Rose in Bloom

Sex and the Season, Book 2

By: Helen Hardt

Narrated by: Honey Everest

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Wiltshire, England, 1853

Lady Rose Jameson knows her place - respect authority and convention and marry a suitable member of the peerage. Lord Evan Xavier, the second son of the Earl of Brighton, possesses the necessary pedigree, but though Rose enjoys his company, the spark she craves is missing...the spark she feels with handsome commoner Cameron Price.

Cameron has accepted his lot in life - to care for his widowed mother and two younger sisters. Instead of writing the music he loves, he's destined to work the land his family leases from the Duke of Lybrook...and deal with his overwhelming feelings for the duke's sister-in-law, Lady Rose. When Cam's sister becomes ill, he needs money quickly, and his fate is further sealed. He must say goodbye to Rose forever.

But circumstances and the appearance of an elderly stranger may change both their lives.

©2015 Helen Hardt. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Wonderful writer, flawed hero

I am so glad that the hero had a strong finish, because this almost turned out to be one of those books I hoped/wished the heroine ended up with someone else. Otherwise, the story was nearly flawless. A real page turner.

My biggest problem with Cam, notwithstanding the huge chip he carried on his shoulder, is that he slept with an innocent without even trying to avoid pregnancy when he knew he was going to jilt her. I don’t care what kind of whacked out reasoning he had, that was unconscionable, plus the fact that he ultimately traded a future with Rose for a 200 pound commission because he didn’t want to accept help. And let’s not forget that he let his mother believe that Rose jilted him. Good lord, it’s good that Ms. Hardt is a talented author, because that’s almost too much fragile male ego to stomach.

This is a super steamy romance near the beginning and end with lots of other stuff happening in the middle. Even though I didn’t agree with the hero’s flawed logic, the torment that both the hero and heroine felt was poignantly written. Gut wrenching even. I would have appreciated an epilogue that at least saw them post wedding.

As for the audio, it was better than average, but I hated the babyish voice used for Rose as well as the stuck-up voices for some of the other female characters.

Loved it so much

The story was brilliantly written. I was rooting for Rose and Cameron all the way. The things we do for love. And the intimate scenes were especially hot.

Love it

This was another winner for the author! Camron Price was a great male counterpart for Rose and you come have made a better match.

Average

Average plot, average characters description, average story basic sex scenes. All in all average. I cannot for the life of me work out how they can justify the price, it is maybe worth a credit but definitely don't pay cash for it. The narration was ok, although a lot of the women's voices were whiney