Kingscastle

By: Sophia Holloway

Narrated by: Matt Addis

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Captain William Hawksmoor of the Royal Navy never expected to inherit Kingscastle and is none too pleased when he does so. Especially when he learns that he must marry within a year or be forever dealing with trustees.

As the new marquis of Athelney, the captain takes command of Kingscastle and discovers much to be done to set it in order. He must also contend with his aunt Lady Willoughby Hawksmoor, who is determined that her daughter will be his wife. When she discovers he is far more interested in Eleanor Burgess, her underpaid and much put-upon companion, Lady Willoughby shows she will stop at nothing to keep them apart.

©2021 Sophia Holloway (P)2021 Allison & Busby

love it, lovet it, love it

The writing is superb, touching, clean, respectable, and everything good. The Narrator is pending. I will not mind listening to it again. The ending scene is so tense, I had tears streaming, then it turned funny....some comic remarks here and there.

Great read

Incredible!! Great read. I absolutely adore grandmama.!! Sophia is so good at what she does!! It has so many emotions and love the characters and there dynamic. Clean and refreshing. Can’t wait until the next one!

Delightful

The writing was so clever, hilarious, exciting. If you are a person who enjoys word play and the English language in all it's 19th century glory then this will be quite the treat.
The leading man was kind, made me laugh out loud several times, an amazing leader, very very ride or die, and just so beautifully devoted. I liked him so much!!
The narrator was an unexpected delight. Never listened to a Regency novel read by a man so I was very cautious when I first saw the book on Audible. But boy am I beside myself with appreciation for taking the plunge!! He is probably the best of the best that I have listened to so far - and I have listened to some really good narrators. He made the story come alive with such an invested performance!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🥇🥇🥇 .His voice for Lady Willoughby had me in stitches and his take on Captain Hawksmoor was so fitting and just perfect for the high ranking naval officer turned Marquis. What a wonderful story teller. Hands down.

I would have loved it if there were more warm moments between the main pair in the mid parts of the story hence one missing star, but otherwise I really enjoyed this story. Felt genuinely sad to have it end. Definitely going to listen to more of this author's books. She is such a great find!!

10 stars. Belongs In the top 1% of many thousands.

Many Regency romances falsely claim to be like those by Georgette Heyer, but this is one of the very few that actually fulffills the claim. One of my lifetime hobbies is reading romance novels, and over the years I've read all the Heyer novels over and over as well as literally tens of thousands of romance novels which have been written by almost every author published since the 1950s. This novel was Interesting, witty, romantic, and was totally without the nose-picking, bum-wiping grossness of romances which include a detailed physlical description of sexual activity.

cute little romance

Nothing extraordinary however, I will add that I thought the author presented good character development and a pleasant story. The voice over acting was excellent. The book was a pleasure to listen to.

Excellent

Beautifully written and excellently narrated.
A pleasure to listen to; fans of Jane Austen will enjoy.
Both the hero and his friend (who has a love interest of his own) are extremely likeable, which is a refreshing change from deeply flawed heroes.
The narrator adds character and humor in his portrayals of these two leading men, and brings alive all the characters.
The "villain" is reminiscent of Lady Catherine De Bourgh (although far more hateful), complete with a downtrodden daughter.

Very enjoyable

It took me a little while longer to get into this one than the first Holloway book I listened to (The Season). But I ended up enjoying it very much. I like regency romances with humor, clever banter and characters you love as well as those you hate. I look forward to listening to more of Sophia Holloway. She’s very much like Georgette Heyer, whose books I have listened to many times over.

Excellent start, typical finish

A very good narration and excellent beginning had me looking forward to hours immersed in this book. However, by the last third, it had devolved into this genre’s typical set of tropes like near-death mishaps, miscommunications, angst, repetitive internal worries, and the tedious waiting for it all to resolve. By the end, my listening speed stayed between 1.5-2. Even a favorite character’s personality had changed for the worse. It’s as though the author had a good idea (and generally writes well) but didn’t know how to flesh it out creatively to the end in a consistent way with the earlier chapters. Another book of this author, Bless Thine Inheritance, was very good, so I know this is a writer with potential and someone I will continue to try.