Regency Romantic!

Lady Emma Percival and the Duke of Liscarroll's story is definitely for the Regency romance lover. It has the usual glittering aristocracy life with balls, Almack's and White's, a little intrigue and a little humour. Emma and Peter, by all accounts are on the two ends of a family feud. And while they think they shouldn't like each other, that certainly is not the case. Peter, with the help of his mother is to find Emma a husband. But he finds that the beautiful Lady Emma may not be so easy to hoist on another man because he is unwilling to let her go. Throw in some attempted murder, rumours and ruined reputations. The result is rather fun escapism of the Regency variety!

I enjoyed the performance of this audiobook. I like how the narrators work together so that each character has a unique voice and that voice reflects their personality.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Brilliant

I loved the dual narration in this book. Both narrators were excellent giving very polished performances.
The story was humorous, sweet and had a little bit of mystery which I love. I adored the banter between the two lead characters. The cute ways they showed their jealous feelings were quite funny. I loved how every time it looked like they were having a sweet moment they were either interrupted or their banter evolved into a petty argument. It was really entertaining and a lot of fun.
I couldn't put the book down and I listened to it in one sitting.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reading studio copy.

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1 person found this helpful

Would highly recommend!

I love this authors characters. They are complex, annoying, funny and lovable. I have rarly come across an author where I have loved all their books and this author really surprised me. Like a chef she knew the right ingredients and amount to make the perfect dish.
The books are just as good but I would recommend the audio book. The narrators bring the book to life.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone.
There is no profanity or violence. There is no sexual content but there is some tension between the characters and the book would be considered flirty.

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A classic love story with a dash of mystery

The Duke's Wayward Ward is, in many ways, a classic 'enemies to lovers' Regency romance. Emma and Liscarroll are both unhappy about the arrangement which throws them into each other's path so unceremoniously, but it is clear from the beginning that they are very well suited. As with most novels of this type, the question is not so much 'will they or won't they get together' but 'when and how'. Despite Regencies' adherence to a fairly standard formula, it is the journey that makes them interesting, and it is for that reason that I was so disappointed to see the Publisher's Summary give so much away. It would have been much more enjoyable if I had not known so many of the key developments from the start.

I liked the Duke of Liscarroll immensely, as I did his mother, Georgette, the Dowager Duchess. It was very disconcerting to have her referred to as "Georgette throughout the novel, instead of by her title. It was so informal and unusual that it kept pulling me out of the period. Her relationship with her son was a little unconventional but very entertaining, and she brought a lot of humour to this audiobook.

It took me a little longer to warm to Emma, as her personality was not as gregarious as that of the Brazils. It also took me a little while to really feel as though she was feisty enough for Liscarroll, and as a couple I didn't think the tension quite built properly between them. They didn't spar as well as was necessary to introduce the required antagonism and the 'threats of violence' were a tad clumsily set up. There were so many moments which I really enjoyed, but I was never quite convinced that they were really opponents. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett are the best example of Regency enemies-to-lovers, but Liscarroll and Emma's annoyance with each other felt too contrived. In fact, much of this book felt very contrived, with everything falling into place very neatly time and again. I think it would have been better had it been longer, and the relationship between Peter and Emma allowed to be a slower burn, with a few more bumps in the road for them.

The narrator, Duke and Duchess DeFoix, did a very nice job of their dual narration. He voiced the male parts, and she took on all the female passages.

I loved Duke DeFoix's narration, and found his rich, smooth voice very pleasant to listen to. I'd have happily listened to him narrate the whole book, but he worked well with Duchess DeFoix.

I think, perhaps, that Duchess DeFoix does not have a natural British accent, as many of her pronunciations were unusual and her pattern of speech was reminiscent of the deliberate, overly-enunciated way Americans tend to read in RP. Her accent was very good, but his was far more natural and comfortable, which did give his narration the superior edge. I thought Duchess DeFoix did very well to convey both Emma's youthfulness and the Dowager's experience, with her range of voices being very good, and nicely varied.

For all its little niggles, The Duke's Wayward Ward was a nice, easy, romance to curl up with in the evening before bed. I enjoyed it for being lightweight and often lighthearted, and would happily have spent far longer in the company of Liscarroll and the Dowager. I will certainly listen to other Regencies by Claudia Stone, especially if they were narrated by Duke and Duchess DeFoix.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice, quick Regency listen with a HEA.

*I received this audiobook free of charge in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

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