Audiobook Review: THE MESALLIANCE by Stella Riley ~ endeavor to keep a look of boredom while listening ~ IMPOSSIBLE!

Title: The Mésalliance Rockliffe Series, Book 2
Author: Stella Riley
Genre: Historical Romance
Story Setting: 1775;
Pages: 304
Published Date: September 24, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B009G8SFVI

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
Length: 9 hours, 59 minutes
Release Date: March 11, 2016
Published by: Stella Riley

Rockliffe Series: 
The Parfit Knight
The Mésalliance
The Player

 

Publisher’s Summary:
The Duke of Rockliffe is 36 years old, head of his house, and responsible for his young sister, Nell. He is, therefore, under some pressure to choose a suitable bride. Whilst accompanying Nell to what he speedily comes to regard as the house-party from hell, he meets Adeline Kendrick – acid-tongued, no more than passably good-looking yet somehow alluring. Worse still, her relatives are quite deplorable – from a spoiled, ill-natured cousin to a sadistic, manipulative uncle. As a prospective bride, therefore, Adeline is out of the question. Until, that is, a bizarre turn of events cause the Duke to throw caution to the wind and make what his world will call a mésalliance.

©2016 Stella Riley (P)2016 Stella Riley

 

My Thoughts: A blogger colleague of mine suggested I read Stella Riley.  I was privileged to win a copy of book two of the Rockcliffe series.  This exciting listening went beyond my expectations and I’m delighted to be introduced to Stella Riley.

Quickly, we are caught up in the times. With the stifling necessity of being polite, Duke of Rockliffe’s tongue is so well laced with sarcasm expressed in a calm, mild tone, one wonders if the sarcasm is real!  Rockliffe’s wit and humor are well-played by narrator Alex Wyndham, always delivered in a sang froid tone.

Rockliffe is creative with his own enjoyment when invited to a house-party accompanying his sister Nell.  She is a handful and must keep her out of her usual mischief.

The ton prize themselves in speaking with complete ennui, particularly, the upper-crust gentlemen.  I certainly didn’t have a drop listening to this lively, spirited story sweeping me into events of the times!

It seems Nell’s best friend Diana is in the market for a groom.  She is a conniving little thing, annoying and eventually becomes quite desperate to catch someone in her first Season. Her eye is on Rockcliffe.

Conversely, her twin, is amiable, mild-mannered, trying to keep Diana from doing too much mischief. She has a softer heart and treats Adeline with more civility.

Adeline Kendrick is a bit like a Cinderella. She is relegated to an upper servant in her aunt’s home, mother to Diana and Althea. Once Rockcliffe catches on about her position in the family, he’s a bit put off by the snobbishness of Lady Franklin and Diana.  He goes out of his way to be nice to her—the story takes off from there.

I love the duke’s fetish of snuff boxes – how they become a focal point in awkward or annoying conversations. I actually snickered during the read.

Narrator Alex Wyndham makes the total experience of this book one of perfection. His timing, tone, pacing and his completely believable performance rates him in my opinion as one go-to narrator.  I’ve listened to his work before with other authors – he’s simply marvelous.

And now I need to back track to read book one of the series.  I highly recommend this author and what I’ve read in reviews, this series.  Her writing style is lively, not heavily laden with description. Her character development are the driving force of the read.