A Sanguine Gem

By: Dawn Brower

Narrated by: Beatrice Pendergast

Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lady Gemma Kemsley is in dire straits. Her cousin Alfie inherited her father's estate upon his death. He quickly bled it dry of funds and is turning his lecherous attentions toward her. Alfie wants to have complete control over her inheritance. Without Alfie's approval she can't marry. She has one option - run away and live with her best friend in America.

When his sister begs Liam Marsden to help Gemma, he reluctantly agrees. He has a past with Gemma he'd rather forget - involving a failed attempt at betrothal and her professed love. When he sees Gemma again he realizes he can't ever let her go. Instead of sending her to America he uses the old betrothal agreement to marry her.

Gemma doubts Liam truly loves her. Can he convince her of the veracity of his love or will he lose her forever?

©2015 Dawn Brower (P)2016 Dawn Brower

Cute and funny

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this story very much I thought it had a great plot with good writing. I did think at times the story dragged on. I did enjoy the characters and felt the author got the male roles down just right for that time period. There were times I would have liked to have shaken a few men for not thinking before doing. The author brings out how arranged marriages were back in time but gives a little spin on it that has a little surprise to it. I had to chuckle a few times at the mess they made of their lives trying to straighten out a misunderstanding but just making it worse.

Alfie is truly something else with his need for money and power. You will find a few twists and turns you won’t see coming as Alfie gets in the way. I enjoyed watching his down fall as Liam takes charge sweeping Gemma away as fast as he could. Leaving the reader wondering will this be the last time we see this character? He just doesn’t come across as a man who will forgive or forget easy. I guess you will have to wait and see.

There were parts of Ms. Pendergast narration I found very enjoyable but others that I did not. I enjoyed her natural voice I truly loved her accent. But when doing characters I do not hear the accent on most of them. Since these characters were British I would have expected them to all have some kind of accent. I didn’t care for the voice of Gemma she was to winey and did not show the strength I felt the author meant for her to have. I thought some of the male voices were a little too much alike and got a little confused at times. Some of her character voices do not come across as natural as others some sound a little more robotic. There were some I really loved I thought she really got into the character not only in tone but in emotion. I found her tones to be pretty even. There were no places where the volume was higher or lower than any other place in the book. I had no trouble feeling the emotions of the characters even if I didn’t like their voices. I would like to listen to another audio from this narrator just to see if it was this audio or if all have the same issues.

Gemma was cute and funny at times when she tried to teach poor Liam a thing or two. She is a little wishy washy at times. She has found herself in a place years ago she wishes for, now she isn’t so sure. How does one find happiness when the man you are with wishes he wasn’t with you? Liam doesn’t want to be married and doesn’t really care to much for Gemma but when his father tells her story he feels he must help. When he gets to her home things comes out of his mouth he didn’t expect to. He is as shocked as Gemma is but that doesn’t stop him from moving full speed ahead. I just adored Liam’s parents I feel sure you will find them as cute and funny as I did. When having to face them I really felt sorry for both Gemma and Liam. Liam’s best friend is something else with his humor and manners he had me laughing out loud.

The plot is great the author shows the strength of her characters as well as vivid scenes. This does have a HEA ending but I have to say for me the ending was a little over the top and I just didn’t think it was needed. I was left blinking thinking really. I can’t tell you what I have issues with or it will give the story away. Does this mean I am sorry I listened NO it does not I did enjoy it very much. There were a few places I thought it dragged on a little but for the most part if was fast pace giving the reader some great entertainment. I so enjoyed the humor and the bickering between Liam and Gemma they really have the cards stacked against them unless they can both come together telling the other how they really feel. There are some love scenes a little of yes no yes no etc and then when they come together it worked for me. Be aware the green eye monster comes out in Liam he isn’t ready to admit it but he is there. It is really funny when that little monster shows his face and of course Gemma just can’t help herself in helping it long. There is a big to do with what the parents send their daughter but nothing is told about it. The author gives a few twists and turns you won’t see coming leaving you thinking OH NO this isn’t good. As Liam takes control again you let out a breath. I feel most will enjoy this story and find it very entertaining.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Made Me Late to Work

And the bad thing is I was working remote. I was enjoying the story so much and needing to know what comes next that I didn't want to pause it the two minutes it would take me to get my computer and sign on to work. This is a really fun book and well written. I consider myself a discerning reader. I really enjoy paranormal romance. I thought I would try historical romance because I like time travel so much and I do like the historical romance just as well, but it has to be well written. Too many books are not and I find it most evident in audiobooks. The repetitive use of the same word or constantly using he said or she said is more obvious to my ears. This book was a joy to listen to and I was caught up in the story and intrigued to learn more about the Victorian Era. I look forward to many more books by Ms. Brower.

Historical Romance

This might be my favorite of the series. I loved Gemma and Liam's story. Liam fumbled so badly in his relationship with Gemma I felt sorry for him but softly chuckled as well. Liam marries Gemma as a way to save her from her cousin Alfie. The marriage happens before either realizes what happened. They both struggle with their feelings unsure of how the other one feels. Great story and I love this family more and more with each book.

Third time is a charm!

A villain and a hero make Gemma’s head spin. Trying to get away from her rotten cousin sends her straight into her heart’s desire, marriage to the handsome Liam. She has wanted to be his wife forever since he was her best friend’s brother, but he wants nothing to do with her. Twists and turns makes a wonderful love story. Dawn has done it again with her wonderful story telling and Beatrice Pendergast brings the characters to life!

different then others

Where does A Sanguine Gem rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

this is different because of the accent in the narrator

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Sanguine Gem?

I did not have any

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the whole story line overall

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

second chances

Any additional comments?

hearing this audio makes me want to read the books

Received free- FB group Free Audiobooks for Review

Would you try another book from Dawn Brower and/or Beatrice Pendergast?

Yes, I think so. While I didn't really have any issues with either the writer or narrator, I found the story somewhat boring; there really wasn't much going on. The narrator didn't have much variety between the male characters and the female characters, although she did have an interesting accent. Speaking of accents, the narrator seemed to have issues saying 'Gemma' because she would pronounce it as 'Gem + r' like Gemmer.

Would you recommend A Sanguine Gem to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably not. If I wanted to recommend a historical romance to a friend, I have others in mind that I would suggest.

What three words best describe Beatrice Pendergast’s performance?

Unique, interesting, cool.

Did A Sanguine Gem inspire you to do anything?

Just get the story finished with so I could move on to another story.

0 of 6 people found this review helpful