Scheming with My Duke

Linked Across Time, Book 9

By: Dawn Brower

Narrated by: J K Mannion

Length: 2 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

Serenity Drake went back in time for altruistic reasons. Her sister Peyton was dying and she needed her other sister to go back to save her life. Along the way she didn’t expect to find the one man she couldn’t resist.  

Brandon Bennet, the Duke of Branterberry, has a young son to care for. He has no room for Serenity in his life, but needs her help after she convinces his son’s governess to leave his employ. She takes on the duties with a flourish all her own. Brandon finds her difficult to resist, but has no wish to marry again. His first marriage left little to be desired.  

As a spymaster, Brandon has more than Serenity and his family to contend with. With the fate of his country at stake he must make a difficult decision: Does he give in to his attraction or abandon Serenity for the good of England?

©2017 Dawn Brower (P)2018 Dawn Brower

The perfect adventure.

Serenity has a beautiful heart, but a mischievous spirit.  What began as an act of love between two sisters, opens her eyes to a world of trouble.  To save a life, Serenity will risk her own well being and end up finding a love that could last a lifetime. Part fantasy, part romance, part intrigue, Scheming with My Duke is all heart. Dawn Brower provides the perfect adventure for a wandering heart and a shrewd mind.

Scheming Minx

I have listened to several books by this author and have enjoyed them. I found this story to be original and yet a standalone listen. Some of the characters were endearing while others were not. I found the Duke (Brandon) to be standoffish, probably based on his rank and previous marriage. Serenity came across a bit bold to me, and not exactly Mary Poppins style nanny material. She was wonderful with his son though. I enjoyed their journey, and would listen to more books by Dawn Bower and JK Mannion. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review.

not too bad enoyed this one

Serenity is from the future and has gone back in time to help a friend/sister. She becomes a governess For a duke, Brandon, and his young son. Brandon knows Serenity is from the future..he is attracted to her, but always believed he had no feelings.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Scheming with My Duke

I absolutely love this series each book can be read as a stand-alone but it’s so much more fun doing the whole series! Serenity is determined to help the Duke but in his time women don’t do certain things. Although he’s more open to some things, more so than others in his time. Her knowledge of the future and special abilities give him a better than average chance but he just needs to learn to rely on her and for a spymaster that’s no easy task! Great short story it really pulls you in and is a quick easy listen.

Scheming with My Duke

This is a decent romance novel with a time travel aspect. I do enjoy hearing stories of strong willed 21st century women finding themselves in a very different 18th century. Serenity’s story did not disappoint. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Good read and excellent narration..

So, this was a cute story added to the Linked Across Time series. It was about Serenity, who could read auras, at her Duke, Brandon. There wasn’t much story to this one except for the amount of sexual attraction that almost ate them alive. Brandon fought it with all his might because he was the King’s SpyMaster and he thought if he let himself love Serenity he’d become terrible at his job because he’d always be thinking of her. And she fought it because she knew it wasn’t the right time for him yet. But, oh boy, how they wanted each other. They were also headed to a place in Manchester where Serenity knew there was going to be a massacre, at St. Peter’s field. Serenity knew about it, but she couldn’t tell Brandon for fear of changing history. Anyway, there was some good explicit sex in this story and the F-bomb was used 3 times. As to the narration: J K Mannion was wonderful. His women’s voices need a little help but I absolutely do prefer good male narrators to crappy female ones. As I continue to say, there’s nothing worse than trying to listen to a book where the hero, and every other man, sound just like women. At least the male narrators try to sound feminine. 95% of the female narrators don’t even try to sound masculine.

The Hazards of Time Travel

Many times book series are only loosely linked. This one is clearly following a larger arc of interrelated characters, although everything pertinent to the existing tale is explained as it comes up. For a modern, 21st century woman, the restrictions of the 19th century would be onerous. Not just the manners and mores but the clothing! Narrator JK Mannion does a marvelous job vocalizing the various characters and moving the action along and a number of philosophical points were raised which are central to the concept of time travel and its potential consequences.

Nice Romance

In listening to this audio, which the narration was great, I had read that even tho it was part of a series, it was a good stand alone book.. Unfortunately, I didn't find it as such. I wish I had listened to the others in a series. That said, as a romance, it was a good love story, and nice to see an 18th century man falls for a 21st century strong willed woman. I love time travel stories as well as strong female parts. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Good, but need the other stories first

I enjoyed this time travel romance, but I really felt like I needed the preceding stories first. This was my first Linked Across Time story, and I felt dropped into the middle of a story with no background for the characters, the ladies' special gifts, or how they got to this point. It's a fun love story, but I think you need to start at the beginning of the series to enjoy this one fully. I loved the hero, but I found the heroine a little annoying. Still, enjoyable overall. The narration is great. well delivered, and well paced. I love J K Mannion's voice! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A great addtion to this series, wonderful twists

This takes up where the last book in this series left off with Serenity staying behind to take care of Brandon son. Serenity is scared for Brandon who she has fallen for as history plays out things can’t be changed or it might change things as they are today. There is a fine line as to what Serenity can and can’t do as well as say. Brandon wants all the information since he doesn’t know the outcome he feels he might be able to help things go his way. Serenity will not give that information, but she will do everything in her power to keep him safe. This was really a great read with wonderful characters, you can fell the passion these two are fighting against as well as the tension to history and how that plays out. Serenity is a great lady knowing when to stop and when to push. Brandon spends most of his time fighting the feeling he has for her. Never would he have thought he would love until the day he saw his son and now with this wild wonderful woman he has found life will never be the same. I really liked this narrator he has a voice you never get tired of listening to. He brings a lot to this audio making you see the pictures of each scene in your mind giving you a truly delightful audio experience. His character voices both male and female are a delight, you always know who is talking and what they are feeling. There are no repeating of words, no background, no volume changes and if any breaks were taken I could not tell. He gives the correct amount of pause before going on to let you feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. I just love his normal voice it is a voice I never get tired of. His performance is outstanding and really being this audio to life. This is a wonderful addition to this series letting you see how history could be affected if something is changed. Brandon’s son is a delightful ball of energy that I just adored. This was such a fun listen that I got lost in and had to find out the outcome, it was one I couldn’t put down and listened until the end. The plot is great I just love time travel and how it all works out. I enjoyed the twists and turns, the teasing and picking as well as the passion. I am so looking forward to the next book in this series.

Worth a listen

Serenity Drake's a great character and the narration is fantastic and really works for this book. I'd highly recommend it.