The Duke's Brother: A Regency Romance

The Regency Black Hearts Collection, Book 2

By: Claudia Stone

Narrated by: Virginia Ferguson

Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

Can a Duke's bastard win the heart of a lady? 

Plucked as an orphan from the slums of St. Giles' by his half-brother, the Duke of Blackmore, Sebastian Black soon rises to become one of the richest men in London, and a notorious rake to boot. His time at Eton has left him with a healthy disregard for the aristocracy - that is until he inadvertently becomes involved in the affairs of the prim, proper, and snooty Aurelia St Claire.  

Aurelia's brother, Lord Theodore Epsom, was reported missing after Waterloo, but she is convinced that she has sighted him alive and well in London. The pair join forces to try to discover exactly what happened to Theo. And as their sleuthing takes them into London's murky back alleys, they discover that they aren’t so different after all.  

Can two people overcome their prejudices, their foibles - or even their very history - to find love?  

This clean Regency Romance is by the author of Proposing to a Duke, the first novel in The Regency Black Hearts Collection. It can be read as a stand-alone novel or enjoyed as part of a series.  

©2017 Claudia Stone (P)2018 Claudia Stone

Light

Similar to the first one in the series, this book is light and “clean”. Like its predecessor it is useful if you don’t want to be kept up finishing a much longer book but it is a bit frothy. The characters are pretty likable. I wouldn’t spend a credit because I don’t like spending credits on short books (I feel like they should be half credits) but certainly charming quick listen on audible escape. Predictable HEA. Somehow the hero is quite likable. I think it was nice to have have another haughty duke or marquis. There is also a bit of intrigue, which is nice.

Terrible Narrative

I couldn’t wait to finish listening. It not enjoyable to listen.The narrator is one of the worst I have listened to. I definitely will avoid a book,with this narrator. You better off let Alexa do the reading.

Looking for answers and finding love:)

The second book in The Regency Black Series is as charming and entertaining as the first one.
Aurelia believes she's seen her brother, reported missing after the battle of Waterloo, but when she mentions it to her uncle, she is accused of insanity... Sebastian, a bastard son of a duke, thinks most aristocrats are not worh a shilling - until he meets Aurelia and decides to get to the bottom of what's been happening to her...
Both will unexpectedly find love while searching for the truth,,,

It's a nicely-paced story, with memorable, likeable characters, with a little bit of humour in it, and with a proper happy ending. As the book is set in a circle of close friends and family, we meet characters both from the previous book and those that we will probably meet again soon in the next one - and it makes us feel a part of this quite amiable, cordial crowd.
In general, it's the type of romance that leaves you satisfied and uplifted.

Narration by Ms Ferguson is really good, though a bit slow for my taste. But she does voices well, especially the female ones, and I like the way she acts out dialogues. I really liked her interpretation.

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

Just ehh.

I liked the first book in this series, but I found this one to be a bit cliche, and almost forced...and I was not a fan of the narrator

Good Feel Good Story

I got this story via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. So many of the stories of the child born on the wrong side of the blanket are tragic. This was a good one where the brother discovered he had a half-brother and did the right thing and took him in and took care of him. The story did not end there, The Duke and his brother have a great life and soon both are rich. Want to know what happens next? Grab a copy and listen you will enjoy it. The narrator was good.

Great Story!

I so enjoyed this clean Regency Romance. The author did an awesome job building the characters, writing a touch of mystery and other crimes along with vivid descriptions and details. The narrator did a good job with giving the characters distinguished voices. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. This book is a standalone listen, and is part of a series. I will definitely listen to more books by Claudia Stone and Virginia Ferguson.

Enjoyed this title

I love Regency romance with mystery and this book fitted the bill perfectly.
I loved how the story started with a glimpse into Sebastian's childhood. I could see his motivations for the paths he took in life.
The romance was nice. It had a little bit of humour which I enjoyed and I loved the story of the missing brother.
All in all a lively and intriguing Regency Romance and a series that I will follow.

The narration was just OK for me. I heard a lot of words mispronounced and the narrator's pace was a little bit slow for me.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader's copy at my own request.

Clean historical romance with a mystery.

I love this book!!

I must admit that I thought there might be some sexual content due to the cover but that is deceptive. But I liked the blurb so I thought I would give it a go and I am so glad that I did!

This is a historical romance with just the same amount of mystery. This is the second book in the series, which I did not realise since I have not read/listened to the first book in the series. However, I did not feel that I was missing anything, so it could be read as a stand alone.
I will look up the authors other books.

I would highly recommend to all!!!

how I love it

while I loved the story very much the couple was fantastic and very intense yes the story started a little bit slow I wouldn't call it Slow Burn but it was a little bit slow in the beginning though the story developed very nicely and fast afterwards I loved the story very much it seriously and very good written book and very enjoyable one the narrator did an amazing job I loved very much that performance lovely
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I loved, loved, loved, loved this book!!!!!

First off, I tip my imaginary hat to the narrator. This was an excellent, excellent presentation. Ferguson delivered on the Regency period, for both men and women, and from start to finish, her efforts are to be applauded.

The story itself started off slow and built to to a rather nice crescendo. You knew there would be a HEA, since that's the hallmark of Regency romances. Still, the story with all of its wonderful characters, both friend and foe, made for a delicious listen.

The Duke's brother and his love were fated from the start. The rather inventive way they met along with their separate backstory's made me root for them right away. They were both strong and capable and fiercely loyal but cautious. It was fun watching them find each other.

This story, coupled with such great narration, made for an absolutely wonderful listen.

Not quite your typical Regency romance...

This book isn't quite what you expect. It has your tall, dark and handsome, successful son of a Duke (even if he is illegitimate), your damsel in distress, the villains with nefarious intentions, the greedy relatives, and the eccentric character. However, the story isn't quite as simple as it seems. For instance, the most prejudiced and snobbish character is not an aristocrat, the hero of the hour is not the aforementioned Duke's son, and the potentially shelved spinsters aren't falling all over themselves to find husbands. The characters are quirky and imperfect which makes the story more enjoyable.

While it is obvious that the two main characters feel an attraction and the HEA appears inevitable, the reader must traverse a few unexpected turns along the way. The result is a clean, charming Recency romance that is slightly off the beaten path.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.