Lord of Chance

Rogues to Riches, Book 1

By: Erica Ridley

Narrated by: Marian Hussey

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

In the Rogues to Riches historical romance series, Cinderella stories aren't just for princesses...sigh-worthy Regency rogues sweep strong-willed young ladies into whirlwind rags-to-riches romance with rollicking adventure.

Disguised as a country miss, Charlotte Devon flees London, desperate to leave her tattered reputation behind. In Scotland, her estranged father's noble blood will finally make her a respectable debutante. Except she finds herself accidentally wed to a devil-may-care rogue with a sinful smile. He's the last thing she needs...and everything her traitorous heart desires.

Charming rake Anthony Fairfax is on holiday to seek his fortune...and escape his creditors. When an irresistible Lady Luck wins him in a game of chance - and a slight mishap has them leg-shackled by dawn - the tables have finally turned in his favor. But when past demons catch up to them, holding on to new love will mean destroying their dreams forever.

©2016 Erica Ridley (P)2017 Erica Ridley

A chance

Marian Hussey did a wonderful job narrating this story. The characters were interesting and the tale complex but fun any way. They actually struggled to make things work out and I have a lot of respect for a regency romance without the easy ending....

No real heat and one brief lovemaking scene.

Yes, I'd get it again.

Good listen

Liked the characters and story flow. Liked the narration. Done very well. Entertaining and easy to flow. Would recommend.

Worth the Chance

Lord of Chance is an enjoyable story. The plot is well written and realistic. The main characters are absolutely loveable. Charlotte and Anthony are a perfect fit. He is cheerful and optimistic and she is ever practical. They will work hard for what they want. In the end, they may be surprised where true luck and fortune can be found.

This is a great beginning to a new series that promises to be every bit as good as Erica’s Dukes of War.

Marian Hussey is an excellent reader. I have listened to and enjoyed several other of her performances. She did a wonderful job with Lord of Chance.

Brilliant start to a new series

This is a wonderful story about two people that met under unusual circumstances and found themselves in an even more unusual relationship.
The story flows off the pages bringing out the courage and mutual respect in both the level headed Charlotte and the rake known as Anthony. This is their love story, and what a story it is!
The following is my favourite quotation from this book: "We may have wed by accident, but our marriage is no mistake. You are the love of my life and I would do it all over again..."
I so thoroughly enjoyed reading and listening to this story that I could hardly wait for the next in this series, Lord of Pleasure. Hope you enjoy it too.
I loved the delightful narration by Marion Hussey in this audiobook version.

Excellent start to a new series!

What did you love best about Lord of Chance?

I have read nearly all of Ms. Ridley's books, and her writing gets better with every series. This book, the first in her Rogues to Riches series, honestly shines. Charlotte and Anthony are two strangers from London who meet by chance one evening in Scotland. Some quick thinking on Anthony's part turns out to be not so well thought out when the pair is accidentally married. I loved the development of their romance as they decide how to deal with their unusual situation and navigate each other's skeletons in the closet, so to speak.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Okay story. Great Narration.

So this was an okay story. I liked Charlotte more than I liked Anthony.

Anthony had a serious gambling problem. That was all throughout the entire book. There was a lot of filler nonsense going on through this story that was frustrating. It wasn't a bad story and they characters weren't unlikable, they were just MEH....

I am going to read the next book, it sounds better than this one. I do like Erica Ridley and some of her books are just better than others, so not giving up on this series.

As for the narration, that may be what kept me going. I love Marian Hussey's narrations! She does a great job on the mens voices and everyone gets their own voice. She reads with emotion and has a fantastic reading voice! I can listen to her all day. Top favorite female narrator for sure.

Wagers

An enjoyable story with a lovely narrator. It shows no matter our pasts, we can strive for a better future.

light hearted story

I enjoyed this story,. it was light, funny, cute and romantic. narration was great, I want to say, the reason I selected this book, was the cover. the main character Anthony, reminded me of David Tennant of Dr. Who.

Plot interesting; execution slow

It’s an interesting plot with potential and worth listening to if on sale. But it moves at a snail’s pace. Much of it is told through repetitive internal thoughts, which is sometimes referred to as lazy writing because the author does not need to come up with witty banter, engaging characters, or subtle storytelling. It lacks creativity and generally acts as tedious filler. I found myself listening at very high speeds and skipping forward whenever the internal thoughts started again.

Weak in development of story and characters

Poorly written, poor character development, blah narration I listened again...gave it two stars instead of 1. Will put it somewhere in my library so I don't listen a third time.

So many plot holes, you could use it as a sieve.

PROS: The premise of this book- a couple accidentally handfasts themselves to each other in Scotland-is a good one. The main characters, Charlotte and Anthony are fairly likeable and have a moderate amount of depth. The narrator, Marian Hussey, is easy to listen to and does a good job.

CONS: The writing is so lazy with very little attention to detail, such that there are gaping holes in the plot that Ridley does not even try to close. She writes as though Scotland consists of one small town. In fact, I don't even think she gives them a location, other than being "in Scotland". Charlotte and a number of other people seem to be making an extended stay at a posting inn, as though it is some kind of holiday resort. Why?

The reliance on coincidences to move the story along is outrageous. Charlotte's father's solicitor just happens to come across her "in Scotland". He doesn't even say he's been looking for her, for some unknown reason he is "in Scotland" and just happens to come across her. There is also no explanation as to why Charlotte's mother allows her to go all the way to Scotland, when she knows her father does not in fact live there. The smallest amount of effort could have resolved these issues, which makes it particularly irritating.

The everyday actions of the characters is just wrong. Charlotte's determination to join the card game and stake money she can't afford to lose doesn't make sense. Anthony's reaction to owing a great deal of money in a short period of time doesn't make sense. He starts doing odd jobs for pennies because it makes him feel useful. What? Charlotte and Anthony are very concerned about not wasting money, and yet they travel from Scotland to London by hiring private carriages instead of travelling by the mail or the stage, staying at numerous posting houses along the way. A pair of "ruffians" from London have a rather impressive amount of knowledge about Scottish law. How? Ridley's understanding of the era seems to be minimal.

You always have to suspend your disbelief a fair amount for books like these, but I think Ridley is asking far too much with this one. If you like to have some authenticity and attention to detail in your historicals, avoid!