The Heiress of Winterwood

By: Sarah Ladd

Narrated by: Jackie Schlicher

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

In this sweet Regency romance, Amelia Barret will risk everything to keep her word — even to the point of proposing to a sea captain she’s never met.

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s baby. But she knows she can’t do it alone and finds herself in the surprising position of asking Graham, the child’s father — a man she’s never met before — to marry her.

When the baby vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting at her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of their love for this little one.

Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she’s forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride.

Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect.

To save the child they’ve both come to love — and any hopes of preserving their fledgling love — both must learn to relinquish control so they can embrace the future ahead of them.

Praise for The Heiress of Winterwood

“My kind of book! [It] grabbed my attention from the first lines and I eagerly returned to its pages.” (Julie Klassen, best-selling, award-winning author)

“A one-of-a-kind regency that kept me sighing with joy, laughing, crying, and even biting my nails when the occasion called for it!” (MaryLu Tyndall, best-selling author)

“A timeless regency that rises to the ranks of Heyer and Klassen” (Julie Lessman, award-winning author)

The first book in the Whispers on the Moors series (The Headmistress of Rosemere is second and A Lady at Willowgrove Hall is third.)

Books can be listened to out of order

A full-length novel at 90,000 words

A happily ever after clean romance

©2013 Thomas Nelson (P)2013 Thomas Nelson

Critic reviews

“My kind of book! [It] grabbed my attention from the first lines and I eagerly returned to its pages.” (Julie Klassen, best-selling, award-winning author)

Great story; Disappointing performance

While the story gets a little dark, it was well-written with a good plot. I enjoyed the tale.

It's disappointing when a rich story line with a wide array of characters exceeds the talent of the narrator.

The story takes place in England, yet the only time you hear an English accent at all is with a couple of poor blokes. The nanny is Irish, but the narrator did not make the effort to learn a beautiful Irish brogue. Almost no accent at all! Very disappointing. She does fairly good voices, but her acting is not great. She does not portray the depth of emotion the manuscript describes. They really should have selected someone whose talent matched the manuscript.

I liked the prayer theme, but the heroine was weak

This is a very clean simplistic listen, with very little excitement. I was still charmed for some reason, but Amelia's character is so weak and dumb it hurts. There is no steam in this romance either. It has religious tones, so if you're not into that, this book is not for you. I liked it okay and made it to the end.

Good plot - characters

Story was good - liked the plot and characters - I thought the narrator was fine - I wasn’t expecting so much prayer - it might be distracting to some people - I don’t mind religion and there was still intensity and romance - but the insertion of prayer itself was new to me - just an fyi

Good story, HORRIBLE narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jackie Schlicher’s performances?

NO, NO, NO. First of all, the story is set in England so an English accent should have been used. Secondly, there is some kind noise in the background like crinkling paper or turning pages AND smacking/swallowing almost the entire time. I usually had to keep the bluetooth almost completely out of my ear just to be able to tolerate this mess. Thirdly, there is hardly any distinction at all between different people talking.

Any additional comments?

Story was good, liked the mystery, but the narration ruined it and I stayed annoyed most of the time and didn't enjoy the book hardly at all. I will listen to another book by this author only if the narrator is different.

Held my attention... barely

I like this kind of romance so it held my attention, but the lady reading sounded bland, and the writing redundant.

very good

Enjoyed it . I'll try more of this author's books. Can't wait to checkout others.

Not her best book

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books except this one. The performance of the reader was not very good and it affected the quality of the story.

Narration is good

After having listened to literally 100s of books, I was very disappointed by the bad rap this narrator received. Don’t be put off by those reviews.

Bad narration - story okay

WHY did they have a narrator with an American accent when the book takes place in England??? That was a huge mistake, and made me view the book in an unfriendly manner.
The story was okay. Amelia's tenacity to taking care of her slightly known friend's baby, when the woman dies in childbirth, is noteworthy, even if unbelievable. If the baby had been her close friend's child - maaybe........ but a woman she'd only known for a few months? THAT doesn't make sense - unless Amelia had some deep need in her character that she wanted to fill. But this was never discussed or explored.
I was glad, though, that her want/need to keep the child let her see the how deeply self-centered and selfish her fiance was. As it always is to me in these type of stories, I was frustrated that both she and the baby's father would never be honest with each other. A little communication would have made a world of difference for both of them. I understand that this is a "plot ploy" to make the novel last longer, but it is such an overused ruse and so trite, that I am always surprised that yet another author has used it. Makes me realize that the author isn't that good, and doesn't have the imagination he/she should.

Enthralling

The twists and turns of the plot and excellent character development keep the reader interested.