The Mésalliance cover art

The Mésalliance

Rockliffe, Book 2

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The Mésalliance

By: Stella Riley
Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
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About this listen

The Duke of Rockliffe is 36 years old, head of his house, and responsible for his young sister, Nell. He is, therefore, under some pressure to choose a suitable bride. Whilst accompanying Nell to what he speedily comes to regard as the house-party from hell, he meets Adeline Kendrick - acid-tongued, no more than passably good-looking yet somehow alluring. Worse still, her relatives are quite deplorable - from a spoiled, ill-natured cousin to a sadistic, manipulative uncle. As a prospective bride, therefore, Adeline is out of the question. Until, that is, a bizarre turn of events cause the Duke to throw caution to the wind and make what his world will call a mésalliance.

©2016 Stella Riley (P)2016 Stella Riley Historical Historical Fiction Regency Regency Romance Romance Romantic Suspense Suspense

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The second in the series, we see the Duke of Rockliffe in his full glory. Alex Wyndham's narration is sublime making Stella Riley's beautiful story come to life. I'm hooked and off to listen to Book 3 now.

Another beautiful story

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Alex Wyndham narrates this book beautifully which is #2 of the Rockcliffe series.

It can be read as a standalone but it would be best read in sequence to get to know all the characters.

This is the story of how Rockcliffe meets his match through a marriage of convenience and all the tribulations they have to go through.

It is one of my very favourite books and I listen to it often. Rockcliffe is still my top book boyfriend!

Highly recommended!!

Such a wonderful story

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Two beautiful characters. A perfect match for Rock, and a frustrating but addictive story of marriage. Such a rewarding listen.

Best in the series

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The Duke of Rockliffe is 36, handsome, wealthy and the epitome of gentlemanly elegance and good manners. He needs to find himself a wife, but unfortunately, he has yet to meet the lady who won't bore him witless. When an unscrupulous, spoiled débutante attempts to trap him into marriage, her plan goes awry when she is thwarted by her downtrodden cousin, Adeline - who becomes the recipient of Rockliffe's offer of marriage instead when the pair are discovered in a compromising position.

Adeline is no beauty, but there is something about her strength of character and defiantly waspish tongue that attracts the duke, and he is surprised to discover that he can make an offer of marriage to her with no misgivings. The wedding takes place quickly, but Adeline, taught by life to be cautious, is wary of revealing the depth of her feelings for him to her new husband, and asks for time to become accustomed to marriage before they consummate the union.

Not without difficulty, Rockliffe agrees, deciding to give Adeline the courtship she missed out on - but just as things seem to be going his way, Adeline's smarmy uncle tells her a secret about her past and threatens to reveal it to her husband if she doesn't pay him to keep quiet. This sets off a series of misunderstandings that threaten to spiral out of control, and it becomes difficult to see how things can ever be put right.

I'm not not wild about the Big Misunderstanding in romances, but I've been a fan of Stella Riley's for a long time, and I knew that she would make it work. The story gets very angsty, but she handles it extremely well, especially when it comes to Rockliffe, a man famous for his sang-found, but who finds himself getting closer and closer to the edge. All in all, the writing is intelligent and charming and the characterisation strong; there are a couple of sweet secondary romances along the way, as well as a mystery for Rockliffe to uncover in France. It's a terrific story, and is made even better by Alex Wyndham's superb performance. His interpretation of Rockliffe is spot on - he's unhurried, unruffled (until he isn't!) and does a brilliant job in conveying the tumult of emotion that is bubbling under the surface of his polished exterior.

The book has a fairly large cast of secondary characters, but Mr Wyndham rises to the challenge with aplomb, because every single one - whether male or female - is clearly delineated and easy to identify. I've listened to him a number of times now, and he is just getting better and better.

The Mésalliance is another must-listen for fans of this author and narrator combination and for fans of historical romance in general.

A charming Georgian romance, expertly narrated

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I was going to listen to another Stella Riley novel and read a review which said, you need to listen to the Rock novels. Great advice. You do need to start there.

Lewis

Fabulous

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Although I’ve read the series before, I’m currently listening to them Instead. I wasn’t sure about listening to a man read a romance, but Alex Wyndham is perfect, and anyone else would be wrong somehow.
I love that Rock, who appeared to be immune to love has been caught, and by such a strong minded young lady! Very good story, well worth reading or listening to All of them, there are 6 books in this series.

Another great story

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This series is a pleasant surprise with great narration. I’ve bought all the rest, too. This book is probably my least favourite as the miserable times last too long.

Great series

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Great story brilliantly performed, I listened to this in just 2 days, couldn't stop. I would definitely recommend both the author and the narrator.

Perfect!

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Stella Riley is such great novelist and this story is well up to her high standard. Alex Wyndham’s performance does excellent justice to her storytelling and I cannot recommend this highly enough!

Brilliant

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The hero was sexy and adorable, heroine a bit frustrating but a great conclusion!
Great cast of characters and the narration was spot on as usual. Alex Wyndham is excellent!

LOVED IT!

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