Audiobook Review: Mr. Malcolm's List by Suzanne Allain

Author: Suzanne Allain

Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden

Title: Mr. Malcolm's List

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: Audiobook

Published: March 2, 2009

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor insistent on a wife who meets the strictest of requirements--deserves his comeuppance.

The Honourable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. As the target of matchmaking mothers and desperate debutantes, he's determined to avoid the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who will meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. But after years of searching, he's beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. Until Selina Dalton arrives in town.

Selina, a vicar's daughter of limited means and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend Julia Thistlewaite invites her to London, until she learns it's all part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr. Malcolm. Selina is reluctant to participate in Julia's scheme, especially after meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who appears to be very different from the arrogant scoundrel of Julia's description.

But when Mr. Malcolm begins judging Selina against his unattainable standards, Selina decides that she has some qualifications of her own. And if he is to meet them he must reveal the real man behind...Mr. Malcolm's List.

Review:

Okay, okay...I know I said I would read this later on...someday....but it appeared as a "recommended" on my library app so I decided it was time. hahaha.

Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. She has to meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. After snubbing Julia Thistlewaite by never calling on her again, he decides to keep up the search. Julia has other plans when she discovers his list. She decides to recruit her old friend from school named Selina Dalton. Her plan is to make Selina the perfect woman based on Jeremy's list and then have Selina snub him by telling him he doesn't fit her list. It all seems like the perfect plan until Selina realizes that Jeremy is not the arrogant scoundrel Julia described. 

Just like the movie adaptation...this was fun. Some differences of course. There are a lot more scenes in the book which made me happy. I loved how Jeremy really had to work for Selina's love near the end. Perfection.

I loved nearly everything about this....I could even look past Jeremy being an ass and too arrogant....but he said something to Julia near the end that had me ANGRY. Like YES I get she is a brat and what she did was wrong...she for sure did you dirty with her deceptions. But WOW man. That was not cool. Julia is so self-centered she really didn't care/pay attention, but I was mad on her behalf. I barely liked him to begin with and that didn't help. I'm glad Selina and his own mother were able to knock some sense into him, but just...wow. 

I feel like Selina and Jeremy will have a lot of things to work on when they get married. This can be the same with Julia and her future hubby (I won't spoil anything). Imperfect characters FOR sure which I highly appreciate because I do adore it when characters are complex and have some flaws. But....Jeremy can be very mean.....so yea. They will have some stuff to get through in the next years. I'm glad Selina made him work for it and realize the error of his ways! Good on her.

All that aside, I loved this. Minus all the kissing scenes and etc, this gave me very Austen-like feels. There is a lot of talking between our couple(s). They have a lot to work through and all the characters have issues. 

The narrator was simply perfect! I think this is my first time listening to this narrator, but all her male and female voices were on point and they were all different. Kuddos there...we had a big cast, especially near the end. 

In the end, I did enjoy this a lot. Jeremy really made me mad at one point that I had a hard time looking past. Besides that...no real issues. I'll give this 4 stars. 

Challenge(s):
- #42 for Audiobook challenge

Movie Review: Mr. Malcolm's List (2022)

Title: Mr. Malcolm's List

Length:  1h 57m

Released: 2022

Genre:  Comedy, Drama, Historical Romance
Rating: PG
Where I Got It: Delta

SUMMARY:

A young woman courts a mysterious wealthy suitor who has a list of what he is looking for in a wife.

Click here for the trailer

REVIEW:

I haven't read the book, but now I plan to after watching this. I randomly picked a movie on our flight to New Orleans and this was the one. I keep seeing advertisements everywhere, so I finally decided to just jump in. 

After Mr. Malcom embarrasses Julia by ending their courtship because she doesn't fit what he is looking for in a wife, she decides to get a little karma. She brings in her country friend, Selina, to be everything he wants and then break his heart and embarrasses him in front of everyone just like he did to her. Things, of course, don't go according to plan. 

This was a fun watch. All our characters are complex and are not perfect. Which I adore when we have some big flaws, but then some big good things. 

Oh, Julia....I get it. I get how embarrassed she was in front of the ton. They are ruthless especially since she is getting old and still hasn't made a match. BUT I was super mad at her and she had like ZERO consequences on something she did. Tsk. In that one scene, she for sure stepped over a line.

OMG I did want to kick Mr. Malcolm. He enraged me with how stubborn and thick-headed he was being. Gah. 

Loved Selina. She reminded me a lot of Elizabeth from PP, but she was a little softer. Loved her. 

The cast was great. I really do want to read the book and see how well they played the characters. 

In the end, this was a pretty good movie. There was one scene that made me SO mad. Other than that this was a fun watch. If you like Bridgerton or any Austen...you'll like this. I am now curious about the book. 4 stars from me.