Christmas in the Duke's Embrace

Christmas Wishes, Book 4

By: Amanda Mariel

Narrated by: Martin Royal

Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Disgraced and betrayed by those she trusted most, Lady Marina Ellis finds herself near death and in desperate need of rescue.

Evan Lockhart, never expected to find a woman buried in a snowbank outside of his ducal manor, but now that he has he cannot turn her away.

As Christmas approaches the pair form a bond neither expected, but can they overcome the obstacles standing between them and embrace their chance at love?

©2018 Amanda Mariel (P)2018 Amanda mariel

sweet quick story

It was a sweet clean romance with a very happy ending. A small amount of action in the beginning. The narrator was good at changing voices for each character.

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this sweet, wholesome Regency romance. It moves fast, with not much time for relationship development, but that was limited by the length. I really felt for Marina. Taken advantage of by a rake, then verbally abused and abandoned by her family. I was a bit surprised by how extremely harsh Marina's father was. I suppose that was just the result of the time they lived in, when daughters were little more than chattel whose only value lay in their virginity. Still, his suspected actions toward Marina were reprehensible, and it was hard for me to believe in his turn-about, her forgiveness, or Evan's leniency. (They are better people than me. I could never have forgiven him.) Regardless, it did make for a sweet HEA. I loved Evan's sweetness and how he cared for Marina, especially considering his own burden of sorrow. I enjoyed the way they shared their stories with each other and eventually healed each other's pain. Very heart-warming story. The narration was enjoyable and added to the emotion and drama in the story.

Be forewarned, there is a harsh and frightening attempted rape. It was not successful, but be aware if this is a trigger for you.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Sweet and clean

Lady Marina Ellis finds herself in need of help after being abandoned by her family. Evan Lockhart finds her unconscious on the snow, so he brings her to his house to help her. During her recovery, they learn the truths of each other and a bond between them is created.

It's a short, clean and sweet story. But beware of the triggers, as there is a rape attempt in the story that could upset some people. Otherwise, it's a nice story. even if there are some historical inaccuracies and insta-love (which is is not my thing and they fall in love in about three days) it was a nice read.

I didn't enjoy the narration at first, as I felt the diction was too slow and overdone at some points, but I increased the speed a little and it improved a lot I usually listen to my audiobooks at 1.0 speed and I increased it to 1.25).

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

must listen

loved this sweet story about loss and newfound love. Martin royals reading made me feel like I was right there

Well-written, enjoyable listen

This sweet, romantic story starts out with a young heroine in despair, but upon her rescue by a handsome and kind Duke, the life she thought she had ahead of her becomes a dream come true.
I always love when an author can tell a richly detailed, imaginative story (and a good one) in a novella. This story is very well written, with wonderfully developed characters. I really enjoyed it and plan to read more by this author.

I listened to the audio version and narrator, Martin Royal, did a great job with this story.

Utterly Charming, Even If a Bit Unreal

Fiction, especially romantic fiction, often only has shreds of reality. This sometimes bothers me; other times, I find the story enchanting because of its sweetness or sympathetic characters, despite the unbelievability. Luckily, this story was decidedly one of the latter. Our heroine is in a tough spot when the book opens, which only gets worse before she meets the hero. He finds her in the nick of time, determined to see her well, although he is cruelly known as the “Duke of Death” because of all the personal tragedies he has suffered. These are two lost and hurting souls who find comfort—and eventually love—in each other. The duke is so sweet to her, so deeply understanding of her situation. Their brief romantic arc was lovely to watch unfold. I also loved the epilogue providing a glimpse into their lives four years later. I would not have been so nearly as forgiving as the heroine! A thoroughly enjoyable quick listen.

Sweetly romantic

Amanda wrote a great story having two characters who come together in an unlikely circumstance. Finding what they needed not knowing that it was what they needed. Narration was superb and kept me engaged throughout the reading. I highly recommend this to others.

Delightful!

In 1812 Lady Marina Ellis had fallen for Lord Banfield’s lies and now she found herself expecting a child. Her father was cruel and sent her to his equally cruel sister to have the child. On the way there her coach was attacked by highwaymen and she fought back so hard, they left her unconscious in a snow bank to freeze to death. Evan Lockhart was traveling home on his horse when he spied her. He rescued her and took her home with him. Then an adventure and the spirit of Christmas was in the air. Martin Royal did a smashing job bringing it to life with his narration of it!!

Short and sweet

Quick short story that warms the heart. Circumstances brought them together, giving each a chance at a new life.

Sweet story

The story line was refreshingly new - really makes you believe there are some good honorable men out there - loved their shared interest in poetry