First of the Bastion Club spies to fall in love

These are long drawn out romance novels but if you can grin and bear it then you will be rewarded with an enjoyable, fun, lighthearted and passionate listen.

I prefer Jill Tanner to Simon Prebbles as he sounds too old for the parts he plays, but I don't particularly like her either.

Worth the credit? Yes, it's long but, if you're a S.L. fan then you know what you're getting and you should enjoy it.

13 people found this helpful

Why Jill Tanner?????

The story is absolutely RUINED because of this mono tone - BORING narration. I think Larry king would tell this better. There is no creative narration throughout the book and she sounds as bored reading it as she is being listened to. I LOVE Simon Prebble in the Cynster series - why change for this?
If you have staying power and are a die hard SL fan, then grin and bare it. this is my second Jill Tanner purely out of being an SL fan, but it will be my last from this narrator. she can make a sunny day dull just by uttering a single sound.
what a shame.

22 people found this helpful

Narrator issues

The book appears to be reasonably well-written but the listening experience is marred by the narrator. She reads very s-l-o-w-l-y and does not make much of an attempt to distinguish the characters by change of voice so it is easy to get confused as to whom is speaking. This also flattens any repartee between the characters and any attempt at humor. If you like romance mysteries set in the Regency period of England, Kate Reading's readings of the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig are a much better choice.

18 people found this helpful

The narration is horrible

I will NEVER again buy a book narrated by Jill Tanner. I was completely disappointed in her abilities! I kept hoping through the first chapter that she would inprove, no such luck. It not only was boring, but also took away from the story as a whole!!!!

5 people found this helpful

Wonderfully Good Second Half!

This book drove me crazy!!! First because it was frustratingly slow & then because it was fantastically fun, crazy & romantic! I have to say that never have I been more proud of myself for not giving up on a book before the second half! This book is a trial during the first four hours because everything moves at a snails pace. The same phrases are repeated endlessly to the point that I was tempted to toss my iPhone out the car window if I heard "She met his gaze" one more time, but the characters are intriguing and the female lead is no idiot so I had to stick with it because SL has never let me down before.

Then it all clicked & the romance and mystery take off like a rocket in part two! Now I was hooked and totally invested in the tale! It is totally worth the time and sets off the B. Club quite well. I look forward to the rest of the series!

5 people found this helpful

Not bad, but pretty average

As a light read in this genre, it's not bad. The romantic plot and the romantic suspense are a bit thin, and for me the hero and heroines motivations aren't always that clear. He's wife hunting, obviously besotted with our heroine, and yet it seems to take forever for it to even occur to him that she might just do. She just doesn't want to get married for some reason. I was never clear as to why not. There's some mystery in the plot, but few surprises. The narrator, Jill Tanner, started out a bit rough. I don't know if she got better or I just grew accustomed to her, but I wound up thinking she did a fair job of it. I've heard better, but heaven knows, I've heard worse. For me, both the book and the narrator were fairly average.

3 people found this helpful

Great story but dreadful narrator

I loved this story but the narrator was difficult to listen to. Pauses were awkward and it was difficult to distinguish character dialogue.

2 people found this helpful

Captain Jack is what we need

I had a hard time with this one, the characters were a bit...flat.. .. A little disappointed after reading Captain Jack...🤔🤔🤔🤔

1 person found this helpful

Start here, and don't miss this series!

The book begins with the former spies for the crown meeting after Waterloo and banding together as the Bastion Club to take control of what comes next in their lives.
The publisher's blurb gives clues as to the plot. This is the first in the series, and is not the strongest, but is a very interesting read, nonetheless. It does stand up to the rereading test, as well as the "filched by friends" test. I gave up and got the audio, so I could keep a copy.
Jill Tanner does a good job as narrator, but I would have preferred a baritone.

1 person found this helpful

My favorite

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lady Chosen to be better than the print version?

Yes!!!!!! This is my favorite Bastion Club story, and I like Ms Tanner's readings.

What did you like best about this story?

The developing relationship between Tristan and Lenora.

Have you listened to any of Jill Tanner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first book with Ms. Tanner as narrator. I know she's not popular with some. I really like her voice. Mr Prebbles is good but I prefer Ms. Tanner.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Lenora realizes that she may lose Tristan unless she learns to trust.

1 person found this helpful