Winter Garden

By: Adele Ashworth

Narrated by: Heather Wilds

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A celebrated beauty, Madeleine DuMais' cleverness is her greatest asset - one she puts to good use as a spy for the British. Assigned to help break up a smuggling ring in the south of England, she arrives at the quaint resort town of Winter Garden and meets her partner in subterfuge: Thomas Blackwood.

Unlike any man she has ever met, Blackwood's quiet confidence and mysterious intensity send shivers of pleasure coursing through her. And, despite the danger, as duty gives way to desire, Madeleine aches for Thomas's gentle touch on her body... on her heart... on her soul.

For surrender holds its own sweet reward....

©2000 Adele Budnick (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

💜 Thoroughly enjoyed

I did really enjoy this book, and actually connected to the characters enough that my heart hurt for them at times. In reading the reviews, my expectations for “sensual” and “steamy” were pretty high and while there was palpable sensuality, it wasn’t quite what I’d anticipated based on the reviews. So just don’t go into this expecting it to be the ultimate erotica.

Madeleine DeMais is a spy for the crown. Thomas Blackwood is also a spy who is at Winter Garden. He hires her undercover to be his supposed translator for the memoirs he's “writing.” They are tasked to find out who is dealing in opium in WG. I enjoyed the interactions with the secondary characters, and how some of the “common” storylines we read about in our historical romances traversed away from the typical. (SPOILER - Pregnancy was handled differently and I loved it!) The thing we all wonder throughout the story about Thomas and the secret he was keeping…. Omg I just adored it. I don’t want to give anything away, but it was so touching. The only complaint I have is that it ended so quickly from there. I can see that it was for the purpose of an HEA but, idk, maybe a little more? 🤷🏻‍♀️

The narrator name seemed familiar and so I went back and looked and sure enough I had listened to her before. And I was shocked that it was a Scottish novel! I apparently wasn’t over the moon in love with her but after now reading this one where she was SO French and that one which was SO Scottish, holy jamoly did she do an actually amazing job with very different accents! (The Wedding, Julie Garwood. Go listen to the sample!) I can’t recall listening to any story with such a heavy French accent and in Winter Garden it kind of threw me for a while, but I became accustomed to it and went on with no issues. I would definitely listen to her again.

Also, I didn’t realize this was a series. Bummed to see only this one on Audible!

I got this in a 2 for 1 sale and it was absolutely worth a half credit. If I had used a whole credit I would not have been disappointed.

It's hot in Winter Garden

Would you consider the audio edition of Winter Garden to be better than the print version?

The story is the same, but books, make boring everyday chores enjoyable.
Both versions of this story were Great

What was one of the most memorable moments of Winter Garden?

When Thomas reveals to Madeleine who he really is, and the reason for his lie.

Have you listened to any of Heather Wilds’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She has a great voice, and superb accents

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

I was so weepy mid way through the book, realizing ( or so I thought) that both main characters were going to suffer for their choices.

Any additional comments?

Loved this book, apparently, it is a series with 2 additional stories... I'd love to read the other 2.

A SENSUAL, SEXUAL SOJOURN IN WINTER GARDEN

What a lovely surprise this book was - totally different from the usual 'handsome Rake meets beautiful virgin' type books. Yes, it was a little bit far fetched in places, but it was such a nice story you just have to overlook the flaws.

Thomas had been left disabled in the Opium wars but, despite this, he became an undercover English spy who asked for the help of beautiful Madeleine, his counterpart French spy, to help in the latest mission to capture an Opium Dealer in Winter Garden but this wasn't his true mission - it was to win Madeleine's heart forever.

They were instantly attracted to each other and began a journey of discovery, passion, sexual interludes, intense, but very touching, human desire and eventually love. This book was filled with great characters, a bit of a weak plot, however its such a heart warming love story that it can't help but move you.

Worth a credit? I loved it - so it's a definite yes.

A lush love story that somehow left me ambivalent?

In the first few minutes this book seemed well written but slightly droning, however at the moment the two main characters met eyes, I was gripped. (Never did I think I would use the term "gripped" to describe my reaction to a book, but nothing else quite fits.) From that instance onward, for me the book was driven by the interaction of the two main characters, Madeleine DuMais and Thomas Blackwood, spies for the British Home Service. All the other characters and even the plot to uncover the smuggling ring became more than secondary. Madeleine and Thomas were interesting and evocative central characters. The main characters and their relationship unfolded slowly and their interactions became more poignant and sensual. This was a terrific love story. It was never cliché, and in addition, plot points and details were rarely foreseeable.

Regarding the 4-stars performance rating, I felt Heather Wilds did a very good job, but not remarkable. I would have preferred stronger male voices, but her intonation was well done. The 4-stars rating for story reflect my dissatisfaction at the very end which was due to Madeleine's thought process in the last chapters: something didn't ring true to, but I'm still baffled as to quite what I found discordant. Even with only 4-stars each for both performance and story, I still rated this book with 5- stars overall because I found it that haunting.

I realize this is a confusing and somewhat ambiguous review, but my ratings stand after two listens - and I still have not deleted it from my device as I'm sure I'll listen to it again in the short-term.

Heather Wilds is amazing and so is this story

I loved that the action was secondary to the romance!! That's so hard to find. I loved how passionate the mmc is and how open and secure the fmc is despite her terrible upbringing. I love that the bad guy is punished and his victims win too. I just really loved this book!

Wonderful sensual book - don't miss it

"Winter Garden" is a sensuous, erotic, and emotional tale that will leave you fanning yourself one minute and reaching for a tissue the next. The sensuality level of this book is very high and is expertly woven throughout, while its erotic atmosphere is achieved through both character dialogue and (explicit) love scenes. The emotional intensity between the hero and the heroine only heightens the effect.
Heather Wilds did an outstanding job with the delivery of the story. Audible needs more books by Adele Ashworth and read by Heather Wilds.

This is one purchase you simply won't regret making.

Long and drawn out

I think this story could have been told in half the time or less. The overall story line wasn't bad but it just went on and on. It took me more than a week to finally finish it. Normally, if I read a "good" book, I listen as often as possible but not so with this one. I'm so glad it's finally over.

Too long

This story is way too slow paced. It bores me and I couldn’t finish it. Narration is ok.