The Heir

Reid Family, Book 1

By: Johanna Lindsey

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The grandson of a Scottish clan laird, Duncan MacTavish is shocked to learn that his other grandfather was an English marquis whose title and London estate he is now required to take on. Worse still, he is engaged to a stranger who has mocked him in public. But his bride-to-be, Ophelia, has been guiding a lovely and witty, if dreadfully inexperienced, country girl named Sabrina through the latter's all-important first coming-out season.

The enchanting Sabrina enthralls Duncan much more than his own intended does, and she shares his passionate feelings as well. But duty and circumstance - plus a scandal in Sabrina's family past - have made it impossible for her and the dashing highlander to be together...unless true love can somehow, miraculously, find a way.

©2001 Johanna Lindsey (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Another great start to a series!

Enjoyed the introduction of a new series! Can’t wait to read the next book! Love the romantic side too!

Weak Premise for Scandal

I am a great fan of period romance and I know to expect certain tenets, e.g. a heroine who is unaware of her own beauty or natural assets, a man who is roguishly handsome (and inevitability taller than most, if not all, other men in any given room at any given time), and some sort of predicament that may hinder their chance at happily ever after. So, when the predicament in the “Heir” revealed itself I was entirely disappointed.

(Spoiler Alert!!)

The female protagonist has sex with the male protagonist, but he cannot marry her because he has to marry a female antagonist to avert the inevitable scandal of being seen alone with her in a bedroom. Seriously? The protagonist gave her virginity to this guy, in a carriage no less, yet his honor won’t let him leave the other woman to deal with an at best questionable scandal. Mind you both were fully clothed, only one person saw them and this antagonist supposedly rules the ton with her extraordinary beauty, so even if this person revealed what they saw the antagonist could have easily weathered the storm, while the female protagonist could have suffered real scandal – not being a virgin upon marriage, possible pregnancy, etc.

Also, when the time came to correct misunderstanding, right wrongs, etc. the author added useless dialog that incited me to literally yell at my car stereo “get on with it!” I almost did not make it through this book, but my frugality would not let me waste a precious credit in vain.

I guess I've grown up...

I have enjoyed a lot of Johanna Lindsey books through my college years and well into adulthood. This one bored me to the point where with only 30 minutes left of the book, I gave up and just deleted it. The story couldn’t hook me, and the characters were pretty thin. This will be my last romance book, heavy on the romance. Ever since I fell into the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, I just can’t enjoy all of the dry romance, sighing, tingling, heart aching so called love stories.
Love and sex is messy, the should I or shouldn’t I, wishy-washy stuff bores me. I guess I have outgrown the bodice rippers.

The Heir

The story was entertaining enough, a predictable light hearted romance, but the narration left a lot to be desired.

Utterly Pointless

Such a disappointment after the Mallory series. The plot was simplistic and old hat. I thought the hero and heroine's interactions (which were few) lacked any spark. Both characters had no strength of character, polish or depth. The grandfathers machinations were foolish and the whole story seemed contrived.
I have been a member for 5 years and this audiobook was such a waste of my credits I felt obliged to write my first review!

Disappointment - even for a sale item

I know that negative reviews don't do well on audible, but I feel I must be honest. I am a fan of the occasional the "smut" and have read/listened to Johanna Lindsey in the past. Although this book followed the acceptable smut format - (1. Boy and girl fall in love 2. Boy and girl can't be together 3. After a tortured time apart or ordeal ...4 Boy and girls get married) this book did it poorly! Ugh...1. Boy and girl didn't have great chemistry at their first meeting. 2. Boy and girl could be together for ridiculous reasons...come on! You can do better. 3. Boy and girl FINALLY got together after what seemed like a wasted two hours! Pick another!

Oh Snore....

I think this author must appeal to the teenage crowd. Actually, that's not nice because I've listened to some pretty good books for teen audiences recently (Hunger Games, Mortal Instruments). This book has about as much depth as a graphic novel. And why did they pick an American to narrate it?

If your "wish list" is empty, you need something to listen to and you can get this on sale (less then $10), then it might be worth the purchase. Otherwise, I advise skipping it for better fare.

The heir

Can't seem to get the audio to play right. Laura does a great job for what I was able to hear of it but was to frustrated with the constant sound of a skipping record every time I wanted to start the audio after it was stopped. Finally decided just to read the book for myself and return the audio.

Will It Ever End?

I thought I would never get through this! I’ve read many romance books, but this was tedious and wordy. I was determined to finish it because I’ve rejected so many others lately and people seem to like this. Not for me...I’m sorry.

Could have been better

I liked the storyline but the Narration was bad and kind of ruined the characters for me. The hero’s “tone of voice” made him come off as hateful and grumpy when the wasn’t really written to be that way! Good book but bad performance.