The Headmistress of Rosemere

Whispers on the Moors

By: Sarah E. Ladd

Narrated by: Henrietta Meire

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Patience Creighton has devoted her life to running her father's boarding school. But when the enigmatic master of the estate appears at her door, battered and unconscious, the young headmistress suddenly finds her livelihood - and her heart - in the hands of one dangerously handsome gentleman. At twenty-five, Patience Creighton is already a spinster. The busy headmistress of Rosemere always expected a dashing man to sweep her off her feet and take her away…but that man never came. And since her father's death, keeping the school running and her mother happy has been plenty to keep her occupied.

William Sterling dallied his way into financial trouble and mortal danger. When he is assaulted by his creditors' henchmen on the road home from a tavern, he guides his horse to the doorstep of his tenant, the Rosemere School for Young Ladies. After being tended to by Patience, the wounded William rides off into the dawn - but makes a point to learn more about the lovely headmistress. As he spends more time at Rosemere, something delicate begins to develop between William and Patience. But that will not deter William's creditors. With little money to repay his debts, and less for the upkeep of his estate, it becomes clear that sacrificing Rosemere may be the only way to preserve his legacy. But it may also cost him his happiness.

©2013 Thomas Nelson (P)2013 Thomas Nelson

Redemption and Love

The Headmistress of Rosemere is a wholesome romantic story about a 27-year-old, smart, “spinster” headmistress (Patience) and the dashing, rakish owner (William) of the land on which the boarding school sits. Patience’s family, who have owned and run the boarding school for decades, are cash poor, and do is the formerly wealthy William. Much of the tension in the story revolves around how both the family and William will figure out how to resolve their separate difficult financial straights.

I enjoyed the storyline very much, along with discovering the dark secrets that tortured William’s mind, resulting in his bad behavior and horrible reputation.

Stories of redemption from addiction, traumas, loss, etc. like this one are always so uplifting. They remind us that we can find peace even in the most challenging life circumstances and we can move forward after making seemingly unforgivable mistakes.

The audio narration of the book is, well…strange. The narrator does a great job with the female and male characters’ dialogue, infusing appropriate emotion and energy into their lines. However, the non-dialogue narration is flat, rather monotone, and without expression. It’s just weird. I was finally able to ignore this and enjoy the dialogue and the story, as most listeners will be able to do.

Recommended story!!

Sweet

This was a Very good read. It had plenty of drama and characters. I actually liked the Narrator and the ending was sweet.

Loved IT!

What did you love best about The Headmistress of Rosemere?

Really pulled me into the storyline from the beginning. Kept my attention. Loved the narrator. She was the perfect one to read aloud.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Loved the main character, Patience. She was incredibly believable and a women of integrity.

Good story, another HORRIBLE narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Incredibly monotone and boring, like Ben Stein, and it made the book/story boring. I actually sped it up just to get through it. She really isn't a "narrator", but rather is just a common reader. Was she reading while asleep???

Any additional comments?

Liked the mystery, but could barely get through the story w/o falling asleep or getting distracted with other activities because of the deep constant drone, lack of excitement, and even lack of normal feeling of the reader. Good grief, the first two books in the series had horrible narration, is the third one going to be the same??? I'm seriously regretting spending my credits on these.

Another Great Book

I continue to enjoy Sarah’s writing. I love the plot, the intrigue, the spiritual foundation and of course the realistic love story.

I also enjoy Henrietta Meire’s reading of the book. I truly felt like I was actually watching the story; well done!!

Looking forward to more....

Merry CHRISTmas to all!
JAMs

Bronte and Austen Fans Will be Thrilled!

Audio narration: I purchased the CD audiobook version first. The narrator has a somewhat depressed sounding voice and speaks slowly. Too slowly. So I came over to Audible.com and downloaded this version and set the narration speed at 1.5 which worked out great on my Kindle. Much better narration than performed by the narrator for Sarah's first novel's. Still wish they could have gotten someone who didn't make the story sound like such a tragedy, because it wasn't. This was an inspirational fiction and a narrator with some hope in her voice would have been better.

Story: This is like a cross between a Jane Austen and a Charlotte Bronte story and won't disappoint those fans! A great listen, lovely story, sweet and well developed cast of characters, lots of tension, and little Emma steals the story! This is only the second book Sarah has written and she's already grown so much as a writer. She delivers a wonderful HEA that will leave readers emotionally satisfied. Brava, Sarah!

Thoroughly enjoyable....

Clean romance, with unexpected twists that are not boring at all... Liked it very much.

Average Story

This book was okay, but a let down compared to the Heiress of Winterwood. I kept waiting for more interaction between the characters Ladd had introduced in the first book. It seems unlikely to me that Amelia or Captain Sterling would have been completely out of touch with what was going on (especially after the fire.) It was an alright book, but I feel a bit unfulfilled at the end of it.

Wonderful book.

Could not put it down. If you like romance, intrigue,and suspense you will like this book.

Another winner

A wonderful clean wholesome regency romance. Such a good story and loved the narrator that brought the story to life. Thank you Sarah Ladd!