Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance

Salt Hendon Series, Book 1

By: Lucinda Brant

Narrated by: Marian Hussey

Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the opulent world of the 18th century aristocracy, Lucinda Brant delivers another delicious 18th century romantic experience. High drama, witty prose, a deft palette of historical detail, and a weave of subplots will keep you mesmerized from beginning to end.

England, 1763. The Earl of Salt Hendon and squire's daughter Jane Despard share a secret past of mistrust, heartache, and misery. Forced into a marriage neither wants, the patient and ever optimistic Jane believes love conquers all; the Earl will take some convincing. Enter Diana St. John, who will go to extreme lengths, even murder, to hold the Earl's attention. Can the newlyweds overcome past prejudices and sinister opposition to fall in love all over again?

ARRA Awards Finalist 2011 Favorite Historical Romance

©2011 Lucinda Brant (P)2014 Lucinda Brant

Delightful dark romance with lurking villain

Any additional comments?

What a wonderful cast of characters! From the very purest of hearts, Jane Despard, soon to become Lady Salt, to Diane, Lady St. John, whose mind machinations will have you anxiously follow her every move. This woman is capable of horrendous deeds. Beware!

New-to-me author Lucinda Brant, provided a fabulous listen and I won’t be able to NOT read/listen to the sequel. She has me hanging from a precipice. She draws her scenes in such detail I feel the swirl of emotion bouncing in the expanse of the scene. She captures scrupulously what happens in the mind of an individual when her dark side demands total manipulation of people with the quest to gain her goal. It leaves the reader shuddering with angst for her victims. I love to hate her villain!

I enjoyed hearing the jargon of the day in dialog and participate in more than dancing and balls. Narrator Ms. Hussey is easy to listen to, with sharp, well enunciated words. Her voice is perfect in depicting the innocent demeanor of Jane, to the voice of the Earl, a man whose heart loves Jane, but dares not believe such a thing himself. After all, didn’t she break off their relationship four years earlier? Or was it the other way around? This is the second time I’ve heard Marian Hussey narrate. Her voice is extremely versatile, a lower resonance and quite mesmerizing in how she portrays characters.

We got to see what happens below stairs amongst the servants, how loyalties are made or broken. We participated in the lives of the crème de la crème of society.

I particularly marveled at the in-depth characterization of deranged Diana, Lady Saint John, who had a façade of normalcy, but evil lurked behind her beautiful face and proper demeanor. She was absolutely terrifying.

Ms. Brant has written quite a few novels. I’ll be delving into her others. It’s such a pleasure to find another author who pulls the right strings enthralling me, completely entertained for hours!

Expected to love it. Not so much.

Let me preface this review by saying that I read this book about 3 weeks ago. My initial reaction was so extreme that I felt I had to take some time to process my feelings before I could write this more subdued review.

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This book was just an okay read for me, and I won't re-listen to it. I would definitely not recommend it.

I was pretty excited about starting these books because the reviews were pretty impressive. However, for me, the plot went off the rails right away. The Hero, dressed in some fairly flamboyant clothing, started out as a truly hateful and verbally abusive douchebag. I thought "Wow, this is different!"

Then, he turned into a nice guy in about 30 pages. If this was a plot device to make the story more dramatic, it should have worked. Unfortunately, it didn't. When he flipped the switch, I didn't know what the hell was going on. I guess the author wrote him that way so he could do a personality 180. The problem is that she made him so awful, and the change so abrupt and inexplicable, that she went way too far, and far too quickly, for it to make sense. It felt so out of character, that it snapped me right out of the plot. I just didn't get the point of making me hate him for 20 minutes, only to make me like him for the rest of the book. And nobody called him on it. The story just went on as if he had always been nice. It was weird.

The beautiful, sweet, put upon heroine was so unbelievably sweet despite his treatment of her, that I finally stopped caring about either of them.

In fact, I can't think of a single character in this book that read as a real person. They were all flat, uninteresting and cartoony, even the villein, who was also over-the-top evil. (Okay, the kids were pretty good.)

But the main reason I disliked this book was the old "keeping a secret for no sane reason" ploy, when telling THE PERSON WHO LOVES YOU -- or, ANYONE ELSE, would have fixed everything. It went on and on and on, and was so transparent, and badly written, that it felt amateurish. This old saw is such an overused plot device, and appears in so many bad RH's, that Brant lost me completely as a fan.

Dear LB: When your whole plot hinges on the H and h never telling each other the truth, that's pretty much the definition of weak. It's derivative, redundant, aggravating and dumb. And it makes you look like a beginner.

Please, you have to give me more than just a bunch of characters walking around in a story, wearing fabulous clothes, because they're fabulously wealthy.

If you don't mind the shaky structure the story hinges on, and if you like a girl who will do anything not to anger her man, and if you like truly evil villeins that no one can see through -- even though everyone already hates them -- this book is for you!

I'm just really, really bummed that I bought the whole series before reading book one. If I had read it, I would have saved myself some money.

4 and 5 star reviews to the contrary, this was an unforgivable stinker.

An absolutely brilliantly written book

Lucinda Brant has quickly become one of my all time favorite authors. Her command of writing for this era is superbly shown in all of her books and this one is no exception. Her characters, from main all the way down to the maids have each unique personalities and NONE resemble any of her other books, as many other authors do. The only point I have found in common, and only in a couple of her books, is that the hero finds out information the heroine was to inform him of from someone else and thus the finale we expect as readers does not come to pass.
I do hope that the next book is the ending to this wonderful series as I would loath to wait on yet another book due to my impatience. It's funny how when you love a book you commit every free moment to read and yet the end is unwelcome. LB's quick wit comes through her writing and I am in awe of her mastery in not only developing characters and building them to the point of intimate familiarity but also at the same time allowing and building strong personal attachments to these characters for it's readers. Her hero in the Noble Satyr is one I will never forget, so realistic the portrayal. I think I have read that book about 5 times in just the past two months. This book is also a masterpiece.

Loved it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Most definitely. The story is wonderfully written and thoroughly captivating. The hero and heroine are truly people you find yourself rooting for. As they wade their way through misunderstandings and other obstacles to their love you feel every heartwrenching moment right along with them. I love it.

What other book might you compare Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance to and why?

I have read all of Lucinda Brant's novels and find them to be in a class by themselves--rich in historical detail, full of well-drawn characters, and thoroughly entertaining clear to the very last page.

Which scene was your favorite?

TOO MANY TO LIST!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, most certainly. I nearly did.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful book, excellent narration.

My second (and best) audiobook ever.

I'm and will always remain a reader, but the experience of this audiobook was impressive, thanks to the narrator's skill.

Great Story, Fantastic Narration!

This was a really good story, I enjoyed it very much. The hero and heroine had some great chemistry together. I really liked both characters very much. Jane was a great heroine. Salt was fantastic. There wasn't really any sex scenes in the story it was more referred to in the past tense but the sexual tension is there and the relationship between the two felt genuine and real.

The story line and plot was great. There was a bat $h*t crazy villainous lady Diana St. John. Literally this woman is nuts LOL it made the story even better. There was secrets and a few of surprises. There is lots and lots of dialogue throughout the entire book. Some very good dialogue too. This story is not full of filler nonsense either which is a plus for a 12 hour book.

As for the narration, well its Marian Hussey one of my very favorite narrators. She does a fantastic job on the men's voices and gives everyone their own distinct voice and has an excellent reading voice. She reads with emotion as called for too. Love listening to her narrations. She makes a story even better!

I actually got this book free back in November 2015 from amazon and 1.99 for the audible whispersync version so it was a super deal for sure!

Love triumphs over evil in a nail biting story

Much as I liked Jane & Salt's story, they were upstaged by the scenery chewing Lady Diana, a truly dreadful friend and mother. I hope she has another juicy role in Salt Redux. This was my second listen and I enjoyed the book much more. Perhaps it was my mood. Or maybe it was catching details I had missed the first time. Whatever the reason, I urge you to listen.

Wonderful story

Would you listen to Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance again? Why?

Yes, it was such a wonderful story about salt and jane

What was one of the most memorable moments of Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance?

When salt finally gain the truth about his cousin Diana

What about Marian Hussey’s performance did you like?

She did a wonderful job,, I hope when Ms brant next audible book come out she has Marian Hussey narrate them..,,

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

It didn't make me laugh or cry it just keep interested.. It was very well written and good story all the way to the end...

Any additional comments?

I truly looking forward to her next books on audible I enjoyed listen to salt bride so much on audio....

A GREAT salty story!

Let's just say this is a great love story with a crazy stalker 1700's style. A couple with a jaded history finds love again. Well worth the credit!!

Brilliant - romance, mystery, intrigue... superb!

What did you love best about Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance?

I think, the characters - they are so real I can see them. Not just that, but they have so full and interesting and I want to know them, I'm intrigued by them and when I'm away from my book I truly am thinking about getting back to them the quickest I can.

What other book might you compare Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance to and why?

I'm very biased as I adore anything written by Lucinda Brant so I highly recommend her other series, Alec Halsey Mysteries and the Roxton saga which is also a series in progress.

Which scene was your favorite?

That is too hard and by far there are too many. With the intrigue comes such satisfying conversations, revelations and interactions, truly perfect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh yes, the only thing that got in the way was real life. I did however drive to work slower, take the long way home and went to bed earlier, just so I could get back to my new world of treachery, love and intrigue.

Any additional comments?

Lucinda Brant is simply amazing. I cannot find the words to adequately describe her amazing skills. She breathes life into characters that I want to know, that I'm drawn to - the story is woven with such intricacies that the "Ah ha" moments when they come, have my admiration for her soaring as I see the almost transparent breadcrumb trail that has been left for the reader. I am happy to be led, and I will follow this amazing author anywhere she wants to take me. Thank you

Awesome!

Excellent book and narration - love romance goodies baddies and all manor of secondary figures! Can't recommend this book enough - definitely worth a credit!

great book read well

Where does Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my top books,

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jane, Lady Salt she is a strong and amazing woman

Have you listened to any of Marian Hussey’s other performances? How does this one compare?

no this is my first so nothing to compare it to

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the end always moves me when, Salt talks and explains what he has discovered.

Any additional comments?

I found that Marian Hussey's voices in the beginning of the book didn't match the characters she was reading but as she got in to the story and the different characters I found that the book started to come alive for me

4.5 For narration

I love this book and have read it s few times. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it BUT it's not 'Saint John' but 'Sinjin'. Definitely a keeper.

Waste of money

Totally vacuus. More bedroom than ballroom. Not for me. Why 15 words for a review

Disappointing!

This story started off so good then very soon became very bogged down with unnecessary words! Unfortunately more often than not I was pressing the fast forward button to try and get to the obvious point quicker. Also the narrators voice started to grate on me about half way through.