A Trick of Fate

Brandon Brothers, Book 1

By: Stella Riley

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

Someone is misusing Max Brandon’s name - resulting in bills for services he never ordered and goods he did not buy. For reasons he can't begin to guess, he has become the victim of some unknown person's campaign of persecution.

When the games move closer to home, almost forcing him to fight a duel...more particularly, when they draw in Frances Pendleton, a lady he never expected to see again...Max vows to catch the man behind them, no matter what the cost.

The result is a haphazard chase involving ruined abbeys, a hunt for hermits, a grotesque portrait...and a love story which, but for this odd trick of fate, might never have been given a second chance.

©2019 Stella Riley (P)2020 Stella Riley

Another triumph for Stella Riley

The Scottish wedding was like a fairy tale. Absolutely loved it.
As always the narrative by Alex Wyndham was perfect.

An incredible combination

It is difficult to surpass the excellence of a book written by Stella Riley and narrated by Alex Wyndham. This was a delightfully original story of a second chance romance between Max (brother to Arabella from a previous story) and the lost love of his life, Frances. After wading through many misconceptions during a crazy chase through Scotland, their long frustrated love is finally rewarded.

A wonderful story

Another excellent story by Stella Riley. And narrated by the fabulous Alex Wyndham!
I loved Max since Cadenza. His story is so Max!! What a wonderful and humorous story.
I also loved the little bit of the Ralph (The Earl of Sherborne) and Elizabeth.

Enchanting entertainment!

At any given moment, I tend to have a small number of favourite audiobooks that I cycle through, swapping one comfortable listen for another and listening to those again and again until I can recite half of the narrative from memory! Being thus a creature of habit, I tend to forget what a rich delight it is when a new audiobook grips my attention and winds me into its narrative embrace, so that I can barely bear to press pause when I go to sleep for the night, and can hardly wait to recommence the story the next morning. But that is my inevitable experience with a new Stella Riley book! I somehow missed the fact that Riley had a new novel coming out, and so "A Trick of Fate" wafted into my Audible suggestions as a delightful surprise. In this book, Riley opens a new chapter in her series of Georgian (late 18th century) romances, following the threads she laid down in her previous novel "Cadenza" to inaugurate a series of novels that follow the travails and triumphs of various members of the Brandon family. "A Trick of Fate" focuses on Max Brandon, a loving son, affectionate brother, and exemplary landlord and estate manager, whose steadiness and reliability hide a heart blighted by an unhappy romance. I won't spoil the plot for you, but Riley's narrative operates in best Georgette Heyer style, combining romance, mystery, and adventure in one delicious tale about the need to take risks, to be vulnerable, and to not let a second chance at attaining true happiness pass you by.

Narrator Alex Wyndham is renowned for his warmly expressive voice, and as usual he perfectly captures the nuances of the characters' emotional trajectories throughout the story. If I have any mild critique to make, it's that as Riley's set of characters from Georgian society expands, some of Wyndham's voices bear a little too much resemblance to others. You're never unsure of which character is which while listening to any given story, but you can definitely hear parallels between the archetypes that recur in different guises in the various books, such as the "complex but passionate man with a Past", the "sociable younger brother", and the "quietly sparky young lady whose external loveliness is outmatched by her inner beauty." But that doesn't matter a mite when you get caught up in the narrative and let Wyndham's melodious accents carry you off to a world of carriages and polonaise gowns; rambunctious orphans and handsome harpsichordists; surprise encounters and Scottish handfasting ceremonies; and, of course, the winding but predestined road towards true love!

Overall good listen

Good story for the most part. But too long. Too much of the anguish desires which drag the plot down.

Alex Wyndham is the best!!!

All my credits go to Stella Riley books and it's because she and Alex Wyndham are a match made in heaven. If she wrote it and he's narrating I'm buying it. And they never disapoint. Five stars!

A spin-off that does not disappoints.

A case if stolen identity, which involves a chase to find the perpetrator. Stella Riley continures to entertain with great characters. Can't wait for the next book.

Love the Brandon brothers

As others have written, I look for Stella Riley books, especially narrated by Alex W. So after the Rockcliffe series, I immediately went to this first of Brandon brothers series. Many of the same characters plus the brothers and their Happily Ever After stories. Very much enjoyed Max’s.

The scenic view without leaving your home!

Stella Riley's prose is so easy to listen to and she took me along for the journey. Combined with Alex Wyndham's soothing voice, this was a story I did not want to end. The banter between the main characters was humorous and the added mystery kept me waiting for each new location. I always like the way Stella Riley intertwines historical facts and places and found my self "googling" on the side to learn a little more about Scotland's geography,

Romance vicariously

The narrator did an excellent job of presenting the different characters voices so that I knew them.