Secrets of a Runaway Bride

Secret Brides, Book 2

By: Valerie Bowman

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Annie Andrews has her heart set on marrying a certain man. Now that her guardian and sister, Lily, is off on her wedding trip on the continent, Annie is about to make one last attempt to marry Arthur before her sister can stop her. But Annie doesn't count on the best friend of her new brother-in-law, Jordan Holloway, Earl of Ashbourne, fouling up her plans. Jordan has vowed to keep an eye on the mischievous Miss Andrews. He has two weeks to keep her out of trouble and to keep her from running away again. But when Jordan carts her off to his country house to keep her from making a mistake, will he make one of his own and fall in love with the one woman he shouldn't touch?

©2013 Valerie Bowman (P)2013 Tantor

Another cute story line

This was another enjoyable book by the author. Sweet plot, and the Earl may just be one of my favorite characters.

Enjoyed it

It started a little slow for me, but it picked up speed shortly. The narrator was okay, not great. Overall, it was a light hearted fun read.

Great Characters

Quirky, fun characters who always choose wrongly. Until the end. It's a fun ride for the listeners though.

THE SECRET IS - IT'S A LOVELY REGENCY ROMANCE

Now what do I wish for in a historical romance? - an entertaining plot would be nice then add a sexy handsome bad boy Rake just waiting to get reformed by a likeable Lady, mix them up with a collection of other entertaining amusing or dislikeable characters, give them all clever witty dialogues, then finally add passion, sex and, of course, a romance that sweeps me away.

Well if that's what you're looking for too - then look no further, right from chapter 1 Ms Bowman gives us all the necessary ingredients to visualise each funny, touching, frustrating scene as it unfolds and we share the young, naive, passionate and immature spoilt girl as she slowly but thankfully finally grows up. We also witness a confirmed bachelor eventually succumbing and giving in to love.

Worth a credit? D lish ous - so that would be a YES. Could be a stand alone listen but, as I've said before, life's short and so, if you like this genre, why deprive yourselves go ahead treat yourself to book 1 too.

such a great read!!

loved this book...the chemistry between Jordan and Annie ...i couldnt stop listening and was totally drawn in!!

Another good book in the series!

This is the second book in the Secret Brides series and very enjoyable. If you like historical romance you will like this book. Annie, the heroine was very funny and had a lot of spunk, I like spunky strong females not whiny whimpering ones. Jordan, the hero was sexy and witty. The banter between the two was great. It had a couple of hot and steamy sex scenes to boot. (a little more more sex would have been perfect) But there was enough so that the book is not rated G. Gotta have some sex in my books or its like reading/listening to a Disney movie.

The narrator did a great job. Credit worthy for sure, as was the first book. I am off to read/listen to the 3rd book, which according to some of the reviews was the best of the 3. I am excited to get started.

She did that

This was a funny read. Some of the things Ann did to get notice was a little out there. Jordan did have his hands full with her but from the first few pages I knew they were made for each other

Runaway fun

This is the second book in a series and reading the first book helps but is not entirely necessary. Annie Andrews only has eyes for Arthur Eggleston and tries time and time again to run away to Gretna Green with him while her sister is on her honeymoon. Unfortunately for her Jordan Holloway has been appointed her gaurdian in her sisters absence.

Jordan does not enjoy the task of looking after a 19 year old girl who climbs the ivy of a sniveling man-child's window and is constantly sneaking off to marry that same useless boy. What Annie sees in him is beyond Jordan's comprehension but he's in charge of making sure she doesn't marry Arthur Egghead. Hilarity insues as he thwarts one attempt after another until he begins to see Annie for who she really is, someone who has the same feelings and independent spirit as him. Now he has to resist these new feelings that are bursting up in him or betray his friendship to his best friend and her sisters husband all while trying to protect Annie's reputation from the nosy prying eyes of the ton.

I'll admit it starts slow and is a little repetitive but it's a fun read and worth the credit. Justin Eyre does a great job with all the characters and brings the story to life. A truly romantic listen. Looking forward to hearing more from Valerie Bowman.

So much potential

Rating 3.5 star

Annie is spunky, fearless, naive, and a hopeless romantic who wants to be married to the man whom she almost succeeded in eloping with. She is back in London and under the watchful eye of Lord Ashbourne who has been tasked to ensure she doesn't do anything stupid like get hitched while her sister Lily and Lily's new husband Devon is on their honeymoon.
Lord Ashbourne, for reasons even he is unclear of, takes the task as Annie's guardian seriously. He sees her naiveté on the matter of love and courtship and tries his best to protect her from making mistakes that can ruin her reputation or place her in a marriage where there isn't true love. However, the stubborn little chit resists him at every turn and the tension is making him want to shake and/or kiss her.

I was anticipating this installment because it featured the spit-fire Annie and the sarcastic and humorous Lord Ashbourne as the main H/h and they were such great supporting cast members in the first novel. Although the book started with a promise of all that I hoped for, it sort of went wrong 3/4 of the way through and didn't improve from there. Let me start off by saying the two characters have chemistry in the beginning and while it does continue throughout, I felt like it was forced and sloppy as the book progressed. Also, there wasn't a whole lot of sarcastic dialogue or humor from Jordan that made him appealing to me in the last book. I also felt like Annie had a lot of emotional growth to cover and it was as if 3/4 of the way through, the author had to ensure that Annie had found true love so there was this epiphany that was not believable. She also deceives him to get what she wants and this particular instance I felt like she was playing dirty and not in a good way. Lord Ashbourne's character development didn't fair any better as I felt it was weak and inconsistent. I kept thinking "where did Lord Ashbourne from the last book go?"

I shouldn't be overly critical because this is a romance novel after all, but I think because it had potential with good foundation laid out for these two characters, the end of the book was a bit disappointing.

Narrator: Justine Erye
Performance 5/5
Erye is fantastic with the accents and the distinction between characters. It is smooth reading and just enough inflection to not distract or confuse

I assume your brother was dropped on his head a time or two

That line was hilarious in addition to quite a few more. Truly entertaining. Although I have to admit that the heroine is SUPER spoiled and self serving with no concern for her reputation or injuring her loved ones as a result of her actions. It was hard to imagine anyone truly falling in love with the character so childish and focused on sex and being in love. Completely immature and too man crazy for me. But all the same quite entertaining. I do recommend this Book to those who are looking for a very light, entertaining book.