The Duke's Bride in Disguise

Fairfax Twins, Book 1

By: Claudia Stone

Narrated by: Duke Defoix, Duchess DeFoix

Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

When poor orphan Ava Smith comes face-to-face with a girl who looks exactly like her, she is certain she has seen a ghost! But Lady Emily Fairfax is no ghost and is sure that she and Ava must be long-lost twins. Despite her better judgement, Ava allows Emily to convince her to swap lives for a month in order for Ava to scupper Emily’s engagement to a cold-hearted brute of a man. 

Imagine Ava’s surprise when Emily’s betrothed turns out to be none other than her unrequited crush, the duke of Kilbride! 

Raff Alexander Hamilton, the sixth duke of Kilbride, knows that he must do his duty to the line by marrying and procuring an heir. Love was never in the equation in his search for a bride. All that he required was a lady who was well-bred, quiet, and biddable - and he thought he had found just what he was looking for in Lady Emily Fairfax. 

Imagine his surprise, when overnight, his betrothed goes from meek and compliant to outspoken, alluring, and decidedly unimpressed with him. 

As Raff battles to woo his bride-to-be, Ava must navigate the sumptuous world of Regency London while trying desperately not to fall in love - no matter how much her heart wants it.

©2018 Claudia Stone (P)2020 Claudia Stone

Beautiful Regency Romance!

This is the first book in the Fairfax Twins Series, a clean Regency Romance. This story is beautifully written, fun, emotional, and romantic! I loved to follow Ava and Raff in their journey. Ava is lovely, naive, caring and supportive. Raff, the sixth duke of Kilbride, is a complex and handsome character, understanding and caring. They are perfect together. The storyline is intriguing and captivating, filled with secrets, and lies. I loved Emily, Ava's twin sister, and their father. The secondary characters are great and intriguing. Looking forward to listen to the next installment in the Series, The Duke's Governess in Disguise, Emily's story. Duke and Duchess DeFoix did an amazing job with the narration. I love their voices together. I enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it.

Awesome!

I though the narrators did a fantastic job, and I loved having both the male and female voices. The story was cute and romantic.

Love finds its way to every heart...

It's another book by Ms Stone I've listened to and it's another win... :) It's a sweet romance, with characters that you immediately fall in love with, a plot that contains a few surprises, and a solution that is really satisfacory... :) Even though the main idea of the two sisters swapping places seems unrealistic - well, you can't really believe a girl who has been brought up in an orphanage and only got her education from a scholarly bachelor could pretend to be a lady of the Ton without being immediately recognized as an impostor (especially by that lady's family) - the whole story is so wonderfully told that you gladly forget about that improbability and just happily follow Ava in her quest for discovering who she really is and observe the development of mutual love between her and her Duke. The character of Raff Alexander Hamilton, the sixth duke of Kilbride, is equally loveable - a duke who doesn't really want to be a duke, but believes in responsibility and honour while carrying a secret that burdens his life and who finds a true soulmate in Ava... It really is a sweet and beautiful love story...:) Narration by Duke and Duchess DeFoix is as usual wonderful; they read male and female parts respectively, giving all the characters well-matched, distinctive voices and making an already entertaining book even more unputdownable. The best recommendation? I listened to it in one sitting, finishing it late at night...:) DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This is a very complicated Regency Romance

To appease his Marchioness, for her desire for a girl, her husband was willing to take in an unknown child as his, due to dire nature of his wife's condition. However, the father was unaware that the child obtained was a twin, her sister thus left to be raised in poverty, whilst the purloined babe was raised as part of Society. This then is the story of what occurs when the two girls, at the age of twenty, encounter each other and their resultant pact.

Sweet Romance

It's been a while since I've listened to Regency historical romance, and have to say, The Duke's Bride in Disguise was quite entertaining and enjoyable. The story is wonderfully-written, well-paced, and sweet with charming and delightful characters. The narration is outstanding. Duke Defoix and Duchess DeFoix, emulated the characters personalities perfectly, bringing them to life. Overall, this was fabulous to listen, and I recommend this audiobook to fans of the genre. I received a promotional copy of the audiobook, and my unbiased review is voluntarily given.

A Great Listen

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, and have voluntarily left this review. I don't usually read this type of book, but I found it very enjoyable. Twins separated at birth, one rich, the other poor are reunited and switch lives for a month. Eva has a goal though, her new found sister is engaged to a duke, and she doesn't want to marry him. It's Eva's job to break off the engagement, but she gets side tracked looking for her parents. Of course this gets her into situations not becoming of a future duchess and her "Duke" keeps rescuing her. Between the well written characters, the fast moving plot and the narration that brings it you life, you'll keep listening longer than you intended. Once your finished you'll be looking for the next book in the series.

great story

This was a great story. The kept my attention and was very funny. Well worth the credit and I can't wait to hear Lady Emily's story.

Cute, clean romance

I absolutely loved this! This was so wholesome. I found myself smiling at nothing while I listened to this, even going as far as chuckling out loud. It's been a while since I've listened to a book that makes me stop what I'm doing and send a voice message to a friend saying "Honey, I think you need this book". Is it unrealistic? Yes. Is it enjoyable? A hundred times yes. I didn't have any problem suspending my belief for this book, though, since I don't look for extremely realistic fiction. I can see how this could maybe hold some people back, but trust me, it's worth it! Ava was a delightful character. I liked seeing the world from her eyes and seeing how she fell slowly but strongly in love with Raff. The Duke had an amazing character development, better than what I expected, if I'm honest. Plot-wise, I think the moments when some characters learn the truth about the twins needed a little more shock factor, but the protagonists are SO good and I'd grown to like them so much that it didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the story. It's the first audiobook I listen that has the man doing all the male voices and the woman doing all the female voices. It brings a completely different feel to the narration and it doubled my enjoyment of the book. Both narrators have great ranges and I'm dying to read more books narrated by them. Actually, I liked this book and narration so much that I already jumped ahead and bought a box set written by this author and narrated by these voice actors. Can't wait for Book 2! I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.

A lovely period romance

The Duke’s Bride in Disguise is a lovely period romance about a pair of twins separated at birth who decide to switch places (like the Prince and the Pauper). This is Eva’s story, and I truly enjoyed getting to know her and the rest of the cast of interesting characters. This is a clean romance. The narrator of the book is well suited to the story and does a terrific job with it. I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Twins Girls, Switched Babies, Unexpected Love

What a fun, romantic and entertaining story of a husband who loves his wife so much he deceives her to protect her. This act of loving deceit results in twin girls having separate and very different lives until they meet by accident. Switching places results in unexpected results as we learn what happens to twin number one...but number two? Well we get a hint in this book but I can’t wait to hear her side of her story. Incredible voices give our characters life and emotion,drawing me into the story and not wanting to put it down. Well worth the entertainment value...got to love historical romance!

loved this book

this was my first Claudia Stone book and I thoroughly. the Duke and Duchess DeFoix where very good narrators. off to listen to the next book

The Duke's Bride in disguise

This is not the authors best book but it was still a good listen. Loved the narrators they brought out story. Would highly recommend to those who love clean historical romance.

Sweet and Romantic!

Really, there is nothing unique about the formula that forms the backbone of this story. Twins separated at birth, bump into each other and choose to exchange places. Ava Smith is to be a governess and Lady Emily Fairfax is the daughter of an aristocrat and due to marry a Duke. All that is set in the romance of the Regency period when society is at the start of reforms in child labour and so forth. What sets this story apart is the sweetness of the story. There is so much love in the Fairfax household. A love that Ava had been craving all her life. Ava has the benefit of an unusual education that allows her to fit into her to role, for the most part, and life experience helps her fill in the rest. As for the marriage to the Duke, Ava's only job is to break the engagement that Emily does not want. Only, the Duke and Ava connect and she must reject him, on principle, as he does not know who she really is. What a muddle! The characters are perfectly flawed. The Duke has PTSD from his time in the war and Ava struggles with her identity. Despite all the challenges, their love had so much potential as they have the capacity to heal each other's pain. I enjoyed this audiobook for what it was, a sweet, Regency romance. The Duchess and Duke DeFoix are able to seamlessly narrate the book together. They make a good team and perfect fit for this genre. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Charming

A really sweet and entertaining listen. The story is completely improbable but it's such a charming tale I didnt care. The duke and Ava made a lovely couple and I cant wait to read Emily's story in the next book. I voluntarily reviewed a review copy.