Blood for Ink

The Scarlet Plumiere Series, Book 1

By: L. L. Muir

Narrated by: Jim McCance

If he unmasks her, she's as good as dead....

As the mysterious writer who exposes gentlemen's secrets, it is not the first time The Scarlet Plumiere has been hunted. But this time it's different. This time, she interferes with one of the Four Kings, and the brotherhood will not rest until they marry her off and place her securely under a man's thumb. Only they have to catch her first.

The Earl of Northwick is falling for this writer, sight unseen. Will she be pretty? Will she have all her teeth? In his rush to claim her for himself, regardless of who she might ultimately be, he places her in grave danger - her desperate enemies are watching closely for the moment her mask is removed.

Blood for Ink is a full-length Regency romance and is the first of four novels in The Scarlet Plumiere Series. The sequel is Bones for Bread and an excerpt is included at the end of Blood for Ink.

©2012 Lesli Muir Lytle (P)2012 Lesli Muir Lytle

NOT WORTH THE CREDIT / CASH

Jim McCance did a good job as reader. His deep voice was perfect for the male characters and he also did a good job with the female voices. The story however was superficial, the characters uninteresting. It seemed long & boring. It was a chore to listen to the end. I plan to get my credit returned.

Something fresh for the Regency genre!

What did you love best about Blood for Ink?

I loved this book so completely! I love finding Regency gems that bring something fresh to the genre, and Blood For Ink delivers.

The hero is a very much a main character in his own right, which I appreciate, as too often the hero is merely a prop for the romance. He and his three aristocratic friends, together known as the Four Kings, have fantastic chemistry as a band of brothers the likes of which I don't normally see in Regency. (Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series has great male friendship.) I'm delighted that each of the Four Kings will get his own book.

For a while the hero and heroine communicate through clever postings in the newspaper, and I thought that was quite fun. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense element. I loved the role the heroine's father played in the resolution; another thing we don't often see in books of any time period!

There were two minor things that I thought could have been handled differently, but they didn't irritate enough to detract from giving this 5 stars--and I rarely give 5 full stars. I would have like to see the hero and heroine get to spend a bit more time actually getting to know each other before the hero falls for her so completely. And I didn't see the point of Sarah's POV and that thread; seemed like an unnecessary diversion for the sake of bringing some information to light that I'm sure could have been revealed in a less intrusive way.

The narrator did a good job. There were times I felt the men's accents during dialogue were a bit too "plummy," and while likely accurate for their upper class ranks, it made them feel older than they actually were. Overall it was enjoyable narration, though. Definitely a talented narrator. I especially liked his Ashmore (whose book is next in the series) and Northwick (the hero of this book.

I finished the book yesterday and I've already bought the sequel. Away I go!

this was a great audible book!

Where does Blood for Ink rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

this was fantastic and I really enjoyed the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

The story itself was very good and kept my attention.

Which character – as performed by Jim McCance – was your favorite?

Ash. Ash is definately the coolest character and I look forward to reading.... or hearing... more of his story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes!

Great start to a new series. YESSSSS!

l usually give every book the high marks to start and then subtract for all of the thing that fall short. This is one of those times when I wish I could give extra marks for all the extraordinary extras in the well crafted tale!
This is not a typical historical romance by any means. No, it is far more ! The characters are So well developed that every nuance of their personality seems so real it amazes me a little. As all hardcore Histoical Romance fans are aware... the typical HEA romance in this genre has its rogues and rakes and pretty "ladies" ballrooms and Hyde park etc.... etc...
I have nothing against that! But this was different. Lords and Ladies, tittles and all... yes, but So so much more almost a regency mystery thriller romance if that makes any sense. And so well done as to leave no doubt of just how very talented this author is!

NARRATOR: it took a moment to adjust to him but after that he was a great A+ ! Voices, personalities , cadence, intonation ,emotion, dramatic sense etc..etc.... all done with talented perfection .

CREDITWORTHY? YES!! Definitely in my opinion it is!

HEAT FACTOR: None. Sexual tension nonexistent . No sexual situations whatsoever although one or two heartfelt Kisses are included. But by no means did the lack detract from the enjoyment of this book. I like my books with some steam but this one didn't need it.

captivating

Blood for Ink was a captivating book, I loved the plot.
This was the First L.L. Muir book I have bought and I will be buying the next in this series as soon as Audible releases it. If you like mystery with romance and a strong heroine that is not settling in life for average or what is the norm, a Heroine with whit and humor that a strong women today can relate to, a women who takes life in her own hands.. and the hero ( what a MAN) a man that will let a women be herself and save her from danger if he can???
As you can see I loved this book via the five stars all around.. I hope that you enjoy this read as much as I did for I could not put my IPHONE down......

Very satisfying start to the series

“The only way to control a woman these days, gentlemen, is to marry her off.”

This is the story of a woman who publishes less than flattering articles about certain men of the ton in newspaper articles under the fiction section, a manipulated drawing for the hand of the Scarlet Plumiere in a man’s club, dueling newpaper correspondence between Ramsey and the Scarlet Plumiere, red cravats, and a threatening man from the Scarlet Plumiere’s past with a great dose of humour throughout. I loved it!

The narrator, Jim McCance, was excellent. I hope he reads the rest of the series.
Muir’s two other audio books on audible were not so fortunate in their narrators.

Each of Ramsey’s friends will probably have their own book in this series. Together, Ramsey and his friends are known as “The Four Kings”:
+ Ramsey Birmingham, Earl of Northwick – who signs his newpaper entries as Mr. Lott
+ Stanley Winters, Viscount Forsgreen – white-blond hair, blue eyes; engaged to
Irene Goodfellow
+ Presley Talbot, Marquess of Harcourt – gold-brown hair; chronically jovial
+ Earnest Merriweather, Earl of Ashmoore – black hair; very serious

And the Scarlet Plumiere herself!

Minor characters:
- The Marquess of Landover – small property in Scotland he keeps trying to get rid
of; not good at cards
- Count Germaine – white hair, steel eyes, large mustache; secrets
- Lord Gordon – man from the Scarlet Plumiere’s past

Thoroughly enjoyed it!

A pleasant surprise!
After a detour over the last few months to my kindle, I was pleasantly surprised to find an audio book which kept my interest from start to finish. The narrator helped a lot and brought
out the quirky humor the author intended.

Worth a credit!

LOVED IT!

This is a great book by L.L. Muir. I couldn’t stop listening. I hope the next one is released on Audible.

I Loved Blood for Ink 🩸 🖊

L.L. Muir really out-did herself on Blood for Ink. It was packed full of action, intrigue and a little bit of romance! I fell in love with the Four Kings!

I was first introduced to this author in her Ghosts of Culloden Moor series (which I’m still listening to as they are released). I found this series as I searched for her other books. I will definitely listen to all of them!

Narrator, Jim McCance, did a spectacular job. His work with the various voices was top notch, even with the female ones.

Bravo!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

First time giving low score for narration!

I almost stopped listening from the beginning because the narrator seemed such a mis-match to the story. It is a pretty "hoaky" romance novel, but the mystery in the story line kept me listening. I kept thinking I would eventually get used to the narrator, but didn't. I never give the narrator low scores because I love listening to books and admire anyone that can make a book come alive, but this one was just plain bad for this book.

Also, I had to keep rewinding because I thought maybe my iTouch had skipped some chapters, only to find out it hadn't! Then I checked to see if it was abridged, again, it wasn't. Something really dramatic would happen, and I was left wondering when and how did that happen? In the middle of the story there is a short chapter that occurs in a different country, and with totally different characters. Theonly way I knew it was related was because one of the main character's name was mentioned. Then the story continued as if that chapter hadn't occurred!

I now wonder if somehow Audible put in a chapter from one of the other books by accident! All in all, I cannot recommend this book. I will be asking for a refund. Because the mystery kinda kept me engaged, (or perhaps because I didn't want to have wasted my credit...) I would be willing to try another book by the author if there is a different narrator.