The Highland Duke

By: Amy Jarecki

Narrated by: Penelope Hardy, Alex Hyde-White

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

She'll put her life on the line for him....

When Akira Ayres finds the brawny Scot with a musket ball in his thigh, the healer has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to save his life. Even if it means fleeing with him across the Highlands to tend to his wounds while English redcoats are closing in. Though Akira is as fierce and brave as any of her clansmen, even she's intimidated by the fearsome, brutally handsome Highlander who refuses to reveal his name.

Yet she can never learn his true identity.

Geordie knows if Akira ever discovers he's the Duke of Gordon, both her life and his will be forfeit in a heartbeat. The only way to keep the lass safe is to ensure she's by his side day and night. But the longer he's with her, the harder it becomes to think of letting her go. Despite all their differences, despite the danger, he will face death itself to make her his.

©2017 Amy Jarecki (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"Readers will admire plucky Akira, who, despite her poverty, is fiercely independent and is determined to be no man's mistress. The romance is scintillating and moving, enhanced by fast-paced suspense." ( Publishers Weekly)

The Highland Duke

First, the cover entranced me so I bought the book. I can't put my finger on exactly why I find this cover so compelling, but I do. I have always loved Ms. Jarecki's books and never been disappointed by any of them. They are always very well written, with strong, well developed characters you can't help but get attached to. Penelope Hardy and Alex Hyde-White both gave 5 * performances for their wonderful rendition in their narration. Not only is this a Do not miss book, but a Do not miss audiobook as well. Excellent! 😀

Narration was disjointed

I can’t tell if the story was not well written or if the narration ruined the story. Having two people trade off each chapter was disjointed. The male narrator did not do a very good job of distinguishing between voices. Half the time I couldn’t tell who was talking until a couple of sentences in.
The storyline itself did not seem very sophisticated. However, that could’ve been because of the narrators as I said before. There were 3 or 4 sex scenes. All were pretty brief except the first one. Again the writing, (or narration) did not draw me in.

Fabulous, loved every word.

Any additional comments?

The Highland Duke
A Lord of the Highland Novel
By Amy Jarecki
Narrated by Penelope Hardy and Alex Hyde-White.


Setting: Hoodmore, Scotland
August, 1703. Near the village of Dunkeld, Scotland.

Historical Background:
"After Queen Anne had rejected the Scottish Parliament’s proposed Act of Security, the entire country was in an uproar—and ready to strike against the Government at last. Yes, he’d agreed to stand by his cousin and challenge the Government troops. The queen’s Act of Settlement was nothing but a sham, created to subvert the succession of the rightful Stuart line behind the guise of Protestantism."

"Death on the battlefield," scanning the dark meadow, healer Akira finds one man alive covered in brush. Moaning with pain from a musket shot to his thigh, Highland Duke George Gordon, Aka Jordie, is grateful Akira found him. Akira reluctantly agrees to remove the musket ball from Jordie's thigh. As Akira tends to his wound, she becomes very aware of this hot blooded highlander and the thoughts he provokes in her mind and soul.
There is nothing more powerful than your one true love.
But even that kind of love faces challenges.
Akira may be an excellent healer, but with gypsy blood running through her, Akira is a social outcast. Can a Duke, the very essence of high society, fall in love with an outcast of society?

Can Jordie, a Duke of Royal blood over look Akira's gypsy roots, accept and love her family, when the world has declared them nothing more than tinkers?
Travel through the majestic highlands and discover if love is powerful enough to overcome obstacles from every direction. Ms. Jarecki has a magical talent of blending non-fiction and fiction together in such a way, the reader learns more and more about Historical Scotland, while falling in love with her heroes and heroines. Weaving funny undertones and phrases such as beetle brain half wit, throughout the story, lending a lighthearted, playful touch here and there. But it doesn't take away the power of this story.Talk about a villain.... meet the self-centered, egotistical, Captain Weaver. He will definitely make you dislike him. I wanted to jump into the book and shoot him myself. Just another talent of Amy’s, to draw you into the story so deeply, you want to protect the hero and heroine yourself.
Ms. Jarecki has such a beautiful writing style. The reader cannot help but be mesmerized and feel like they are taking each step of the journey with these characters. This author also leaves us with heart stirring contemplation on how we ourselves live our lives.
I just loved everything about this story. A must read.

Narrating:
I really enjoyed listening to Penelope Hardy’s narration. She does a male character very well and puts great emotion into her performance of the story.

The story was good but...

The female narrator was good she did the characters with a Scottish accent ,then the male read his part in an English accent. He made it very hard to listen too. I also found the way he read it was kind of snotty.

Cinderella like

What did you like best about this story?

The Duke is a good man who uses his wealth and power to help the less fortunate. True love knows no class distinction.

Any additional comments?

The male audio reader sounded much too old for the Duke. This detracted from visualizing the 33 years old Geordie.

The Highland Duke

Didn’t like the narrators especially the man who narrated the author should really listen to the book before they release it had a hard time listening to it and finishing it but was on a road trip didn’t have anything else to listen to would not recommend this book

The Duke And The Gypsy

Akira was a gypsy and a healer. Healing was the only source of income for her, her three sisters and her mother. They were very poor and food was often scarce. When there were battles between the Clans or a Clan against the Redcoat English Dragoons Akira would go to the battlefield afterwards and doctor the wounded hoping to earn support. She would have done it without pay because she had a kind heart. On this particular day she found a wounded Scot pulled under some bushes hiding with a ball in his thigh. It was imperative he not be found by the English or he would forfeit his title, his money, his home and either be hanged it
or have his head cut off. He would not even tell who he was; just the nickname Geordie. She took the ball out there and went to purchase him a horse, but they left his personalized Whiskey Flask afterwards. He insisted she go with him since he was bleeding so bad and so weak and he had agreed to pay her a goodly sum for her service.
This was the beginning of an adventure running from an English Sergeant determined to capture them both to get a reward of lands and money. During this time she was surprised to find he was a good and kind man. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. This was a sweet love story with all the difficulties of a poor gypsy girl and a Duke from the English Aristocricy and the view of them by the world. She was a virgin and he was a former womanizer with a reputation. She was raised a good girl and held him to that until love overtook both of them.

really didn't like the narrartors

I hated the back and forth of 2 voices and felt the talking was rushed and not properly emphasized with proper tones so it was quite hard to enjoy the story. Also the man's voice was quite old and the main Male character was 33 so it sounded odd and didn't match up at all.
the story was good, but I'd prefer to read this book myself.

TERRIBLE NARRATION AND UNBELIEVABLE STORYLINE!!

What disappointed you about The Highland Duke?

The Male Narrator sounds to old to portray females voices and children voice he should have just done the male voice and even then his voice is that of an older Male. Neither narrators had sounded Scottish or English. The accents were just bad all round.

What was most disappointing about Amy Jarecki’s story?

That the Hero the Duke was divorced in 1703 and him and his wife had 2 children a boy/heir and a girl. Divorce would not have happen during this era of time especially in the Catholic Church with children involved would have made it impossible.

Would you be willing to try another one of Penelope Hardy’s performances?

Maybe Penelope Hardy but Not the male narrator Alex Hydewhite. there were two narrators for this story male Alex which was really bad and Female Penelope Hardy which was just OK

What character would you cut from The Highland Duke?

None

Any additional comments?

Audible Copy of The Highland Duke

The years is 1703. Which makes a lot of the story of the characters unbelievable for the time period.
Akira Ayres is a healer working on the battlefield at Hoord Moor helping wounded English solders and Scottish Jacobite Highlanders. She hears moans coming from the nearby forest and finds Geordie/George Gordon Duke of Gordon with a musket ball in his thigh. This begins a dash across the Scottish country side to get whom she only knows as Mr. Geordie to safety from the pursuing English Capt. Roderick Weaver and his troops.

The first problem I had was listening to the story on audio. The narration has a male and female narrator Alex Hydewhite and Penelope Hardy. The narrators take turns reading and enacting both the hero Geordie and Akira. If would have been better if Penelope had narrated Akira and the other female characters and Alex narrating the male characters. Alex was just awful his voice was to old and he didn't do the female narration well at all. Switching back in forth the characters became confusing the voice between Penelope and Alex narrating the same characters didn't work. Neither of them had a Scottish Brogue and I am not even sure they had and English Accent for those roles. The Narration was Just Bad.

Now on to the story Not being believable. Geordie is a Duke in Catholic Country Scotland and his wife has "Divorced"him but she won't give up the title Duchess and has chosen to live in a Convent. OK this is 1703 and not even 1903. They have two Children together Alex age 11 and Jane age 7. You Can't just get a divorce in 1703 LISTEN TO ME!! IT ANIT GONNA HAPPEN!! This took the story off the rails. This is totally unbelievable. Even today it is hard for Catholics to divorce, it takes some kind of dispensation from the Pope. Henry VIII learned that lesson the hard way. He separated his country England from the Catholic Church and started his own Church "The Church of England" because they wouldn't let him divorce Katherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boylen. I don't ask much when reading Historical Romances but this whole premise is a bridge too far for me. The ending Gypsy Marriage would not be excepted anywhere as being binding and legal. So to me Akira was not his wife but his leman or Mistress. I guess they had there HEA how Unbelievable it was!! I did like all the characters so 2 stars instead of 1 star review!!






Reading Progress

great story

this was the best story I have read in awhile. I absolutely loved it!!