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Let's Misbehave
Gabrielle is the quintessential Flapper, a wild child who turns her back on home and a resentful and unloving mother to become a nightclub singer. She wants nothing more from life than freedom and pleasure.
Sebastian is a dutiful son, following in his father’s footsteps and on the verge of marrying a suitable bride. But as the Twenties roar to their conclusion, he finds himself torn between duty and the urge to indulge his adventurous streak.
From the moment Gabrielle and Sebastian meet, the tension between them simmers. When he rescues her from a boorish suitor, Gabrielle discovers a kindred spirit beneath Sebastian's serious demeanour, and she sets out to seduce him into one last passionate fling before he settles for a loveless marriage.
But the fire that burns between them threatens to consume her. Will Gabrielle survive falling in love with the one man she cannot have?
Sebastian is a dutiful son, following in his father’s footsteps and on the verge of marrying a suitable bride. But as the Twenties roar to their conclusion, he finds himself torn between duty and the urge to indulge his adventurous streak.
From the moment Gabrielle and Sebastian meet, the tension between them simmers. When he rescues her from a boorish suitor, Gabrielle discovers a kindred spirit beneath Sebastian's serious demeanour, and she sets out to seduce him into one last passionate fling before he settles for a loveless marriage.
But the fire that burns between them threatens to consume her. Will Gabrielle survive falling in love with the one man she cannot have?
- GenresHistoricalRomance
ebook
First published July 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 5, 2010
Kris’ Review
Reading and merely looking at the cover of ‘Let’s Misbehave’ brought me back to images of the jazz clubs and the flappers in the 1920s. The song ‘Let’s Misbehave’ written by Cole Porter plays a pretty substantial role in this book, in a very good way.
Rae Summers has really captured the era in London, where the story takes place. It was a time when young ladies had coming out balls and settled for happy lives, as arm candy for their very proper husbands. But Gabrielle refuses to settle for that life. She wants to experience life to the fullest and refuses to be held back by society. Instead she drinks and dances and sings and lives every moment as if it was her last. She is vivacious and full-of-life, and doesn’t care that society sees her as an outcast; a woman of ‘ill repute’.
People can identify every easily with the character of Gabrielle, no matter what era or generation you live in. There are always rebels who refuse to live by society’s rules. I loved her character because I saw her as a ‘bird that has escaped its cage so it is free to fly wherever it wants to go.
While singing in this club, she meets Sebastian when his best friend John Alistair, throws him a bachelor party. Sebastian is a dutiful son bound to follow in his father’s footsteps as a politician in Parliament, and settle down by marrying a woman of proper breeding. Born the second son, this shouldn’t have been his life. But when his older brother was killed in World War I, this life was forced upon him. He is set to marry Lilly, in a couple of weeks. He describes her as ‘a pleasant enough girl’ whom he ‘hopes to eventually love.’ Maybe Lilly will be the one to settle the quiet rebellious urges stirring in him.
I think people will also be able to understand Sebastian as someone who is unhappy with a life that ‘was chosen for him’ because of circumstances beyond his control.
Something inside Sebastian changes when he meets Gabrielle. She has the freedom that he longs for, yet feels he will never have due to family obligations. Gabrielle represents everything he wants particularly ‘freedom.’ He envies her ability to let go of her inhibitions and be reckless and experience elation and joy.
But Gabrielle has issues of her own. Her rebellion against her mother and society has left her feeling unloved and unlovable. The only person who ever understood her and loved her for ‘her’ was her father who is dead. She feels a yearning to be loved by someone who can love her as she is. She’s not about to change just for a man. As she sees it, ‘society has condemned her, approving rather the naïve virgins who waited to be auctioned off into marriage to the highest bidder. The one suitor who will tolerate her behavior is James Marsden-Lucy, a man of means similar to Sebastian. But he doesn’t stir the desire in her as only Sebastian can.
Gabrielle and Sebastian, although total opposites, are drawn to each other. She sees in him the ability to be ‘full of mischief’ and ‘burn with desire.’ She decides that before he settles down, she’s going to help him experience life. For Sebastian, it is exhilarating being with her. The more time he spends with her the more he sees the life he could have, if he was willing to give up on Lilly, disappointing his parents and society.
What starts as a simple fling, turns into something so much more. But will society keep Sebastian from the one woman he loves. Or will it lead him into in an unhappy marriage to a woman who is perfect for him due to her breeding. Or will he throw society a curveball and pursue a life with Gabrielle.
‘Let’s Misbehave’ is a wonderful book that keeps you longing for Sebastian to realize what he has found in Gabrielle and what he has gained from being with her. Is he will to settle for Lilly when he has finally found the freedom he has always longed for?
Rae Summers clearly has a hit with this wonderful book. It definitely deserves five Tea Cups!
5 Tea Cups!
Reading and merely looking at the cover of ‘Let’s Misbehave’ brought me back to images of the jazz clubs and the flappers in the 1920s. The song ‘Let’s Misbehave’ written by Cole Porter plays a pretty substantial role in this book, in a very good way.
Rae Summers has really captured the era in London, where the story takes place. It was a time when young ladies had coming out balls and settled for happy lives, as arm candy for their very proper husbands. But Gabrielle refuses to settle for that life. She wants to experience life to the fullest and refuses to be held back by society. Instead she drinks and dances and sings and lives every moment as if it was her last. She is vivacious and full-of-life, and doesn’t care that society sees her as an outcast; a woman of ‘ill repute’.
People can identify every easily with the character of Gabrielle, no matter what era or generation you live in. There are always rebels who refuse to live by society’s rules. I loved her character because I saw her as a ‘bird that has escaped its cage so it is free to fly wherever it wants to go.
While singing in this club, she meets Sebastian when his best friend John Alistair, throws him a bachelor party. Sebastian is a dutiful son bound to follow in his father’s footsteps as a politician in Parliament, and settle down by marrying a woman of proper breeding. Born the second son, this shouldn’t have been his life. But when his older brother was killed in World War I, this life was forced upon him. He is set to marry Lilly, in a couple of weeks. He describes her as ‘a pleasant enough girl’ whom he ‘hopes to eventually love.’ Maybe Lilly will be the one to settle the quiet rebellious urges stirring in him.
I think people will also be able to understand Sebastian as someone who is unhappy with a life that ‘was chosen for him’ because of circumstances beyond his control.
Something inside Sebastian changes when he meets Gabrielle. She has the freedom that he longs for, yet feels he will never have due to family obligations. Gabrielle represents everything he wants particularly ‘freedom.’ He envies her ability to let go of her inhibitions and be reckless and experience elation and joy.
But Gabrielle has issues of her own. Her rebellion against her mother and society has left her feeling unloved and unlovable. The only person who ever understood her and loved her for ‘her’ was her father who is dead. She feels a yearning to be loved by someone who can love her as she is. She’s not about to change just for a man. As she sees it, ‘society has condemned her, approving rather the naïve virgins who waited to be auctioned off into marriage to the highest bidder. The one suitor who will tolerate her behavior is James Marsden-Lucy, a man of means similar to Sebastian. But he doesn’t stir the desire in her as only Sebastian can.
Gabrielle and Sebastian, although total opposites, are drawn to each other. She sees in him the ability to be ‘full of mischief’ and ‘burn with desire.’ She decides that before he settles down, she’s going to help him experience life. For Sebastian, it is exhilarating being with her. The more time he spends with her the more he sees the life he could have, if he was willing to give up on Lilly, disappointing his parents and society.
What starts as a simple fling, turns into something so much more. But will society keep Sebastian from the one woman he loves. Or will it lead him into in an unhappy marriage to a woman who is perfect for him due to her breeding. Or will he throw society a curveball and pursue a life with Gabrielle.
‘Let’s Misbehave’ is a wonderful book that keeps you longing for Sebastian to realize what he has found in Gabrielle and what he has gained from being with her. Is he will to settle for Lilly when he has finally found the freedom he has always longed for?
Rae Summers clearly has a hit with this wonderful book. It definitely deserves five Tea Cups!
5 Tea Cups!
September 8, 2011
Though this is a short novella, I was utterly entranced. Color me surprised when I slipped into the Jazz Age London setting with little problem, and got lost in the emotions surrounding these two lost people.
The story is a simple one. Wild child girl meets uptight boy. Each misunderstands the other, until they take steps to see past their surface misconceptions to the truths that were hinted at in their first meeting. Love affair blooms. Differences rest in the character’s roots. Gabrielle is a Flapper who yearns for the freedom so much of her generation is striving for, determined to run from the emptiness inside her left behind at her father’s death. Sebastian is the only remaining son of a politician, forced into a life meant for his older brother before the brother was killed in the war, fighting against all his natural instincts to let his control go. They feel iconic at the same time they come to life, their emotions worn on their sleeves like a hungry desperation. They are the heart and soul of this fervent romance, and completely swept me up in everything they were experiencing.
It’s helped by a smooth authorial voice, with just enough lyricism in the descriptions to give it an easy, lovely flow. It’s not overbearing, and while I can’t be sure if it’s all completely accurate, nothing jarred as really wrong, so I was able to immerse myself into the love story unfolding before my eyes. I loved, too, that nobody’s villainized or canonized. Even characters I thought risked such treatment became fully fleshed by the end of the story.
I’ll remember these two and their driving needs for a long time, I think. I’m very curious now to find out if this author has written anything else. If she can sustain this kind of emotion for an entire novel, I imagine it would be a really magical experience indeed.
The story is a simple one. Wild child girl meets uptight boy. Each misunderstands the other, until they take steps to see past their surface misconceptions to the truths that were hinted at in their first meeting. Love affair blooms. Differences rest in the character’s roots. Gabrielle is a Flapper who yearns for the freedom so much of her generation is striving for, determined to run from the emptiness inside her left behind at her father’s death. Sebastian is the only remaining son of a politician, forced into a life meant for his older brother before the brother was killed in the war, fighting against all his natural instincts to let his control go. They feel iconic at the same time they come to life, their emotions worn on their sleeves like a hungry desperation. They are the heart and soul of this fervent romance, and completely swept me up in everything they were experiencing.
It’s helped by a smooth authorial voice, with just enough lyricism in the descriptions to give it an easy, lovely flow. It’s not overbearing, and while I can’t be sure if it’s all completely accurate, nothing jarred as really wrong, so I was able to immerse myself into the love story unfolding before my eyes. I loved, too, that nobody’s villainized or canonized. Even characters I thought risked such treatment became fully fleshed by the end of the story.
I’ll remember these two and their driving needs for a long time, I think. I’m very curious now to find out if this author has written anything else. If she can sustain this kind of emotion for an entire novel, I imagine it would be a really magical experience indeed.
August 28, 2011
In the 1920s in Europe you have jazz, dancing and booze everywhere sweeping the country into a frenzy. Gabrielle is a part of this sinful adventure and fun. As a nightclub singer, she enjoys all the freedoms the world has to offer. If only Sebastian were so lucky. He faces a life constantly trying to conform to the demands of polite society and the expected high morals of a future politician. Sebastian finds himself arranging his life’s choices based on family duties and obligation, which means he certainly cannot marry for love. Gabrielle and Sebastian couldn’t be any more different with their lives going in two different directions, yet a chance meeting and a brief love affair makes them question every aspect of their lives.
Let’s Misbehave displays the excellence every novella should aspire to. The writing is clear, sharp, and precise with wonderful description. This includes the description and dialogue of the characters which were a delight to read about. Especially since the hero and the heroine are such complete opposite in lifestyles and personalities. Summers has a true talent of making two people who could not be more wrong for each other from outside appearances, appear absolutely perfect for each other underneath. This story will take you through a whirlwind of emotions and leave you very pleased that you read it.
The brevity was the only downfall of the novella, which really is an acceptable problem. The time period is amazing, and is not commonly used, so to see this developed into a full length novel would have been a great treat. It seems this novella was enough to give you a taste of an excellent story, but not quite enough to get you fully emotionally involved with these characters. Less than one hundred pages made it difficult to accurately describe these characters falling in love so it’s really somewhat forced upon you more than anything else. You have a brief glimpse into their time together, so it the character says he or she is in love after such a short period of time, you just accept it in order to be fully mesmerized with the beauty of the tale. Just the brief flash of Summer’s talent in this short story was enough to let you know with certainty that should this story have another 200 pages or so you could have felt like these characters were a part of your family.
The story may be short, but it’s sexy, fun and entertaining. If you are looking for a quick read that will sweep you away into a dramatic yet amazingly sweet love story, Let’s Misbehave is the story you need to read. The jazzy world Rae Summers creates will please you immensely and it is hard not to love this story about two complete opposites finding love.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Heat Level: 3/5
Lisa @ Once Upon A Chapter
Let’s Misbehave displays the excellence every novella should aspire to. The writing is clear, sharp, and precise with wonderful description. This includes the description and dialogue of the characters which were a delight to read about. Especially since the hero and the heroine are such complete opposite in lifestyles and personalities. Summers has a true talent of making two people who could not be more wrong for each other from outside appearances, appear absolutely perfect for each other underneath. This story will take you through a whirlwind of emotions and leave you very pleased that you read it.
The brevity was the only downfall of the novella, which really is an acceptable problem. The time period is amazing, and is not commonly used, so to see this developed into a full length novel would have been a great treat. It seems this novella was enough to give you a taste of an excellent story, but not quite enough to get you fully emotionally involved with these characters. Less than one hundred pages made it difficult to accurately describe these characters falling in love so it’s really somewhat forced upon you more than anything else. You have a brief glimpse into their time together, so it the character says he or she is in love after such a short period of time, you just accept it in order to be fully mesmerized with the beauty of the tale. Just the brief flash of Summer’s talent in this short story was enough to let you know with certainty that should this story have another 200 pages or so you could have felt like these characters were a part of your family.
The story may be short, but it’s sexy, fun and entertaining. If you are looking for a quick read that will sweep you away into a dramatic yet amazingly sweet love story, Let’s Misbehave is the story you need to read. The jazzy world Rae Summers creates will please you immensely and it is hard not to love this story about two complete opposites finding love.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Heat Level: 3/5
Lisa @ Once Upon A Chapter
April 27, 2011
Rae Summers has really ticked all the boxes with this terrific debut. Let's Misbehave is set in the 1920's and the heroine, Gabrielle is a wonderful 'modern' woman, who loves to dance, dresses in the new fashion, and embraces all that 1920's London has to offer. In contrast, her hero, Sebastian is confined by tradition, resigned to making a 'good marriage', until he meets Gabrielle that is!
I really enjoyed this book, the place and time really come alive in Rae's masterful writing, and I found myself rooting for both hero and heroine, and hoping they would find their own happy ever after.
I notice from Romantic Times Book Reviews, that this story got a whopping 4.5 stars too, and will be eagerly anticipating the next read from Rae!
I really enjoyed this book, the place and time really come alive in Rae's masterful writing, and I found myself rooting for both hero and heroine, and hoping they would find their own happy ever after.
I notice from Romantic Times Book Reviews, that this story got a whopping 4.5 stars too, and will be eagerly anticipating the next read from Rae!
May 17, 2011
This is the first book I've read set in the early 20th century (The Roaring Twenties). I have to confess, I've never been too interested in the period so wasn't sure I'd enjoy the story...but I did (very much)! Ms. Summers skillfully brought her characters and their world to life. She made me care not only about them, but about the social issues of the time, and I and began to look at the period differently.
This is a satisfying, well-written love story that had me turning the pages long after my eyes began to burn with fatigue. My only criticism of the story is that it ended too soon!
This is a satisfying, well-written love story that had me turning the pages long after my eyes began to burn with fatigue. My only criticism of the story is that it ended too soon!
March 6, 2012
Naughty but nice!
July 19, 2014
The seduction of a free woman. Captivating and heart warming. A gem of a read.
October 11, 2013
Brilliant short read that kept me turning the pages and wanting to know what happened next. Read in one sitting. Recommend!
November 15, 2013
Note: I read an ePUB version so page references may differ.
A sexy novella set during the Roaring 20s in London, England, this was a very enjoyable read. For my full review on my blog:http://bit.ly/1hLCiTB
A sexy novella set during the Roaring 20s in London, England, this was a very enjoyable read. For my full review on my blog:http://bit.ly/1hLCiTB
April 2, 2014
Review by: Maria Almaguer
Review Rating: 4.5 Stars
Link to Review: http://www.romantichistoricalreviews....
Review Rating: 4.5 Stars
Link to Review: http://www.romantichistoricalreviews....
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews