Captivating

This is my first book by Jess Heileman and I loved it!! I could not stop listening! Throughout the story I thought I knew what would happen next, but with each new twist and turn, I gave up and just enjoyed the story and characters. This book has joined the ranks of being one of my favorite reads this year. If you like clean Regency romance that will keep you on your toes, this is the book for you!

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Such a fun one!

This is a great groupings of stories. I love all the author's in this group. This one shines!

It is fun to see a world where the daughter chooses the right thing, instead of the acceptable thing. So much in life we do what is expected, and by doing so we lose it others are hurt. What a great story of redemption and courage!

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I love a happy ending.

I was happy to listen without having to worry about graphic descriptions of sexual acts. However, the narrator made the listening less pleasurable.

what a wonderful surprise

I admit the description of the story did not entice me as much. But the book is well worth it. The story is so interesting and the characters are well fleshed out. People aren't just the good ones and the evil ones. They feel like real people, all with virtues and failings. Except one person who is pure evil, but it's perfect.

The reading of the story was also delightful!! The way the narrator changed her voices with each person was better than most I've heard and she tells the story with just enough feeling without overdoing it.

I highly recommend this story!!!

Twists I didn’t see coming and very enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this audible book. The narrator was spot on! I’m now a devoted fan of this author and will be looking for her new books. There is a bite to her story with a moral compass and sweet romance. I wasn’t expecting the story line and where it turned which I loved. I would totally recommend this book.

Love the Narrator, story, and plot!

This was an absolutely great story! The Romance was sweet and genuine and clean, that I would love for my family to not be ashamed to listen to! This is probably my favorite book I have read on Audible so far!!!
I hope you all enjoy it!

Clean, excellent story and narration!

Will definitely read more from this author! Clean and sweet story, with intrigue! Excellent narration by Janna Fox! Will look for more books narrated by her!

Kept me anxious until the end!

I read this book and loved it, so I was excited to listen to it as well. Really loved the narration and the way she brought this skilled conversation language to life! My favorite thing about Jess Heileman‘s writing is the dialogue she creates. Love it!

Fun and entertaining read

The narrator was amazing for this book. She changed her voice for different characters and even did a good job with the male voices.
I loved the dialogue between the main characters! The storyline was unique and unpredictable. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading.
I had no idea how the author was going to get to a happy ever after, but she did! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Fabulous story! The narrator was wonderful!

I read this book when it first came out and have to say that I enjoyed it just as much while listening to it. The narrator was delightful and I loved how she brought these characters to life even more so for more.

Oh my heart! And my emotions! There were so many wonderful layers to this book. The title is very apropos and I kept thinking about it a lot while I was reading Lady Arabella's story. I often think about what life was truly like during this time period. There's a small part of me that would love to have been able to experience it...of course only certain aspects of it. The romanticized aspects. I really loved how Jess Heileman tackled some of the underlying frustrations that these debutantes and young ladies experienced, and the rules that drove their lives, their upbringing and lessons and talking and thinking and everything!

Lady Arabella (or Bella) has been trained perfectly how to act and is a very well trained lady who is in the spotlight of so many critical eyes...especially her mother's. I loved seeing Bella in her current time and some little moments that show us bits of her past. Initially she doesn't come across as a character who we will connect with as readers. But these little bits start popping up throughout the story and we start seeing through the veneer of her perfected training. I loved diving further into her past and learning more about the people in her life now and those who she knew years before.

There are many surprises throughout that I wasn't expecting. And I loved them! They caught me unaware and had me smiling, sometimes cringing, sometimes feeling some of the pain and heartache that Bella and the other characters felt.

I loved the friendships throughout. I loved seeing how they are now versus how they once were in the past, and I especially loved watching them rekindle and grow strong. Even with so many outside forces that Bella doesn't have control over the further I read into her story I loved her character. Her struggles and her desire to be true to herself and her friends but also her need to honor her commitments and her parents. There's a whole other layer right there as well that I could discuss, but I'm going to just say go read the book! You'll thank me! I promise!

I loved the etiquette lessons that Bella agreed to teach to her friend Ruth and Sarah. The were so humorous and I loved how it really highlighted what young ladies were taught and expected to know and do in this time period. My favorite parts were when Augustus was a part of the lessons. *big grin and happy sigh*

Speaking of Augustus...oh my heart! Can I just say that two out of two of Jess Heileman's Heroes are fabulous! If you love a very well written hero, can I recommend two books that you'll love the heroes in? You've probably already guessed, this book and her previous book, Abigail. Mmmhmmm. There were several scenes that I just adored between Arabella and Augustus. When he asks her to wait for him for more etiquette lessons...be still my heart! I think I was grinning and giggling at that part. Oh and the journey to the seashore.

Absolutely delightful and one I highly recommend reading and or listening to!!!

Content: Clean. There is some talk (not in a lot of detail) of death/murder/suicide. Some sweet kisses but nothing further.

Happy Listening!!!