The Marriage Season

By: Jane Dunn

Narrated by: Ruth Redman

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

‘It’s not a fair world I’m afraid. Beauty or fortune carries the day. You have the beauty and I the fortune, so there’s every chance we’ll succeed’

In Regency England, marriage is everything. For young widow Sybella Lovatt, the time has come to find a suitable husband for her sister and ward Lucie. Male suitors are scarce near their Wiltshire estate, so the sisters resolve to head to London in time for the Season to begin.

Once ensconced at the Mayfair home of Lady Godley, Lucie’s godmother, the whirl of balls, parties and promenades can begin. But the job of finding a husband is fraught with rules and tradition. Jostling for attention are the two lords – the charming and irresistible Freddie Lynwood and the preternaturally handsome Valentine Ravenell, their enigmatic neighbour from Shotten Hall, Mr Brabazon, and the dangerous libertine Lord Rockliffe, with whom the brooding Brabazon is locked in deadly rivalry.

Against the backdrop of glamorous Regency England, Sybella must settle Lucie’s future, protect her own reputation, and resist the disreputable rakes determined to seduce the beautiful widow. As the Season ends, will the sisters have found the rarest of things – a suitable marriage with a love story to match?

Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Dunn brings the Regency period irresistibly to life in a thrilling novel packed with surprising revelations, which all comes wittily, gloriously, good in the end.

Perfect for fans of Gill Hornby, Janice Hadlow, Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and anyone with a Bridgerton-shaped hole in their lives.

©2023 Jane Dunn (P)2023 Boldwood Books

LOVE A CLEAN BOOK

Loved it.it was the first book I listened to of this author and I was glad I did.the narrator also did a good job in giving the story to life,it made it more interesting.

Better Regency than most

I very much enjoyed this traditional Regency Romance. Well developed characters and good story. Some unusual elements to add to the whole. And the narrator was Very Good, too. Look forward to more from this author.

Good story but drawn out/unnecessary details

I loved the characters and the overall story but I felt the writer relied too heavily on descriptions of the environment/setting, use of french terms/phrases which I wonder did people in Regency England really use that much French in daily life? it felt odd...and just a lot of otherwise useless details rather than giving us dialogue or action that could actually move the story along. Some of the dialogue was just rehashing same conversations over and over again but it wasn't even as if those conversations brought any new revelations or conclusions, it just made some of the characters seem wishy washy and seem like the dilemmas could have easily been resolved if there was more communication with certain parties. I felt like the author got so into the weeds about historical details like the war and Byron, that after a while I was feeling like is this a romance or just a historical fiction because the romance started to take a back seat until the very end of the book. It was also a little too angsty for my taste with the main couples.

Narrator is fantastic!

Ruth Redman, if you are reading this PLEASE do more regency romance books!!! She can do voices of different ages and accents, male and female. Awesome. I was sad to see she really didn’t have more regency/Victorian romance books. The story was also very good. It looks like the author is just breaking into regency and has done more Tudor and other types of books. She definitely has a way with turning a phrase and making you feel misty eyed in some parts. I laughed out loud several times with the main female protagonists child. Very good book and I’m glad I took a chance on it. I am a VERY big book snob, and frequently stop reading a story if I find it irritating or insipid. It looks like the author has another release coming out at the end of the month that is regency. Hopefully Ruth Redman is narrating it!

Sweet Regency Romance

This was a sweet and fun regency romance. Narration was great & would highly recommend for a light-hearted romance

The narrator is decent.

I think this novel needs an LGBT+ tag so people know it's a major part of the story line.

Halfway thru, advocacy for homosex Introduced

When I look for a clean romance book then I'm looking for a book that is religiously sound. In my religion, Islam, homosexuality is clearly not allowed. Therefore that wouldn't be a story I'm interested in. I do feel the author had an interesting story up until the introduction of her advocacy for homosexuality She had good characters. The narration and plot was not bad,1. however I had to stop reading it a little more than half way through the book when the advocacy for homosexuality appeared. I will be deleting this book.
To you, your way, and to me mine. I have to answer to God on the "Day of Judgement" and I'm not trying to have to answer for that one.
I will say this: It's wrong to kill a person for choosing homosexuality. There's fanatics in all religions unfortunately.

Tedious use of French Language & Greek Legends.

I'm fond of Regency Historical Romances, and during the past 50 years have read literally thousands of them. Thus over many years I have read all novels by authors such as Jane Austin, Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Mary Kingswood, Mimi Matthews, Anne Gracie, etc. several times. This was my first book by this author. Her writing and plot were basically acceptable, but I disliked the way her style of writting was littered with numerous descriptions, phrases, exclamations in the French Language, as well as numerous Greek Mythology referemces. I found this to be a tedious and annoying distraction, and it made the book feel Artsy and Pretentious. I have not yet decided whether I will bother returning it for a refund credit, but I do know that I will not buy another book by this author..