The Fairest of Them All by Cathy Maxwell

Narrated by Mary Jane Wells

I’m going to confess upfront that the only reason I chose to listen to this second book in Cathy Maxwell’s Marrying the Duke series, The Fairest of Them All, is because Mary Jane Wells is the narrator. I was singularly underwhelmed by the first book, The Match of the Century, which was where we first met Gavin Whitridge, the Duke of Baynton. That book tells the story of Gavin’s younger brother, Benedict, and Elin Morris, the young lady to whom Gavin had been betrothed for a number of years. Ben and Elin had been young lovers who were torn asunder when their fathers discovered them, and the book tells the story of their finding their way back to each other.

Although he genuinely cared for Elin, Gavin clearly saw that she and Ben were meant for one another and graciously stepped aside. But he is still in the market for a wife, and in the manner of handsome princes everywhere, holds a ball to which all the eligible young ladies of the ton are invited. He is instantly captivated by the most beautiful young woman he has ever seen, Lady Charlene Blanchard, the daughter of an earl who gambled away everything he owned and then took his own life, leaving his wife and daughter practically destitute. Even so, Charlene is lovely, demure, poised and everything Gavin is looking for in a duchess. He quickly secures her hand for the first dance, but things don’t get that far because the ball is suddenly interrupted by a group of American gentlemen, one of whom turns out to be Gavin’s long-lost twin brother, Jack, who disappeared from Eton when they were fifteen and from whom nothing has been heard for the last seventeen years.

It’s 1812 and relations between Britain and America are strained to say the least. Jack has come to England as part of a delegation hoping to persuade some of the most influential members of the British government to discuss America’s grievances and to attempt to find mutually acceptable solutions. It’s that or all-out war, but Jack has so far been unsuccessful in his attempts to make appointments with the men best placed to help; there is trouble on the Continent and their focus is closer to home. Although he had not wanted to make use of his family connections, it’s soon clear to Jack that it’s the only way; his brother is an extremely influential man and if Jack is to make any progress he must involve Gavin, hence his unexpected appearance at the ball.

Harsh words are exchanged and explanations are given; the brothers reach an uneasy truce and Jack starts to realise how much pain his disappearance caused, and how deeply it affected his brother. Gavin agrees to help Jack with his mission, but even as Jack is out and about trying to make contacts and arrange meetings, he finds himself keeping an eye out for a young woman he encountered on the city streets a couple of weeks back. One of his group had his purse stolen and Jack gave chase, only to accost a lovely young woman rather than the boy he had expected. The girl escaped by virtue of a well-placed knee, but Jack can’t forget her and hopes to see her again.

Pickpocketing isn’t exactly an appropriate occupation for the daughter of an earl, but times are tough for Lady Charlene and her aunt Sarah, and they will be evicted from their home if they are unable to pay the rent this month. Sarah is the sister of Charlene’s late mother, but she is illegitimate and makes her meagre living as an actress and playwright. Charlene’s uncle, who acceded to the earldom after her father’s death, is supposed to be supporting her financially, but has done so grudgingly – and not at all for the past few months. Charlene’s eccentric godmother, Lady Baldwin has a rather colourful past, and it’s at her suggestion that Charlene –or Char, as everyone seems to call her – takes to dressing in breeches and loitering about the streets looking for likely marks.

Jack is, of course, astonished when he finally meets the lady who has captured his staid brother’s interest and recognises her as the urchin he had chased through the streets.

The story proceeds as one would expect, with Jack and Char falling for each other but not wanting to hurt Gavin, or, in Jack’s case, risk losing Gavin’s support for his mission. There are, after all, only a certain number of plots out there, and there’s an element of predictability to every romance, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing – provided there are other things about the story which compensate for it. The problem here is that there aren’t. Jack and Char are terribly bland and actually don’t interact very much for the first half of the book; and then suddenly, “poof!” they’re in love. I thought I’d missed something so I went back a couple of chapters to check – but I hadn’t. Char – and seriously, that’s a horrible contraction – is almost stupidly naïve; when she fesses up to the pickpocketing to Saran and calls it “a brilliant adventure”, I wanted to smack her. And even though Jack gains some understanding of how his disappearance affected his family and how heavy are the responsibilities that sit upon his brother’s shoulders, he still puts his mission above his family. Neither protagonist is particularly likeable and when I finished this, I had the same reaction as when I’d finished listening to the first book, namely, “Poor Gavin.” And then – “good riddance to her – she didn’t deserve you.”

Writing a successful love triangle without making the ‘rival’ a nasty character is a very tough thing to do, and unfortunately, Ms. Maxwell hasn’t managed it. Gavin is by far the more engaging of the brothers, even when, near the end of the book, he finally snaps and does something unpleasant (although not without provocation). But even if that had not been the case, there is practically zero chemistry between Jack and Charlene, the romance is severely underdeveloped and I wasn’t buying it.

The one thing that saves The Fairest of Them All from being a complete wash-out is the excellent narration by Mary Jane Wells. She is incredibly reliable and has never let me down yet; her pacing is good in both narrative and dialogue, her character differentiation is superb and she brings just the right amount of emotion and expression to her performances. I often bemoan the inaccuracy of European accents in my reviews but readily admit to not being an expert on American ones; to my ear, however, the accent she employs for Jack is accurate and consistent throughout. It’s thanks to her portrayal that he is even half way to being an attractive hero, because without the humour and warmth she lends his character, I doubt I’d have liked him much at all. Her characterisation of Charlene is equally good; she raises her pitch a little and adds a slightly breathless note which makes her sound somewhat girlish, clearly illustrating the naivété I mentioned earlier. One thing I did note is that in Match of the Century, Ben’s voice is lower pitched than Gavin’s while here it’s higher, and I spotted a couple of odd mispronunciations; but neither of those things is sufficient to have made this less than a very accomplished and enjoyable performance.

I really can’t recommend The Fairest of Them All, because the story is so weak and the characters are less than inspiring. If, like me, you’re a fan of Ms. Wells’, and are looking for something new of hers to listen to, you might want to give it a whirl. But honestly, I’d give it a miss and listen to her in Marrying Winterborne again instead.

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Caz

AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION

TITLE: The Fairest of Them All

AUTHOR: Cathy Maxwell

NARRATED BY: Mary Jane Wells

GENRE: Historical Romance

STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in (but at the very tame end)

REVIEWER: Caz [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01COR0B6Y/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy The Fairest of Them All by Cathy Maxwell on Amazon[/button] [section label=’Excerpt’ anchor=’Excerpt’]EXCERPT: