A Secret Affair

Huxtable, Book 5

By: Mary Balogh

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

“The Devil was about to be tamed.”

Her name is Hannah Reid. Born a commoner, she has been Duchess of Dunbarton ever since she was 19 years old, the wife of an elderly duke to whom she has been rumored to be consistently and flagrantly unfaithful. Now the old duke is dead and, more womanly and beautiful than ever at 30, Hannah has her freedom at last.

And she knows just what she wants to do with it. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover - and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable.

Constantine’s illegitimacy has denied him the title of Earl, so now he denies himself nothing... or so the ton would have it. Rumored to be living the free and easy life of a sensualist in his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely.

But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn’t so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire - without getting singed. For the duchess and the dark lord each have startling secrets to reveal, and when all is said and done, neither will be able to say which one fell in love first, who tamed whom, and who has emerged from this game of hearts with the stronger hand.

©2010 Mary Balogh (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

NARRATION, NARRATION...

As always, the narration makes the book and this one was not for me.
Rosalyn Landor is the only Narrator that does Mary Balogh's books justice.

Mary Balogh saved the best for last!!😍❤️

The story of Hannah and Constantine was the best in the entire Huxtable series!! In fact, I have now read it 3 times: twice in book form and now in Audible. It was well worth the credit even though I had already read it:))) Hannah and Constantine seemed to have much more chemistry than the other couples, and I listened almost non-stop while cooking, cleaning, etc. That’s what I love about Audible— tedious tasks go faster while listening to a good book! However, now I am a bit sad that the Huxtable saga is over — for now! I’m sure I will be visiting them again in future:)))😉

Enchanting!

The first book I listen to from the series. It got me hooked from the first chapter! and because of it I listened to the whole series of the Huxatbles. The series is amazing! I recommand all the 5 books of the series ALL :)

Enjoyable

It was a bit tedious in the beginning as Mary Balogh is very skilful at filling up pages with words and than phrasing and re phrasing it over and over, every thought or idea was pondered on and on and on... it was frustrating and if I was reading physical book I don’t think I would have persevered with it.
However, the story improved greatly as it progressed further along and I enjoyed the happy ending.

Storyline Okay Narrator Okay

I by-passed this novel many times because of the narrator (I like the other narrator better) but Flosnik was okay, her voice and style of narrating. I got use to after a couple of chapters.
The Secret Affair was no secret! But secrets were revealed by both the hero and the heroine. This story was a "filler" for me. The storyline was just okay. I could have put the novel down and forgot about it. But it filled time until I found my next listen/read. As fans of Mary Balogh knows, she oftentimes write about social issues and this book covered issues of the disabled (physical and mental) as well as issues of women's rights.

Wonderful Conclusion to the Romantic Huxtable Saga

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

This is my favorite of the Huxtable family romances, and the one that ties together the unaddressed questions and disputes that are related in the earlier books.

What did you like best about this story?

Emotion, emotion, emotion! A sweet and moving love story for two wounded and misunderstood people.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The moments when Elliott and Constantine confront each other after 10 years of estrangement, and how the Duchess saves the day!

hope they release others in series

I am hoping that they release the other books the earlier in the series again I got this one because I knew I would like it cuz I read it years ago but would also like to have the others and audio. all the different series in in her books are really good and I enjoyed all of them and want to get them all again on audio so I can enjoy them.

Constantine!

This is the best of the series. Con and Hannah both had secret pasts. The unveiling was very entertaining.

Surprisingly Sweet Story

The Narrator of this story has a voice of silk & satin. The story is a good example of the ways some cope with betrayal, hiding behind "personalities" to protect themselves. It is also a story of the gaining of wisdom that comes with age, and forgiveness of betrayals unintended.

This author never lets me down

I love this author and she never lets me down. I found this book a good finish for the series! Thank you Mary Balogh for all the great hours of listening you give me. I can't wait for your next book!