The Silent Duke

The 1797 Club, Book 4

By: Jess Michaels

Narrated by: Danielle O'Farrell

A hot historical from five-time USA Today best-selling author Jess Michaels.

Born mute, Ewan Hoffstead, Duke of Donburrow, was abused by his wicked father and wretched younger brothers until an uncle swept in to save the day. Still, he carries the scars of his past with him, including a terrible belief that perhaps a "person like him" truly doesn’t deserve the title his uncle fought so hard for him to earn.

Recently widowed Charlotte may be the proper Countess of Portsmith to society, but when she is around Ewan, she still feels like the enraptured little girl who met him decades before when her brother was best friends with him and his cousin.

A planned trip to spend Christmas with their families at Ewan’s estate reunites the old friends. But when a storm keeps the others from arriving on time, Charlotte decides to stop living in fear and pursue the man she has desired and loved her entire life. Ewan cannot resist her seduction, but he fears giving in to his heart. Especially when the family that disposed of him returns and threatens not only his life, but that of the woman he loves.

©2017 Jesse Petersen (P)2018 Jesse Petersen

Virgin Duke Gets His Woman!

I'll start off with there's a good amount of hot sex here. Nuff said. And a virgin Duke with his younger widow friend! An angsty young man with a bad upbringing needs to be saved by his dearest life long friend and she's a horny gal.

I had some issues with mute Ewan not being able to make ANY sounds or read lips of simple words like Yes, No, Thank You. I found it hard to believe that as children Ewan and Charlotte made up their own sign language and only used it between themselves as kids and teens. Then move ahead after a 5 year absence and Ewan can still ramble off flicking his fingers and hands about and she understands every word. I found that a bit unbelievable. He still used a note pad and pencil to say a long winded sentence when a simple mouthed Yes or a nod or a shake of the head or facial expression could have sufficed.

Small detail that bugged me- it's 1825 or such. The author wrote several times about Ewan's shirt being unbuttoned and shaken from his arms falling to the floor. Button down shirts as we know them didn't come into fashion until after 1910 because the style was "invented" by Joseph A. Bank of the US. Before this time men's shirts were half placket pull-over the head garments.

Enjoyable and offbeat

I liked the premise of a mute man finding his way in life, and the idea of a woman who has loved him since childhood.

Ewan, heir to a dukedom, is born mute. As such, he is reviled by his father and eventually given to a loving aunt and uncle to raise. But, the scars of his early childhood remain and inform his life and his choices on a daily basis. These experiences make him very reluctant to offer his heart to anyone.

Charlotte was his childhood friend, who developed a form a sign language with him in order to enable him to communicate more easily with the world. No one else has ever been able to learn it, but it is how Charlotte and Ewan communicate. She is now a young widow, and she and her late husband were never in love; it had been an arranged match. Determined to finally get the man she has always loved, she sets out on a ruthless plan of seduction (She seems pretty sexually enlightened for a young noblewoman of her era, even for a widow, but thereby hangs the tale, I suppose.), regardless of Ewan's efforts to hold her at bay.

He has no wish to subject her to the ridicule and derision he often faces, nor does he wish to pass along his affliction to any progeny. Add to this the fact that his younger brother is determined to usurp the title, it all makes for an interesting little drama.

The sex scenes are pretty hot, but very tender, and the h&H are interesting and sympathetic characters. You can't help but like them and want them to find that HEA. I also liked the extended family and friends of this couple. They (the h&H) have been lifelong friends, so they have many loved ones in common who all love them in return and want them to be happy.

The book is well written and the atmosphere and descriptions are well-executed. The narration is slow, so I sped up the listen to 1.25 and that made it much more 'listenable', if you will. I liked the reader's voice, she just speaks very slowly.

All in all, it was an enjoyable listen and I recommend it to fans of Regency/Victorian/historical romance, and readers who are simply looking for a fun few hours of escape.

Hot. Hot. HOT!

Ms. Micheals writes wonderful stories with plots that are believable. She also has a gift of adding a steaminess that pushes them over the edge. This was one of her best!

I liked the premise of the story the silent Duke.

I like the Story, but the narration was terrible. I almost tossed the book back and got a refund.

I like the fact that Jess Michaels addressed the issue of a character having a handicap. One question I do have, is when was sign with hands invented? Thank you again looking forward to the next in the series.

Damn

Soooooo this book made me hysterical cry for hours. I couldn’t stop crying. It’s incredibly sad that he experienced what he did. Obvs is a good ending but wow i sobbed

I love the narrator!

Just want to give some positive feedback for the narrator. I think she is wonderful. I seek her out with all books she narrates. Easy to listen to - nothing annoying. Soft when needed. Great voice if you are listening as you nod off as well.

loved it!!

it was new and refreshing story....their love for each other and family and rising above all obstacles for love!!!

Least favorite of the first four books

Extremely slow start to the story . The first 10 chapters are the same two days of repeated intimacy. Story picks up and accelerates around chapter 18. I enjoyed the first three books much more

This needs a different reader

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I'm doing something I've never done before, I'm returning an audible book. I can't actually rate the story as it's sadly overwhelmed by, what is, in my estimation, a ponderous reading. At the end of chapter four I just can't stand listening to it anymore, even though I'd like to know how it ends. The story is likely more interesting than it seems. Do the author a favor and find someone else to read this one.

Would you be willing to try another one of Danielle O'Farrell’s performances?

Absolutely not.

Narration

I have listened to 3 in this series and wanted to listen to them all. The stories are good but I can’t take the narration anymore. It feels like I’m wasting my credits on these books because I can’t really enjoy the story because of the narrator.