1750: Jacqueline

The Legend of Nimway Hall Series, Book 1

By: Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by: Lucy Rayner

A gentleman fleeing the bonds of loveless marriage and a lady in desperate need of a champion join forces to defend an ancient legacy.

Jacqueline Tregarth, lady and guardian of Nimway Hall, is devoted to protecting her people, the Hall, the estate’s wood, and its farms. She yearns for a husband to help her meet the challenges, but all those seeking her hand are interested only in controlling her lands. With the estate’s stream running dry and summer looming, she sets men digging to reopen an old spring. Her workers discover a dirt-encrusted ornament buried at the spot; once removed, water flows and fills the old lake - and Jacqueline realizes the ornament is some kind of ancient orb.

Meanwhile, Lord Richard Devries, overly-eligible darling of the ton, fights free of kidnappers seeking to force him to offer for some lady’s hand. Escaping into the countryside, he gets lost in Balesboro Wood and stumbles on a covert scheme to divert a stream. Later, he finds his way to Nimway Hall, where the household is celebrating a spring running again.

Richard is welcomed and meets the fascinating Miss Tregarth. That his youthful hostess is disinclined to bat her lashes at him piques his interest, yet after his recent experiences, he feels safe in her company - for him, an unusual and comforting experience. Indeed, everything about Nimway Hall is calming and soothing.

Then Richard makes the connection between what he saw in the wood and the Hall's recent water shortage and leads Jacqueline and her men to the diversion in the wood. Subsequently, he learns of the various men pursuing Jacqueline, and recognizes the danger to her and to the Hall. Although self-protective instinct presses him to travel on, his lamed horse has yet to recover, and despite all inner warnings, Richard feels compelled to step into the role of a supportive protector.

Aided and abetted by the household, the estate community, Balesboro Wood, and the ancient orb, propinquity works its magic, seducing Richard with a role into which he and his talents fit perfectly, and tempting Jacqueline to hope that her champion has finally found his way to her side. If the tales told of those snared by Balesboro Wood and sent to the Hall are true, then....

Yet true love never runs smoothly, and both Richard and Jacqueline must search within, embrace their destinies, and find the courage to seize their heart’s one true desire - all just in time to foil a dastardly plan that would wreck all they and the Hall’s people hold dear.

©2020 Stephanie Laurens (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Words are important.

Lovely story. Pretty good narrator.
I’m fairly certain there’s no such word as “unexceptionable.” Merriam-Webster agrees. I’ve never heard an American say the word but now I’ve heard at least 3 British readers say it. Maybe the Oxford Dictionary has it? I’ll have to check…

Kind of thin compared to her other books

Narrator’s voice is thin & reedy, doesn’t do mens’ voices well. Predictable plot. SL can do better.

Boring

The story lacking verve. The. Narrator is somewhat singsong and raises her voice at the ends of sentences in an annoying way.

Good story concept, not so good writing.

I really liked the story idea, and the concept of the place being its own character. I was inspired to start with this one since it progresses through time, introducing a future generation in each book of the series.
Unfortunately it was really lacking. The narrator spoke with different voices, but mostly it came off slow and flat. It also really needed some further editing as there were unnecessary repetition of phrases. It needed more depth of characters and could have had more description of period dress, etc to better place the story in time.
I will listen to a free book in the series to see if things improve, but otherwise I will try to return it.