• A Heartless Design

  • Secrets of the Zodiac, Book 1
  • By: Elizabeth Cole
  • Narrated by: Marian Hussey
  • Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (228 ratings)

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A Heartless Design  By  cover art

A Heartless Design

By: Elizabeth Cole
Narrated by: Marian Hussey
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Publisher's summary

"James Bond meets Jane Austen!"

An enigmatic woman, a determined spy, and a love that could shake the foundations of Europe...

"Heartless" Cordelia Bering refuses every marriage offer she receives. Yet men still try to win her, drawn by her sharp wit and intoxicating green eyes. But Cordelia knows a marriage could reveal her deepest secret and truly endanger her life. Besides, she hasn't met a man worth considering, until...

Sebastien Thorne, a spy in the service of the Crown. One of the elite agents in the group known as the Zodiac, he comes to London determined to solve a mystery with roots on the Continent. He won't let anything distract him. But is Cordelia a distraction, or the key to the mystery? As he learns more about the "heartless" woman, he becomes embroiled in a design that could change the future...and Cordelia is at the center of it all.

A Heartless Design is the first book in the Secrets of the Zodiac, a series that blends romantic suspense with the rich background of the Regency period.

©2013 Elizabeth Cole (P)2014 Elizabeth Cole

What listeners say about A Heartless Design

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very good book!

I really enjoyed this book. Great hero and heroine, story line and plot. Great chemistry and some good sex scenes. The story line itself was a bit different in a very good way!. There was plenty of dialogue too.

The narrator did a really good job as well.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I really wasn't expecting much from this story....

I bought this book at almost three times what it would have cost me to simply read it myself, but I thought, what the heck, its just this one book and that will be enough. OMG I was wrong. I was able listen to this story in situation where reading wasn't permissible. I could listen while driving to work, while waiting on clients, while cooking and cleaning. I am so please. I was also not tempted to skip parts of the story or bored as I can sometimes be, and so I got a Mich greater feeling for the characters and what they were about.
as for the story itself...very nice work. it was fluid, it was engrossing, AMD the the heroine wasn't some simpering miss who took what hand was dealt her and went with it. she was a kind person, strong, steady, and wonderfully forgiving. I found that I quit liked her. The hero was a bit more predictable, but in a good familiar sort of way. There where I found myself completely unamused by those two idiots, but mostly as a mother hen. this is a great listen and would recommend this book to all of my romance reading friends and family. (which is most assuredly a compliment since I've been reading romance novels at least two a week for the last fifteen years. it takes a lot to impress me these days. well done.)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Marian Hussey keeps it Captivating

Marian Hussey does a real good job. Liked her voice not to high nor low.

She can change the tone and intonation and do good accents for the characters.
Liked the story, like the mixed matched household help from the butler to the maids and all in between.
Liked the way it flowed smoothly, the action is right there almost at the beginning and it did keep me interested.
The spy and the lady do go round for round and finally do get together.
I think it was interesting enough that I will look for other books cause I'm sure Jacques, the young man who helped her in France will return in them and they didn't catch one of the bad guys.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent historical romance/spy novel!

Any additional comments?

Well written, good plot, very good pace. The narration was also very good. Reminiscent of Julie Garwood's Crown Spies Series. I will definitely recommend this audiobook and await the next in the series!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

BEST READ EVER!!

A story that starts in a garden at a ball ends in an ou ther garden at a home. The story in between covers spies, smuggling, kidnapping, reformed criminals as adopted family filling the roll of servants. Your mind will be as busy as your heart guessing what happens as your heart fills with thel love growing throughout the story. Do your self a favor and read a story as intriguing as it is romantic.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Any additional comments?

This was a joy to read and listen to as I have both the book and the Audible version. Very well written and things constantly happening to hold the listener or reader's interest. Marian Hussey's narration was flawless. The way she spoke the French character's English lines was perfect. Reminded me so much of Montreal....Thoroughly enjoyed this novel and narration.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I like that the heroine was intelligent, self sufficient, she was a very believable character. Her household secrets were commendable.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not your typical romance

The lead characters in this book are a little different from the average romance novel. I enjoyed their interactions and it was nice to have insight from both of the characters throughout the novel.

The reader was exceptional and made the story more enjoyable.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful

Elizabeth Cole is my new favorite author, spinning intrigue, romance, and adventure that had me putting aside all my chores to binge listen all day to her delightful story, narrated with charming excellence by Marian Hussey.

Brava! Can’t wait for Book 2

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Cute regency mystery romance

My first Cole book. I liked it. Very light weight. A little bit of evil but not super dark. A little predictable but charming and fun anyway. Narrator was quite good. Will go on to the next one. Worth a listen in my opinion. I like the strong smart heroines who are not unbelievably (actually impossible to believe) strong and smart.

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