How to Dance With a Duke

Ugly Duckling Trilogy, Book 1

By: Manda Collins

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Miss Cecily Hurston would much rather explore the antiquities of Egypt than the uncharted territory of marriage. But the rules of her father's exclusive academic society forbid her entrance unless she weds one of its members. To clear her ailing father's name of a scandalous rumor, Cecily needs to gain admission into the Egyptian Club-and is willing to marry any old dullard to do it. Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson, is anything but dull. He's a dashing and decorated war hero determined to help Cecily-even if that means looking the other way when she claims the dance card of Amelia Snow, this season's most sought-after beauty. But Lucas has a reason for wanting Cecily to join the Egyptian Club: His brother went missing during one of Lord Hurston's expeditions to Egypt. An alliance with the explorer's bluestocking daughter could bring Lucas closer to the truth about what happened....or it could lead him to a more dangerous love than either he or Cecily could have imagined.

©2012 Manda Collins (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Collins' debut delivers a fast-paced, adventurous love story that will enthrall [listeners]. Her dynamic characters, a murder and passion combine with the perfect amount of lively repartee." ( Romantic Times)

not bad

Where does How to Dance With a Duke rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

a bit too much sex, not my cup of tea on that. But story line is good

Painful to Listen to

The story was good. The sex scenes seemed unnecessarily long and too explicit for my taste. But that is all too common.

The greatest problem I have with the recording is the pronounced "lisp" the narrator has of the type where her "r's" often sound like "w's" and she always has a stuffy nasal quality. In essence she sounds like a child. The poor woman also has an unfortunate accent carefully schooled but which is occassionally glaringly obvious. Sadly her acting was great!

My first "look at Tessa Dare but not my last"

What made the experience of listening to How to Dance With a Duke the most enjoyable?

I adore Anne Flosnick but I found the descriptive prose in this volume a cut about the usual. The heroine is one of my favorites ever. I loved her character development and her style.

What did you like best about this story?

The gambling matches between the newlyweds. I liked all of the sideplots with the supporting cast. The book was very well paced. Motivations were explained and it was very satisfying to discover this author.

Have you listened to any of Anne Flosnik’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Another winner. I have to admit sometimes when I need something to listen to I search for this narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I savored it a bit. I wanted it to last because it was worth the listen and when I heard a thought provoking plotline I chose to take a break. Once you finish a listen then it is not new and I enjoyed each new chapter.

Entertaining

Would you try another book from Manda Collins and/or Anne Flosnik?

Yes

Would you recommend How to Dance With a Duke to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, if you're looking for light entertainment - this will do nicely.

Do you think How to Dance With a Duke needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, this does not need a follow-up book. The characters have been taken as far as they can be. I can't imagine a storyline that wouldn't seem like a re-hash of this one.

Any additional comments?

Its a little formulaic as romance novels go - stubborn girl - charming rich guy.... She won't listen to him because she's pig-headed which causes conflict - in the end they love each other...

Good Story, Bad Reading

I had a hard time listening to this story as the performance was utterly horrible for the masculine parts. I would love to hear from someone else.

The narration was challenging the story was good.

I like Manda Collins but the narration was a struggle to listen to. I tried to overlook the narration but I almost didn't finish the book because of it. The story was good because the mystery was written well all the way to the end. If the narrator would have been different, it would have been an excellent read.

Verry good

If you could sum up How to Dance With a Duke in three words, what would they be?

Very, very good

What other book might you compare How to Dance With a Duke to and why?

Maybe the historical romances by Eloisa James or Julie Garwood - steamy romance, humor and intrigue

Which character – as performed by Anne Flosnik – was your favorite?

Lucas!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Intrigue, humor, and romance!

Any additional comments?

Well worth the time, money, and credit!

Meh.

I don’t enjoy criticizing authors or narrators, or the star ratings, preferring to share positives and negatives.
First, I wondered what year this book was narrated. It feels “old,” which may account for the sometimes irritating narration. I could almost picture a woman trying to lower her voice, bringing her chin to her chest, to sound like a man, and still sounding like a woman- who was trying to sound like a man. Plus a few hiccups with smoothness, I think because of devotion to perfect diction over flow of story.
As for the story. Well. That was up and down. The concept was a really good one; so I did want to know what happened (the story is half a mystery whodunnit). Several sections were perfectly executed, especially towards the beginning.
However, when the intrigue should have deepened, some scenes made me roll my eyes. I was bummed it didn’t fold out as well as I’d hoped.
The sex scenes, though not overwrought or overdone, or too frequent (compared to the modern Regencies) still seemed jarring and a bit explicit. In hindsight, because the rest of the book felt written in the “old” style of Georgette Heyer. Judged by themselves alone, they were not bad at all, particularly due to the (my favorite) romantic situations and lead-ups, and my basic liking of both Lucas and Cecily.
Overall: the whodunnit could have been better.
On my Must Listen/read: Sadly no.

A compelling mystery with romance on the side

The mystery in this book is what really makes it, the development of the romance being secondary in many ways. Of course, the romance could not develop without the protagonists working at finding the answers to the questions they have. I liked the protagonists, especially because I have a fondness for bluestockings and the men who are open-minded enough to see beyond the intellectual bent of the woman. Intelligence and spinsterhood (a woman being over 22 or so made her almost unmarriagable) were huge drawbacks in the old days - you know, that time before the 1960s. Anne Flosnik is not in the category of favorite narrators, but she is does a tolerably good job, especially if I don't listen to too many of her narrations in a row.

I am always surprised how these stories draw me in

I have never been one for historical novels, so I am always surprised how Manda Collins' stories draw me in. It takes a moment for me to get used to the sound of the narrator's voice (maybe she is a matronly British woman?), but once I get in the groove I can quickly get caught up in the story.

These characters are all driven by honor and the proper behavior of polite society -- but the reader comes away contemplating whether there was indeed this much steamy sex during the reserved Georgian era. I find myself wondering if, as the hero tells his lady, gentlemen of the day considered it their duty to insure that their ladies have a climactic experience in bed -- because the notion that anyone in this patriarchal society concerned themselves with what sex was like for women is very hard to believe.

Regardless, the author weaves a story that juggles the thrills her characters experience as they partner to solve a life and death mystery with the thrills they experience when they become partners in bed. Some of the drama she tries to drum up through the heroine's fear of letting herself fall in love is a bit tedious and is drawn out too long, but in general this book was an entertaining escape.