The Lady by His Side

The Devil’s Brood Trilogy, Book 1

By: Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by: Matthew Brenher

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Sebastian Cynster knows time is running out. If he doesn't choose a wife soon, his female relatives will line up to assist him. Yet the current debutantes do not appeal. Where is he to find the right lady to be his marchioness? Then Drake Varisey, eldest son of the Duke of Wolverstone, asks for Sebastian's aid.

Having assumed his father's mantle in protecting queen and country, Drake must go to Ireland in pursuit of a dangerous plot. But he's received an urgent missive from Lord Ennis, an Irish peer - Ennis has heard something Drake needs to know and insists Drake attend an upcoming house party at his Kent estate so he can reveal his information face-to-face.

Sebastian has assisted Drake before and, long ago, had a liaison with Lady Ennis. Drake insists Sebastian is just the man to be his surrogate at the house party - the guests will imagine all manner of possibilities and be blind to Sebastian's true purpose.

Unsurprisingly, Sebastian is reluctant, but Drake's need is real. And with only more debutantes on his horizon, Sebastian allows himself to be persuaded.

His first task is to inveigle Antonia Rawlings, a lady he has known all her life, to include him as her escort to the house party. Although he's seen little of Antonia in recent years, Sebastian is confident of gaining her support.

Eldest daughter of the Earl of Chillingworth, Antonia has abandoned the search for a husband and plans to use the week of the house party to decide what to do with her life. There has to be some purpose, some role, she can claim for her own.

Consequently, on hearing Sebastian's request and an explanation of what lies behind it, she seizes on the call to action. Suppressing her senses' idiotic reaction to Sebastian's nearness, she agrees to be his partner in intrigue.

But while joining the house party proves easy, the gathering is thrown into chaos when Lord Ennis is murdered - just before he was to speak with Sebastian. Worse, Ennis's last words, gasped to Sebastian, are "Gunpowder. Here."

Gunpowder? And here? Where?

With a killer continuing to stalk the halls, side by side Sebastian and Antonia search for answers, and all the while the childhood connection that has always existed between them strengthens and blooms into something so much more.

©2017 Stephanie Laurens (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

boring

Way too slow, and the narrator has an annoying voice. i fell asleep in chapter 1.

Performance disappointing

Found the performance tedious. Also far too much time devoted to the physical attraction between the central characters that would have been better spent moving the plot along.

Droning narration was no friend to this book

In my opinion this was not one of Ms. Lauren’s best. It was in need of editing and went on and on - not helped by the drone of narration

Book is excellent, but better narrator needed.

I really liked this book, and I would haven't hesitated to give it 5 stars if the narrator had been better. There were several mispronounced words as well as some obvious word omissions that were rather glaring to me.

My biggest issue was the "voice" used for one of the characters. While it was only used in the first and last parts of the books, it was EXTREMELY jarring to me-- pulled me out of the story to roll my eyes and mutter imprecations while trying to force myself to listen because what the character had to say was important to the story.

Wouldn't spend the credit

Any additional comments?

I usually love Stephanie Laurens but this book was not one that I enjoyed. While I love a double plot of romance and mystery there is really no romance in this one and the mystery just didn't keep my attention. I would look elsewhere if you are wanting a good romantic escape.

Not a. Reader by its side

Adisappointiment. Not worthy of the Cynster clan. Narrator no cadence or warmth.or youth in his voice

Well written and read.

I loved the book but I wished part of the story didn't end yet. I will get the next 2 in this series to answer my questions.

couldn't listen to the narrator after 2 minutes

The narrator completely ruined the experience for me. even on faster speed I couldn't enjoy the story enough to listen

S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, it was not time well spent. I was easily distracted and forgot to pay attention due to the narrator. Minutes would go by and I would miss how we got to the next chapter.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the story, the character development and the underlying mystery. It was a nice change of pace for a traditional historical romance. It will be fun to see the adventures unfold with this next generation of Cynsters.

What didn’t you like about Matthew Brenher’s performance?

I'm sure he is a very nice man and the timber of his voice is beautiful. JUST NOT FOR A HISTORICAL ROMANCE!! He would be great for a text book. Or a non-fiction book about the government. His voice did not inflect one iota of emotion as the story unfolded. There was no excitement, no passion. Just monotone. His female voices were H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E they all sounded like drag queens. His male voices were great but there was absolutely no emotion behind them. I listen to audiobooks while cycling, working out and knitting and was so easily distracted because he did not keep me engaged. I have listed to hundreds of audiobooks and this was absolutely one of the toughest narrations I've ever suffered through. I'm so sorry Mr. Brenher to be so hard on you. Your voice is beautiful but just not for this genre!

What would have made this romance irresistible?

A different narrator. And actually reading it on my own.

Any additional comments?

I love Stephanie Laurens and enjoyed all the Cynster novels so am looking forward to the adventures of the next round of Cynster kids. Any chance you can get Simon Prebble back? No one can read a passionate love scene like Simon. I use "conflagration" in a sentance when possible and that I owe to Simon lol ;)

This book breaks my heart!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the actual book, I would never recommend the audiobook as it ruins the story. When Simon Prebble retired I was so sad because no one can touch his narration of a Stephanie Laurens novel. I saw in interviews and newsletters that she was excited that the recording company had found a new narrator. I didn't like the first couple of times he narrated her books, but I love her writing so much, especially this series: I kept buying them. I can't take it anymore. Matthew Brenher cannot read a book of this genre. He may be brilliant in others but not for these books. He needs to feel the story more himself and not worry about enunciating the preciseness of the "Queen's English" that he is so obsessed with. He is a reader, not an actor or a narrator. It just makes me shudder with pain at how poorly these books are read to me. I wanted so much more.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tied between Sebastion and Antonia. Who wouldn't love them both, look at the history their father's had: LOL. These are exactly the children I would have expected to see sired by Devil and Chillingworth.

What didn’t you like about Matthew Brenher’s performance?

He's too technical a reader with a complete lack of passion or feeling. He focuses more on expressing every syllable with no passion. There is no excitement during this book. It's stale.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Simon Prebble or someone such as Patrick Lawlor. If you are going to perform a book, then do it; perform it!

Any additional comments?

I have never before listened to a book without having read it, I am now sorry I did. The book - which I was tapping my toes waiting for, left me feeling cold. I hate that, because this is one of my 3 all time favorite series!