What in the world...

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I have to be honest, 4 hours into the book, I was ready to quit. All the characters behaved as if they were in high school. Grace met a Marquess at a party and spent 10 minutes in his company. He made a great impression on her and she set her sights on him. They made plans to have a dance at the next party and said good bye. Grace apparently did not read any of the society news pages because she can’t be bothered, so she had no idea that his father died and the now Duke was in mourning. Her friend sets her straight, but Grace is convinced that he has no interest because he has learned of her disgrace the prior year for helping her engaged older sister elope with someone else. She is not wrong because the Duke has learned this about her from his valet and has written her off as not a good match.
In the meantime, Grace and her friend meet the duke’s brother and Grace hatches a plan to get closer to the Duke by getting her friend together with the brother. Little does she know that the duke and his brother do not get along and the Duke is on to her machinations. By this point, I was ready to quit the book. I could not take any more of this crap. But, seeing as how I promised a review, I kept on listening.
Things do pick up a bit during the second half and the book somewhat redeems itself. Grace gets kicked to the curb by literally everyone for her machinations and slinks off to her family home. Her friend is now married to the duke’s brother and Grace sees what a jerk he is so she tries to tell her friend. This was what was the final straw that sent her home.
Now Grace is completely beaten down and meek and quiet and everyone wants her back to the self assures lady she was, except that they all hated the results of her previous personality.
The Duke, who basically played mind games with grace the entire time by telling her that had she not schemed to meet him, he’d have come for her, then not explaining his brother’s true nature, then telling her that he was done with her... has a complete change of heart. Seriously? The book obviously has a happy ending, but it was so high school throughout that I was not impressed. The Duke needed to figure out his own mind instead of lashing out. Grace needed to stop meddling and develop a bit of sympathy for the fact that he was in mourning. Her friend needed to grow a backbone.
I regret having to leave this review like this, but I am not sure what else to say here. It had good premise, but failed on the execution.

4 people found this helpful

Nice non boring story with hea ending

good narration. first time I have heard orv read these authors. will grab another one. they built up the tension quite well.

First Impressions, Second Chances

This is the first time I've heard a performance by narrator Marian Hussey. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt she captured the weakness/frailty of Katherine and innocence of Claire. She also captured the wishy-washiness of Grace (our main character) and the authoritative voice of the Duke (George) and his charming brother, Edmund. Although the story had it's slow points, Ms Hussey's performance never waivered.

This is the second book in this series, but it stands alone too with references to occurrences from book 1. The story had IMHO undertones of Pride n Prejudice with first impressions and judgements made on all parties that set the story in motion. Having not read the back cover of the book, I didn't know where it was going, but I'm glad I kept listening, because it definitely got exciting. I look forward to listening to book 3 and going around to book 1.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author/narrator. My views and opinions are voluntarily offered.

MATURE content: none (no sex, language or violence)

Great Historical Romance!

This was my first Audrey Ashwood and Rosie Wynter's book, and won't be the last. George and Grace's story is really great! I love all about this story! The characters, the storyline, the twists and turns, the suspense, and the ending. Now, I can't wait to listen to Grace's sister story! Marian Hussey did an amazing job with the narration! I am looking forward for more books written by these authors and read by this narrator. I received this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily written this review.

A bit uneven but overall entertaining...

It's my first book by Audrey Ashwood and Rosie Wynter so I had no particular expectations but after listening to this one I think I will read other books by them in future.

I generally liked the book though I feel it is a bit uneven, especially when it comes to the pace of the story. The first part is quite slow, with a lot of detailed descriptions and lengthy conversations (which is not necessarily a fault, as it gives the book the Austen-like feel of "let's not hurry with the tale, we have time enough to spare...":)), on the other hand, the ending with its action-packed scenes reminded me of the swashbuckling action-adventures (like The Three Musketeers, for example)... Quite a clash in style:)

There are not too many characters to follow but they are quite colourful (although you may think some of them a bit stereotypical), however, they are not always consistent when it comes to their personalities... I don't think someone rather meek and relying on a friend to acertain their every decision would suddenly grow enough backbone to act ruthlessly and cruelly towards that particular friend - but I may be wrong, I'm not a psychologist...

Anyway, I liked the overall story; the plot develops smoothly and most of the time logically and in accordance with the rules of the time, the ending is really fast-paced and exciting, and narration by Ms Hussey is very well done - she reads at a good pace, but not too fast, she makes proper distinction between different voices and adds a nice flare to the narrative parts.


DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Historical romance

I did like this book even if some of the characters did annoy me. However, I had to remind myself that one, it is set in a different time period and two, that there are some people who actually act like this even in todays society.
However, I believe the main female character fit the era she is from. She acted really naive which I would expect from her upbringing in that time.
The person that really got my blood boiling was her aunt. I have to say that I did not like her at all. But other than this it is not a bad book which is suitable for all since there is no sexual content or profanity. It does have so mild violence.

Really Enjoyed This One!

Grace is spending the season with her aunt in London and reveling in her new freedom. After a scandal in her recent past damaged her reputation, she isn't expecting to meet a suitable match and the men so far haven't interested her. When she meets an enigmatic man at a party and learns he's the Duke of Cromford, she's intrigued and immediately plans to capture his heart. But the Duke is forced to leave town suddenly and Grace is introduced to his brother, who tells Grace some very ugly things about the Duke.

This is the sequel to A Mysterious Rogue, Rosalie's story, but it can be read as a standalone. It's a sweet listen with no steamy scenes. This isn't a typical romance between a wide eyed innocent and a rake with a heart of gold, both Grace and George are flawed and layered characters. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, but the plot reminded me a lot of Pride and Prejudice. I really enjoyed this one and didn't want it to end!

The narration was really well done, with distinct voices and a performance that pulled me right into the story. I requested a copy of the audiobook, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. I can't wait for Claire's story!

honor such a misleading attribute

okay this story was very very good the characters were very interesting and the fact that the author used the timeline of the story for us to understand the situation was very interesting and very good the story was very romantic and very funny I liked it a lot

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Gripping story

This is the gripping and interesting love story between Grace and George and how friends and family could possible ruin lives - if allowed to.
It also shows quite clearly that if one pushes too hard then one is liable to lose out totally.
I loved the way these two authors have written this story. It held my attention and I kept on wondering what was going to happen next between all the very colorful characters.
Marion Hassey has a very interesting voice and uses it to portray each character realistically which really enhances the telling.
These three artistes make a great team and I am happy to recommend the audio/ebook to you.
I requested and received a copy of the audiobook version and my review as above is voluntary and unbiased.

Fantastic!

The characters are simply marvelous. The narrator is incredibly talented and truly brings the tale to life. It’s just wonderful to listen to.