draws him out of his shell. He has come back from the war with a bum leg and a guilty survivor's conscience. His best friend took a bullet meant for him. This has led him to shut himself up in his house. Louise and her cat crash into his life and turn things upside down. From then on Boyle leads these two on a delightful journey towards love. One that is full of misunderstanding. Each of them is apprehensive about letting someone get close. Yet they slowly let each other see their real selves. The supporting cast of characters will have their own stories told later on, such as Louisa's sister, Lavina and Tuck, the girl's godmother's husband's heir in The Knave of Hearts (2015). Hopefully we'll learn what all their sneaking around is about. Also will Lord Charleston, Pierson's uncle, pursue his childhood love? Plus there are more stories of spinsters from Kempton to be told. I look forward to Ms. Boyle's next romance in the series.

[whitreidtan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Days upon days filled with rain and then finishing a heavy and disturbing book prior to this one called for lighter fare with a guaranteed happily ever after. Elizabeth Boyle writes charming characters and entertaining situations in her Regency set Rhymes With Love series, the latest of which is The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane. And that was just exactly what the doctor ordered. Miss Louisa Tempest and her twin sister Lavinia are headed to London from their village of Kempton to have a season sponsored by their godmother, Lady Charleton. Louisa has no interest in tempting fate in the form of the curse against the women of Kempton marrying but her sister wants very much to have a season and so Louisa is determined to support her. Their visit gets off on the worst possible foot right from the get go. First, Louisa's mangy looking cat, Hannibal, breaks out of his basket and streaks into the house next door to Charleton's. When Louisa goes post haste to retrieve him, she not only finds a path of broken things in his wake, but she encounters the very angry and disheveled Viscount Wakefield who is beyond annoyed that the cat and this miss have disturbed his peace. Second, she discovers that Lady Charleton has been dead for some time and that the still grieving Lord Charleton had no knowledge of their impending arrival. But he is loathe to turn away the girls because his late wife wanted it and so he arranges to have them brought out anyway to the delight of Lavinia and the consternation of Louisa. Since Louisa is not interested in the season and all of the fripperies that accompany it, she instead decides to make amends for Hannibal, who continues to make forays over to Wakefield's home. She fires his thieving cook and then hires him a new, much more competent one. Then she delves into his linen closet to organize it. And finally, banned from the house, she tackles the overgrown mess of his garden. Piers, Lord Wakefield, cannot believe the audacity of the meddling woman, finding himself alternately frustrated and attracted to her. He has been a recluse since he came back from the war badly wounded and devastated by the loss of his dear friend but now Louisa's tempting little behind is forcing him to leave his house and quit brooding all the time. Louisa is a determined character and her intention of making life a little smoother for the gruff and blustering neighbor is sweetly stubborn. She knows her own shortcomings and forgives herself, generally comfortable in her own skin, and she is very good at looking beyond the exterior to see into the heart of a person or creature. Piers is definitely tortured by what he sees as his role in his friend Poldie's death but his innate kindness is still clear. He might shout and fume and insult but that's just a shield for his own hurting heart. The chemistry between Louisa and Piers is good and the plot moves along at a steady clip. The secondary characters help move the story without intruding too much but they remain interesting enough to warrant reading the next in the series. The ending has a few obviously dangling threads that will be picked up in the next book and there was at least one plot thread in the novel that seemed a dropped opportunity here but will hopefully be addressed later. Boyle knows her time period and manages to create likable and realistic characters who deserve the love and happiness that they inevitably find with each other and this reimaging of the Beauty and the Beast tale shows it.

[bookworm2bookworm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the fifth story in this series that I've read, and truly the most fun book I've read in a very long time. I chuckled, giggled and down right laughed out loud at some of the antics of this heroine.

Both characters are extremely likable and fun to be around. They made for an entertaining and very passionate creatures. To watch them manipulating each other and work around the situations they find themselves in, was very gratifying. It was like watching a train wreck and not being able to avert your eyes!

By the time they reach their happily ever after and we see how much each has changed because of the other, we have a story that is sweet, sensual and funny to no end.

If you need a lighthearted bit of romance, you must read this. Oh, and let me not forget the cat, Hannibal, who's a character all his own ;)

Melanie for b2b

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher