Lady Be Bad

by Elaine Raco Chase

The Lady Was Determined to Get Her Man -Arthur Kingman cordially invites you to a dual celebration—the engagement of his daughter Gwen Lynn to Noah Drake and the opening of Kingman Castle, Jorstadt Island, in the St. Lawrence.Arthur Kingman – he was a man wanting to be part of her present.Noah Drake – he was the man who held the key to her past. The only man who could answer her questions.The two names on the engraved invitation ballooned to skyscraper proportions, as the masculine voice in her ear was droning on and on with plans for her future."P…P...Paul…" Marlayna stuttered, then took a deep breath before continuing, "Paul, what is the status of my contract with Kingman Cosmetics?""I just got through telling you he approved the final layout," came Paul's grousing reminder. "Kingman's doubled his offer for you for another year, but I've been approached by another cosmetic company. They want you for a 'switch' campaign and—""Sign with the competition, Paul," she directed in a terse voice. "I don't think King Arthur will ever want to see this face again once he finds me in bed with his daughter's fiancé!"When Marlayna O'Brian RSVP'd she had only one aim in to be in Noah's arms again - no matter what she had to do to get there. "Seduction is the plan for today. Keep on your toes, Mr. Drake. You never know when or where I'm going to strike."Original print edition and reviews Silhouette Desire #138 @ 1984Updated with additional scenes and dialogue copyright@2011

Genres: Romance

210 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1984

About the author

Elaine Raco Chase is the award-winning author of seventeen paperback novels with over 3 million books in print. She is published in 25 countries and 15 languages.

As a romance writer, Chase has won two sales awards for top romance novels of the year, Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for romantic suspense, and the Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Award for writing excellence. Her non-fiction debut Amateur Detectives - A Writer's Guide was nominated for the prestigious Agatha Christie Award.

Elaine was past President of Sisters in Crime International, a charter member of Romance Writers of America and a registered lecturer for Poets and Writers.

She currently teaches a variety of writing courses.

Reviews

[Jennifer Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elaine Raco Chase has done it again!!If you want a funny... heartfelt.. sexy romance LADY BE BAD should be your first choice... It's certainly not the usual love story.. I enjoyed so much through flashbacks and dialogue that bring you bang up to the present... Marlayna and Noah will grab your heart and your funny bone... And there are wonderful secondary characters in Sylvia.. Paul and of course my Favourite Perkins...of course at times you will need the tissues be prepared..You have to read this book.. you will miss out if you do not !!

[JillyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady be Bad(😂)

3.5 star Silhouette Desire read.

Okay, so with the title of this book, I already knew this wasn’t going to be my typical romance. Since I am usually a huge Harlequin Presents reader, I have to change my mindset before reading a non HP as they do not follow the same rules.

First off, we do not officially meet the H in the story until 65 pages in. He has a lot of explaining to do. However, we do read about him in flashbacks. These almost feel like time travel episodes the way the author writes them. The h Marlayna will be in present time and then drift to the past and get jolted back to the present. She also has imaginary discussions with her husband which feel ghostly. However, she did not lose her husband to death, she lost him to divorce. A divorce that haunts her 6 years later. Unlike the death of a spouse where one has to learn to accept it and move on, she is stuck in limbo. She wants answers the H Noah never gave her.

➡️Side note: The H is named Noah Drake! If you are familiar with 1980’s General Hospital then you know that there was a Dr. Noah Drake played by my school girl crush Rick Springfield.
The H’s physical description is similar to that of Rick Springfield, so that is who I pictured.

Anyhoo, our h was 21 year when she married the 28 year old H. It is obvious in flashbacks that he and she were HOH in love with each other. Both are going to school and working jobs. (The H was previously in the military so that is why is going to school now). They have no family. The flashbacks are warm and fuzzy highlighting their courtship and 2 year marriage. Then one morning they have an argument, over silly things. She clipped coupons on the back of his sports page. With work and school they aren’t spending much time together. The H wants his morning kiss from the h, but she is angry about his coupon outburst so she doesn’t. This is the last face to face conversation the h has with the H until 6 years later. The rest of her communication with the H happened through his lawyer as he petitioned for divorce.

🛑NOW SPOILERS ARE COMING🛑 SPOILERS START NOW🛑


Now she is a super model living the life in NYC. 6 years ago she left Atlanta a shell of a woman after being informed that the H was divorcing her. He even insisted, through his lawyers, that she give back his name. The last she saw of the H was him hooked up to tubes as he was rushed to emergency at the hospital she worked(the same one they met at). He had been involved in a construction accident. He told the Doctors in charge that they were separated, so she had no rights to see him. She tried. She wrote him letters(which were returned) and finally gave up. While on the plane to NYC with 300 dollars in her pocket she meets Sylvia.

Sylvia(BFF)is a thrice divorced older cosmetics guru who comes off as shallow to most outsiders. She lives the high life in NYC and has elite friends. However, something about the pathetic little 23 year old h brings her maternal instincts to life and she takes the girl into her home and nurses her back to health. In the process of doing this her friend Paulie sees her giving a make over to the h.

Paulie(Gay BFF) -He is an agent who is instrumental in turning our average, pretty h into the next big 80’s super model. He, along with Sylvia, is responsible for bringing our h back from the brink of despair. We see a lot of him and Sylvia in the beginning of our story, and then again at the very end. They were great secondary characters to include.

Our h is now 29. She has just received an invitation from a wannabe older om (who is a big player in one of her modeling contracts) to join him for a week on Jorstadt Island, in the St. Lawrence River to celebrate his refurbished castle home and his daughter’s engagement…..to the h’s ex husband.

Our h has no interest in the om, but she is interested in her ex husband. She plans on going there to seduce her husband and get some answers. The BFF’s try to dissuade her from doing this, as he really messed her up the first time. She tells them that although on the outside she looks like she has everything, she really doesn’t. Her ex haunts her dreams and she has never been able to move on physically or emotionally to another.

She shows up on the Island to an overly excited OM she has no interest in. While the om is giving her the scoop on the house, the elevator opens up on his daughter who informs her dad that she an Noah, the H and architect of the improvements in the house, are going to the pool. The h peers around the om to get a look at the H who is struck dumb as the elevator door closes on him.

Once the elevator stops at the pool area, the H lets the fiancée know he has no desire to swim(he wants to seek out the h or who thinks is the h as she didn’t look quite the same). We also find out that the H is not in love with the ow and was kind of shanghaied into an engagement. She loves him and figures her love is enough for a marriage.

At this point we are introduced to another secondary character, Perkins the house manager/butler. He is somewhat of an ally to the H. He tells Noah which room the h can be found.

He shows up to her room and is astounded that the woman standing there is his Mimi. He goes to kissing her right away and she kisses him back. (REALLY? ) He pledges his undying love to the h. We are not left in limbo too long about the big break up. His scarred up chest, legs, and use of a cane tell the story. He has only been walking a few months. He has had several operations and now has bionic knees. He was told he would never walk again and actually died in emergency from the construction accident that occurred 6 years earlier. He wanted to save the h from burdening her with a cripple and crippling them financially(hence the reason for her to take her own name back). He knew she would stick by him but probably drop out of school and work herself to death. Unbeknownst to him at the time and her she was pregnant and later miscarried.

So here is the conundrum. We are not even 1/2 way done with the book. How is the author going to keep my interest. It is obvious these two love each other(both have been celibate, he hasn’t even kissed his fiancée on the lips). So there will be no angst coming in there. Well, somehow she does keep my interest. We see the h and H sneaking around so they can have their passionate moments(which are quite good and definitely tame compared to today’s writing). The h also implements operation misdirect. She throws another model in the path of the om, while whispering anti hero sentiments to the young ow and showing her some other younger models for the ow to set her sights on.

Eventually her scheming is exposed and she is sent off the island. Where is the H when she is sent away? Well, she and the H were on a pontoon ride. She stranded the H when his pride threatened to derail their relationship again forcing him to walk back the 8 miles to the house.

You, see our H’s male ego and pride has been responsible more than once for their downfall. The infamous coupon argument when they were first married had more to do with the h getting a promotion that would make her the breadwinner. Then he had the accident, again making the h more important than him in the relationship, and now he is put out when he realizes exactly how rich the h has become in the last 6 years with her lucrative modeling career. He had no idea she was so famous. I mean she made the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. Looking at the models at the time, I believe Carol Alt comes closest to what our h probably looked like.



Anyhoo, our h is done with the H using his insecurities to derail their relationship. So she leaves him stranded.

Once back in NYC with her bff’s she starts to get a little scared that the H isn’t going to come for her. He does about 3 days later. They clear up their troubles and the author leaves us with a quick epilogue 3 months after they remarried. Perkins is also going to be their new house manager. Which is good, because they will need a manny!


So quickly….this ends up being a fun, passionate love story with some quirky supporting characters. The h and H’s love for each other is never in doubt. It is a safe read for our celibate loving readers. It isn’t to say the story doesn’t have flaws. On one hand I was very angry with the H as he had some pride issues, and on the other hand I understood that his love was one of the reasons for his absence. His engagement to the 23 year old ow was a little ridiculous. It made him come off as weak, and in some regards I guess he was. He did try to find the h, but one must remember when this was written(1980’s). First off, he wasn’t trolling the fashion magazines so he had no idea the h became a huge model. Plus, there was no internet so finding her proved difficult as she left without a trace. He had a lot of things going on in his life and he was not flush with money, so resources were tight.

Fun fact: The om in the story has a castle house that he said was built by the President of Singer sewing machines Frederick Bourne. Actually Frederick Bourne did build a Castle house on Dark Island in the St. Lawrence River. So, I have now added a new place to visit on my itinerary.

[Gaele · Rating 5 out of 5]

AudioBook Review:
Anyone who has followed this blog understands that I am a fan of Elaine Raco Chase’s writing – particularly her dialogue: there are few who write dialogue as well, that feels as natural and realistic. In Lady Be Bad she continues to produce dialogue that is both real and in some places, blindingly poignant.

In this story, Chase has mixed up the expectations for the reader: taking a story that starts with the heartbreak of love lost and focuses on Marlayna as she regroups and redirects her life, finding success although no answers in the life she built for herself after running from Atlanta after an unexpected divorce. Putting her best face forward, literally and figuratively, her modelling contract for a leading cosmetics company has her living comfortably if not entirely happily.

Invited to a weekend party to celebrate the cosmetic company owner’s daughter’s engagement was a ‘must appear’ for Marlayna: even though the proposed son in law was her ex-husband, Noah.
Now Noah was easy to dislike. Granted his reasoning for leaving Marlayna and not providing an answer was misguided selfishness, but his utter dishonesty towards his new, young and very immature fiancé was horrible. And even though his feelings for Marlayna are wholly apparent in word and description, any man who would remain silent as his fiancé explains that his “liking me is enough, I can live with that, I know you don’t love me”, is despicable.

Both Noah and Marlayna are beautifully portrayed, with decided development and growth for both as they face their past, their feelings and they hope for a future. The sexual tension and chemistry is apparent, even after all the years apart. The narration of Jill Arehart clearly delineates the underlying emotional state of the characters, from the immature tone and stridency, to frustration, playful teasing and flirting and even despair, without over-reaching in either tone or inflection.

This is a romance that is loaded with nuanced characters set within a story of love lost and regained, guaranteed to put a smile on your face by the end. Take some time to lose yourself and listen. You will not be disappointed.

I received a copy of the AudioBook from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[Lindsay Thompson-Sublett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have ever read by Elaine Raco Chase and I thought it was great. It did take a few pages to get used to her writing (because we all know every author has there own style) but I really enjoyed this book.

I loved the story and would actually like to read more about this couple if she ever wrote another book with them. I will be be checking out more of her books after reading this one.

[WiLoveBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, but I didn't realize I was going to need tissues. There were some fun, lighthearted, and steamy moments, but there were also some more serious issues. The characters had a lot to overcome. My heart was breaking. I do love a good second chance story, though. There are some great secondary characters that added to the story as well. And the narrator for the audio was fantastic.

[Cassie Redstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh i loved this one it made me cry so much. It was well written and I don't know how but it did not feel like 500 pages I just I liked it so much I wanted more.Not a t all a predictable story and it moves at a great pace.

[Angie Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and will read more from this author.

[Diana Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read!!!

This is the first book I read by Elaine Raco Chase and I must say that I LOVE IT!!! I can't help but cheer for Noah and Marlayna. I love both characters and I just know that this won't be the last book I''ll read by this author.

[Beckey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute contemporary romance about a couple who divorced 6 years earlier under a strange circumstance. Then finally reunites but will it be a for good or ...

[Dasha]

Este libro es tan ridículo... Luego me he fijado en la fecha de publicación y todo cuadra: novela romántica de los ochenta 🙄 No todas son malas pero, la verdad, es que los clichés de moda en esta década son bastante rocambolescos. No sé quién es más tonto, él o ella.
Lo he abandonado en el capítulo 8. Si me descuido hasta lo termino y todo.

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book at all. Really bad.