The Mésalliance by Stella Riley

The Mésalliance audioNarrated by Alex Wyndham

When I listened to The Parfit Knight recently, the Duke of Rockliffe threatened to overtake the story wherever he appeared, so I was very excited to read his book, The Mésalliance.

The book begins some eight years before the main action of the story, when the not-yet-Duke of Rockliffe, Tracy Wynstanton, (yes, his name is Tracy. No wonder his friends call him Rock. Just sayin’) is touring his father’s lands. He meets a young orphan girl who seems fey and wild and free and, even though she is rail thin and not much to look at, he is unwittingly fascinated by her.

Fast forward to eight years later and Rock (I’m going to call him Rock too) is facing the dilemma of what to do with his youngest sister, Eleanor (aka Nell). She is nearly 18 and has been expelled from yet another school. He can’t bring her out himself because he is a man and he is reluctant to consign Nell to Lucilla, their sister, who, from all accounts, is a bit of witch. It becomes obvious to Rock that Nell feels like a burden to him and he feels some guilt over not giving her enough of his time. In fact, he feels enough guilt that he accepts, for the both of them, an invitation to a country house party with Nell’s bestest besties, Diana and Althea Franklin, twin beauties with, particularly in Diana’s case, high social aspirations.

Rock expects to be heartily bored for two weeks but counts it as time well spent for the sake of his sister. He is alarmed early on to realise that Diana is a duplicitous, social climbing harridan – and Diana has her sights set firmly on the title Duchess of Rockliffe.

While dodging Diana’s wiles and catching up with his old friend Harry Caversham, also a guest at the party, Rock renews his acquaintance with Adeline, the wild, fey girl from eight years ago. She is now 24 and firmly on the shelf. After the death of her grandfather, she was sent to live with the Franklin family – Mrs. Franklin is Adeline’s aunt. There, she is treated as a kind of unpaid companion and scapegrace. Adeline is a kind of Cinderella character. Diana plays the part of both evil stepsisters (she really is quite awful) and Rock, of course, is Prince Charming.

Only, Rock isn’t always charming. When they first meet again, they exchange pointed barbs, for which Adeline pays a high price with her relations. Rock wasn’t all that nice here, to be honest. I had expected more noblesse oblige from him. He did acknowledge to himself that his behaviour was less than gracious but I don’t remember him actually apologising to Adeline for it. (He mostly makes up for it though. Mostly).

As the house party progresses, Adeline and Rock find themselves sympatico in many ways. She has grown up and, with healthy food, has gained some weight. She is still tall and slender nonetheless and her face is not “traditionally beautiful”. She is however striking and when she laughs or smiles, she draws the appreciative eye of any male within sight. But she is not a suitable duchess. She was not raised to the role and her birth, while gentle, isn’t high enough for the ton to find her acceptable. Also, unfortunately or Adeline, her connections are vulgar. Diana is an awful person with no redeeming characteristics whatsoever and Adeline’s Uncle Richard cheats at cards. No, Adeline is completely unsuitable as a bride. Pity that.

Still, Rock has been thinking about finding a bride – if he were married, his wife could bring Nell out and she would not have to go to Lucilla or a family friend and besides, Rock is 36. It’s time he “set up his nursery” and did his duty to his title. But Adeline is not suitable to be his bride. Even though she is the only woman he’s met who doesn’t bore him. Hmmmm.

Diana’s machinations have unexpected results (much to Diana’s dismay) and Rock finds himself getting what he wanted after all and acquiescing to fate.

However, after the wedding, the Franklin family interfere to set Rock and Adeline at odds and the last half of the book is mostly based on a Big Misunderstanding. The “Big Mis” is my least favourite romance trope. While I understood (if I squinted) why Adeline didn’t confide in Rock, I still found it frustrating. As the couple move further and further apart and become more hopelessly bound in miscommunication and misunderstanding, I couldn’t help think (quite loudly) that the whole thing could be solved with ONE conversation. Adeline and Rock were too smart and too mature for me to completely accept that they would be this dense. Even if because love.

There was also a scene late in the book when Rock behaves abominably and I found it a little difficult to shake it off. It was verging on non-consent. Fortunately, it didn’t go there but I admit it shocked me. I was disappointed that he was capable of impersonating a villain so well and I don’t think he grovelled nearly enough for it.

There is, however, a secondary romance or two to entertain the listener and of course, there is Alex Wyndham’s narration. It is, as always, superb. I think I might have spotted one little error (someone misnamed) early in the book, but other than that, it was flawless.

Mr. Wyndham has so many character voices in his repertoire and I love the way he inhabits each role he plays as he narrates. When I was frustrated because Rock and Adeline just needed to talk to one another, it was the narration which kept me engaged and avidly listening anyway.

For those who don’t mind, or even enjoy a Big Mis (and I know there are listeners who do), The Mésalliance is a must-listen. And even for those who don’t, I recommend it regardless. There is plenty to enjoy. Rock is a fascinating character and Alex Wyndham is at the top of a very short list of excellent narrators of historical romance.

Kaetrin


Narration: A

Book Content: B

Steam Factor: You can play it out loud

Violence Rating: Fighting, some reference to previous domestic abuse

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Stella Riley

The Mésalliance was provided to AudioGals by Stella Riley for a review.

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3 thoughts on “The Mésalliance by Stella Riley

  1. It just goes to show how different we all are. For me, the story IS the misunderstanding and without it, there would be no story. The way Stella Riley brings her story to an end is fascinating, gripping and very very clever. I can’t think of another story that I have read/listened to with a more emotionally satisfying ending. And as for Tracy/Rock – I just adored his characterisation. Tracy is an old English male name (used in fact by Shakespeare) it’s a pity it has been high jacked and used as a female name which is now a bit of a joke. I agree with you that Alex Wyndham’s performance is superb but then I always maintain that a brilliant narrator has to have brilliant writing to make his/her performance exceptional.

    1. I’m just not a fan of misunderstandings but I know that a lot of people either don’t mind them or actively love them.

      I adored Rock except for the bit at the end where I had pretty much the opposite reaction to him.

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