julia

the story was ok - did not love the premise of it, but it was very well written and I LOVE Simon Prebble, he makes the book worth listening to.
The story was a little too convenient in its unfolding and I would have preferred a bit more of a build up between the hero and heroine - it came a little too easy. other than that, very easy listen and I enjoyed it. managed expectations will be just fine here.

my biggest issue was the fact that there were so many unnecessary and S...L...O...W side adventures that I kept having to go back as my mind wandered off and then i feared i had missed something.
one of the main issues was for Diana to go and learn about her magic and how to unleash it, and that did not happen for a LONG while, and when it did, it was a few meetings, a couple of swishes and that was it! same thing as to the book. not until after 15 hours did we get near it, and even then, we had to sit through hours of court nonsense and it was just drawn out!
i would have liked to see more story stuff and less history stuff. there was too much of a change in emphasis.
I loved the first one so much more for staying on course with building the story and the real development in characters. this one slowed the story way too much. the relevant events which were very meaningful were scattered about and so far between that again, i had to go back and piece their relevance back to the first book.
it appears that the 3rd one will put us back on track, so looking for more of a fast paced, exciting end.
performance was amazing as always.
conclusion: very Long winded and off path. could have been 10 hours shorter with the content, or could have had more detail in the pertinent issues to justify the length. a must read either way as it is the lead-in to the next one.

the only thing that bothered me was the repetitive nonsense between the 2 lovers - it was as if for 2 very smart people they were incapable of rational thought and it got very irritating.
was amusing and had some great dialog - enjoyed it a lot.

so much anticipation with this and it just popped into place very nicely from the first page. what was the point? the build up of the 2 was very flat. no development or tension. what a waste of a hero!! and looking for a goblet - are we still Grimms fairytales? really lame. also it was not a believable story with 3 kidnappings etc. there should have been a little more meat on the bone.
shame as it could have been sooo muh better.
Ms. laurens - a little more planning for the next one please!

the first story was a cliff hanger, and had almost no relevance on the second so not sure why these were part of the same book. the connection was very remote and other than a slight weird flash back in the second book at the end, there was really no connection other than ancestor relation, period.
the second story was better developed and could have stood alone - I thought that these could have been great sequels or better related - so overall - a decent quick read but not a lot of substance. pity, there was a lot of material that was wasted. Jenny Sterlin made it worth the listen. anyone else and I am sure I would have had a more negative reaction. its incredible how important a narrator is!

this is the 2nd twin story - loved the irish earl - but she was such a little bratty girl that her development into a more mature women was slow in coming. over all a good listen but some of the antics were far fetched and not completely credible. the narrator - fantastic.

the characters were well built up and the story had a nice flow - the intimate part was unrealistic given the disposition of Eliza as a wallfower, but past that, it was a nice read. Narrator was amazing.

Too much of the same. 2 kidnappings was very redundant with high tailing it to Scotland
The story was a little more action packed than the first which was nice but the bond between the characters was a bit flat. These were both overkill to set up the third book, not sure why we had such similar story lines but u now expect a lot in the next one. The narrator has great male voices but the females r a little baby sounding. It makes the story telling a little annoying when the main characters are interacting Could have been shorter.
Overall a decent listen.

What could have been amazing story, was terrible to listen to. The narrator was so dramatic with the heroine's voice I thought she was joking!!! At her first intimate encounter with the guy, he surprises the lady with an intimate caress somewhere and she exclaims "oh Dicky!!" to which he responds in a wanna be sexy (cringe) voice "please call me richard" to which she again exclaims " Oh Richard!!!" You have to be kidding! LOL! The story was trying too hard and the dialog was juvenile which was supported by the over dramatic narration. I could not continue!

Very drawn out but oveall nice. Unrealistic development of love interest, so no surprises there and the usual rolling of the eyes. But still love the aristocratic element, she does it so well. This is an interesting intro to a new cynster story. The laird is soooo sexy! Can't wait to see his story, hope that comes soon

was not expecting the intricacies of this book - really had me listening intently as things changed all the time. the characters are developed well and the reader was terrific. the story was a little far fetched but i didn't mind. loved the fighting, the tension, the twists. the narrator was great at the accents. definitely a great listen