Keeping the Castle

By: Patrice Kindl

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

In order to support her family and maintain their ancient castle in Lesser Hoo, 17-year-old Althea bears the burden of finding a wealthy suitor who can remedy their financial problems. But there are few wealthy suitors - or suitors of any kind--in Lesser Hoo. Then, the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. There's only one problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way. And, as it turns out, Fredericks has his own set of plans.... This witty take on the classic Regency - Patrice Kindl's first novel in a decade - is like literary champagne!

©2012 Patrice Kindl (P)2013 Recorded Books

Charming and hilarious

the characters were delightful and I wasn't bored for even a moment. The reader was also inventive and wonderful. Jane would be proud:)

Another winner for Bianca Amato

Great story, wonderfully developed characters and a clean love story. The story was also proper in its length with no page fillers. I highly recommend it.

Fun story

With so many copy cat or bland stories abounding in the publishing world, it is nice to find one that is unique & also enjoyable.
Listening to this narrator is always a pleasure.

keeping the Castle

I love listening to Bianca Amato "s performance. she is fantastic and very talented. the story reminded me of Jane Austen 's books.

This is a great book...

I loved it. Wit, charm, fun story and great storytelling by the narrator. I loved all the characters, especially Fredricks. Sweet romance with lol moments!

very enjoyable!

this book was a mix of Jane Austin and Downton Abby while still being original. very fun read!

Story has potential

I listened to this book because I have previously been impressed by the narrator, Bianca Amato
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I really enjoyed the premise of the book, storyline outline, time period - depicting realistically the beginning of the industrial revolution and the early fall of 'the nobility'. Patrice Kindl seemed knowledgeable on not only a normal diet for the society at this time, but also local plants and animals used for consumption. The plight of the noble class seems realistically depicted and I actually liked that the heroine was not deliberately searching for a love match but an economic match.

That being said, the characters fell flat. The very little character development that took place was overshadowed by the obvious predictability and cliché of the storyline. Very few surprises.

The main character is NOT your usual heroine. I found her overbearing, self righteous, and generally not likeable. I kept thinking that her 2 'evil' step-sisters were provoked to treat her badly (I certainly would have not enjoyed her company). Many statements are made about her great beauty, but as a reader (or listener) you don't get to help make that discovery. What makes her beautiful??
I think the author wanted us to be impressed by the heroines work ethics and personality but in my opinion failed to do so. The author frequently pointed out the conclusion readers should arrive at, which I found inconsistent with where I felt I had been led. Example: towards the end of the story, when heroine is beginning to recognize her feelings for hero, she muses to herself that she needed 'someone that she could laugh with.....someone like...." My thoughts at this point was "What?!" Hero and heroine had NEVER shared a laugh - infact, heroine was always too uptight to appreciate any humor and was too quick to berate the hero to ever laugh with him. Oh well.
I think Patrice Kindl has potential, but need to focus more on character development and leading the reader rather that telling the reader. Readers generally like to make discoveries alongside their characters. Would not recommend this book.

The best part of this book was the end.

This book has very good ratings and a good narrator which is why I decided to listen to it.
I must admit that I did not like the heroine in the least. In my opinion she was inappropriately haughty, vain and somewhat shallow. She got a little better near the end; however it appears as if the author was trying to use her insensitive statements and snobbery toward the hero as a way to add humor to the story. I found it off putting. Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen had a way of bringing humor to a story and giving the hero or heroine a likable quality even if they were vain and haughty. The comparisons of this work to the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer are not very compelling.

The beginning of the story was silly and slow. However, it did get better toward the end. I did like the Hero; he was honest, brash and rude at times but i enjoyed his sincerity. My expectations were high so I think this is why I was disappointed. I would not say it was a complete waste of time but I would not use a credit on it.