Love Only Once

Malory Family, Book 1

By: Johanna Lindsey

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The exquisite niece of Lord Edward and Lady Charlotte Malory, Regina Ashton, is outraged over her abduction by the arrogant, devilishly handsome Nicholas Eden - and is determined to make the rogue pay...with his heart.

A golden-haired seducer, Nicholas has been hardened by a painful secret in his past. And now that he has besmirched Reggie's good name, the hot-tempered lady has vowed to wed him.

Her fiery beauty stirs Nicholas as no woman ever has - and the rake arouses Reggie's passion to an unendurable level. Such uncontrolled desires can lead only to dangerous misunderstandings...and, perhaps, to a love that can live only once in a lifetime.

©1985 Johanna Lindsey (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"[Johanna Lindsey] creates fairy tales that come true!" (Romantic Times)

UGH! Read it rather than listen to it.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

i would recommend someone read this book. the narration detracted from the story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The hero of the book sounded like an old woman -- as did every other man. And every now and then I'd detect a bit of "less than proper aristocratic" accent on the hero as the narrator was affecting a British accent (it was not natural). I may have enjoyed the story more with the right narrator. As it is, this is the first Johanna Lindsey book I've listened to (I've read and enjoyed her stories) and I'm seriously doubting I can get through the series with this narrator. What a shame as the reviews indicate the series is a good one.

loved this story

I loved the book. The narration was perfect. I finished it in one day. On to the next book.

Love!!

I love this author, this book...Regina and Nicholas...sigh. One of my favorites ❤ ♥

Captivating story

Johanna Lindsey always delivers an appealing story. I always look forward to her next book.

EXTREMELY unrealistic storyline!

the characters are so far from being real that this book seems like a fairy tale or folklore story. (He wants to get along with his wife but is mean nasty to her!) 🙄🙄🙄

He's a Jerk

I know that these stories are set in a time when women had little or no choices and they just did things differently. Men were the overlords and got off on that power. That being said, Nicholas was such a jerk it was hard to finish the story. He few redeeming qualities as he was an admitted seducer of innocents and had anger management issues.
I also felt terrible for the woman who'd raised the child born from an affair between her husband and sister. And she had to endure her presence in her house. I hate that she treated the child with contempt but I also understood the feeling. There's a part of me that hopes she found some happiness somewhere.

plenty of family fun

of course Ms. Lindsey is a great story teller, this book is another winner. a great story on its own , but also a great set up for the coming books .

One of my favorites brought to life!

I've had this book forever and when I realized it was an audio book I jumped at the chance to hear some of my favorite characters ever brought to life!

This performance was wonderful with all sorts of distinguishable voices! Lovely work!

Love only once

Very good relaxing easy to listen to you want know what happened can not stop

This book is where it all started...

What did you love best about Love Only Once?

I love the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Regina Ashton. She was strong and did not take things sitting down.

Which character – as performed by Laural Merlington – was your favorite?

None in particular.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I love the moment when Nicholas told his mother that he does not care if she told the world the truth about his parentage. His wife knows and doesn't care and that is all that matters to him.

Any additional comments?

I first read this book as a teenager. A few decades later, I still re-read it or re-listen to it. I love it that other characters that first appeared here got their own stories too.