When a Duke Loves a Woman by Lorraine Heath

Narrated by Kate Reading

The first two books in the author’s Sins for All Seasons series – Beyond Scandal and Desire and When a Duke Loves a Woman – have been released simultaneously, and as I read and reviewed the first book earlier this year, I opted to review the second in audio. It’s a low-angst, low-conflict Cinderella story which is well written, boasts a couple of engaging central characters and a romance that feels very mature – but ultimately, it lacks the emotional punch I’ve found in other books I’ve read by this author, and I came away from it feeling a little disappointed.

Antony Coventry, Duke of Thornley, is some way into his cups when he decides to make his way to Whitechapel, the last known destination of the woman who jilted him at the altar that morning. While there, Thornley – Thorne – falls foul of a bunch of footpads who rob him and beat him quite badly. He just about recalls hearing a low, melodious voice yelling at the men to leave him alone and moves in and out of consciousness as his rescuer, gets him to her flat, has the doctor called, and then takes care of him until he is well enough to be able to return home.

Gillie Trewlove is one of five ‘siblings’ who aren’t related by blood but regard themselves as such owing to the fact that they were all taken in as babies and brought up by the big-hearted Ettie Trewlove. They have gone on to make something of themselves through dint of their own hard work; one brother – Mick (hero of Beyond Scandal and Desire)- is an incredibly wealthy businessman, while another owns a thriving gambling establishment, and Gillie is the proud owner of the Mermaid and Unicorn Tavern in Whitechapel. She’s clever, compassionate, hard-working, fair – and the lynch-pin of the local community, generous and always ready to offer help to those in need.

Over the next few days, Gillie watches over Thorne and, to the surprise of her staff, doesn’t set foot in the tavern for a day or so, which is unprecedented. But there’s no-one else to care for him; the last thing she needs is for her brothers to discover there’s a man in her bed – even a seriously injured one – because then they’ll try to force him to marry her, and Gillie is certainly not going to hand over control of the business she’s worked so hard to build to a husband.

After a few days, Thorne is well enough to travel, and with a reluctance she hadn’t expected and doesn’t want to feel, Gillie arranges for him to be taken home. She still has no idea of his identity, although it’s clear he’s a gentleman of means, and she doesn’t expect to see him ever again. But this is a romance novel, so readers and listeners know better and won’t be at all surprised to learn that Thorne makes his way to the tavern a few days later in order to properly thank Gillie for taking care of him.

This is the first of many visits to the Mermaid and Unicorn. Thorne tells Gillie about his aborted wedding, and explains he is concerned about his former betrothed. He asks for Gillie’s help tracking her down; he just wants to make sure she is well and to try to persuade her to return home. Soon, however, Thorne is visiting the tavern for Gillie’s sake alone; he finds her very attractive, and is drawn to her strength, her compassion and her very down-to-earth way of looking at things. Those are the qualities I most admired about Gillie as well; she’s sensible, kind and confident – she knows who she is, likes who she is and isn’t about to apologise for it or change for anybody. Thorne is a similarly attractive character although he’s a bit more stereotypical, the product of a miserable marriage (his father was a serial adulterer who died of syphilis) and thus not sure he’s ever felt – or is capable of feeling – love. As I said earlier, the romance has a refreshing maturity about it; Thorne and Gillie are a slightly older couple (she’s thirty, he’s thirty-six – although there’s a mistake in the text indicating he’s ten years younger than that), which shows in their outlook and attitude to life, and I appreciated that very much. BUT – it’s also on the tepid side and I wasn’t feeling a great deal of chemistry between them.

This is a character-driven story and the pacing reflects that, but it takes a while to get going, as after Thorne’s beating, we’re presented with several chapters which seem to consist mostly of Gillie’s mental lusting over his gorgeous physique and handsome features. Considering we’re told (extensively) that she’s never felt sexual attraction before (and in fact, has deliberately avoided it), I suppose it’s understandable that she would go a bit ga-ga over him, but still, it got old quickly. And I can’t NOT point out that if you look for a degree of historical accuracy in your historical romances, you won’t find much of it here; this is a fairy tale at heart and that’s fine – the Cinderella trope is popular for a reason and I enjoy it when it’s done well. But asking me to believe that Thorne’s mother would behave in the way she does at the end of the book was the straw that broke the camel’s back of my already thinly stretched credulity.

Lorraine Heath is one of my favourite authors, but I was disappointed with the narration in When the Duke was Wicked and Falling into Bed with A Duke, and decided not to listen to any more of the books in those series. So I’m sure it will come as no surprise that my reaction to seeing Kate Reading’s name attached to Ms. Heath’s latest audiobooks was “Hallelujah! At last, Lorraine Heath gets a decent narrator!” (well, a more than decent one, but you know what I mean.)

Ms. Reading is a favourite narrator here at AudioGals, and she delivers exactly the sort of enjoyable and accomplished performance I’ve come to expect. Technically, she’s flawless; her pacing is such that she allows the words room to breathe and all the characters are portrayed in a way that is appropriate to gender, age and station. She knows how to render the aristocratic male hero perfectly – Thorne’s voice oozes authority and confidence and has a slightly husky note that is very attractive – and she also does a great job with the slightly less polished accents that belong to Gillie and her brothers. The text indicates that they were all taught to speak correctly, although their upbringings mean they don’t have the sort of cut-glass accent belonging to the upper classes. I especially loved her interpretation of Gillie, which brought her completely to life as a no-nonsense, mature woman who was comfortable in her own skin, didn’t suffer fools but had a compassionate streak a mile wide.

The audiobook of When a Duke Loves a Woman earns a recommendation mostly on account of Kate Reading’s excellent performance – although even that wasn’t quite enough to disguise the lethargic pacing of the first few chapters. This isn’t one of the author’s best books, but it’s unquestionably the best narrated!

Caz