Megan P.

A Decent Story Somewhat Ruined by the Ending

Revisado: 06-26-24

The mystery is solid, the characters are well flushed out, and likeable (save for those who aren't meant to be). There are parts that are a little silly, even for a cozy, but overall it was an enjoyable few hours of listening. Except for the borderline idiotic ending.


***Spoiler Alert***

I won't give away the details of who and when or why so that anyone who reads this and still wants to listen is free to do so without all the mystery being removed. But in short, we ultimately find out that the death was accidental. In fact, the 'killer' was actually behaving heroically, saving a woman from being assaulted. It's establ

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Less than Mediocre

Revisado: 12-21-22

I hate the miscommunication trope. It's almost always a harbinger of lazy writing and, unfortunately, that proved true for this novel. Literally a single sentence could have cleared up everything. Not even a whole conversation, just one measley sentence. That could be forgivable if the trope were used as just a single string in a ball of complications keeping the two protags apart, but it's the feeble, uninteresting foundation of the entire plot.

That the characters are utterly dull and borderline idiotic makes a bad situation worse. The male protag has as much personality as an unripe avocado and the female isn't much better. Neither is particularly bright, their views about each other and the world around them based on the weakest of assumptions. At least the guy is supposed to be a bit green, but she is supposed to be this brilliant woman of business. All the suspension of disbelief in the world won't convince me she could lead a dog, let alone a high value business.

This would have been a DNF if I hadn't been at work and couldn't take the time to find something else to listen to. Spare yourself the same fate and skip this one.

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Mediocre

Revisado: 12-06-22

This is the book equivalent of having to satisfy a sweettooth by settling for a Little Debbie cupcake. It'll do the job in a pinch but it's nowhere near as good as a decadent homemade chocolate cake. All the pieces were there for a fun, easy read but it dragged near the middle (impressive for a book that wasn't all that long to begin with) and resolved in a way that was cloying, full, and rushed.

It didn't help at all that the reader sounded far too old to voice the bulk of the characters and there are male narrators out there with more varied female voices. If you're an audible member, it's free, so I wouldn't say skip it, but don't go in expecting too much, either.

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I Blame Bridgerton for This Travesty of a Story

Revisado: 11-20-22

Mind you, I actually quite enjoy the Bridgerton novels and tv series. But I firmly believe that were it not for the popularity of the show and books, this story would not have received nearly the amount of attention that it has. The premise is utterly idiotic, the characters dull, and the story predictable from the first few minutes. I like a bit of fluffy fun as much as the next person, but fun is a key part of that equation and it's one of many things that this story lacked. I DNF and wasn't even intrigued enough to skip through to the end to find out what happened.

If you like Bridgerton for the charm of the characters and the chemistry between the romantic leads, then skip this book. There are so many other, much better options out there to get your Regency Romance fix.

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Promising idea, mediocre delivery

Revisado: 08-05-22

I think the word predictable sums up this novel perfectly. Maybe that's intentional, I know there are plenty of readers out there who want a formulaic story with a HEA that you can guess from the first few words. So if that's you, if you're a fan of Hallmark movies at Christmas and a low level of tension, this will totally be your jam. I don't say that to be sarcastic, either. I totally understand the appeal, even if it's not to my taste. Real life can be complicated enough, and not everyone wants that in their escapism. If that's true for you, then buy this book. You will not be disappointed.

But if you're an enemies-to-lovers junkie who lives for the push/pull of attraction and conflict, who loves the chase just a bit more than the HEA, and who wants tension that requires more than a butter knife to cut, you should skip this. The stakes are very low for the protags and the 'obstacle' in the way is given a fairly soft treatment. The characters are all pretty cookie cutter and lack sass, spunk, fire, or passion, even though you can tell all of that is intended. And the plot plods along hitting all the expected milestones along the way, including the (imo) god-awful Miscommunication Trope. I finally gave up, skipped about 2hrs of story, and just listened to the last chapter and epilogue.

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Did she write the last hour or so at gunpoint?

Revisado: 01-18-22

Look, I went into this series not expecting much. It's a cozy, Edwardian era mystery with a fairly mild and predictable premise. But I wanted a light read and I liked the first book well enough to continue. And the second. And the third. And for 95% of this one, I liked it well enough too. But to say the ending is rushed, ham-handed, contrived, ridiculous, and borders on character assassination would be putting it all very mildly. Probably the least satisfying ending I've ever read. And I've read some real stinkers.

If you're invested in the characters, go ahead and give it a listen. But do yourself a favor once you hit Daisy's body snatcher moment and skip to the last ten or fifteen minutes.

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Well written and funny but I still DNF

Revisado: 09-03-21

First, I feel I should say that Knowelden is a fantastic narrator. If you like her, definitely check out her work on the Lady Hardcastle series. It's a jolly good time.

Now, as for this book, it's going in the DNF pile simply because most of these characters are just...awful people. Another reader mentioned that if you like Deanna Raybourn you'd enjoy this book, but as someone who plowed through the entire Veronica Speedwell series available to date in a week, that just ain't true.

Frankly, the practical and sometimes self-righteous Ms. Speedwell--and even the gallant-towards-all-women Stoker--would rather despise the people in this book. And I doubt Lady Julia Grey would want much to do with them either. Because the ladies of the Wisteria Society are, well, rotten. Like, they're the worst sorts of people. Overindulged as a birthright and when you add the piracy to the mix, they're just that extra bit selfish and inconsiderate. They treat the servants poorly--like chattel--and even their social equals are beneath them. The book *is* silly as a lot of people have pointed out, but that's the point and it's honestly handled well. I think that, with a slightly more empathetic and likable cast, I'd have been sorry to see it end. As it is, I'll be returning it after making it just past the 2hr mark. I guess I just prefer to actually like the characters I'm going to spend so many hours with, at least when I'm reading a fantastical rom-com. I most definitely don't wish to be reminded of how the rich and powerful get away with pretty much anything.

To be fair, the writing itself is quite good. A bit wordy, as someone mentioned, but I feel like it helped cement that ~Victorian~ feel, especially in a book with such a very un-historically accurate premise. I did laugh several times and really, really enjoyed when our main characters all "meet" for the first time. Cecilia and her would-be beau (I've already forgotten his name and can't be bothered to go look for it) don't even seem as bad as some of the secondary characters. But I just hate everyone else so much that it's not worth sticking around for their swashbuckling-ever-after.

On a final note, I'm so friggin' tired of writers--historical romance writers in particular--having their 18/19/20-year-old characters act, speak, and think like they're closer to 32. It's not even historically necessary since for Victorian women, especially those of means, they didn't marry until 25 or 26. Even for a Regency woman, the average age was somewhere around 23. If you want your character to be a little bit older and wiser, then just let her be older and wiser. A minor picadillo, but still a detail that broke the immersion for me when since Cecilia does not act like a teenager at all.

So, mini-rant aside, if you enjoy, or at least don't mind, spoiled rich people being spoiled and rich in your escapism, by all means, give this book a try. I say that with all genuineness. But if you prefer a bit more humanity in your romantic leads and supporting characters, then you may want to look elsewhere.

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How many cliches can you jam into 6 hours?

Revisado: 06-04-21

Xe Sands saves this book and is probably the only reason I was able to finish it. She is a phenomenal narrator.

The story, however, was phenomenally trite. I had high hopes since the first several couple chapters had good laughs, set the scene well, and established likable enough character. But the second she and the guy get together, the whole story just goes off a cliff and hits every single cliche branch on the way down. Miscommunication as plot device? Check. Baby mama drama? Check. Falling "in love" after a week or two? Check. Everything could have been resolved if the main character grew a pair of ovaries and was just honest with people? Check? Predictable, overly tidy ending? Check, check, and check.

It was so bad that I dozed off for a chunk in the middle and didn't even bother to go back to see what I missed.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Good story but man, the narrator

Revisado: 08-29-19

I enjoyed this book in spite of the narrator. He wasn't the worst I've ever heard but he's far, far from the best. Pretty much all of the characters sounded the same unless there was an attempt at an accent, which were all awful.

If you're a fan of Lassiter or Solomon and Lord, or both, definitely give this book a try. But if you have the time to read it yourself, you'll definitely be better served by your imagination than by Michael Levine.

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First book was better. Narrator is somehow worse.

Revisado: 11-18-18

Honestly, I don't have all that much to say about the story. It managed to be both unnecessarily complicated and uninteresting. Jane doesn't fare so well in the intelligence department, making a number of stupid, stubborn mistakes that she should have learned not to repeat in book one. There's really no one to root for--Jane is an awful person and the rest of the characters aren't interesting or well-rounded enough to care about rooting for them. And the ultimate resolution is anticlimactic.

The worst part of the whole experience, though, has to be the narrator. Reading for the female charterers, she's fine. But oh my God are the male characters awful. They all sound the same. And very, very dumb. Overly round syllables and weird cadences that are usually reserved for when one person mocks something stupid another person has just said. It's so, so bad. This may have been forgiveable but there are a lot of male characters in this book.

If you have Kindle Unlimited and want to give this a try, go for it. But I wouldn't recommend paying actual money.

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