Virtuous Trickery

Royal Duty, Book 2

By: Alaina Stanford

Narrated by: Kimberly S Hobscheid

Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Gabrielle's shy twin sister is betrothed to a heathen prince from the far north. A Viking! Francesca would not survive the journey north much less the frozen wilderness of her new home. The only way Gabrielle can save her delicate sister is to take her place. Together the twins create a web of deceit that quickly spins out of control leaving a trail of death in its wake.

Gabrielle is the elder twin and heir to the throne. Francesca was second born by a matter of minutes, but those critical minutes were enough to label her the spare heir and she felt it every day.

Gabrielle is a free spirit. Francesca, a shy shadow hiding behind her sister's skirts. As the eldest, Gabrielle did everything in her power to avoid overshadowing Francesca. So when the day came and Francesca whispered she'd fallen in love, Gabrielle gladly agrees to be the one hiding in the shadows until Francesca was wed. But the King has other plans. Francesca is to be wed to the savage heathen from the north. A Viking!

The only way Gabrielle can save her delicate sister is to take her place. Together the twins create a web of deceit that quickly spins out of control leaving a trail of death in its wake.

©2017 Alaina Stanford (P)2017 Alaina Stanford

Good story

This story has a bit of a Shakespearean feel. Take the usual romance and mayhem and sprinkle in some Vikings.

Predicable but enjoyable nonetheless

Despite the rather pedestrian cover treatment, this book was better than anticipated. Twins swapping places is a tried-and-true concept so the ending basically wrote itself. Everything leading up to the ending though, was pretty good.

The narration was okay (I mean, I didn't hate it.) I didn't like how Hobscheid vocalized men (kinda creepy actually), but the twins were the center focus so the lack of male voice was minor.

I didn't love this story (there were a few head scratchers) but I did like it. I felt reasonably comfortable with where the story was going and to that end, it did not disappoint.

Not what I expected.

I found the book slow to begin with, but it picks up as the story progresses. One reviewer said that the story was predictable and it is in some places but their are one or two twist that I did not see coming.

The narrator was OK when she was voicing the females characters, but I thought she did not do the male characters well.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Royal Duty Book 2

This is my first book from this series and it was pretty good. The story was unique and kept me hooked all the way to the conclusion. There were some twists and turns and I was quite shocked with some of the developments.

Narration was pretty good and brought the story to life. There were some male voices that were pretty creepy!

The story wraps up and there are no cliffhangers. I was really surprised with how the story concluded though. There are some sad moments but the story is well written and moves along at a good pace.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

A royal pain

Great story, I've never read/listened to Alaina Stanford before but I'll definitely read more.
The narrator gives a Viking a lite Scottish brogh, it put me off a little. Otherwise she was great.
This Audio book was given to me for free at my request from the publisher, author or narrator and I provided this unbiased voluntary review.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Twisted, Whimsical Tragic, Great world building, Easy-to-read, Original, Page-turner, Witty, Action-packed, Entertaining, Unpredictable, Wonderful characters, Happily Ever After, Romantic.

Would Be Great for a Young Adult Audience

Like others, I felt the story was pretty predictable. I think that this would be better suited for Young Adult/Teen genre. As a contemporary and historical romance fan, I feel strongly about that. The writing was very good and I appreciated the narration as well.

*I received this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion. Please consider following me on Audible. Would you take a moment and select 'helpful' below, if you think it warrants such a vote. Thanks!

Sweet Story with a empowered heroine

If you could sum up Virtuous Trickery in three words, what would they be?

Two twins, completely different characters and destiny. While Gabrielle is a free spirit, Francesca is the serious one.
Gabrielle is destined to marry the man that Francesca loves... in her duty to her sister, they agree to change places. Little did they know that it would change their destiny as well.
Surprisingly, the personalities are not what you would expect and the outcome neither.

this is my first audiobook, it was a bit funny to hear the story with the different voices in the beginning, but having said that... it was really nice.

Totally recommend it!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Virtuous Trickery?

Can not tell you.... it would be a spoiler !!!! but I can say... it gets intriguing at the mid-story.

Which character – as performed by Kimberly S Hobscheid – was your favorite?

The prince of Norway of course...

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Good vs Evil

story with a bite

The story starts out nice and then i found out it has teeth. As I continued it kept biting. It kept me off balance and I didn't know what was going to happen. Good story to grab and not let go.

Give this Book to a Child you love.

A sweet entertaining story with well crafted characters.

Most enjoyable is listening to a talented Narrator that has a command over the material.

The accents were done well and were realistic.


This is a story in my view more suitable for children but adults who enjoy this genre will be entertained as well.



This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Great!

I really enjoyed this unique story. It's the first book I've listened to by this author and I really enjoyed the writing. The narration was perfect - she really did a great job with the various voices!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it.