• The Countess

  • By: Lynsay Sands
  • Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
  • Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (904 ratings)

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The Countess  By  cover art

The Countess

By: Lynsay Sands
Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
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Publisher's summary

The fairy tale courtship did not turn into a happily-ever-after....

Not until her husband dropped dead, that is. He had been horrible enough to Christiana during their short marriage, and she was not going to allow the traditional period of mourning to ruin her sisters' debuts as well. So she decides to put him on ice and go on as if nothing's happened....

Until the real earl appears. Richard Fairgrave had every intention of confronting his villainous twin who had robbed him of his name and title - only to discover that he had died. Quietly assuming his identity, Richard must now deal with a maddening desire for his ravishing inherited "wife" - certainly a gold digger and possibly a murderess. And Christiana must deal with an unwanted new "husband"... and they both must figure out what to do before the ice melts!

©2011 Lynsay Sands (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Countess

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining!

I'm with the majority on this book....I thought it was funny and entertaining. It was romantic with just enough silly humor to keep me smiling. It is a good escape when you need some silly in your life. I realize everyone has a different sense of humor but if you enjoy silly romantic fun then you will enjoy this! If you enjoy only serious romances all the time then you probably need a good laugh. Try laughing sometime its good for you!!

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26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

I guess humor like many things is all relative. I thought this book was hilarious, verging on slapstick. I could just imagine the shenanigans in my mind. It is farfetched and silly, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you take everything literally, maybe this isn???t your cup of tea, but if you want escapism and some laughs this is it.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Screwball comedy will make you laugh out loud!

What other book might you compare The Countess to and why?

So far, The Countess has no comparison. I did not expect a historical romance to be so laugh-out-loud funny. I have never had that experience before. I hope to find other books like it.

What about Sarah Coomes’s performance did you like?

Sarah Coomes is like the William Shatner of historical romance narration. Her pacing tends to the over-dramatic, with oddly-timed, suspenseful pauses in her phrasing. She was perfect for this book! So much of the humor was in the delivery, and Sarah Coomes was spot on.

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

I laughed so many times, which was wholly unexpected. Even laughed on a second listen. I snorted and guffawed enough that my husband couldn't believe I was actually listening to a historical romance. He thought I must have chosen a new genre. Now he wants to listen to this book too!

Any additional comments?

I never expected a screwball comedy in a historical romance novel. It was such a pleasant surprise! No matter how the characters were described, in my mind all I could see was Cary Grant and Claudette Colbert. This was a delightfully funny, farcical romp that was well worth the credit. Excellent work, Lynsay Sands!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

DON'T DO IT - I COULDN'T LISTEN TO IT !!

I am only on chapter 4 and I'm already thinking of stopping it and writing it off as a bad buy. I know some reviews have loved this as a slapstick book but I thought it would have been a romance book as other Lyndsay Sands books have been and which I have loved, but this is just painful.

If you want a silly, stupid and farcical book then buy this but I'm off to listen to something else..

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Laugh out Loud Funny Romance

Would you listen to The Countess again? Why?

Yes, I will almost certainly be listening to this one again. It is so funny and entertaining. When I sought out this book it was just the perfect comedic touch I needed on a rough day.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Get your daily dose of laughs.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good but could have been better

This book was just an ok read for me. It was very intriguing at the beginning with a suspenseful crime, a disheartened heroine with good supporting characters and a plot that would seem promising. However as the reading progressed the plot became a bit farfetched. The story had some funny episodes to it, but then the comedy became a bit more ridiculous by the minute; parading a dead corpse wrapped in a rug and then hidden in a trunk to then almost having intimacies above said dead corpse is a bit disturbing and bit too low calloused for me. The hero seemed a bit "wishy-washy" when he didn't seem to make any obvious decisions on his own and relies a bit too heavily on his supporting characters. The secondary and plot villains were obvious and nothing was left to the imagination; just another "the servants blackmailing their masters and the butler did it story." Finally, the heroine found herself being married off due to her father's alleged gambling losses and towards the end of the book we have the heroine's father showing up to come to the rescue with an uncaring attitude to the consequences. Well, if only said father felt that way in the first place, then the daughter wouldn't have had to marry the evil twin and that would be the end of it. With all out fairness, I did not fathom why the author would bring about this sudden change and impact of courage onto the heroine's father so late into the book; it really was totally unnecessary to even bring him into the list of characters and should have left him in the background of the story. With this being said, the premise of the plot was completely shot resulting in a total demising ending to the story.

Although the hero and heroine didn't seem to match much, other than in the bedroom, their relationship came out as being a very respectful one that would lead you to conclude that it could succeed in the end. But the hero does come out as being too complacent in everything with his "wife" and the wife is caught comparing her hero too much to his evil twin brother. As usual, the "I Love You's" come out a bit late in the storyline and somehow authors use it as the basis for their prelude to a successful and winning romance.

Other than a catchy first couple of chapters and good romping, this book is just average. I hope that the sequel to this novel (The Heiress) redeems the first one and that its storyline can stand out on its own. The first positive that I can give the sequel is that its heroine is my namesake.
Sarah Coombs was good with the delivery of the story

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Funny. Reminded me of "Weekend at Bernie's"

Silly but enjoyable just the same. Nasty husband dies. Heroine and her sisters try to cover it up so they won't have to go into mourning because the sisters need to marry rich husbands quickly to pay off father's gaming debts. Identical twin brother who is the real earl shows up although he's supposed to be dead. The dead body gets moved around. Fun listen.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Countess most enjoyable

Would you listen to The Countess again? Why?

Probably. Very entertaining.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Countess?

When Richard showed up at the ball.

Which scene was your favorite?

Love scene with Dickie's body in the bed.

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

At first, the narrator was a bit of a distraction with a strong accent, but I changed my mind and found her to be a delightful reader. I enjoyed her very much....she was especially great with her change of voice for each character.

Any additional comments?

Some parts I found quite "steamy". Loved it. Kept my mind off of my everyday worries.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Regency Weekend at Bernie's

Would you listen to The Countess again? Why?

Yes especially if i need a good laugh.

What other book might you compare The Countess to and why?

The Deed by Lynday Sands.

What about Sarah Coomes’s performance did you like?

I love Sarah Coomes. I know she always gets mixed reviews, but I have always enjoyed anything she narrates

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

I was laughing out loud at the scenes where certain characters are trying to move the dead body of an unkind Earl that nobody wants discovered (especially his wife, because if people know he is dead,, she would have to go into mourning, and could not be a sponsor for her sister who is looking for a husband)

Any additional comments?

Not your typical historical romance, but sometimes it's good not to be typical.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Soo Funny

I loved it. The premise doesn't indicate it will be a comedy but boy howdy it was. I laughed and enjoyed the story beginning to end. Definitely worth the time.

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  • Rachel Reads
  • 03-30-20

hilarious

one of the funniest tongue in cheek period romances I've listened to.
very enjoyable - loved it

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  • Brookestar
  • 09-09-20

I Couldn't finish this book, it was akin

This is not the usual LS storyline folks, I found this one to be full of immature nitwit females and doltish males.
I think the narrator tried just a little too hard and overcompensated in what I found to be screeching tones... If I heard the name 'Dicky' in that juvenile high-pitched tone of voice one more time, I feel I would have drop-kicked my earbuds off the local jetty. I don't think the sex scenes were meant to be so cringe-worthy with the narrator getting louder and louder as she read on, but that is how I found it to be. (i am sure she was having a bad day with the text she was narrating, and heck, I can only imagine that narrating is not as easy as one would think!)
I get that the storyline was meant to be amusing, but it just got more and more ridiculous in my humble opinion. I understand that quite a few people really enjoyed it, so apologies if I have offended anyone who did. :oD
As a writer, Lynsay Sand's work is amazing with really amusing storylines that I have enjoyed and laughed out loud with, and I have huge amounts of her work both written and audio, so this story has come as a real shock

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