Ridiculous!: Ridiculous Lovers Series, Book 1
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Ridiculous!: Ridiculous Lovers Series, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

D.L. Carter (Author), Rachael Beresford (Narrator), Tantor Audio (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 5,649 ratings
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Identity theft, regency style

After the death of her miserly cousin Antony North, Millicent Boarder is determined her family should never be poor or vulnerable again. To protect them, she conceals her cousin's death and assumes his identity. Now she must face the ton and the world as Mr. North and accept the price she must pay for her family's safety - she will never be loved.

Which means now is the perfect time for her to meet a duke!

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  1. Listening Length
    13 hours and 49 minutes
  2. Author
    D.L. Carter
  3. Narrator
    Rachael Beresford
  4. Audible release date
    July 31, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Tantor Audio
  7. ASIN
    B07VHFK8RB
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 13 hours and 49 minutes
Author D.L. Carter
Narrator Rachael Beresford
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date July 31, 2019
Publisher Tantor Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07VHFK8RB
Best Sellers Rank #369,411 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#4,347 in Humorous Fiction & Satire
#19,414 in Humorous Fiction
#25,307 in Historical Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
5,649 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Debbie B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, creative, delightful!
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2017
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The last time I'd read this was more than 3 years ago and, even though I had forgotten the details, it had lodged in my brain as one of the most entertaining Recency romances I'd ever come across. Having just finished another of D.L. Carter's books and realized it was by the same author, I decided to go back and revisit this one.

What a marvelously unusual story. The heroine, Millicent Boarder, takes charge of her own fate (and that of her family) when her miserable cousin, Mr. Anthony North, dies in an influenza outbreak. She, her mother (Felicity) and two sisters (Mildred and Maude) have essentially been indentured servants of the brute since her father passed away three years ago and left them impoverished. Mr. North's death frees them in one respect but leaves them fearful of becoming homeless since Perceval North, his brother next in line to inherit, is even worse.

Being a plucky, intelligent 24-year-old who has been acting as her cousin's secretary for some time now, Millicent decides to assume his identity. She's described as uncommonly tall for a woman with a low contralto speaking voice and relatively flat chest. Thus, the body of the much-hated Mr. North is passed off and buried as Millicent, and Millicent becomes Mr. North. As far-fetched as it sounds so far, the storytelling explains, step by step, how all this is accomplished and makes it seem plausible. Millicent cuts her hair short, binds up her breasts, and wears loose-fitting man's clothing. As a further ruse to distract others from questioning her appearance, she pretends to be a dribble.. a rattle... a jokester. And this lady has the quick wit to pull it off.

The family relocates to Bath, and Millicent dutifully takes on the role of man of the family. She is far more conscientious in her responsibilities than the real Mr. North, and decides she must travel to another of his estates to tend to some tenant concerns there. On the way, she assists the passengers of a carriage accident on a muddy road. This leads to an otherwise unlikely friendship between "Mr. North" and Timothy Shoffer, Duke of Trolenfield.

Millicent is a fabulous protagonist. She's clever and funny and loves the freedom being a "man" gives her. Naturally, she suffers major pangs of lust around her good friend and hates that she must deceive him about her true identity.

Shoffer is a decent man who's trying to do his best for his sister Beth, but their grandmother has terrorized the poor girl. Lady Beth is only 17 years old and had one season in London, which did not go well. Shoffer doesn't know how to bring her out of her shell. Mr. North proves to have a magical effect by making her laugh at "his" silliness.

The story moves on at a fast pace from there. Both families end up in London, where Mr. North becomes the toast of the ton. Lady Beth has become good friends with Mr. North's "cousins," Mildred and Maude, and the three ladies enjoy sharing a London season together, with Shoffer and Mr. North as escorts.

Naturally, problems arise for everyone involved, not the least of which is when Millicent decides to take on yet another persona and Shoffer falls in love. I really couldn't see how the author was going to write the characters out of these tangled situations. The climactic scene and what follows immediately after is really inspired madness. Loved it!

The writing is engaging, creative and delightful. Be sure to read the dedication, which brought tears to my eyes. (God bless insightful teachers!) The rest of the book will have you laughing out loud, despite how "ridiculous" the story gets.

Note: For Mature readers. Sexual encounters without benefit of marriage.
21 people found this helpful
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Reader in Malone
4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely humorous--Good read overall
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2014
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I absolutely was laughing out loud when I read parts of this book--especially where Millicent was masquerading as Mr. North and telling the funny tales. When a book pulls me in like that, I know it'll be good. I definitely enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot.

I understood Millicent feeling she had no choice but to become Mr. North when he died--to save her family--very noble. I enjoyed reading about her feeling of freedom walking around as a man, as she certainly would not have been allowed to experience what she did if she were a woman. Of course she'd have to fall in love with Shoffer--a duke--but couldn't do anything about it because she was masquerading as a man.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book, I did feel that after Shoffer found out who North really was, the book was not quite as exciting.

There were two characters in the story I would have loved to have known more about--Lady Beth, Shoffer's sister, and Lady Philomena, Shoffer's grandmother.

I wondered just how North and Millicent would merge back into just one person--I never would have guessed the ending.

I was thankful this book was so well edited. There were a few places where I thought the wording was awkward--where I had to go back and reread to figure out just what was being said, but there were no blatant typos such as I've found in so many ebooks recently.
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CL
5.0 out of 5 stars a fun romance novel with an actual story to follow along with
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014
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Three quarters of the book was maybe more bromance than romance - but the characters, scenes, story were so well handled that I found that to be just fine. The story grabs you quick, keeps you hooked. I'd lean towards saying that there was a lot more "story" to this title than is often found in these regency romances. Millicent was a strong female lead character for the most part. My only real frustrations with the storyline were at the big reveal and post reveal, when she takes up as his mistress on the side. And note I said she takes up as the mistress "on the side" as she wasn't willing to give up her male alter ego, and the author made it work just fine.

If you are looking for realistic, I don't think you should be reading romances for that anyhow; but in the viewing the book, I have to admit the reveal felt weakly in the view that the lead male, Shoffer, took the whole situation in, essentially, very easy stride. Which, again, ultimately I can go along with since it's a romance and I never view them as realistic anyway and Shoffer not falling in line would have upset the other plot lines going on. And there are some other good decent storylines running around in this one that keep the whole thing well rounded. For all that I enjoy these romances, I do hate the stories getting to hooked up in annoying emotional baggage and this book avoided it for the most part. Post reveal, the whole Millicent taking up as Shoffer's mistress (when not still playing the part of Mr. North) felt a tad forced in some way I can't quite name, though the resolution on how Millicent would accomplish the switch between female persona and male persona while leeping both alive was clever enough. And I certainly enjoyed the continuance of the story post reveal.

Sex wise, the book has 20 decent length chapters and the first all the way sex scene wasn't Attempted till Chapter 15. They did the deed for the first time in 16, and it took all of 4 pages and not overly graphic. I believe there were 4 sex scenes all together, and while, HELLO, these are Romance Book sex scenes, none were overly graphic, and in the scheme of romance novel sex scenes they were quick and to the point. No having sex for a whole chapter at a time. So with chapters lasting 20 pages on average, and 20 total chapters in the book, and the actual graphic parts of the sex scenes covering about 5 pages each, this averages out to 1 chapter out of 20 worth of sex in the whole book.

I really enjoyed seeing so much of the male perspective.

All in all, one of the better romances let alone regency romances I have read and it will certainly stay a memorable favorite. I will not be deleting it anytime soon. In fact, I would love to see another go with the main supporting characters in this book as, two still need to be married.

**possible mild spoiler**

I would have said the dowager wasn't developed enough to make her fully as bad/evil as she is, except in the last chapter, she has this absolutely beautiful line: "Pray remove the body, that rug he is bleeding on is quite valuable." That just perfects her character.

*****
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Top reviews from other countries

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ma-in-paris
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in Canada on September 11, 2017
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This book reminded me of one of Shakespeare's comedies. Millicent, her mother and two sisters were left penniless after her father's death. So Millicent's mom contacted all her relatives to see if any of them would take them in. Only one did, a cousin, Mr. Anthony North. Unfortunately , Mr. North let go all his servants an used his relatives as slaves. Millicent became Mr. North's secretary as one of her jobs. When Mr. North died of a fever, Millicent realized she and her cousin were of the same height and hair colour, and she had a low contralto voice. She decided to save her family by dressing up as a man and take over Mr. North's estates. As his secretary she knew all about his holdings and finances.The family pretended that Millicent had died of the fever and then buried Mr. North's body in Millicent's grave. Millicent's mother & sisters now became his cousins.
On the way to Wales, Millicent, now Mr. North, came across a carriage accident and helped Mr. Shoffer (Duke of Trolenfield), his sister Lady Elizabeth and her companion, Mrs. Fleming. Mr. North takes charge of the situation and uses humour to talk to these people. Both siblings like him instantly. The duke likes him because he managed a disaster on the road, handled the servants, tenants, & his sister with care and humor, and he treats the duke as an equal. Lady Beth is very shy & finds it easy to talk to this silly man. To the servants and his tenants, Mr. North acts as a man of intelligence and wealth would.
Millicent is attracted sexually to the Duke from the beginning, but as Mr. North she can not act on these feelings. The Duke wants Mr. North to teach his sister the art of "small talk'" because she had a disastrous first season sponsored by the sibling's grandmother. This request ensures that Mr.North is constantly in the company of the siblings and so the plot thickens.
Shoffer and North become very good friends. Lady Beth develops a crush on North. The grandmother continues to meddle in family dynamics by trying to marry off Lady Beth to an older gentleman of title, and pushes Shoffer to marry grand-daughters of her friends. Mr.North finds out that being a country gentleman is not as easy as it seems after dealing with his "new cousins'" spending & demand for a season in London, tenants & their land problems, the continuing demand by his friend to help his sister, and problems from the North family.
I am not going to say how it ends but I felt it was great...a well written story.
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Meg
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this book more than once.
Reviewed in Australia on August 21, 2017
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A bit silly and fun,, I had read this book before and rarely do I read a book twice,, This book I read twice :) Enough twists to be interesting, enough fun, a little sex. A dead male relative who held the purse strings and made housekeepers of the women of his family -dies-- then, the interesting and comical part for me was the justice of one of the women taking his place in society to keep his money from leaving them destitute. Unfortunately being a woman, she found just the perfect man to love and what to do when she is now a "man" in the eyes of the ton. The ending was clever.
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Chaitali Das
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't believe this beautiful book is free!!
Reviewed in India on November 22, 2015
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One of the best regency romance I have read in recent times, and I read a lot!! In the line of "Twelfth Night", the story is funny, fast and compels you to turn the pages. I nearly had a fight with my husband in my urge to finish the book!!!

So the story is, the heroine masquerade as his cousin to keep her mother and sisters away from workhouse. She manages it well because she used to work as secretary to the deceased cousin who typed each correspondence or had her read it because he was nearly blind. On a tour of property, he rescues the hero, a Duke and his sister along with her governor. They become friends, she makes the shy sister come out of the shell, he invites all to London for season (of the two sisters) and she (as he) becomes famous in ton parties for his quick wit and stories. Don't want to give any more spoilers so please read the story to see how it ends.

The best part of the novel, aside from the plot, is the fully sketched out characters. Even the dead cousin comes alive!! The worst character was that of the grandmother of the Duke; my hands were itching to slap her!!

I don't know how long it will be free, so please buy it even if it is again selling for a price because it is worth every penny spent.
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Gretel
5.0 out of 5 stars Most amusing, clever and enjoyable Regency cross-dressing romp
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2015
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In this most amusing, clever and enjoyable Recency cross-dressing romp, a young woman takes on the identity of her male cousin when he dies suddenly. Prior to this, her mother (Felicity) and the three young women, Millicent, Mildred and Maude have endured time at a Workhouse after being left destitute when the father of the family died. Of course none of these genteel young women could be expected to work so they appealed to their male cousins for help. Mr Antony North agreed to take them in but not out of the kindness of his heart - he didn't have any kindness, nor a heart. He used them as unpaid maid servants but his sudden death left the women facing destitution again until the eldest, Millicent, took matters into her own hands. Her reasoning was impeccable; if she 'died' instead of her cousin, she could masquerade as him and continue to offer her mother and sisters a home.
Despite initial (& rather lengthy) protests from Felicity, this plan goes ahead and Mildred, dressed as a man, sets off to inspect Mr North's property. This all goes very well at first: no one has any reason to suspect Mildred and she relishes the freedom that men enjoyed in Recency England, while the women were more confined at home.
However, there comes into Mildred's life Timothy Shoffer, the Duke of Trolenfield and his shy sister, Lady Beth - Mildred falls in love with Shoffer and becomes his best friend, helping him cure Beth's shyness.
From this point on, the plot gets more and more tangled up as Mildred does all she can to avoid being unmasked (she faces being hanged for impersonating her cousin & spending his money), and at the same time spends as much time as she can with Shoffer. Naturally questions are raised about the nature of their relationship as homosexuality was a crime in Recency England.
I enjoyed particularly the way that the author allowed Mildred to be good enough to fool everyone into believing she was a man and the various twists and turns of the plot that I had not foreseen, until the obligatory Happy Ever After.
Not all the characters had their storylines resolved - I don't know if the author intends a sequel, but I would be interested to read it if she does.
It is, as the author says, Ridiculous, but great fun, and highly recommended to leave the reader with a wide smile.
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ulrike
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolut empfehlenswert
Reviewed in Germany on October 18, 2012
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Dies ist einer der besten Regency-Romane, die ich bisher gelesen hab. Das eher abgegriffene Thema – eine Frau übernimmt die Rolle eines Mannes – wird hier in einen neuen und urkomischen Rahmen gesetzt.
Die Protagonistin, Milicent Boarder, nimmt nach dem Tod Ihres Onkels dessen Identität an, um ihre Familie vor dem ‚Workhouse‘ zu schützen. Sie lernt die Vorteile und Selbständigkeit kennen, die das Leben als Mann bietet. Gleichzeitig bedauert sie den „Verlust“ ihrer Weiblichkeit… und letzteres besonders, als sie Timothy Shoffer kennenlernt. Natürlich wird aus den beiden am Ende ein glückliches Paar, aber der Weg dorthin ist absolut unterhaltsam und amüsant. Gleichzeitig wird Kritik an dem eingeschränkten und vom Manne abhängigen Leben geübt, das Frauen in dieser Zeit führten.
Die Geschichte ist durchweg mit interessanten und realistischen Charakteren angefüllt. Milicent muss man mit ihrer smarten und praktischen Art einfach mögen. Shoffer ist mal keine gequälter Held (obwohl ich die meist auch sehr gern hab), sondern ein unbeschwerter Aristokrat, der sich seiner Verpflichtungen aber durchaus bewusst ist. Er geht mit einer gesunden Portion Humor durchs Leben… und seine Reaktion auf Milicents Rollenwechsel ist einfach zum Niederknien. Die zumeist weiblichen Nebencharaktere zeigen die großen und kleinen Schwierigkeiten des weiblichen Alltags dieser Zeit auf.
Darüber hinaus wirft sich die Protagonistin hier nicht einfach nur in Männerklamotten und spricht tiefer als sonst, sondern sie überlegt sich einen Männercharakter, den sie darstellen kann und spielt diesen dann wie eine Ganztagsschauspielerin. So macht die Autorin glaubwürdig, dass die Gesellschaft hinter dem merkwürdigen und redegewandten Mann in dem schlecht sitzenden Anzug keine Frau vermutet.
Ich kann diesen Roman nur empfehlen und freue mich auf mehr von D.L. Carter.
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