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A review by ccgwalt
Dangerous in Diamonds by Madeline Hunter
3.0
3.5*
Narrated by Kate Reading.
The Duke of Castleford is a notorious rake who only abstains from drinking and whoring one day a week: Tuesday. On Tuesdays, Castleford and his secretary go over all his business affairs. On that one day, Castleford is serious and responsible; the rest of the week he is focused only on pleasure. Daphne Joyes is a widow running The Rarest Bloom – a flower-growing business and a haven for women in need of anonymity and peace. Daphne and Castleford meet when the duke inherits several properties from an estranged relative. Curious as to why this relative would leave any holdings to him, the duke decides to visit the properties, starting with The Rarest Bloom.
Since I’d never read anything by Madeline Hunter, I gave Dangerous in Diamonds a try because it is narrated by the talented Kate Reading. Besides a lovely voice, she has wonderful sense of timing and conveys genuine emotions in her narrations. Ms. Reading’s narration brings this interesting, if somewhat problematic, book up a notch. Her character voices are all clear and distinct. The male voices feel masculine and the female characters, which are many, are easy to distinguish. One reason I enjoy listening to books set in England is hearing the different accents and Ms. Reading does that quite well.
The problematic parts of this book begin with Tristan, the Duke of Castleford, who simply isn’t a believable character. He has too much honor and intelligence for a man who spends six out of every seven days in idle dissipation. His head is too clear, and his senses too keen, on his one sober day a week for his supposed debauchery to be convincing. Since Tristan’s character strains credulity, he never gains the believability he needs to be a sympathetic hero. This doesn’t make him an unlikeable or uninteresting character, but it does make him feel underdeveloped.
Tristan decides he will bed Daphne soon after meeting the respectable widow. Daphne, though drawn to the Duke, has too much to lose by becoming embroiled in an affair. The game of seduction is entertaining until Daphne gives in with only moderate resistance. Given Daphne’s strong independent nature and her plans for the future, it seems unlikely she’d risk everything for a few sensual nights with Tristan. Conversely, though Daphne’s inability to trust Tristan is understandable, the use of that mistrust as a plot device goes on too long.
Several times Hunter introduces a storyline that seems full of potential, such as the Peterloo massacre in northern England, but fails to follow through on the promise. Though the plotting in Dangerous in Diamonds was uneven, Hunter’s writing overall seems solid, with a good balance of descriptive passages and dialogue. There was enough in the story to keep me interested to the end, and the narration added to the pleasure. I would be willing to give this author another try.
Reviewed for Speaking of Audiobooks at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9138
Narrated by Kate Reading.
The Duke of Castleford is a notorious rake who only abstains from drinking and whoring one day a week: Tuesday. On Tuesdays, Castleford and his secretary go over all his business affairs. On that one day, Castleford is serious and responsible; the rest of the week he is focused only on pleasure. Daphne Joyes is a widow running The Rarest Bloom – a flower-growing business and a haven for women in need of anonymity and peace. Daphne and Castleford meet when the duke inherits several properties from an estranged relative. Curious as to why this relative would leave any holdings to him, the duke decides to visit the properties, starting with The Rarest Bloom.
Since I’d never read anything by Madeline Hunter, I gave Dangerous in Diamonds a try because it is narrated by the talented Kate Reading. Besides a lovely voice, she has wonderful sense of timing and conveys genuine emotions in her narrations. Ms. Reading’s narration brings this interesting, if somewhat problematic, book up a notch. Her character voices are all clear and distinct. The male voices feel masculine and the female characters, which are many, are easy to distinguish. One reason I enjoy listening to books set in England is hearing the different accents and Ms. Reading does that quite well.
The problematic parts of this book begin with Tristan, the Duke of Castleford, who simply isn’t a believable character. He has too much honor and intelligence for a man who spends six out of every seven days in idle dissipation. His head is too clear, and his senses too keen, on his one sober day a week for his supposed debauchery to be convincing. Since Tristan’s character strains credulity, he never gains the believability he needs to be a sympathetic hero. This doesn’t make him an unlikeable or uninteresting character, but it does make him feel underdeveloped.
Tristan decides he will bed Daphne soon after meeting the respectable widow. Daphne, though drawn to the Duke, has too much to lose by becoming embroiled in an affair. The game of seduction is entertaining until Daphne gives in with only moderate resistance. Given Daphne’s strong independent nature and her plans for the future, it seems unlikely she’d risk everything for a few sensual nights with Tristan. Conversely, though Daphne’s inability to trust Tristan is understandable, the use of that mistrust as a plot device goes on too long.
Several times Hunter introduces a storyline that seems full of potential, such as the Peterloo massacre in northern England, but fails to follow through on the promise. Though the plotting in Dangerous in Diamonds was uneven, Hunter’s writing overall seems solid, with a good balance of descriptive passages and dialogue. There was enough in the story to keep me interested to the end, and the narration added to the pleasure. I would be willing to give this author another try.
Reviewed for Speaking of Audiobooks at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9138