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Narrated by James Langton

Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons are a favorite of mine. When He Was Wicked was one of the very first audiobooks I listened to – and it remains at the top of my keeper/re-listen list as well. Simon Prebble is also one of my favorite narrators because of this audiobook. I always thought the Second Epilogues were lots of fun, but frankly, the narrator on the three Second Epilogues that were released in audio was different enough from Simon Prebble that I just didn’t like them very much. When I learned that all the Second Epilogues were being released as an audiobook, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it – how could anyone besides Prebble do the Bridgertons justice? And were they going to use the same not-Prebble narrations?

I’m happy to report I was completely wrong!  Harper Audio used a new narrator for the project. James Langton is positively brilliant in this incredibly delightful collection of Second Epilogues! His delivery is reminiscent of Prebble’s without being a copy – he has exactly the right amount of humor in his tone; his female voices are easy to listen to and placed very well in his voice; his own range is incredible – from truly basso profundo for his wonderful heroes up to all the children’s voices, again placed well without being bizarre falsettos. Every single thing about his narration is spot on – I found myself laughing again (really, the Pall Mall/croquet game is hysteria-inducing!) and wanting to go back and enjoy the 8 Bridgerton siblings all over again. He did take one sort of liberty – and perhaps it wasn’t a liberty at all: he gave Michael Sterling (When He Was Wicked) a Scottish accent! Prebble’s accent for John and Michael was upper class British but Langton’s Scots accent worked for me; after all, the Sterling family home was in Scotland, so it wasn’t an outlandish idea.

If you have not read the Bridgertons, I’m not sure whether this book will make any sense to you*. Quinn wrote the Second Epilogues partly to answer reader questions about what happened next in each of the books in the series. There are 8 Bridgerton siblings, so there are 8 books and 8 second epilogues, which are roughly 45 minutes to an hour in length each. They are read in series order, but they are not in chronological order. Quinn precedes each with a few sentences explanation. Only the last three books in the series have been recorded as audiobooks, so if you want to catch up you’ll need to get the other books in print.

The fun news for you Julia Quinn fans out there: Violet’s story is included at the end. Quinn had never wanted to write Violet’s story, mostly because when the series starts, the Bridgerton patriarch Edmund has already died, and so she felt it wouldn’t have been romance without Violet and Edmund’s HEA. She finally gave in and we get to hear from Violet’s POV for the duration of her novella, which is about the length of one of the second epilogues. It’s very touching and really wraps up the series quite nicely.

OK Harper Audio! Now have James Langton or Simon Prebble narrate all the other Bridgertons, please!

*Indeed, two of the reviewers at Audible rated it low because they didn’t realize it was not a new story, but, [ahem] a collection of the second epilogues. Caveat emptor.

Melinda

Narration: A

Book Content: A

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: None

Genre: Historical romance

Publisher: Harper Audio

The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After was provided to AudioGals for review by Harper Audio.

Continue reading »]]> Our first of four author/narrator team recorded chats, Anne Stuart and Xe Sands are joining us today as we continue our June is Audiobook Month event, Hear the Talk, sponsored by Tantor Audio. Be sure to check out our complete schedule for our six Hear the Talk events.

Anne Stuart

Xe Sands

It was such a complete delight talking with Anne and Xe – you won’t want to miss this lively laugh-out-loud chat. For those of you new to the Anne/Xe team, they are remembered fondly around here for Anne’s Fire and Ice (2011) and On Thin Ice (2012). Both were released by Tantor Audio and are so entirely listen-worthy that we have included sound samples from both below today’s chat.

You may download any of our chats easily to your MP3 player. Or, you can listen on your phone directly from AudioGals.

Thanks to Anne and Xe for sharing with us today!

Lea Hensley

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What is Going Public…In Shorts?

This June, the audiobook community is giving back! Spoken Freely, a group of 30+ professional narrators, has teamed with the Going Public Project to celebrate June is Audiobook Month (JIAM) 2013 by offering a serialized audio story collection: Going
Public…in Shorts. Each narrator has recorded a short piece from the public domain with proceeds going to the Reach Out and Read literacy advocacy organization.

Throughout June, 1-2 stories will be released daily at various sites/blogs as well as at Going Public. You may listen to these stories free for one week (no downloads). In collaboration with Blackstone Audio, stories will also be available for download purchase starting on their day of release, with the full compilation available beginning June 30th.

We talked with Xe Sands about Going Public…In Shorts in a recorded interview here at AudioGals last month and it’s now AudioGals turn to take part in this outstanding event. We are honored to host Hillary Huber performing Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace.

Immediately below the recording of The Necklace, you’ll find our interview with Hillary.

JIAM 2013 Going Public… In Shorts – The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant (read by Hillary Huber)

Hillary Huber is a narrator we hold in high regard around here. An official AudioGals narrator friend, Hillary joined Karen White, Cassandra Campbell, and Brenda to discuss Friends Narrating Katie MacAlister. We laughed at a number of her observations about narrating – it was a delightful conversation if you haven’t checked it out.

For Going Public…In Shorts, we decided to keep it short and sweet. Here’s a peek into Hillary’s world!

Lea: Welcome Hillary! It’s so good to have you with us again today!

Hillary: It’s always good to be here!

Lea: What can you tell us about The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant, your choice for Going Public…In Shorts? Why did you choose it?

Hillary: Years ago, Pat Fraley gave me a copy of Guy de Mauppassant’s stories, and we thought it might be a fun book to produce together. That project never got off the ground but this story has always stayed with me. It’s so sad. And the suffering is so unnecessary.

Lea: What sort of training prepared you for narrating audiobooks?

Hillary: Life has been the best training! A love of reading has helped. And of course acting classes. But really, living  and experience is the best training of all, and the foundation of any good acting.

Lea: I know rather than theatre, you are more involved in commercial work. Can you share with us some of your past work (and current)?

Hillary: I’ve been doing commercial voice over work for about twenty years. I’ve done thousands of commercials, promos, narration and live award shows like the Emmys. I still do that work but focus much more on audiobooks. It’s more meaningful, especially when the book is good!

Lea: I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around AudioGals again – hopefully soon. Thanks for joining us today to share your performance of The Necklace.

We suggest that you also take a look at June 14th Going Public…In Shorts offerings:

• Author Michael Stephen Daigle features Diane Havens with The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
• Author JT Kalnay features Scott O’Neill with The Nice People by Henry Cuyler Bunner

And check out tomorrow (June 16th):

Overreader is hosting Kaleo Griffith with The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain.

Going Public…in Shorts is made possible by the efforts of the Spoken Freely narrators and many others who donated their time and energy to bring it to fruition. Engineering and mastering provided by Jeffrey Kafer and SpringBrook Audio. Graphic design provided by f power design. Published by Blackstone Audio. Project coordination and executive production provided by Xe Sands.

Continue reading »]]> It’s time for our second entry into our June is Audiobook Month event, Hear the Talk, sponsored by Tantor Audio. Today it’s Hear the Narrators Talk – a recorded chat with narrators Kaleo Griffith, Xe Sands, Angela Dawe, and Karen White. We’re discussing various aspects of narrating including relationships with authors and the joys and challenges of narrating romance.

Kaleo Griffith

Xe Sands

Angela Dawe

Karen White

Earlier this week we featured Hear the Authors Talk with authors Pamela Clare, Jennifer Ashley, Anne Stuart, and Julie James. Four additional recorded chats are scheduled for the next two weeks.

Today’s online discussion was recorded as those massive storms continued to move through Oklahoma (my home) which made recording sketchy at times (and required editing of my comments at a later date) but the “heart” of the conversation remains despite some unavoidable variances in audio quality.

You may download any of our chats easily to your MP3 player. Or, you can listen on your phone directly from AudioGals. I listened to the entire Hear the Authors Talk in my car as I ran errands and didn’t even need earbuds!

My thanks to our narrators today and a special thanks to our behind-the-scenes tech Gal, Brenda, who recorded and edited this chat. There wouldn’t be an AudioGals without her!

JIAM 2013 Live Narrators Chat

Lea Hensley

Continue reading »]]> Monday, we had the first of our six recorded chats of our Hear the Talk June Is Audiobook Month (JIAM) event sponsored by Tantor Audio. Hear the Authors Talk featured Julie James, Anne Stuart, Pamela Clare, and Jennifer Ashley discussing audiobooks from an author’s point of view.

Next up is our Hear the Narrators Talk on Friday. Kaleo Griffith, Xe Sands, Karen White, and Angela Dawe join us for a delightful recorded discussion about narrating in general while concentrating on a few aspects of narrating romance as well.

Kaleo Griffith

Xe Sands

Karen White

Angela Dawe

And that’s not all! Recorded chats between the author/narrator teams will follow the last two weeks of June.

The Schedule

Hear the Narrators Talk – Friday, June 14th

Hear Anne Stuart and Xe Sands Talk – Monday, June 17th

Hear Pamela Clare and Kaleo Griffith Talk – Friday, June 21st

Hear Julie James and Karen White Talk – Monday, June 24th

Hear Jennifer Ashley and Angela Dawe Talk – Friday, June 28th

My many thanks to these authors and narrators for working together with AudioGals and Tantor Audio to make this a JIAM event to be remembered!

Lea Hensley

And our JIAM Celebration Giveaway has been extended to Sunday, June 16th! Go check it out if you have yet to enter.

Continue reading »]]> It’s time for our big June is Audiobook Month event, Hear the Talk, sponsored by Tantor Audio! A series of six recorded chats over the remaining three weeks of June, we’re starting it today with Hear the Authors Talk. Four audio authors, Anne Stuart, Jennifer Ashley, Pamela Clare, and Julie James join me today to talk about audiobooks from an author’s point of view.

Anne Stuart

Julie James

Pamela Clare

Jennifer Ashley

On Friday we will feature our next in entry in our Hear the Talk event – four narrators who are paired with these authors on a number of Tantor titles – Xe Sands, Karen White, Kaleo Griffith, and Angela Dawe.

The last two weeks of June, we will feature author/narrator talks from all four of our author/narrator teams so keep watching.

Now it’s time to listen. For those of you stopping by to listen to one of your favorite authors chat today, you may be new to audio and, if so, please page down to see four sample narrations – one from each author. Listen and we dare you not to get hooked!

Edited to add: You may download any of our chats easily to your MP3 player. Or, you can listen on your phone directly from AudioGals. I just listened to the entire Hear the Authors Talk (again) in my car as I ran errands – didn’t even need earbuds!

Hear Anne Stuart, Jennifer Ashley, Julie James, and Pamela Clare Talk

Anne Stuart’s On Thin Ice Sample – Narrated by Xe Sands

Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie Sample – Narrated by Angela Dawe

Julie James’ Practice Makes Perfect Sample – Narrated by Karen White

Pamela Clare’s Extreme Exposure Sample – Narrated by Kaleo Griffith

Thanks to Anne, Julie, Pamela, and Jennifer!

Lea Hensley

Continue reading »]]> Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

For me, this is one of those times when it’s like Christmas came early – one of my favorite authors, stories, and couples are realized in audiobook form by one of my favorite narrators.

When I wrote a review of the book at the beginning of January, I said I thought The Governess Affair was just short of perfect. As a novella, it’s a supreme example of how to craft a compelling story with a limited word-count without sacrificing anything in terms of characterization or plot; and how to create a deeply satisfying and sensual romance that evolves organically and doesn’t feel at all rushed.

Hugo Marshall solves problems. He’s ruthlessly efficient, ambitious, and without scruple – and at the beginning of the story is presented with a challenge. He is currently engaged in running the business affairs of the Duke of Clermont, a cash-strapped aristocrat who married for money and needs to keep his wife happy if he is to continue to receive regular payments from her funds. Hugo is shrewd, clever, has a good head for business, and has no intention of being at the Duke’s beck and call forever, having determined to build his own business empire as soon as he has enough capital.

At the beginning of the story, Clermont gives Hugo a problem to solve. In the square outside his London home sits a young woman – Miss Serena Barton – whom Clermont claims is accusing him of reneging on an agreement to employ her. The Duchess is currently away from home following a marital dispute, and time is of the essence. Her Grace cannot be allowed to encounter Miss Barton as this would undoubtedly lead to more marital discord.

Serena was dismissed without a reference from her post as a governess because a man was seen leaving her room one night. That man was, of course, the Duke of Clermont, and Serena has come to London to exact retribution for what he did to her. She intends to generate gossip simply by sitting in the square outside his house, knowing that is a sure fire way of making life very uncomfortable for him. But it is not the Duke she fears so much as “his man” – known as the “Wolf of Clermont” because of his willingness to do the Duke’s dirty work and get what he wants by any means necessary.

Hugo knows his employer too well to believe he’s been told the whole truth about the reasons for Serena’s presence, and so goes to talk to her, without disclosing his identity. She finds him easy to talk to and immediately senses that he’s “safe” – something she chides herself for on so brief an acquaintance, while being convinced, deep down, that she is right. That meeting is the beginning of a warm and tender romance that develops realistically and naturally between two emotionally bruised characters who are – initially – stubbornly set on attaining opposing goals.

Rosalyn Landor always seems to find exactly the right tone for her female characters. Serena’s voice is pitched in what I’d describe as mid-range, which I think gives her just the right degree of maturity. She also invests her with a slight edge, a sharpness in some of her exchanges with Hugo, and is yet able to give the merest hints at the fears and insecurities Serena is trying so hard to hide.

Her interpretation of Serena’s sister, Frederica, is also note-perfect. Freddie (she hates being called that!) is practically agoraphobic and comes across in print as rather embittered. But she is also scared and doesn’t understand Serena’s desire for revenge. In order to convey those aspects of Freddie’s character, Ms. Landor hardens her tone and gives her voice an almost brittle quality, expertly conveying the idea that Freddie is a woman who could break at any moment. Interestingly however, it emerges later in the story that she is actually much stronger than she at first seems. Those vocal qualities which Ms. Landor has used to convey her fragility – the harshness and suppressed anger – also serve very well to show that Freddie is, in her own way, possessed of as much determination as her sister.

It’s not long before both Hugo and Serena realize that they are strongly – and most inconveniently – attracted to each other. Despite his background as a pugilist and his reputation for ruthlessness, Hugo is a truly decent, gentle man. He keeps insisting that he’s not good or kind, and yet his actions where Serena is concerned continually belie his words. He tries to make her go away by making sure there’s nowhere for her to sit in the park, but ends up bringing her tea and sandwiches on a day when she’s been sitting in the rain. He offers her money, arranges for her and her sister to be evicted from their rented rooms and then for them to stay. Not only does he abhor the idea of hurting a woman, he senses there’s more to Serena’s story than the mere employment dispute which is the story given to him by the duke.

One of the things that really made an impression on me when I read the book was the fact that Serena felt partly responsible for the terrible thing that happened to her. The word rape isn’t used, but there’s no doubt that’s what Clermont did. The first time Hugo asks her if she had been forced, she tells him no. But when he asks again, she explains her reasons for saying so – she didn’t scream or struggle for fear of discovery (because she’d have been blamed) and believes her silence made her complicit. When Hugo learns the truth, the air fairly crackles with his suppressed rage, superbly communicated by the quiet menace with which Ms. Landor infuses his voice.

It’s fair to say that both protagonists are each carrying a couple of suitcases of emotional baggage. Serena and her sister have been reduced to genteel poverty, and it’s clear that Serena finds Freddie’s starchiness to be something of a trial. Hugo’s inner demons are more deeply hidden. The youngest of sixteen children, his father barely noticed him, and when he did, it was only to belittle and tell him he’d never make anything of himself. His desire to prove himself a better man and become “the richest miner’s son in England” is the driving force of his life – a force so strong that he almost loses sight of what’s truly important.  Almost – but not quite, as he comes to realize that without Serena, “being someone” is just an empty ambition, and that the someone he really wants to be is her husband.

Hugo hails from the north of England and his voice is described in the text as having a “hint of something from the north.” Sometimes the trace of an accent can be harder to imitate than a full-blown one but I think Ms. Landor has brought Hugo to life very successfully. She’s given him just a trace of gruffness and has made small alterations to her vowel sounds, but not so much as to make him sound too bluff or uncultured. There’s a real warmth in her tone that belies Hugo’s protestations of his not being good or kind, and she injects just the right note of flirtatiousness in the scenes in which he and Serena kiss and make love for the first time.

Having listened to a number of Rosalyn Landor’s audio performances, I was confident that listening to The Governess Affair was going to be an enjoyable experience and I wasn’t wrong. I fully admit to being a Landor fangirl of the highest order, and never fail to be impressed with the way she delineates all the characters she voices so distinctly and in tones that are so completely different to her natural speaking voice. Narrated passages are well paced and her inflection is always sensitive and melodic. I’ve listened to some narrators whose character voices are good, but whose narration I find flat and rather monotonous, but that’s never been the case with Ms Landor. I always get the impression that she’s not only read the book several times, but that she’s spent time learning to understand the characters and getting into their heads. In fact there have been times, listening to her, when I’ve forgotten I’m hearing just one person!

This is an audio I return to time and again when I want to listen to something I know I’ll enjoy but don’t feel like investing in the twelve hours I’d need to listen to a full-length novel. It’s a lovely story of two broken people who find each other and click, each filling a need of the other’s they never realized they had.

And if Ms. Milan is planning to make the subsequent Brothers Sinister novels available in audio format, I really hope the series proceeds using the same narrator as, in my opinion, there are very few who can better Rosalyn Landor when it comes to historical romance.

Caz

Narration:  A

Book Content:  A- (wish it were longer)

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  None

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Courtney Milan

Continue reading »]]> It’s June Is Audiobook Month (JIAM) and we’re continuing the celebration with Hear the Talk, a series of six recorded chats here at AudioGals over the the next three weeks. Sponsored by Tantor Audio, our first chat, Hear the Authors Talk, is scheduled for Monday. We’ll be talking about audiobooks from an author’s point of view. And we’re excited about the participating authors!

Julie James

Anne Stuart

Jennifer Ashley

Pamela Clare

See you Monday!

Lea Hensley

Continue reading »]]> Welcome to Caz – our newest guest reviewer! Caz hails from the UK and has not only been an audiobook listener for years but also audio drama and grew up listening to BBC Radio. You’ll want to visit her blog, Caz’s Reading Room. AudioGals has a page dedicated to her under Gal Friends – Our Guest Reviewers – complete with her bio and a list of her favorite narrators. Her first review, Laura Kinsale’s Midsummer Moon is below. Now for a more thorough introduction…

Caz has been a fan of audiobooks and audio drama for a number of years. Born and bred in the UK, she grew up listening to BBC Radio 4, world-renowned for its output of high quality comedy and drama. Favourite dramatisations have included the spectacular Lord of the Rings in the 80s (in which Ian Holm starred as Frodo), Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Chronicles, and Villetteby Charlotte Bronte, among many others.

She joined Goodreads a couple of years ago, initially as a way of keeping track of her books. But it wasn’t long before she got the reviewing bug (being naturally opinionated and verbose probably helped!) and she now has her own blog, Caz’s Reading Room, as well as reviewing regularly for All About Romance and Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers. Her preferred genres are historical fiction and historical romance – although as a big Doctor Who fan, she likes to get stuck into one of the eponymous Time Lord’s audio adventures from time to time, too. They’re just the right length for tackling a big pile pile of ironing!

In real life, she’s a teacher (of music and languages) and is the mother of two well-read and very talented daughters. Favourite audiobooks include Courtney Milan’s Unlocked, Lisa Kleypas’ Devil in Winter and A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah Maclean. When it comes to narrators, she has enjoyed performances by Rosalyn Landor, Richard Armitage, Simon Prebble, Susan Ericksen and most recently, Nicholas Boulton.

Now for Midsummer Moon. It’s longer than our usual review but there’s so much to say!

Lea Hensley

Continue reading »]]> Narrated by Nicholas Boulton

When I heard – here at AudioGals of course! – that Laura Kinsale planned to release her books in audio format, I was, well, to say excited is probably the understatement of the year. I’ve followed her progress via her interviews here and feel very privileged, as one of the newest reviewers at AudioGals, to have been given an advance copy of one of the first batch of titles for review.

I have to confess that I haven’t read Midsummer Moon, but knowing I was going to be listening to it, I read a few synopses and a mixture of reviews and quickly realized that it’s a book that seems to divide opinion. I can certainly understand now why that is the case – the idea of Merlin inventing prototypes of both the telegraph and aeroplane does rather stretch credulity and Ransom can come across as dictatorial and somewhat unsympathetic at times. But as sometimes happens with audiobooks, that which may come across as implausible or unpleasant on the page, can be transformed by an intelligent, engaging performance and a new light shed on a character or characters’ motivations and actions.

And that is most certainly the case in Midsummer Moon, thanks to the superb vocal talents of Nicholas Boulton. He is quite simply one of the best narrators it has been my good fortune to hear.

Merlin Lambourne is an inventress. She lives alone in an old Tudor house somewhere in Devon with just a handful of servants, and spends most of her time happily ensconced in her own world of spare parts, blueprints, and experiments. She comes from a very well connected family, but her father died when she was young and her family cast off both Merlin and her deaf-mute mother. After the death of her remaining parent, Merlin was brought up by her eccentric great-uncle and has never been out in society. But she doesn’t miss what she’s never had and is quite happy shut up in her cluttered home working on her inventions.

When Ransom Falconer, Duke of Damerell arrives at her home insisting on seeing one of her inventions, Merlin immediately assumes it is the flying machine she has been working on and tells him it’s not yet ready. The opening chapter details their first encounter and is reminiscent of a screwball comedy with both of them at crossed purposes – Ransom’s barely suppressed irritation mixed with Merlin’s obliviousness (and her confusion as to how to address “Mr. Duke”) amid the clutter of abandoned machines and spare parts.

By turns exasperated and charmed by her, Ransom tries to persuade her to leave the place as he believes she is in danger from foreign agents who want to get their hands on her work. He is also appalled at the fact that Merlin has been left to her own devices and ignored by her family for so long and resolves to do something to rectify her situation. Devious as he can be, Ransom immediately sees that in doing the latter, there is a way for him to serve his own purposes as well – but Merlin obstinately refuses to leave.

Inadvertently, Ransom ingests an aphrodisiac during their meal. The author’s descriptions of how he progresses from disliking the rather tough meat he’s been served to finding it palatable and then to wanting more is quite funny. The following love scene is, while not overly explicit… well, let’s just say I needed a lie down by an open window afterwards! Ransom is ardent and seductive, and Boulton’s gravelly tone as he projects the impression of a man who normally keeps his desires firmly in check while discarding his inhibitions, is note-perfect and incredibly sexy. Merlin is swept off her feet (literally!) and, after her initial confusion, participates unreservedly. I can see that for some, a love scene in which the hero is acting under the influence of a drug and the innocent heroine is befuddled by what’s happening may be off-putting. But I didn’t find it so. In fact, I liked that Merlin was as refreshingly honest and enthusiastic about how Ransom was making her feel as she was about everything else in her life. She didn’t see why something that felt so wonderful could possibly be something to be avoided and became an eager participant in their lovemaking.

Some have criticized Merlin for being too ditzy and a bit of an airhead, but I thought she was neither. She’s incredibly single-minded when it comes to her work (even to the extent of having a severe case of tunnel-vision regarding her obsession with her flying machine), which rings very true for her character. I admit that it did seem a bit odd that a woman who knew enough about anatomy to save Ransom’s life was rather confused as to how babies were made, but I think that may have been another instance of the way she could focus on one thing at a time and everything else was just so much “blah, blah, blah.” Her ditziness was a little reminiscent of Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby; not quite as forceful a character, but endearing and scatty.

When I’m listening to a new-to-me male narrator, I’m always concerned as to how he will interpret the female characters. I imagine it can be a difficult balance to find, making the character sound sufficiently feminine without resorting to falsetto. But once again, Boulton strikes absolutely the right note. He adopts a slightly higher pitch and softens his tone for Merlin. Jacqueline’s voice is soft and throaty and his Dowager Duchess is faintly reminiscent of Edith Evans or Alec Guiness in Kind Hearts and Coronets!

Ransom is authoritarian and used to getting his own way. His work for the British government frequently requires him to be devious and manipulative, and he’s not above employing the same tactics with his family. While I can certainly understand that those aren’t especially attractive traits, I found it difficult to dislike him as he does what he does out of a desire to protect his dependents and keep them safe. He has one hell of a temper (which he frequently exercises) but when push comes to shove, he’s ruthlessly efficient and definitely the kind of chap you’d want on your side in a crisis.

Quickly realizing that his desire for Merlin wasn’t just fuelled by aphrodisiac-laced salt, Ransom acknowledges (to himself) that he actually wants her rather desperately. Her stubborn refusals to marry him because he adamantly opposes her work on the flying machine, do get rather tiring after a while, and her insistence that he is trying to suffocate her by taking her work away did feel a bit irrational.

Ransom is, of course, terrified that Merlin will be badly injured or killed, but he goes about things in completely the wrong way. He quickly realizes that Merlin finds it hard to resist him and that he can soften her resolve with a touch or a kiss. It’s not long before she begins to see his strategy and suspect his motives, wondering whether he’s doing it because he wants her, or because he wants his own way. It’s ironic that Merlin’s obsession is with flight while Ransom has a phobia about heights and it seems as though they will never be able to find any middle ground.

A difficult character to like at times, Boulton’s performance of Ransom is so wonderfully nuanced that it brings out the fears and insecurities that lie behind his actions, even when he’s losing his temper or being horribly overbearing. But with Merlin, he can be tender, playful and affectionate.

There is a fairly large cast of supporting characters including Ransom’s handsome younger brother and his ex-wife, their sister, the local parson, and the mysterious and wonderfully-named Major O’Sullivan O’Toole O’Shaughnessy. Each character is vocally distinct and consistently portrayed; and Boulton’s interpretation of Ransom’s twelve-year-old nephew, Woodrow, deserves special mention. Woodrow has a very pronounced stammer – something that can be very hard to imitate without sounding unrealistic or too exaggerated. Accurate yet sympathetic, he perfectly conveys Woodrow’s intelligence and underlying frustration.

I admit, accents are a bit of a “thing” for me.  I’m a musician by training and thus (I hope!) have a good ear. Sometimes though, that can be a curse rather than a blessing, as others might perceive me as being over critical. So for me, it’s wonderful to hear someone successfully pull off a wide variety of regional and foreign accents. Not many of the performers I’ve heard to date have the ability to sound convincing when using a number of (and switching between) different accents during a single performance. One might manage a good Scottish accent, but be unable to sustain an Irish one. Another might convince me they could be from Yorkshire, but fail at sounding vaguely French. I know it’s one of those things that comes more naturally to some people than others (actors included) but here, Nicholas Boulton pulls it off easily as an Irishman, a Frenchwoman, or a gruff, West-Country servant, without slipping up once. I’ve heard some narrators pull it off 95% of the time, but even my picky ears couldn’t detect a single flaw in this particular performance.

To sum up, Midsummer Moon is an audiobook I have absolutely no hesitation recommending unreservedly. The story is full of humor and tenderness and the characterizations throughout are superb. We have an eccentric but winning heroine, an honorable and upstanding hero (who is often endearingly bewildered by her), grumpy old retainers, a very discerning no-nonsense dowager, and a peripatetic hedgehog. The whole thing moves along at a rattling pace.

Nicholas Boulton’s performance is, quite simply, flawless – and I suspect he may have ruined me for all other narrators! He brings a real depth of feeling to the scenes in which Ransom and Merlin are arguing or loving, and I think that anyone who finds Ransom to be too coldly manipulative on the page might find their opinions revised after listening to Midsummer Moon.

Caz

Narration:  A

Book Content:  A-

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in (but not overly raunchy!)

Violence: Minimal

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher: Hedgehog Inc.

Midsummer Moon was provided to AudioGals for review by Hedgehog Inc.