The Midnight Rose

By: Lucinda Riley

Narrated by: Aysha Kala

Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Shortlisted for the Epic Novel award in the Romantic Novelists Association Books Awards.

Spanning four generations, The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley sweeps from the glittering palaces of the great maharajas of India to the majestic stately homes of England, following the extraordinary life of a girl, Anahita Chavan, from 1911 to the present day....

A lifelong passion. An endless search.

In the heyday of the British Raj, 11-year-old Anahita, from a noble but impoverished family, forms a lifelong friendship with the headstrong Princess Indira, the privileged daughter of rich Indian royalty. Becoming the princess's official companion, Anahita accompanies her friend to England just before the outbreak of the Great War. There, she meets the young Donald Astbury - reluctant heir to the magnificent, remote Astbury Estate - and his scheming mother.

Eighty years later, Rebecca Bradley, a young American film star, has the world at her feet. But when her turbulent relationship with her equally famous boyfriend takes an unexpected turn, she's relieved that her latest role, playing a 1920s debutante, will take her away from the glare of publicity to the wilds of Dartmoor in England. Shortly after filming begins at the now-crumbling Astbury Hall, Ari Malik, Anahita's great-grandson, arrives unexpectedly, on a quest for his family's past. What he and Rebecca discover begins to unravel the dark secrets that haunt the Astbury dynasty....

©2020 Lucinda Riley (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd

Very pleased

As Lucinda's Riley's Seven Sisters, The Midnight Rose is a marvellous story, engaging events that immediately captivated my attention. I have read all Sven Sisters collections, and this one was given a total as listening on the Audible app. As a reading, the listening was pure enjoyment. I am willing to put my hands, eyes or ears on in other fabulous writer creations. Greatly recommend.

Wow this was amazing. One of my favorites

Not sure how I would have topped the seven sisters but this book has done it. I wish there were more coming. Sadly Lucinda is no longer with us. What a gift she was with incredible talent.
Thank you

Thrilling

Great story filled with twists and turns. I could not stop listening. Kept my full attention.

AMAZING story!

Narrator is brilliant and the story very captivating- a must read. I love Lucinda Riley books and this was one of the best ever.

Predictable, boring and annoyingly narrated

Very little about this story felt genuine to me, and the retrospective bird's eye view that kept hopping back and forth between a collection of "main" characters, while at the same time flying forward and backward in time and place, did nothing to truly draw me into their experiences. The settings were, even when lavish, lifeless, because I never actually FELT the heat or the cold, or anything else. The characters were, for the most part, two-dimensional stereotypes I could not muster any empathy for. And the all-too-common trope of the wise and gifted "native medicine-woman" who can sense the future (unlike white people) mixes very oddly with her love of British novelists, and the fact she supposedly read "The Origen of Species" by Darwin. I could not suspend my disbelief, or forget this was a story and plot dreamed up in the author's head and imagination because it just didn't ring true on too many levels.

And what's up with female British narrators who refuse to even TRY to lower and deepen the timber of their voice at least a little when men are speaking? The only way I could tell when it was a male character talking was because he sounded a bit louder and more strident and impatient. Really annoying, and doesn't help with the Romance factor, which was already quite flat.

So loved this book.

Everything about it is mesmerizing! I highly recommend it. Narrator was amazing. Wonderful story. So good

Awesome

I could not wait for the story to end as it was so riveting- wish it continued on to the next generation’s story

Another delicious read

The character development, culture, history & being human are all braided together into top class story-telling.

WOW, truly a well written story

It's been awhile since I have read a book that made me cry. This is a wonderful story, truly brilliant and the narration is excellent really brought the story to life.

Incredible experience

My first book by this author and the best of the 65 books I have listened to so far. Very mature and well written with a great story and cultural context in two different times and two different continents. The characters are well developed to the point of feeling like part of my own life, both loved and resented. The narration was beyond amazing and added a great deal to my enjoyment. The story line itself was credible with plenty of suspense to make it nearly possible to stop listening.

one of my favourite of the year!

Fabulous story I didn't want it to end! Well structured...narrated....A lovely surprise! Would recommend this book....looking for more from this author!

Best Narrator Ever!

Such a good story, but the narration made this book. Her array of amazing accents are superb.

Fantastic book

I thought this book was incredible, loved the story and the characters. So well written. Thought the narrator did brilliant also!

Lovely story

It’s been a really nice story to listen to, with its twists and turns. The ending wasn’t as I’d thought it would be which, is a change from cliches one normally gets.

Avery intetesting

A good peep into another culture, human nature, and history. Makes you think about people

Long listen but gripping . Excellent narrator

Listen in.
it's absolutely long but quite the listen.
gripping. I admit I neglected my life to listen this.
I took my portable speakers with me everywhere to listen.
What a story.
The narrator is excellent. Best pairing ever.
Absolutely excellent.
I'm going to have to find all books she narrated and listen.

Surprisingly good!

I say this as it’s not my go to genre, but I was hooked with this. The narration is brilliant and the storyline gripping. I usually love a murder mystery but this had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, alongside a beautiful story.
I recommend going outside of your normal and giving this book a go.

Magnificent story telling

This was one of the best books I have ever read/ listened too, such an incredible story. I was addicted from the first page.

Amazing

This book is highly recommended. Its well narrated, it brings the reader from India to England on a rollercoaster of a journey, enjoy I did

Totally engrossing!

Great story - a little unbelievable towards the end but I so enjoyed most of it that I still think it’s worth 5 stars. In many ways this beats the Seven Sisters series. Great narration too.