Mandy

By: Claudy Conn

Narrated by: Laurel Schroeder

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Mandy's brother Ned is in trouble. He has been accused of murdering the woman who had been clearly trying to seduce him. Their guardian, the Duke of Margate, is summoned to help.

Mandy had always assumed he was an old man. But, the duke was far from old. He was, in fact, virile, dashing, and oh so good looking.

The duke enjoyed being a confirmed bachelor…and then he met Mandy.

But, first things first - they had to prove Ned innocent.

©2013 Claudy Conn (P)2014 Claudy Conn

Another Amazing Regency!!

What made the experience of listening to Mandy the most enjoyable?

I loved how the narrator brought the book to life.

What other book might you compare Mandy to and why?

Any of Claudy Conn's books are fantastic. I love her regencies.

What does Laurel Schroeder bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Listening to Laurel tell the story was much more enjoyable than reading it myself.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I always have some reaction to Claudy's books. Her heroines are very strong willed and I love that about them. They always make me laugh or smile.

Any additional comments?

Mandy's brother Ned is accused of murder and must prove her brother's innocence. Mandy breaks Ned out of jail and they go into hiding. They write a letter to their guardian the Duke of Margate. The Duke is a friend of their grandfather's and Mandy had always thought him an old man. When the Duke shows up to help them, Mandy sees the Duke is not old at all. He is in fact a young, virile man. The Duke is smitten by Mandy the instant he sees her and wants to make her his.
I loved this book by Claudy. Claudy Conn is one of my go to authors and am never disappointed when I read one of her books. Well done Claudy.

Loved This Audio!!!

Any additional comments?

I absolutely loved this book and the audio did not disappoint!! Mandy and Brock are one hot and steamy couple. The story is a combination of romance, intrigue and suspense…elements a reader can easily latch on to and be sucked in!!..It was a entertaining who-done-it…loved this!! I highly recommend this audio, especially with the wonderful voice of Laurel Schroeder to those who love mystery, suspense and sexy love story. Claudy Conn has done it again!

A great listen/read!

The narrator was fantastic for this book! She did a great job with all the voices and all their different tones. The book was very well written and perfect for anyone who loves romance or historical romances with a bit of suspense and a lot of joking. Definitely my favorite kind of book!

A Playful Romp!

Mandy, a fiery, strong-minded beauty adamantly defends her twin bother Ned when he's wrongly accused of murder. Regency Romance.

I loved Mandy and Brocks Story !!

Would you listen to Mandy again? Why?

Yes I truly loved the accent of the Narrator

What other book might you compare Mandy to and why?

All of Claudy Conn's regency books

Which scene was your favorite?

When Mandy and Brock fall inlove

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

Mandy becomes a woman of worth

Any additional comments?

My Review - Mandy and her twin brother Ned are in some serious trouble. Well Ned is. Their cousin has been murdered and it was said that Ned killed her to avoid marriage pretty much as she is with child. Ned however is not guilty. The Duke and also their guardian shows up and tries to fix things. In the meantime he has set his heart on having Mandy.

This book was filled with mystery and suspense and the romance was wonderful as well. I not only read the book I also listened to it on audible.

Grab your copy especially if you love regency with a bit of spice.

Mandy

If you could sum up Mandy in three words, what would they be?

Funny, sexy and engrossing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mandy she is a modern woman in another time

What about Laurel Schroeder’s performance did you like?

her accent was so good and went with this story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

Ned who is Mandy's twin is accused of murder. Mandy must find a way to help her brother. Mandy calls on their guardian Margate, needing his help to clear Ned's name. Lord Brock is not what she expected at all. Mandy is not a product of her time she reminds me more of a 20th century woman, strong and self willed. Their Guardian Brook has not been very involved with his charges so when he Meets Mandy things start of less then perfect. This sets the stage for suspense ,, schemes and romance all wrapped up in a great story. Like all of this authors books you are held captive as her words take you away .. Loved this book and recommend it highly as II do all this authors books

Amazingly Charming

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Claudy has outdone herself again with this wittingly charming story about Mandy. Mandy reminds me so much of myself... outspoken, always causing a ruckus and always finding trouble. I loved listening to this book rather than reading it, because it brought the characters to life for me. I would recommend this book to all my friends. Claudy's books are always jewels. You fall in love with the characters from the first chapter and that love continues throughout the book. I cannot wait to listen to another book written by Claudy.

Robotic narration

I could not get past the 3rd chapter because the narrator sounds robotic. I honestly do not know if the story is any good, I just cant finish.

Narrator very choppy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

narrator needed to slow down and not clip of her sentences reading did not flow.

How could the performance have been better?

Slow down the reading and have a more even flow

Just Bad.

Sometime in the 1940s, regency period romances moved away from the Austen model of intelligent heroine and logical hero - into studly rake and 'spirited' but dumb as a doornob, overemotional wreck of a heroine (both of their only 'redeeming' qualities translate into being an alpha and beautiful, respectively). Worse, books like this are borderline misogynistic; the women are all schemers and loose, eager to destroy each other and others in order to get or protect their poor hapless menfolk. And yes, clearly the manwhores fall in love and are redeemed by the 'spirited' heroine at the end. Barf.

This hit so many cliches (ok, yes, this was written decades ago) it was increasingly hard to stop bonking my head on the table. People talked like a writer pushing a story forward (say this to show that the heroine is loyal to her brother, say that to show that the brother loves his twin sister, etc. etc.) than anything with true feeling or reality. The dialogue and interactions were unrealistic and very canned. It was like someone read some Georgette Heyer and took every odd phrase and tried to incorporate it into the book with a pretense of being historic. But it all came off as a bad cliche when characters acted so anachronistic and modern (and yes, stupid) as to be wince worthy.

There is a plot here, somewhere, with a murder mystery of a scheming young lady out to get our heroine's brother entrapped in marriage (how dare she!). No one seems too offput by her death, though - I guess it was common to have relatives violently murdered in the Regency period or something. There's a chase and hiding place (fooling no one) and yes, our gutsy (and incredibly loathsome) heroine will reform her rake by the end, save her brother, and solve the mystery.

Compounding the writing issues is one of the worst Audible readings I've encountered in years. The narrator pauses noticeably after every.single.sentence - creating a paragraph at the end of each period. Try stopping and counting to 3 after each sentence you read in this review and you'll get the idea. It was really annoying, prevented any kind of dynanism or motion in the plot, and was so staccato as to render the story inert. Add in odd pauses at inappropriate places in the middle of sentences and the narrator began to sound like one of those computertized robo callers that never sound human, pausing and starting up at weird places and with equally weird intonations and emphases. It was as robotic as it comes - sort of like being slowly tortured and making the silly story seem like a punishment rather than an enjoyable way to pass time.

I've read historical romances for several decades. Is this the worse? Sadly, definitely not. I know there is a built in audience for the 'spitfire' heroine with more hair than brains or depth. But I suspect those people were raised on the pulp historical romances of the era in which this was originally written and not on literature as with Austen. The 1970s was a throw away decade in many ways - not just fashion but also, sadly, fiction for women.