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The Elusive Bride  By  cover art

The Elusive Bride

By: Stephanie Laurens
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
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Editorial reviews

Simon Prebble, narrator extraordinaire, adds panache to Laurens's Regency romance. Beautiful and determined Emily Ensworth must help handsome and dashing former soldier Gareth Hamilton in his mission to deliver a secret letter from India to England and eliminate as many of the Black Cobra's cultists as possible in the process - all while determining if Gareth is her one and only. Prebble's upper-crust English delivery, fine acting skills, broad repertoire of accents and voices, and perfect timing do much to enhance a story that is somewhat less interesting than the author's usual fare.

Publisher's summary

A second battle-hardened, completely unstoppable, all-male hero, an ex-officer of the Crown, confronts the deadly enemy known only as the Black Cobra. He's focused on his mission, then sees a lady he never dreamed he'd see again - with an assassin on her heels. She secretly followed him, unaware her path is deadly - or that she'll join him to battle a treacherous foe.Through ever-present peril, through passion, desire, and ecstasy, they race to reach England - and their destiny.

©2010 Savdek Management Proprietory Ltd. (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Elusive Bride

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Worse than usual

Laurens' books, in my opinion, have been getting worse and worse. I enjoyed many of her earlier stories about the Cynster clan - they were lightweight but didn't pretend to be anything else. This second book in her latest series, though, has pretenses (as did the previous one) of being some sort of adventure/espionage tale about the British East India Company era in India and England. However, the story is so thin and wildly unbelievable and the villains so paper-thin in characterization that the plot falls apart even before it has a chance to begin. (Think Robin Hood vs. the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, without the humor.) Moreover, in this particular journey, the female character is so completely self-centered and shallow as to be complaining to her diary, amidst attacks by a fanatical assassin cabal which is supposedly responsible for horrific torture and widespread abuse against men, women and children, that she hasn't enough time to determine whether the male hero is "the one" for her. She literally seems to be oblivious to the fact that these supposed terrorists are responsible for death and mayhem all over India. And then of course, true to standard Laurens fare, the hero and heroine spend the next chapter rolling around in her bunk. BLEAH!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Thanks but no thanks

I have read most of Stephanie's books and some of my all time favorite historicals were written by her. I think it must be heard to maintain that level of writing as so many prolific writers books start getting pretty boring. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I won't read any more of the Bride books and only hope that Stephanie will be able to come back. Don't get me wrong, we all have bad days, so read all of her earlier books. This one was BORING and trivial. YOu have no idea who those people are/were. There was literally no backstory. The book was beyond one dimensional and the romance aspect left me thinking, HUH? Where's the romance?

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

not much of a story.

As the title of my review points out,

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4 people found this helpful

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

Heroine was extremely annoying -.Mr. Prebble great

Would you try another book from Stephanie Laurens and/or Simon Prebble?

the narrarator is great. I've listened to Stephanie Laurens other audio books and enjoy them. However, this heroine got on my last nerve! She was so self-absorbed, so trivial and by the end of the book I was hoping she DIDN'T get the guy. She writes in her diary throughout the book and that was annoying. She seemed shallow and there was little character development/back story to her. The only reason I gave it an overall 3 stars is because Simon Prebble is very good. If I was reading this book, I would've put it down and moved onto another one.

Has The Elusive Bride turned you off from other books in this genre?

no.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Good reading with passion

The Elusive Bride was great reading. I like how Ms Laurens pulls past books plots and charactors together to make the book familiar and gives it a place within the whole of a story line that is still in work. Can't wait for the next book in this series!

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3 people found this helpful

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

No more adverbs for Ms. Laurens.

Really, I don't expect grand literature in bodice rippers, but this was ridiculous. Ms. Laurens' editor should impose a strict adverb limit and redline the use of: blatantly, flagrantly, demandingly, commandingly, evocatively and provocatively, especially all in one sentence. I only stuck it out because I enjoy Mr. Prebble so much. The characters were superficial and badly developed and no reason for a romance existed. The heroine was effectively a teenage girl confiding in her diary and the hero was more milquetoast than Ashley Wilkes. Blech. Double blech. I can't blech enough.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Elusive?

there is nothing elusive about the lead female character in this book what so ever as she literally throws herself at the lead male character through out out the entire first half of this book. the rest is an 18th century take on alqaeda and poorly done at that. some of the sex scenes were hot but not enough to save the story line of the book. then the ending doesn't finish the story, but i'm uncertain if it was meant to set up for another book? don't waste your credit.
the narrators voice was gruff and became annoying after a few hours of listening.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Worst female lead ever

Narration: Simon Prebble is not my fav but he was particularly bad with this narration. He gave an Indian accent to the English male lead character and that irked me.

Lead female character was shallow and immature. While the male lead is trying to stop a fanatical cult that is responsible for heinous acts against innocent civilians so of course she decides to to stalk him and attach herself. She then proceeds to complain that he isn't giving her enough attention to determine if he is the 'one.' Dozens of assassins are chasing them and nearly kill then but she's upset bc he isn't kissing her enough. In general I don't love the women in SL's books-they aren't bold, they are spoiled and selfish. I like the overall story...wish the male lead had pushed female lead overboard

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

She only wanted SEX!

My biggest problem with part of the story is the heroin. The only thing on her mind all the way through the book was getting to have sex, sex, and more sex! She didn't care that this man was trying to complete a mission or that they were in a race for their lives, she just wanted to know when she could get the chance to have sex! Out of all the brides, she was the one I disliked all throughout the story!

The action was pretty good and fast-moving. The story will keep you engaged and interested to hear the outcome. The twist at the end of book 4 was outstanding and well worth following alone to hear. As others have mentioned in other reviews, I didn't understand why Simon Prebble did the hero accent like he was from India. He was supposed to be English. That kind of throws his part off while you listen, but still worth the listen. Overall the story was very good and I did enjoy the complete series.

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

Wrong accent

Male protagonist has an Indian rather than British accent. Very off putting for my enjoyment.

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