A Secret Affair

Huxtable, Book 5

By: Mary Balogh

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

“The Devil was about to be tamed.”

Her name is Hannah Reid. Born a commoner, she has been Duchess of Dunbarton ever since she was 19 years old, the wife of an elderly duke to whom she has been rumored to be consistently and flagrantly unfaithful. Now the old duke is dead and, more womanly and beautiful than ever at 30, Hannah has her freedom at last.

And she knows just what she wants to do with it. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover - and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable.

Constantine’s illegitimacy has denied him the title of Earl, so now he denies himself nothing... or so the ton would have it. Rumored to be living the free and easy life of a sensualist in his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely.

But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn’t so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire - without getting singed. For the duchess and the dark lord each have startling secrets to reveal, and when all is said and done, neither will be able to say which one fell in love first, who tamed whom, and who has emerged from this game of hearts with the stronger hand.

©2010 Mary Balogh (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Extremely irritating narration - skip this one!

I have listened to Anne Flosnik before, and had decided then to never again buy a book that she had narrated. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that she was the narrator for this one, which popped up as a $4.95 sale.

She is just so nauseatingly expressionless, and enunciates her words so unnaturally, and she never, ever, EVER, changes the cadence of her words.....it is actually painful to listen to her. Like nails on a chalkboard, her voice just makes me cringe. And from reading some other reviews about her performance, I know I am not alone in this opinion.

The story might have been OK, I guess, but I'll never know, since I was so distracted by the narration that I couldn't finish it.

NOT recommended.

Couldn't listen to a favorite book

Would you try another book from Mary Balogh and/or Anne Flosnik?

I'd try any book by Ms. Balogh if a different narrator. I saw better than average reviews for the performance so I gave it a chance. Couldn't finish the first chapter with this narrator. And I love love Mary Balogh.

I'm finding that I don't care for quite a few of the narrators of the historical romances. On the other hand, I recently purchased Grace Burrowes' The Bridegroom Wore Plaid' which had a male narrator, Roger Hampton, who did a fabulous job, bringing the story to life and creating a great listening experience. Why not use some male narrators if the female narrators don't read men well. Ms. Flosnik made the men in A Secret Affair sound old and stodgy. Very disappointed because I would eventually have purchased all the Huxtable books in audio to go along with my physical copies. She is a keeper.

Would you be willing to try another one of Anne Flosnik’s performances?

I'll listen to a sample of other books but not this series.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I did love the book in kindle and paperback.

DULL AND BORING

I must be the second reviewer to give this audio a 1 star according to the previous reviewer. Out of over 100 audio books, this was my most dull and boring experience. The narrator was extremely annoying to the point of cringing. All the characters were terribly bland along with the story line and I really got tired of hearing the bossy unappealing "heroine" talk about how beautiful she was. I also began to roll my eyes over all the flowing tears from both males and females. Just not my thing.

Formulaic

Like a lot of romance novels, this one is predictable, unlikely and unrealistic. I don't mind any of those things in and of themselves (we are talking romanice novels here!) but this one was pretty dull as well. There was no brilliant command of language, situation or character to give the story life, only the predictable misunderstood heros and heroines who all find each other in the end, besides becoming wealthy and titled along the way.

Don't Bother

Would you try another book from Mary Balogh and/or Anne Flosnik?

There is no way that I could listen to Anne Flosnik again. I really can't comment on Mary Balogh after only listening to half a book, although I found it boring and the characters unbelievable.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not this Mills and Boon type of book. Probably a psychological thriller

Would you be willing to try another one of Anne Flosnik’s performances?

Absolutely not.

What character would you cut from A Secret Affair?

Hannah - the Duchess of Dunbarton

Any additional comments?

This book belongs in a Mills & Boon cover

Tedious

There was nothing the slightest bit interesting in this book. Characters unlikable, tedious, boring, unnecessary dialogue. I usually like books/stories by Mary Balogh, but this is terrible. I had a 14 hour drive so I downloaded for the trip. Unfortunately, I didn't notice Ann Flosnik as the narrator. Her inflection is annoying. I don't listen/purchase books if she's narrating.

Why did I buy this?

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

About 2 minutes into this dreck I was wondering what on earth led me to buy this. This is the sort of bad "romance" novel I was reading 40 years ago in Jr. High and had no idea anyone was still writing, much less reading. Even works was the terrible narrator! Horrible voice. I can only imagine that I bought it based on "excellent" reviews. As such, I feel obligated to post this very negative one to help prevent someone else from the accidental purchase. If you want this sort of book, go back to the classic authors like Victoria Holt.

What could Mary Balogh have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have a plot that hasn't been done 10,000 times, include some interesting characters, include some actual history, stop going on and on and on about how "perfect" and beautiful your boring spoiled heroine is.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anne Flosnik?

ANYONE! Even Gilbert Godfried would have been better.

A Dull Affair, with Duller Narration

I love the Regency romance genre and have discovered great lesser known and established authors thanks to Audible. Mary Balogh usually delivers a solid novel. This time, though the plot had promise, her protagonists failed to captivate in the first few chapters and I slept through most of the book.

Coupled with narration that made the main characters - cannot remember their names, oh dear - sound bratty and bored to be there, and a '1 Chapter' download that made it possible to locate my place in the recording when I nodded off, this was a waste of a credit. But who knows? You might like it.

Not What I Expected

If you like Harlequin Romances, predictable plot lines, two dimensional characters and bodice-rippers in general, this is for you. Unfortunately, it is not for me. You may want to skip this one.

Oh My!!

I generally like Mary Balogh, but this book is hard to listen to because the narration is AWFUL. She sounds like she's pretending to be a witch. How signed off on this!