A Rescued from Ruin Collection

Rescued from Ruin, Volume Two

By: Elisa Braden

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

A Rescued from Ruin Collection: Volume Two includes three full-length novels and one novella:

The Devil Is a Marquess (Book Four): A walking scandal surviving on wits, whisky, and wicked skills in the bedchamber, Benedict Chatham must marry a fortune or risk ruin.

When a Girl Loves an Earl (Book Five): Miss Viola Darling always gets what she wants, and what she wants most is to marry Lord Tannenbrook. James has no desire to marry and will certainly not kiss her kissable lips until they are both breathless, no matter how tempted he may be.

Twelve Nights as His Mistress (Novella: Book Six): Lord Wallingham spent two years wooing Julia Willoughby, yet she insists they are a dreadful match. Now, rather than lose her, he makes a final offer: Spend twelve nights in his bed, and if she can deny they are perfect for each other, he will let her go.

Confessions of a Dangerous Lord (Book Seven): For years, Henry Thorpe's sole focus has been hunting a ruthless killer through London's dark underworld. Then Maureen Huxley came along. To keep her safe, he must keep her at arm's length, but he soon finds himself caught in the crossfire between his mission and his heart.

Contains mature themes.

©2016, 2017 Elisa Braden (P)2022 Tantor

Splendid!!

This series is amazing! I have been non productive since I started and now greedily move on Volume 3. Sigh…the characters are well formed, the storylines will keep you riveted and yes, Ms. Braden does bring the heat. Mary Sarah gets better with each book. Her cadence is amusing at times, but I love the way you can distinguish each of the main characters voice, as if she has assigned them their own octave. What else to say…just listen.

Enjoyed these stories.

Nice compilation of stories.

There were characters in this series I thought were unredeemable, but I was proven wrong.

These stories contain pretty much what's on their descriptions, so I won't repeat what you can read from the excerpts. What I will say is that I did enjoy the series, and recommend it to people who enjoy historical romances.

Exciting

Romance, intrigue always exciting and wonderful narrator. I did increase the speed to 1.5 which helped with the narrators tend to pause.

Enjoyable but Not Completely So

Devil is a Marquess

Story is ok. Not up to the quality of previous books. Not enough legacy characters. Epilogue was nauseating. Gratuitous sex was gross. Elisa Braden sold out. If this was the first book I listened to of the series, the epilogue would put me off the entire series. If the next book is the same, I will return the book and get my precious credit back.

When a Girl Loves an Earl

Viola is my favorite female thus far. This is a docile tale compared to the others, but nonetheless satisfying. James is a great, big lummox and though good natured, does not deserve Viola’s loving devotion.

Twelve Nights

It feels scattered and not at all like the other books. Tedious. Charles is, disappointingly, the two dimensional son of a most delightful character who features prominently in all the stories. He is obsessed with a widow who is as bland as he is. Boring and it’s a good thing it’s a novella. You could skip it and not miss anything. A better title would have been “ A Foregone Conclusion”.

Confessions of a Dangerous Lord

Initially, a return to the romantic, poetic prose found in the first couple of books of the series. The tale then morphs into a crime drama with romance around the edges. Some of it is ridiculous. In intense moments, when their lives are threatened and hanging by a thread and tension could snap like a wire, these two are arguing about stupid things and proclaiming their adoration while seducing each other. I seriously sprained my eyeballs from rolling them. The main characters were among my favorites of the series, just the same. The dashing “Saber” is swoon worthy. Maureen is definitely his match. I’d like to see more of this couple in upcoming books.

Loved EVERY NOVEL IN THIS COLLECTION!!

Ms Braden has done a excellent job in every novel in the collection! Usually Book 1 is good but subsequent books get lacking - not here folks! I mean they each bring entertainment and anticipation!! Thank you Ms Braden! 😊

Character development

good sex ,but good story .follow ing a group of the tons ups and downs

Love, laughter and those grab the tissues moments

Worth it for the value buy, if you can handle the failure to communicate formula conflict. The muck up parts tend to run long, but the suck up and come clean parts give great “you had me at hello” feels.
At least there’s more than one steamy part to liven things up during all the angsty, broody bits.
There’s also fun, although it’s more uneven from book to book.
I wish they’d label each of the three books and the novella in the Table of Contents.

Ch1 The Devil is a Marquess ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“It should be easy to tell her he loved her because he was mad with it, sick with it, drowning in it.”
Things start at rock bottom for Benedict, alcoholic, alone, and in dire needs of funds. Good thing he’s bound to tall, redheaded Charlotte, she of the strategic mind and indomitable spirit (not to mention being the unfortunate Girl Who Fell from earlier books). This one almost lost me with the number of times he mucks things up before he needs to buck up, bare his soul and beg for forgiveness.

Ch27 When a Girl Loves an Earl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“It was bound to make him furious, but it would also make him hers.”
My favorite kind of leading lady: darling, precocious and the quirky sort who gifts her crush with embroidery of an “ugly overripe trout.” My favorite kind of leading man: a broody, rugged lummox of an oaf who utters “bloody hell” as he resists the sunshine with a little hurricane that is Viola … and then fumbles with wooing his “wee and bonnie” lass when he mucks things up.

“This is dire indeed. Is there a murderous plot afoot? Someone has at long last tired of your surly ways and weighty brow … or perhaps grown resentful of your general intransigence?”
I sometimes find Ms. Sarah’s narration a bit breathy, but here she is sublime for Viola, the wee butterfly, and James, the Scottish Mountain. Ach! That brogue wrecks the angsty parts and the sexy parts in all the best ways.

Ch51 Twelve Nights as his Mistress ⭐️⭐️
“Good heavens, one would think a woman of your age would have developed a spine by now.”
Truer words were never spoken concerning widower Julia, who repeatedly rebuffs a marquess based upon her notions of what will make him happy. She does this, moreover, while he pursues her for years. Yes, years.

“Oh dear, there went the rhyming again.”
Good thing this was a novella, so the silly conflict that keeps them apart didn’t last nearly as long as the rest of the series. The humor of her rhymes and his clumsiness fell flat, especially considering they’re both older widowers.

Ch63 Confessions of a Dangerous Lord ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Henry Edward Fitzsimmons Thorpe!”
Henry has no one else to blame for the number of times he lands in “using his full name” hot water with Maureen. After all, he’s been hiding his identity and chasing all of her suitors off.

“Sooner or later the odds catch up with us all.”
This was my favorite of the bunch for the addition of a spy mystery. There is danger and death, but only as befits a romance book. Dark, dangerous men give the most delicious sex scenes and these two give great “I’m so mad I could strangle you … or kiss you” moments.

“Mind your tongue!”
“You first!”
This book has the best balance of light and dark, danger and humor, and H/h versus extended cast focus. Maureen is a Huxley and several of the previous couples are back, in particular Jane & Harrison and Sarah & Colin. It’s not necessary to have listened to their stories, but it does add to the relationships here.

Creative

I am amazed at the author being able to weave such a probable story line It made it difficult to fall asleep listening- especially the last book.

Great collection

I have enjoyed each stories and the whole collection. For the record, I paid for these and this is my honest opinion.

Stories are fun, narrator is tiresome

Overall, I really enjoyed these stories, which were a lot of fun. It’s hard for me to know if the slowness in the stories is the writing or the narrator, who reads so slowly I actually increased the speed (I never do that). The men all sound the same and she is really breathy. She not the worst I’ve heard, but she isn’t the selling point either.