The Hidden Heart - Laura Kinsale

Written by Laura Kinsale
Read by Nicholas Boulton
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Series: Victorian Hearts, Book 1
Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
Release date: 09-02-15
Publisher: Hedgehog, Inc

This was her first book. Not her best but showed promise.

When her eccentric naturalist father dies on the upper reaches of the Amazon, young Lady Tess Collier sets out to follow his last wishes: return to England and marry well. But Tess, who had accompanied her father on his expeditions since childhood, is as unconventional as she is beautiful.

She falls in love with Gryphon Meridon, a sometime privateer and blockade runner who is afflicted with a serious lack of selfworth that stems from a childhood tragedy. Although he and Tess share one rapturous kiss, he believes himself unworthy of her. Tess then turns to Stephen Eliot, who has more than enough skeletons rattling around the closets of his estate. Gryphon eventually returns to save Tess from Stephen. And once Gryphon sheds his neurosesalong with his clothesthis book proves most satisfying.

A review in AudioGals—Nobody who has listened to Laura Kinsale’s wonderful prose brought vividly to life by the massively talented Nicholas Boulton can be in any doubt that the dozen audiobooks they have produced (so far – fingers crossed) have shown again and again exactly what an audiobook can and should be. Every aspect – writing, performance, direction and overall production have combined to put these titles at the top of the heap when it comes to romance audios, and they undoubtedly represent a pinnacle of achievement in the field.

But all good things must come to an end – …the pacing is uneven, the protagonists spend large chunks of time apart and there were times I wanted to throttle the hero!

The Shadow and the Star is book 2 of the duo.