Sample
  • Splendid

  • Blydon, Book 1
  • By: Julia Quinn
  • Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
  • Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (634 ratings)

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Splendid

By: Julia Quinn
Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
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Publisher's summary

Based on the phenomenal growth of Quinn's popularity and her four-week stint on the New York Times best-seller list with Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, it's the perfect time to revisit Ms. Quinn's "splendid" storytelling.

American heiress Emma Dunster has always been fun-loving and independent, with no wish to settle into marriage. She plans to enjoy her Season in London in more unconventional ways than husband hunting. But this time Emma's high jinks lead her into dangerous temptation.

Alexander Ridgely, the Duke of Ashbourne, is a notorious rake who carefully avoids the risk of love until he plants one reckless kiss on the sensuous lips of this high-spirited innocent and condemns himself to delicious torment. Little does he know that his passion has touched the very soul of the lovely enchantress and committed them both to a lifetime of splendid ecstasy.

©1995 Julie Cotler (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Splendid

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    330
  • 4 Stars
    137
  • 3 Stars
    89
  • 2 Stars
    43
  • 1 Stars
    35
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    249
  • 4 Stars
    102
  • 3 Stars
    80
  • 2 Stars
    64
  • 1 Stars
    90
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    320
  • 4 Stars
    134
  • 3 Stars
    69
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    22

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narration could have been better

The book was ok, not as good as the Bridgeton series but I didn't like the narration

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Splendid indeed.....

A tiny bit slow and a wee bit sedate but in the end so very good.

Narrator: Very good. A splendid performance.

Heat factor: tepid with a few steaming scenes.

Creditworthy? I say yes, a comfortable listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite story , did not care for narrator.

Will not buy series. Not enough of an interesting storyline, lots of words and hard to get through.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Bad "male" voices

The "male" voices were horrible. I often thought I was listening to a grandmother speak, not a male voice. I almost discontinued listening, but the story became more interesting, so I bit the bullet and continued. Quinn's much later stories/recordings were MUCH better. Glad I didn't begin with the earliest books!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not Rosalind

The story was good but not as good as most of the others. Not my favorite narrator so it was tough to get through after almost every other book having the same narrator.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Male lead wasn’t likeable

Male love interest was a bit of a jerk, and female lead is stubborn to the point of it being unbearable

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Was it just the narrator or the storyline that was bad?

Ugh - the narration was just so bad. I love Julia Quinn but I just couldn’t finish it. I can’t tell if the storyline was bad too but the narration was definitely terrible. Please have Roselyn Landor Re-record this so I can finish it

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Almost Splendid

Splendid was almost splendid. Unfortunately the pitch of the narrator was very distracting to the story. I found it hard to stay focused on the actual storyline.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read

The story flows perfectly. Is well worth the read and the setting described fits wonderfully for the era it is written. I hope to continue reading more of Julia Quinn's work and look forward to her stories.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love Julia Quinn loath the narrator

The narrator ruined the story automatically. I couldn’t get through the first chapter, and I have listened to 15+ audiobooks from Julia Quinn.

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