by Mary Wine
Series: English Tudor #1
Pub. Date: Nov. 5, 2013
Publisher: Audible Studios
Length: 9hrs 46min
Narrator: Ray Chase
Format: Audiobook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating:
Sultry Scale:
A Rearranged Marriage
Lord Curan Ramsden is home from war, and eager to claim his betrothed. And he arrives just in time--his bride's father has summoned her to London, to wed another man. But Bridget's father promised her to Curan, and Curan means to have her. Especially now that he sees the luscious young woman she has blossomed into. He'll just have to convince Bridget, somehow, that her heart is more important than her duty. . .
Bridget Newbury has always done her duty--to her parents, to the church, to the man they selected as her betrothed. She knows what could happen if she disobeys her father. The king has put nobler women to death for lesser trespasses. But she was promised to Curan first, and his kisses are very tempting. . .
I picked this title from the Kindle Unlimited selection as it had the audible narration included, and I like to listen while I am out working in the yard on the weekend. Unfortunately, the narrator absolutely killed the book for me. I am finding that I do not like male narrators because their readings just do not seem as dynamic as those of female narrators. Of the ones I have listened to so far, the male narrators just do not have the voice range of females, so all the characters sound the same to me. They either sound male, or like a really bad male impersonation of a female voice. And those high pitched imitations grate on my nerves. Plus, this narrator was so dramatic that I felt like he should have been reading Shakespeare. It just did not work.
This story took place toward the end of the reign of Henry VIII, when Henry Tudor was married to Catherine Parr. Our hero, Curan, was a knight (turned baron) that was close to the king and fought with Henry in France. Curan comes back from France to retrieve his bride, to whom he was betrothed 3 years past, and finds that she is departing for London under another marriage contract. Curan was very much anticipating this marriage and is not going to stand for this bride being stolen from him. The bride in question, Bridget, is the dutiful daughter and somewhat of a dishwater miss (at first). I didn't care for Bridget all that much. I am a little tired of females that don't have faith in their husbands and decide to go off on some cockamamie trip instead of just communicating with the poor sod. Luckily Bridget got with the plan (eventually) and she was somewhat redeemed by the end of the book.
Favorite Quote: "Ride me wife! Hold on tight or I shall throw ye!"
This book was all about sex, which is very odd for a historical romance. I would say that for at least 75% of the book the characters are either learning about sex, watching sex, listening to sex, or engaged in some type of sexual activity. There was also an overuse of the word clitoris. It sounded very odd coming from this male narrator so much. Also I have a bit of an issue with the cover of this book - I thought I was getting a Scottish historical romance, but I got an English lord instead. An English border lord, but still, that's not a Scot. What's the deal with that?
English Tudor Series
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