The Other Daughter

A Novel

By: Lauren Willig

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Raised in a poor yet genteel household, Rachel Woodley is working in France as a governess when she receives news that her mother has died suddenly. Grief stricken, she returns to the small town in England where she was raised to clear out the cottage...and finds a cutting from a London society magazine, with a photograph of her supposedly deceased father dated all of three month before. He's an earl, respected and influential, and he is standing with another daughter - his legitimate daughter. Which makes Rachel...not legitimate. Everything she thought she knew about herself and her past - even her very name - is a lie.

Still reeling from the death of her mother and furious at this betrayal, Rachel sets herself up in London under a new identity. There she insinuates herself into the partygoing crowd of Bright Young Things, with a steely determination to unveil her father's perfidy and bring his - and her half sister's - charmed world crashing down. Very soon, however, Rachel faces two unexpected snags: She finds she genuinely likes her half-sister, Olivia, whose situation isn't as simple it appears; and she might just be falling for her sister's fiancé....

From Lauren Willig, author of the New York Times best-selling novel The Ashford Affair, comes The Other Daughter, an audiobook full of deceit, passion, and revenge.

©2015 Lauren Willig (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

A beautiful romance

An excellent 1920s-era romance, set in London. I was hooked from the beginning! Great narration, gripping storyline, and glamorous historical setting.

Plot Twists kept me listening . . .

What did you love best about The Other Daughter?

The characters and story line - loved getting to know them all. Anxious to proceed on to see what would happen next.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Other Daughter?

When Rachel (aka Vera) realized the truth about her father.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Rachel and Simon got together at the end.

Any additional comments?

The book reinforced that happiness isn't because of money and standing in life - most of the characters were as fake as the made up "Vera" in what they showed publicly.

Very enjoyable light listen

The story is engaging and moves quite fast. The characters are very agreeable and the author does a convincing job of engaging her readers. The performance is very pleasant

Sweet story

I enjoyed this story and the voice of the narrator was pleasant. The characters were believable and the protagonist was likeable. Misunderstandings were the source of tensions; attitudes built more tension, all leading to a satisfying ending.

Enchanting!

Another fabulous story by Lauren Willig! The Other Daughter whisks you away into the posh and contradictory world of the London elite. In trying to piece together her family, Rachel finds mystery as well as herself along the way.

Good Summer Listen

The Other Daughter was quite enjoyable. I found it a bit slow, but it held my interest. They'll performance was well done.

Most enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this story, a clear description of the chasm between love and. wealth and the difficulty of the choice between. Also an interesting study of one of the flaws of the British peerage system. One thinks how wonderful to have the fine houses and clothing, the glamorous parties and friends, the power to rule; and then a story like this shows the emptiness, sacrifice and misery behind the glitter and glamor.

This story was good !

The concept might've been done before, but the author carried it to an unforseeable conclusion. And along the way giving us rapier wit and cool turns of phrases. I am going to check out her other stories.

Fun story

I like to take a break from non-fiction and crime mysteries with a light romance and this fits the bill.

Not nearly stunning enough

What did you like best about The Other Daughter? What did you like least?

The complexity of Rachel and the plot so far as learning about her her to for unknown family and the discovery of what she really is! What did I like least? The romance. It wasn't really a romance.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The setting is what drew me to the story. I love Her Royal Spyness and think the Phryne Fisher books are unique.Again, the romance here was lackluster at best.

What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?

She's pretty good. Nothing annoying about her narration.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not a chance

Any additional comments?

If you're getting this book because you think it's a romance, I'll stop you right there. It's not. Its as if Lauren Willig couldn't decide if this was a Historical Romance or Historical Fiction. Now remember, when I say this, I read and write Historical Romance, so I'm not anti romance in any way! The romance is contrived, forced. There is no palpable tension. Then all of a sudden at the end, oops! they love each other. let's get married right away and live happily ever after. Most of the tension was "told" not "shown". Rachel spends alot of time mooning over her half sister's situation, then at the end, she abandons her to a loveless marriage of duty and a rotten mother. Like, oh well, tough cookies for Olivia! The Olivia/Jon storyline never gets resolved. There are alot of unanswered question left over. Olivia's story would be very interesting because she has a lot of opportunity for change. Rachel's relationship with her father is never resolved either. Historically, it was well done. Entertainment wise... eh, I wouldn't read it again.