• A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin

  • The Debutante Files, Book 1
  • By: Sophie Jordan
  • Narrated by: Carmen Rose
  • Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (224 ratings)

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A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin  By  cover art

A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin

By: Sophie Jordan
Narrated by: Carmen Rose
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Publisher's summary

The last woman on earth he would ever touch…

Declan, the Duke of Banbury, has no interest in ushering Rosalie Hughes, his stepsister, into society. Dumped on him with nowhere else to go, he's determined to rid himself of the headstrong debutante by bestowing on her an obscenely large dowry, making her the most sought after heiress of the Season.

…is about to become the only one he wants.

But Rosalie isn't about to go along with Declan's plans. Surrounded by fortune hunters, how is she supposed to find a man who truly wants her? Taking control of her fate, Rosalie dons a disguise and sneaks into Sodom, a private club host to all manner of illicit activity - and frequented by her infuriatingly handsome stepbrother.

©2014 Sharie Kohler (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre


Carmen Rose reads well, but everyone sound alike, both male and females. With a talented narrator "A Good Debutant's Guide to Ruin" could have been entertaining, but even the love scenes sounded like someone reading a recipe. The narrator sure makes a difference.

Historical romance is my genre of choice, but it took me 3 tries to finish "A Good Debutant's Guide to Ruin" -- I cannot recommend it.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a favorite

Not fantastic; not bad. Just an average book. The characters never grabbed me and the story was nothing special. It seems that I've read this story before by a different author(s?)

I've heard better narration from Carmen Rose. Not her best work.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Implausible heroine 's behavior but well written sex

Most romances are basically fairy stories, some more period accurate than others. I don't mind suspending the critical voice in my head that questions some of the actions of the plot and I definitely had to do that with this book. Still, the heroine was not a cookie cutter character and the Hero had a rather sad story that made him understandable. And the sex really was well written. I don't think the author used the word "laved" once.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

When is the next book coming out?

The heroine, Rosalie, gets dropped off at her stepbrother's, Declan the Duke of Banbury's, house when no one collects her from her boarding school even two years after her graduation. Rosalie has always loved her step-brother and now sees what power and a title has done to change him to a cold and unkind man. Declan on the other hand is not at all happy with having the daughter of his hated step-mother under his roof but sees no other way out of this situation but to marry her off as quickly as possible. Trying to get ride of his Rosalie as quickly as possible, the Duke settles a very large dowry on her. In order to keep propriety, Declan asks his aunt and cousin to move in with them. This ignites a great friendship between the two ladies that later aids her in exploring fun in a manner she would have never dared to undertake had it not been for Declan's cousin and that is where the love story begins...

This was a wonderful lovely story but the suspense just added so much more to this historical romance. Truly enjoyable read if you can get beyond the mind ramblings of the main characters in the book, especially at the beginning. That always exhausts me about any book and this one had it's fair share. However, that being said I still very much enjoyed the story and thanks to S Jordan, I was able to really feel Sophie's pain and anguish as well as her joy. This book develops Declan's character as well but Rosalie's was much more in depth. Can't wait for the next book in the series on Audible.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

too much internal monologues

Would you try another book from Sophie Jordan and/or Carmen Rose?

I really enjoy Carmen Rose. Every new book I listen to with her narration gets better and better. She has become one of my favourites.
I am still on the fence about sophie jordan. I think the set up for the next book in the series (Orealia and max) might be worth a try.. They have already had two memorable scenes in this book and I would like to read more.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sophie Jordan again?

I have listened to other SJ novels, but this one was approx 3 hours of dialogue and the rest was internal monologue. It was distracting when one of the characters says something..and then 5 minutes of narration later the second character responds. It made for a very disjointed flow. I sometimes had to pause/jump back to find the start of the conversation. 2 scenes were really drawn out and made me think..Filler!
The h/h 's first kiss: it took 20 minutes from start to finish. Just get on with it. I don't need to know how the caracters feel about the room/the carpet/the curtains etc. It just drags the plot down
There is another scene where the heroine has an internal monologue discussing the "types of smiles" of the hero. I am not sure why, as this does not move the plot or effect it in any real way. Again, just filler

What does Carmen Rose bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She is a very good narrator. She has the ability to bring nuances of voice so that every character sounds a little different.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I am not sure, as the plot was interesting and similar to the movie "clueless". IT would have to be more fast moving and with greater dialogue

Any additional comments?

I bought this as a credit and am glad only because if I had paid the book price I would have been furious. A great plot , but with too much ramblings to make the book worthwhile..

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hot! Romantic! Sweet! Sexy! & Suspenseful!

Wow! I have a new favorite author! Bought this book because I loved how Carmen Rose sounded in another story. My only question is why haven't I heard of her before? This book has it all from innocence to erotic. I won't spoil it, just buy this one, you won't be disappointed. I'm checking to see what else Ms. Sophie Jordan has to buy. Loved it!!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Different style of SJ

I enjoyed this book however not as steamy and the feel wasn’t as historical feeling. Seemed more current era style. Another remarked that Carmen Rose wasn’t as good as she normally is which I agree. But every actor deserves an off day or read. I’d still purchase this book it’s just not either of their best work

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed it!

Listened for Book Club (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin by Sophie Jordan was emotional, fun, and delightful! I really enjoyed this and look forward to the rest of the series.

Audio Thoughts

Narrated By Carmen Rose / Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins


Carmen Rose did a pretty good job with A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin. I really did love her female voices and her male voices were good too. Her pacing and emotion were good too.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great narrator

Story line was awkward - why didn’t the female cousin side character get Max at the end….disliked the mom so much

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bravo

The book was entertaining, the characters were well developed and the story had enough twists and turns. The steam was 4 out of 5, the narrator was awesome. Good book to get lost in. Thank you

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