The Meaning of Love

The Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles

De: Stephanie Laurens

Narrado por: Matthew Brenher

What happens when a love left behind doesn’t die?

Melissa North had assumed that after eight years of not setting eyes on each other, her youthful attraction to - or an infatuation with - Julian Delamere, once Viscount Dagenham and now earl of Carsely, would have faded to nothing and gasped its last. Unfortunately, during the intervening years, she has failed to find any suitable suitor who measures up to her mark, and she is resigned to ending her days an old maid.

Then she sees Julian across a crowded ballroom, and he sees her, and the intensity of their connection shocks her. She seizes the first chance that offers to flee, only to discover that she has jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Within 24 hours, she and Julian are the newly engaged toast of the ton.

Julian has never forgotten Melissa. Now, having inherited the earldom, he must marry and is determined to choose his own bride. He had assumed that, by now, Melissa would be married to someone else, but apparently not. Consequently, he is not averse to the path fate seems to be steering them down.

And, indeed, as they discover, enforced separation has made their hearts grow fonder, and the attraction between them flares even more intensely.

However, it’s soon apparent that someone is intent on ensuring their married life is cut short in deadly fashion. Through a whirlwind courtship, a massive ton wedding, and finally, blissful country peace, they fend off increasingly dangerous, potentially lethal threats, until, together, they unravel the conspiracy that has dogged their heels and expose the villain behind it all.

©2021 by Stephanie Laurens (P)2021 by Blackstone Publishing

Enjoyable

I was so glad to get Melissa and Julian's story. They were a star-crossed couple who met when they were both too young to become a couple. Eight years have passed and the time is perfect for them. I loved the mix of romance and mystery in this story. If you're a fan of the Lady Olbaldastone Chronicles you will love the completion of this couples story. The mystery is well done even if I did figure out who the perpetrator was fairly early on. This did not diminish my enjoyment of the story.

I’m kind of blown away.

There was honesty, logic, maturity, balance and open conversation not just between the couple but with the whole family. It was a truly shocking experience for this genre. Glad they all had 9 lives and got their HEA.

Intrigue suspense mystery murder fun and love.

the meaning of love is a well written very well executed audiobook. it is full of intrigue suspense mystery murder fun love and most of all family loyalty and Trust. once again set an old time England perhaps the Victorian age living away from ton or London and Out in the Country on an estate near a small village gives a Charming Life but a hard life and a life where one must protect one's family this may be the most enjoyable audiobook I've ever listened to and it's absolutely the well the best spoken audiobook the person the actor his voice just was perfect for this part.

great story

I loved the story and how it was written. I did not like the man's voice who narrated it was very robotic. I prefer a woman narrator

Such a great novel but not clean :/

This was such a great conclusion to lady osbaldesen series but had several graphic sex scenes. Be warned. But still loved it!

A very interesting book …

There are long books and there are long books. Actually this book could be two very interesting books but the author chose to put all her eggs in one basket. As long as you keep in mind that the length of the book is because the author has chosen to tell you everything that happened to this couple during their courtship and the first 6 months of their marriage, you won’t resent the length and even enjoy the experience. The first part of this book has to do with the couple meeting again after many years of separation and their decision to marry … or not. It is an eye opening look at courtship during the Regency when two unusual people decide they might marry. The balls, theatre, recitals, afternoon rides, walks in the garden, meeting for ices without necessarily getting to know each other well is so unusual to the way these things are done now. And because the young woman in this story isn’t that young, she really forces them to TALK and get to know one another before they decide to really commit to a lifetime together. The second half of the book is a mystery which is very well written. I can usually guess the perp before he/she is revealed but I was totally strung along throughout the developments of this plot. I was really surprised by the who that done it. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it. Also the narrator does an excellent job and I really liked the voice he used for the Earl.

Fooled me

When I saw it was a Lady Osbaldestone story, I expected it to be the Grand Dame and her grandchildren (a wonderful series). Once again Stephanie Laurens overwhelmed me with her character's excessive musings.

The Fifth and Final of Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles

I loved that it brought Melissa and Julian together almost immediately! Also, we got some action from Lady Osbaldestone, Jamie, George, Lottie and Mandy, as well as updates on most other characters from the previous four books.
What I had trouble with, after the former narrator, Helen Lloyd's excellent readings, was that this narrator seemed slow and tedious. However, bumping the speed up to just 1.2x solved that and it was much more enjoyable!

Great story. Poor reading.

Loved the story as expected, but the reading was one step above monotone. The reader had a definite rhythm and did not adjust it to fit the text, making phrases hard to follow. I had to force myself to finish.

Wonderful ending to the series!

So happy Julian and Melissa finally got their story and happy ending!
I really enjoyed this "more adult" episode! It had both mystery and romance which kept me listening almost non-stop. At first I found the narration a bit slow but upped the speed on.my kindle and all was well! I particularly liked that the H and h fell in love and became a team early in the story, working together for the remainder of the book. I am so over couples who spend whole books with nothing but misunderstandings, angst and arguments and don't get together until practically the last chapter! So for me this was a most welcome story.. very enjoyable.. thank you Stephanie I will look for more of your books!!