Romancing the Wrong Twin

Dreamspun Desires

By: Clare London

Narrated by: Rusty Topsfield

Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

How tangled can a romantic web get?

When gruff mountaineer Dominic Hartington-George seeks sponsorship for his latest expedition, his London PA insists on a more media-friendly profile - like dating celebrity supermodel Zeb Z.

Zeb can't make the date, so he asks his identical twin, Aidan, to stand in for just one evening. Aidan, a struggling playwright, shuns the limelight to the extent people don't even know Zeb has a sibling, but he reluctantly agrees.

When the deception has to continue beyond the first date, Aidan fights to keep up the pretense. Dominic likes his sassy, intelligent companion, and Aidan starts falling for the forthright explorer. But how long can Aidan's conscience cope as confusion abounds? Will coming clean as "the other twin" destroy the trust they've built?

©2016 Clare London (P)2023 Dreamspinner Press

Good Fake Relationship Story

This is a good fake relationship story with the twist of a twin swap added in. I enjoyed it a lot.

Fake Boyfriend...Twins Switching...Great Story!

Fake boyfriends, twins switching places, a sweet struggling writer/director matched up with a gruff mountain man...yeah, there was no way I was going to not read this. What I got was a fun, entertaining story with a nice dash of heat and just the right touch of angst, something I can easily recommend to any M/M romance fan out there.

My favorite character was so easy to pick for this story--Aidan gets this, hands down. He's so sweet, fiercely independent, and just wants to do the right thing by everyone involved. I loved watching him come out of his shell when filling in for his brother-it really built his own confidence-and found myself with my fingers crossed hoping that the whole pretending-to-be-his-brother act wouldn't totally doom things between him and Dominic. As for Dom, yes he's a bit gruff and bear-like (in every way LOL)-he speaks his mind and doesn't care how he gets his point across. And while that might not bode well for him socially, he is blatantly honest and forthright. He and Aidan might seem like a mismatch, but they actually complement each other quite well.

The whole twin-switch thing puts a lot of strain on Aidan, and the fake boyfriends act puts a bit of strain on both Aidan and Dom...which of course makes for the angst in the story and the drama once everything comes out. But it also makes you not want to put the book down either.

Romancing the Wrong Twin was a very enjoyable read, and it's the perfect fit for the Dreamspun Desires series. It's the first book I've read by this author, and it has me intrigued enough to be adding more of her works to my TBR list for the future. 4 solid stars for this story, and I recommend this to all M/M romance readers 18+ (for adult language and M/M sexual content).

Now for the narration. I thought this was done quite well, the pacing was just right, the characters had distinct voices, and the narrator did a great job voicing the emotions of the characters. I only have one issue--this story is set in England with British characters, but the narration is completely in an American accent. For me, that does take a bit out of the narration, particularly when distinctly British phrases and sayings are being read in a non-British voice. If it wasn't for that, I'd be giving the narration 5 stars because everything else about it was spot on...but for me, that's a full star off not having the characters' voices done with British accents (sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine in audiobooks), giving the narration 4 stars. It doesn't mean I'm not going to listen again and again--the story is too good not to ;-)

Fun and funny story, disappointing narration

This felt more “tongue in cheek” than some of the other Dreamspun Desires books. Both MCs felt a bit more like caricatures than authentic people, though they were fun and interesting.

I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of the melding between the supposed model and the mountaineer – that definitely wasn’t the focus. Most of this was the banter between two pretty cantankerous individuals and then battling the paparazzi.

It’s very British and I love that! I also really liked the soft approach to dealing with Dom’s father issues.

I never got a great feel for Aidan and what he wanted/needed, and I wish we could have spent more time with him and Dom as a couple where everything was laid out and honest. (Especially before the “ILYs”)

It was a fun and funny story with some clever and unique plot twists but I wasn’t as compelled by the romance between these two than I had been in other Dreamspun books. I’d recommend it for a fun/funny read – especially if you love British humor!

3.5 of 5 stars

Audio

This wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either. That was my impression after listening to this narration by Rusty Topsfield. I’ve definitely enjoyed his narrations in the past, and – like with Duke in Hiding – he did a passable British accent. In this case he gives none of the characters accents, despite the setting. He also tends to lilt upward at the end of his sentences, even when it’s not a positive statement, and that can be distracting. He didn’t do much for my overall enjoyment, and I was disappointed by the lack of accents, but I think he does a nice job with emotions and timing and it wasn’t a bad narration, overall.

3 of 5 stars

Overall 3 of 5 stars

So cute

I loved it. It was cute, sweet, angsty and just so right. This was my first book by this author and I would definitely look at other books by them.

I thought the narrator did a great job, although the scene is set in London and sometimes the British accents were a bit missing. But overall it was great.