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  • A Trick of Fate

  • Brandon Brothers, Book 1
  • By: Stella Riley
  • Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
  • Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (100 ratings)
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A Trick of Fate

By: Stella Riley
Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
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Summary

Someone is misusing Max Brandon’s name - resulting in bills for services he never ordered and goods he did not buy. For reasons he can't begin to guess, he has become the victim of some unknown person's campaign of persecution.

When the games move closer to home, almost forcing him to fight a duel...more particularly, when they draw in Frances Pendleton, a lady he never expected to see again...Max vows to catch the man behind them, no matter what the cost.

The result is a haphazard chase involving ruined abbeys, a hunt for hermits, a grotesque portrait...and a love story which, but for this odd trick of fate, might never have been given a second chance.

©2019 Stella Riley (P)2020 Stella Riley

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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A new series for author STELLA RILEY

A Trick of Fate (Brandon Brothers, #1) is the first in a new mini series and the first brand new series in three decades. In all that time, Stella Riley’s talent has not diminished and she continues to bring pleasure to her many fans. Ms. Riley has always had a loyal following for her incredible Cavalier and Roundheads series but her captivating Georgian Historical Romance novels have not only garnered many prestigious awards, but have also won many new fans in the process.

When the author drew her addictive Rockliffe series to a close after six books, which followed the lives of the Duke of Rockliffe and his group of friends and relatives, I was sad to say goodbye - these people are like old friends. However, Ms. Riley has skilfully kept her characters alive to us by linking her previous two series to the intriguing Brandon family.

A Trick of Fate follows on directly from Cadenza, the last in the Rockliffe series. In Cadenza we meet Max for the first time where his sister is one of the MC’s. Max’s character immediately appealed to me and I was thrilled to learn that he was to be the MC in Stella Riley’s latest book.

One of Ms. Riley’s many strengths is her ability to create drop-dead gorgeous men who are so real we can almost reach out and touch them. Max Brandon is no exception; honourable and decent, he has a wicked sense of humour and sense of the ridiculous. Link all of that back to his great-great grandfather, Gabriel Brandon, MC of A Garland of Straw (Roundheads and Cavaliers, #2), one of my favourite books off ALL time, and I was his slave. Max’s love interest, Frances Pendleton, is a woman worthy of Max, and with more than a few twists and turns to keep us guessing, the author’s trade mark wit and humour, and a spine tingling romance, we have yet another compelling Historical Romance from the pen of Stella Riley.

The author has had all of her Georgian Historical Romance novels, and some of her Roundhead and Cavalier novels, recorded by the talented British actor, Alex Wyndham. Until now, I could not fault his performances and have always been a huge fan. Maybe it’s because I’m so in-tune with his voice and talent that I’m not too happy with elements of his performance this time. It’s not so long ago that I listened to Cadenza, in which we originally met Max. Max’s character is larger than life; authoritative and quite obviously the head of his family. However, he’s also a lighthearted, humorous and witty man - it’s one of the traits of his character that I love, and I felt that, between recording Cadenza and A Trick of Fate (the latter follows on immediately from the former), Mr. Wyndham has aged Max’s voice by about fifteen years, giving the impression of a much older man, and has in the process lost quite a bit of his sparkle. I’m hoping it’s just a blip as Alex Wyndham is one of my favourite voice actors. The rest of his performance was very well done, but I was disappointed that he didn’t capture the delectable Max as he had in Cadenza.

We now await the second of the three Brandon Brothers stories and I for one can’t wait. Brava Ms. Riley, I always love your work. Highly recommended.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Identity theft in Georgian England

The combination of a Stella Riley book and the voice of Alex Wyndham - unbeatable. Very hard to take my earphones out and be sociable last evening...........
The hero, who appeared in the last book and is a descendant of characters in the Roundheads & Cavaliers series, is being impersonated by someone and then lured into a chase across Northern England and Southern Scotland. I feel very sorry for the horses and the coachman, although I am sure it wasn't particularly comfortable inside the carriage. A happy ending, of course, for the h&h, with introductions to 2 brothers to be heroes of future books - something to look forward to in due course. Interesting background to the tour of Britain and the brothers have unusual interests/careers.
Delighted to hear that Rockcliffe has the heir to let his brother off the hook!
I have many of Stella Riley's books in print and on Kindle as well as all but one of the Audible recordings, so was delighted to receive a free copy of this book, it is very enjoyable and now I've downloaded the first of the Rockcliffe series to listen to the series again. I would have used a credit for this book if I had not been one of the lucky ones.
Looking forward to the next book, Stella Riley, and the audiobook, Alex Wyndham......

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Impeccable writing and Delivery

Anyone who knows Stella Rileys' series of books either the Roundhead and Cavalier series or Rockliffe will not be surprised by the quality of this writer. The Brandon name will be well known to those who read with great pleasure Garland of Straw and it is wonderful to catch up on the family albeit two generations forward! We know Max from the of the Rockliffe books 'A Trick of Fate' as Arabellas' brother, in this we hear his story. Combine great writing, excellent research and the divine dulcet tones of Alex Wyndham and its a match made in heaven. I encourage everyone to listen to all her audiobooks, They are all keepers

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5 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Why was this Mills and Boon listed under crime!

I was expecting a lightweight historical crime novel. I got a romance so light it nearly flew away. The only crime was my listening to the whole thing-to which I plead temporary insanity.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

A delightful start of a new Georgian series

Having listened to all six Rockliffe novels I was very sorry to say goodbye to the well-known and beloved characters of the six novels. But Stella Riley prepared a wonderful surprise for her readers. This spin-off of the Rockliffe series (more precisely of the last novel, Cadenza) brings into stage light the eldest of the Brandon brothers, Max, a secondary character in Cadenza. Don’t worry if you have not read or listened to the Rockliffe novels, you will perfectly understand the story.

This is a kind of detective story to catch an 18th century identity thief in a mad race and “hide and seek” game that unfolds on a journey through the north of England and South of Scotland with Roman ruins and ruined abbeys and topped with a revived five years old love story. Expect surprises, humorous situations and twists and turns both in the story and the journey of the two wonderful main characters. Alex Wyndham’s velvety voice only adds to the pleasure and enjoyment of this delightful story.

I am looking forward to listening to the other two Brandon brothers' stories.

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A great start to this new series

Once again Stella Riley and Alex Wyndham have surpassed all expectations with this audio, ‘A Trick of Fate’ the first in her new Brandon Brother’s series.
The plot is what we today call ‘Identity theft’ and centres around Max Brandon the eldest brother of Arabella Brandon who married Julian Langham in Cadenza, book 6 of her Rockliffe Series.
Someone is masquerading as Max and obviously causing a great deal of concern as bills and services are being charged to him of which he has no connection. The pressure starts to steadily mount over a few months but suddenly becomes very personal when Frances Pendleton, who Max fell in love with 5 years before but lost touch, is also drawn into this web of intrigue.
So the story unfolds as Max and Frances unite in pursuing the person responsible for the disruption to their lives.
The scene is set and the chase is on which takes the listener on a road trip of Northern England and the Scottish Borders. Alex Wyndham gives us a variety of subtle dialects. The skilled writing of Ms Riley brings out humour and poignancy as the backstory of their relationship unfolds in a series of flash backs and then moves forward at an entertaining pace.
Also, Ms Riley has skilfully moved away from London and the Rockliffe constraints by transferring the listener to the north and thus allowing her access to a myriad of ancient traditions, local customs and culinary delicacies (Haggis anyone?) as we visit the Scottish Borders and their historic towns. Ms Riley’s research is superb.
I will not give the plot line away but say that the interaction between Max and Frances is a sheer delight and the outcome of who is causing the distress and why, clever and unexpected - resulting in a happy ever after conclusion that really is ‘A Trick of Fate.’
I loved it and look forward to Brandon Brothers, book 2.
Well done Stella Riley and Alex Wyndham, a great start to this new series.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story!

A really fun listen and a beautiful story of second chances at love. Looking forward to Leo and Adam’s stories!

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another masterpiece

Left me wanting more what a brilliant way to end a book. loved every page.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A lovely story by a wonderful writer

This is a lovely, lovely novel written by a wonderful author. It is a historical romance set in Georgian times and concerns the love story between Lord Max Brandon and Frances Pendleton. They had met and fallen in love five years prior to the start of the story but had been separated by nefarious means. However, a trick of fate brings them together again and a curious set of circumstances involving a tour of Cumbria and the Scottish borders enable them to spend time together to discover if their love still exists and can be rekindled.

Stella Riley is my favourite author. For me her greatest strengths are pitch perfect characterisation, sparkling dialogue and the inventive use of plot devices which all combine to make novels I can immerse myself in and which I never want to end. A Trick of Fate is just such a novel.

I absolutely love the plot device in this story. The identity theft and the ensuing pursuit of the enigmatic Mr Grey is so fresh and different. It gives a backbone to the story, is an interesting plot strand and provides a wonderful opportunity to watch two people fall in love with each other.

Max and Frances are beautifully depicted as people I feel I know and would love to meet. Max is a serious man who shoulders his many responsibilities with cheerful fortitude. He is kind, honourable and just and while he has his fair share of firmness and determination, he also has a delightful sense of the absurd. Frances is his equal. She is witty and intelligent, has strength of character and good moral fibre and is very aware of the conventions that a gently bred female of the time should obey. However, she is willing to push these boundaries just a little in order to explore her feelings for Max. As we watch her fall ever more deeply in love with him, so do we fall in love with Max. Ms Riley excels at writing gorgeous heroes.

However, there is a whole cast of delightful characters who leap fully formed from the page and into our hearts. From Leo, Max’s younger brother to the self-contained Rafe Sherbourne and from the mysterious Mr Grey to Lady Pendleton, Frances’s dreadful mother – they all feel like real people and add depth and colour to the story.

So much of both the characterisation and the narrative are carried through the words the protagonists say to each other and to themselves. I love the way that we see inside Max and Frances’s heads as they individually work through their thoughts and feelings. This feels so intimate and enriches our understanding of them.

Dialogue plays a major role in Ms Riley’s novels and enables the story to move along at a good pace. It feels very natural and realistic at every point whether it is conveying the warmth of family interactions, the amusing banter between the brothers or Max’s glorious decimation of his new mother-in-law. The way both brothers talk to their young niece and nephews tells us as much about the adults as it does about the children.

I really enjoyed this audiobook and think that Alex Wyndham has done a great job with conveying the warmth and wit of the story. I find it very easy to listen to his voice and think he differentiates the characters very well. Though I had already read the book, Alex’s nuanced performance made me consider parts of it in a slightly different way. This enhanced my overall appreciation of the story and I know I will listen to the audiobook again.

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Definitely a 'Treat'

Absolutely loved this book and listening to the divine Alex Wyndham with his interpretation of the various characters involved. It is not necessary to have read the Rockcliffe novels however it is lovely to catch up with some of the people encountered previously. If you are looking for gratuitous sex scenes or anything of that ilk then this is not for you, but it is a gentle romance with a roadtrip and a twist to the tale. Absolutely lovely, roll on the remaining Brandon Brothers books.

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