The Lady's Guide to Tempting a Transylvanian Count

The Lady's Guide, Book 6

De: Emmanuelle de Maupassant

Narrado por: Gareth J. Davies

Why would a man abandon his bride following a single night of passion?

Five years after her heartbreak and humiliation, Sofia is determined to find out—and to claim her rightful place by his side, even if it means travelling to the wild mountains of Carpathia to make her home in a decrepit castle.

Cursed by his bloodline, Constantin was a fool to believe marriage to Sofia would save him.

Now, the one woman he has always loved is in danger, for Castle Roznov’s dark secrets are about to be revealed.

©2022 Emmanuelle de Maupassant (P)2022 Emmanuelle de Maupassant

this was a great narration

It's been five years since Sofia's new husband humilated her by leaving the morning after their wedding night. Now that her father has passed away, Sofia has no one else and is determined to find her estranged husband and take the place she deserves, at his side, even if that means living in a crumbling castle in the Carpathian mountains. In the company of the new Count Roznovatu's exceedingly odd family, Sofia is ever hopeful that she'll be able to melt her husband's cold heart. Constantin foolishly thought marrying Sofia would be his saving grace, a way to overcome the weakness he carries in his blood. Now, Sofia is in danger because of him and all he's struggling to keep the family's secrets hidden.

This author is the best at setting up a creepy, suspenseful setting with gothic vibes and plenty of intrigue that will keep you reading. The housekeeper in this book was giving me all the Mrs. Danvers vibes and my only complaint is that Sofia was perhaps a bit too nice and I definitely wanted to see Constantin stick up for her more. Constantin's reason for wanting them to stay apart and his efforts to keep Sofia safe did make sense, but they were a bit less than what I was expecting after so much build up. I would've liked more romance between these two and less of Constantin ignoring Sofia, but we get less of that since their courtship occurred before the beginning of the story. Despite his standoffishness, or maybe because of it, I couldn't help but root for Constantin and Sofia. This feeling was also boosted by the fact that they were surrounded by such odd characters and everyone was so cryptic. Overall, this was a nice, quick read that held my attention and I found it to be a great escape from reality for a little while.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gothic bodice-ripper full of dark secrets

This is the sixth book in Emmanuelle de Maupassant’s The Lady's Guide... series of historical romances. Each story stands alone.

This didn’t really work for me as a romance, but I thought it was delightfully creepy fun as a Gothic mystery. Setting her story in a dark and dilapidated Transylvanian castle filled with secrets, where a noble family tries to hide their curse and their many crimes, the author has created an oppressive atmosphere. Our poor heroine Sofia is determined to make the best of her difficult situation and win back the affection of her estranged husband, but she seems to be surrounded by danger with no idea who she can trust.

Constantin seems like a good man with very poor communication skills; he was just too distant for me to feel any romance between this couple. There is passion, though, if you are looking for jealousy and lust in the bodice-ripper tradition.

This worked well as an audiobook, with sound effects and music contributing to the spooky atmosphere. I enjoyed the narration by Gareth J. Davies. His performance was well paced and easy to understand, and I loved his accented character voices.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author and volunteered to provide an honest review. If you like Gothic mystery/suspense and tortured romance, give this a try.

Suspenseful!!!

I totally enjoyed listening to this story. It was very intriguing as I was not sure what was really going on in the castle and with the castle’s residents. I especially enjoyed the eerie music at some of the chapter’s ends—it absolutely gave me chills and foreboding as to what the next chapter would hold. I must say that as I listened, the plot line of this story was definitely not what I thought it possibly might lead to—the suspense is absolutely real. You definitely can’t go wrong in reading or listening to a story by Emmanuelle de Maupassant—especially her “Lady’s Guide” series. Gareth J. Davies does an excellent job in his narration. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This series just gets better and better !

Okay, I freely admit I love this author's work, for each new story, comes a unique and intriguing tale, that gets my imagination engaged, and I am swept up into the story as if I am a fly upon the wall, listening and seeing all that is happening.
The atmosphere created, right from the first chapter has the mental link to all those Count Dracula scenarios we have all encountered over our years of media watching. I am not giving the plot away, but to say no vampires make an appearance, may help those that are squeamish to blood sucking.
Finally I have to applaud the total audio effects, and the narrator's ability to create each characters persona, through his vocalizations.

Good

I enjoyed this story, as book six it was exciting and interesting. There is a whole lot of adventure and some amazing characters. The storyline flows wonderfully and the ending was good. The narration was also good. Can’t wait for more.

Excellent period writing

I haven't kept up with this series so I felt a little lost throughout the book as references were made that I assumed I would understand better had I read the previous books. That being said, it was not a major distractor to the story in general. There were several times when I wanted to strangle various characters for their lack of communication, which is true in most stories. The writing was excellent and put me in the mind set of the time period the story is set in. The author has an excellent sense of misdirection which was used well to the very end.

My only two issues is the music at the end of each chapter and not drawing me into the story. I felt that the music detracted from the story rather than added to it. That's just personal preference. When I feel that a character is acting extremely stupid, I usually write them off, thus writing off their story as well. Of course, what I feel is acting stupid may be perfectly normal for others. We each have our own preferences.

Overall, this is a well written/performed book and I would recommend it.

Great addition to the series

I am enjoying these historical romance books written by Emmanuelle de Maupassant. They make for a good deviation from my normal reads/listens. They have good story lines with good characters. Sofia often jumps to conclusions in this book, conclusions that squeeze my heart. You can feel her pain. Constantin staying quiet was maddening. The ending came to quickly.

Gareth J Davies is an excellent narrator. He has grown on me more and more with each book I've listened to from this series. He's perfect for the atmosphere and feel of these books. His performance was perfection.

The Lady's Guide to Tempting a Transylvanian Count

first I want to commend Gareth J Davies in his interpretation of the Transylvanian accent. it was like listening to Bela Lugosi in his portrayal of Dracula. His voice sent shivers up my spine!
The story is about a young woman who married a fascinating count who then left her the next day. Years later she discovered upon her father's death that he had been in contact for those years with her husband. Now she seeks him out for she wishes a home and family. Only to find her does not welcome her but wishes her gone! Not she has a choice to make stay and fight for what she wants or leave and lose her dreams!
A fascinating story!!

Great Story

This is a beautiful Gothic love story. Sofia and Constantine strong-willed people who are obviously in love. They face some rather harsh complications, but over the course of their story it becomes undeniable that love can conquer them all. I enjoyed the descriptions of the setting and the characters, the sound effects, and the music. Along with the excellent narration by Gareth J. Davies they helped bring the story to life.
I received the audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Wonderfully gothic!!!

As always, this author never fails to reach a high standard! I was immediately engrossed in the storyline... the accents, the mystery, the castle and the reserved count... i loved it all. Wonderfully gothic. The characters come to life beneath her pen and the storyline is absolutely perfect. Definitely a must read or listen. I already look forward to the next Audible that she gifts us with.

I was gifted this audible as an ARC and this is my honest and voluntary review.