Belle

The Daughters of Allamont Hall, Book 2

By: Mary Kingswood

Narrated by: Joanna Stephens

A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom.

Belle is the plain one of the six Allamont sisters, happy with her books. When their father dies suddenly, his will leaves large dowries for his six daughters, but only if they marry in the proper order, the eldest first. With Amy betrothed, now Belle must find a husband. Reluctant to parade herself at balls and card parties, she intends to accept the offer of her cousin, James, a pragmatic but loveless choice on both sides.

Mr. Burford is the village curate, enchantedly in love with the youngest Allamont sister, Hope. His income is not enough to support a wife, but he is content to wait, perhaps for years, before he dares to contemplate a betrothal. But fate and poetry and the gentle tendrils of friendship combine to overturn these careful plans, and throw their lives into confusion.

©2016 Mary Kingswood (P)2017 Mary Kingswood

The smell of money...

Belle must find a husband but being not as pretty as her other sisters, she has resigned herself to a loveless marriage with her cousin. She does fall in love and her intended turns out to be quite a surprise.
There is also a hunt for some boxes her father had had made which Belle suspects contains money.
The appearance of a family member who has leapt out of the woodwork at the first smell of money dismays the young lady and it falls to Belle to sort out the nightmare so that the inheritance remains intact for all of her sisters.
I love that though this is a series, it has been written so that each book can be read as a stand-alone. It is beautifully constructed with each scene conjuring up pictures in my head of exactly what is going on and of the characters but at the same time, just enough description to keep it interesting.
I also listened to the audiobook which is again narrated by Joanna Stephens and she has an interesting way of telling the story.
I received a free copy of the audiobook from the author and the review above is unbiased and honest. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.

A Delight to listen to

Any additional comments?

This is such a differently written romance from what I am used to reading and listening to but I love it. It makes me slow down and really listen, get to know the characters and understand them. Usually I am hearing the story as someone else's and never identifying with them, just enjoying what happens. These characters, though, are real. They are every day people with an every day life and I identified with it so became so much more involved with each character. It was a truly good story and I will remember both Belle and Mr. Burford for a very long time.

Belle of Allamont Hall so teriffic

This is that first book by this writer I have read even though I have already bought them to read yet. The narrator of this book made the story come alive and it was read so well I felt right there. I so much enjoyed this book so very much as to me, it reminds me of the classic stories that I have loved to read. Such a wonderful clean historical romance. Loved it so much and I will recommend it to all to read. Can't go wrong!!!!

Interesting and engaging

I enjoyed the characters and story of this book. I felt the characters could have been described better. I did enjoy the plot twists however and was surprised a few times. Overall I enjoyed it and thought the reader was perfect for this book.