Poison or Protect

A Delightfully Deadly Novella

By: Gail Carriger

Narrated by: Suzanne Lavington

Can one gentle Highland soldier woo Victorian London's most scandalous lady assassin, or will they both be destroyed in the attempt?

New York Times best-selling author Gail Carriger presents a stand-alone romance novella set in her popular steampunk universe full of manners, spies, and dainty sandwiches.

Lady Preshea Villentia, the Mourning Star, has four dead husbands and a nasty reputation. Fortunately, she looks fabulous in black. What society doesn't know is that all her husbands were marked for death by Preshea's employer. And Preshea has one final assignment.

It was supposed to be easy, a house party with minimal bloodshed. Preshea hadn't anticipated Captain Gavin Ruthven - massive, Scottish, quietly irresistible, and...working for the enemy. In a battle of wits, Preshea may risk her own heart - a terrifying prospect, as she never knew she had one.

Delicate sensibilities? Contains men pleasing women, and ladies who know what they want and ask for it, sometimes in detail. May also contain plaid, appearances from dandy vampires, and the strategic application of leather gloves.

©2016 Gail Carriger LLC (P)2017 Gail Carriger LLC

Fanning myself fro the heat

MINOR SPOILER:
I love the dominant woman/ submissive man dynamic and wish that more books had it. Well executed, heat rushed to face multiple times. I love the Parasol Protectorate universe, and need far more books in it.

sweet scotts

I think my favorite part was how gentle Gavin has been in the face of his lady's past trauma. And yet it was still steamy! That poor lobster, though XD

LOVE!!!

I LOVE EVERYTHING WROTE BY GAIL!!! SHES SOOO AMAZING!!! I CANT WAIT TO LISTEN TO MORE!!!!

Can’t get enough

I love Gail Carriger‘s writings. She is one of my favorite authors, and Suzanne Lavington did such an amazing job narrating this novella. I could listen to another 14 hours of this series made into a book. However I’ll just have to look forward to any other books writer by Gail Carriger and hope that she uses Suzanne as a narrator again soon.

Wonderful as Ever

I've read, or listened​ to, every Gail Carriger book in the finishing school universe and this one it's just as thoughtful and witty as the rest. Lavington does a wonderful job narrating, making a great book just that much better. I look forward to more delightfully​ deadly novellas.

Excellent, eloquent, and deliciously sinful

The erotic tension is palpable, yet smothered beneath the structures of a well-described and well-narrated high society. the story and relationship unwinds achingly slowly, but delivers magnificently. Don't deprive yourself of this delightful tale.

Delightful as always

Charming, light, and (in this case) quite steamy. More fun if you’ve read the finishing school and parasol protectorate series - though this series includes more risqué content. Only wish it had been longer. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Mostly romance

Personally prefer more espionage than romance but I like the author’s style so much that I will pretty much listen or read anything she writes.

A fun little romp!!

Absolutely lovely. Has just enough sugar and spice to satisfy. The characters are fleshed out just right and there is just enough of a side story to move the fun along.

Perfect as always

Where does Poison or Protect rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Perfect as always, Gail Carriger's work is always high on my list of recommendations. I love all her books, but I'd swear this one is even better than the last.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Usually I find sex scenes a bit boring after a while -- I much prefer the lead up. But Carriger managed just the right balance of poise and breathy excitement, eroticism without stepping into unnecessary details. She made a dominatrix scene touching, entertaining, sexy, and generally delightful.

Any additional comments?

BDSM in books is so often represented by some guy growling into his lover's ear as he pins her against something. There's crude language and a lot of stuff I would generally cause me to slap someone and walk away. This is different. Carriger has taken someone I regarded as the shallowest of villains and turned her into a deep, interesting badass assassin. And rather than undercutting her by giving her some secret submissive streak as so many other authors would have, she allowed our heroine to attain what she most wanted in the world -- control -- and then surprised her with what she never thought she needed -- love. Our heroine is allowed to be clever, decisive, classy, and powerful even in her most vulnerable moments. It's a rare and precious point of view. Seriously I cannot recommend this enough. The plot is superb, the writing excellent, the characters delightful, and the narration flawless.