The Lord of Heartbreak

Reluctant Regency Brides, Book 2

By: Claudia Stone

Narrated by: Duke DeFoix, Duchess DeFoix

Miss Jane Deveraux is in a bind; her brother, Viscount Jarvis, has married and his new wife does not want her bookish sister-in-law encroaching on their wedded bliss. The Viscountess makes it very clear that Jane must find a husband, but the confirmed spinster doesn’t have many suitors lining up to claim her hand.

What Jane needs is a large sum of money, so that she can buy the local boarding house, and live out her days holding intellectual saloons for the egalitarian set. Though where she’ll find this money is anyone’s guess…

James Fairweather, Lord Payne is the heir to the Ducal seat of Hawkfield. Tall, handsome, and with a roguish charm that has women falling at his feet, he should be living the easy life of an entitled bachelor. The only problem is that his father has tired of his rakish ways and declares that unless Payne cleans up his act he will be disinherited. What Payne needs is a respectable - dare he say boring - woman that he can parade around for a season to convince his father that he has changed his ways. The only person who fits the bill is his friend’s sister, Jane, who reluctantly agrees to go along with the charade - for a price, of course. Though when the Lord of Heartbreak finds himself falling in love with the clever, bookish young woman, he realizes that he’s very much so at risk of having his own heart broken.

This sweet, regency comes with a guaranteed happily ever after and can be read as part of the series or as a stand-alone novel.

©2018 Claudia Stone (P)2018 Claudia Stone

Couldn't stop listening!

This was my 2nd Claudia Stone Audible narrated by Duke and Duchess DeFoix. Like the previous audio-book (Book 1, Duke of Ruin), I planned to save the story for walks; but couldn't stop listening.
The plot was clever and had a nice overlap with Book 1 in the series. Like Book 1, the end was satisfying. A few story threads were left untied in order to pave the way for Book 3; but this did not diminish the overall story in Book 2.
The characters were well-rounded and the narrators (Duke and Duchess DeFoix) did a superb job of telling the story and bringing the characters to life!
If you like Jane Austen's books, I think you'll like the Lord of Heartbreak.

How to make a 3 Star Book a 5

The great performance by the Duke and Duchess made this book. Their voices with sighs and laughter and the right emotional magnetism made this book. New narrators but truly great ones made this love story of James and Jane I’m so tired of female narrators who Over dramatize and have only one male voice. The Duke and Duchess hit this story out of the ballpark

Narrators not for me

I’ll have to give this series a try on Kindle instead. The over-the-top theatre-like female narration is not for me. I see other reviewers like this narrating couple, so it’s probably just me.

Adorable

This is the second book of the Reluctant Regency Brides series. I didn't think I could love this book as much as the first one, but James stole my heart from the get-go. Jane is also a nice character, a woman who's smart and intellectual but doesn't know anything about the matters of the heart. Their interactions had me smiling at nothing as I listened to them, Once again Duke and Duchess DeFoix leave me speechless with their amazing voice acting. I loved their dynamics and how they narrate this story. The Duke narrates all the male voices and the Duchess narrates all the females voices, giving the audiobook an extra something that made me listen to it in one sitting.
Overall this is a sweer, adorable and heartwarming read.
NOTE: Even though you can listen to the books of the series out of order, I would strongly suggest anyone interested to listen to this before the third book of the series. The Marquess of Temptation's first 6-7 chapters take place along this book and in the third book most of the events narrated here are skipped over, which could make it a little confusing.

All Good Characters

I got this story via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. This book kept my interest from beginning to end. I loved James and Jan's companion out of all of the characters. Jane's brother should have put his wife's mother in her place but he was so in love with his wife that he could not. James does finally find his way into Jane's heart but it is a difficult and funny process. This is a nice, sweet, funny romance that will make you want to slap Jane a time or two but after all sometimes when you are so book smart you miss the clues that are in front of your face about the heart.