Sorry when it ended

Stella Riley kept me tethered to my phone and gripped by this story. I’ve read all her books more than once but Alex Wyndham’s interpretation makes each one new again. It deserves every minute of its length for the many layers of lives and love story.
I confess that the politics and actions of the time only interested me as ways of moving the tale forward. During those passages I let myself drift along with Wyndham’s luscious voice, paying just enough attention to keep the thread of the story going. The quality of Riley’s writing eliminated any jarring anachronisms and meant the creation of multiple characters with depth and vivid personalities.
Disclosure: I received an early copy of this audiobook in exchange for my promise to write a review. This in no way affected my reading pleasure and honest reaction.

5 people found this helpful

Stella Riley continue to write remarkable stories

This is a wonderful story, full of history and rich in characters. Gabriel and Venetia’s story is set in one of the most significant and politically charged periods of English history and it does not disappoint. This book delves into that history and gives personalities to the names of men who changed history. Within that background we see the struggle of a marriage arranged for two strong characters who seem as widely divided as possible. One is a Colonel in the Roundhead army, the other a passionate monarchist and spy for the King. As we meet again other characters from her other books, we see how destructive this civil war has been, pitting friends against friends and splitting families to pieces. Each person in their own right is struggling with years of conflict and then the aftermath of an uneasy peace. There is push and pull tension throughout this book, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and anger. In the end the history is gripping, but as we follow the course of Gabriel and Venitia’s marriage, we are immersed in their struggle to find the peace they are both looking for Venitia is a strong, independent woman, who naturally takes charge of situations and follows her own beliefs and decisions. Gabriel equally is a commanding presence so sparks fly, misunderstandings arise and tempers flare. A strong cast of supporting characters round out the narrative. Stella Riley’s gift for rich characters and intricate stories continues to shine. Her well written prose and meaty plots make you just want more.

As always Alex Wyndham shines in his powerful and compelling narration, giving life to both the era and the people. He is a master story teller and again leaves you wanting more. This is truly a perfect union

4 people found this helpful

Turbulent love in turbulent times

This is the second book of Stella Riley’s Roundheads and Cavaliers series, featuring the turbulent period of the English Civil War era through a series of romances. This novel describes the story of Venetia Clifford, daughter of a Royalist family, forced to marry Gabriel Brandon, a colonel in Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army. To add insult to injury, Gabriel is the illegitimate half-brother of Venetia’s previous betrothed, Royalist Ellis Brandon, now a fugitive, and receives the inheritance that should have gone to the legitimate son as well as the bride. The relationship starts off badly, with mutual dislike and disdain at first sight – and only goes downward for quite a while. In spite of the conflict, the integrity of the Roundhead officer is starting to impress even rigidly prejudiced Venetia, but the machinations of Ellis and certain mistakes by the heroine result in a catastrophic conflict (I must say I had a hard time forgiving Gabriel, and some readers may find his actions disturbing) between the protagonists – and then it is time for Gabriel’s unreasonable emotions to be changed by the demonstration of Venetia’s loyalty and integrity. While they work towards resolving their personal difficulties, political conflict culminates in the trial and execution of King Charles I, and Gabriel is pursued by a mysterious enemy who tries to harm him by every possible means.
Besides the usual great points in Stella Riley’s favour (a passionate and deep romance, vivid and well researched historical background with even the complexities made understandable through the characters’ eye, believable and complex character descriptions) I especially enjoyed in this book the fact that there are decent people on both sides of the political conflict – and they are able to turn toward each other with respect and try to mitigate the cruelty and vindictiveness of the extremists on each side.
Alex Wyndham’s talented storytelling brings out the drama and the turbulent feelings in the story, displays the diverse set of characters and their feelings faithfully and gives the listener a vivid and gripping experience.

2 people found this helpful

You cannot go wrong with this book.

There are two authors that I must say are the absolute best writers of historical fiction, Stella Riley is one of them. There has not been a tale by her I have not throughly enjoyed and with Alex Wyndham as the narrator of her rich writing, I never think twice about buying the audio.

Now to the review: Garland of Straw is another tale set during the English Civil War. Charles I looses his head in this book and Ms. Riley places the characters amidst the doings in this very real and bleak time in English history. The rich history told in this book is compelling and is a very nice backdrop to the unlikely romance of the H/h.
Ms. Riley describes how love develops between two unlikely characters ( a staunch supporter of Charles I and a Roundhead). Get prepared for biting commentary, witty repartee, and the voice of Alex Wyndham.
Venetia, a royalist snob and Gabriel, a roundhead colonel are forced into marriage by circumstance. I think Ms. Riley hit just the right note with both characters. Each were stubborn, fully committed to their beliefs and fiercely intelligent. While I enjoyed the undercurrents between these two, I would have liked more open communication between them once they both realized that they loved one another. However on the other hand some of rich historical notes would have been lost.

This book is lengthy but not boring or drawn out to no purpose. In fact, I was sad to hear the end and am anticipating the next story.

I used a credit to purchase this book and to be honest I would have paid member's price for it.

2 people found this helpful

So enjoyed!!

Stella Riley and Alex Wyndham team up again to bring another great installment in the Black Madonna series!! I love the development of the characters in each of Riley‘s books and I especially appreciated the insight into the English Civil War. I truly look forward to hopefully hearing Alex Wyndham read the next two books in the series soon!!

1 person found this helpful

Excellent historical romance

Stella Riley is one of my favorite historical authors. She writes with such detail that the listener becomes engrossed in the story. Stella is just as talented in character development.....even to the point of developing characters, so aggravating that you want to strangle them. Venetia is one of....but not the only one....of those characters. Venetia comes across as stubborn, selfish and down right mean. The other characters are so strong and likeable that Venetia's personality appears even more obnoxious.
Alex Wyndham is the absolute best narrator I've ever heard and he's perfect for Stella's books.

1 person found this helpful

FANTASTIC - but listen to Black Madonna 1st

Stella Riley is the best spinner of historical, romantic novels around, and at least in the US relatively unknown. I highly recommend ALL her books. However, those that are parts of a series really need to be enjoyed in order. Her stories are so deeply layered and intertwined that maximum appreciation of her characters and their lives is best achieved by following them from their beginnings. Alex Wyndham's voice and performance style are Apollo's gifts to historical novels set in Britain and France.

Another fantastic story from Riley!

I recommend listening to The Black Madonna first; they follow sequentially and it really helps to understand the characters and the action. TBM is quite simply, a thing of beauty, and GoS is a worthy successor. I cannot emphasize how amazing Riley's ability to make troop movements and military history seem vital, interesting, and relevant to the love story. Not many authors could produce a 19 hour book that I actively hoped wouldn't end, but this is it! Wyndham's narration is just as excellent as always. Riley's books are so far above the average romance novel audiobook that there really is no comparison. Buy them, listen again and again, and enjoy!

Another excellent story

Can’t go wrong with this author/narrator combination. My favorite of the series is The Marigold Chain, but this is a must read to continue the series and hear about some of the previous characters. Aside from a scant handful of anachronisms in this series, Stella is an outstanding researcher and writer—far above the crowd. Her storytelling, characters, and relationships are all well-developed and interesting. I’ve read all her works. This book is a page turner with a slight lull midway while it focuses on new main characters that were smaller players up to that point and catches us up on new political and battle updates. I started missing the H/h interactions and progress.

A minor frustration was the narration. Alex is an excellent, well-loved narrator. Especially with atmosphere, mood, setting. He reads the intent of the scenes superbly. No question there. What I notice, especially in these long books, is that character voices sometimes start sounding the same. He absolutely has a wide range but often defaults to repetition of two to three cadences and tones. Even between men and women. And characters sometimes change voices. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to have a voice for dozens of characters and keep track of them for twenty hours, but more variation between characters and consistency for each main character would be helpful. Otherwise, well done—these nuances are easy enough to overlook for the joy of listening to such a phenomenal book, rich with history and excellent writing.

Dynamic Duo

Stella Riley never fails to pull me into her stories and strengthen my appreciation of every work. Each time I’ve completed one of her beautifully written and poignant historical treasures, I come away thinking it’s a new favorite. Garland of Straw in audio with the talented Alex Wyndham does not disappoint meeting every expectation and more. As usual, the writing is loaded with meticulously researched historical content with zero “filler” type fluff. The characters come alive with deft & masterly descriptions and bookmark-worthy dialogue.
Though I cherish Stella Riley’s entire library, I also look forward to escaping into Alex Wyndham’s stunning performances as one of my favorite narrators - making it a dynamic duo. I will continue to enjoy her books for years to come and look forward to any new material as well.