Stormy Persuasion by Johanna Lindsey

Narrated by Laural Merlington

When I first started reading romances, Johanna Lindsey was one of my “go to” authors. It had been quite a while, however, since I had experienced a Lindsey romance, so I jumped at the chance to review this one. Unfortunately, Stormy Persuasion did not do my memory justice. Although it definitely fits the mold of the old style historical romance, with a long drawn out chase between a reluctant heroine and never tiring hero, I felt unfulfilled with the actual love story. Unfortunately, the plot seemed to focus on so many other Malory/Anderson family members, that given that I hadn’t read or listened to all ten prior books, I felt a little lost. In particular, it seemed like there were too many unnecessary details which did not immediately pertain to the romance involving this hero and heroine or, arguably even, the mystery/suspense aspect of this romance.

Even with these faults, however, after the drawn-out setup (which takes at least the first half of the book), I did eventually warm up to the story, particularly the mystery/suspense aspect of this listen. Moreover, the other bright side of this audiobook was the narration by Laural Merlington. This was my first experience listening to Ms. Merlington, and I will definitely be looking for more of her works in the future.

Before Jacqueline “Jack” Malory was even born, her American relatives had negotiated to ensure that she would hold her come-out in America, not Britain where she resides. She is finally of age and the whole family, including her inseparable cousin Judith Malory, set sail for Connecticut where the festivities will be held. As a consequence, Judith delays the start of her own first season set to occur in London at around the same time. While convincing her parents was not easy, Judith feels good about her decision as she and Jack have made a vow to each other not to fall in love for at least a year.

As everyone knows, well made plans are meant to be broken.  On the ship Judith is confronted by a deckhand, who turns out to be the man she has dreamed of for years, but mistakenly believed to be a ghost who haunted the abandoned mansion next door.  Now that he is nearby again, she is left with no choice but to see where her heart leads.  That, of course, doesn’t mean that Judith accepts this path willingly. In fact, she fights it the whole way. Constantly accusing Nathan Tremayne of being a smuggler (the only reason she can imagine for him inhabiting the decrepit mansion) and other ill deeds, and blackmailing him into her command, their journey seems destined for anything but love. But as truths begin to be revealed, danger ensues and passions mount higher. Then a table turning event happens, and Nathan holds the upper hand.

Laurel Merlington is an expert historical romance narrator. I was completely wowed with her ability to create distinctive voices for each one of the characters comprising this robust cast. Her accents were great and helped me easily distinguish the plentiful Americans, Brits, and Scots. Additionally she is one of just a few narrators who is able to create equally authentic female and male characterizations.

Not only does Ms. Merlington nail these essential hallmarks of a talented narrator, but she goes above and beyond by delivering personality specific intonations. Jacqueline, for example, is more headstrong than Judith and appropriately has a more caustic, biting sound whereas, Judith generally sounds a little sweeter and softer around the edges (except where Nathan is concerned). In those conversations, she has just the right amount of sass and defiance to pull off her role. Both Jacqueline’s and Judith’s fathers bear a commanding tone befitting men of their station, and Nathan likewise sounds subservient towards the beginning of the book until his power starts to shift towards the middle of the story.

Ms. Merlington also communicates emotion well, adding levity where called for and imbuing her performance with just the right amount of urgency during the plentiful suspenseful scenes. All around, I was impressed with her performance, and will definitely be adding her to my favorite historical romance narrators list.

Stormy Persuasion may not have been as smooth sailing as I had expected, but in the end – after a lengthy period of turbulence during the protracted setup of this fact intensive story – I was able to sit back and enjoy the end. Moreover, even though the heroine was not my favorite, as the hero’s true nature was revealed, I eventually began rooting for him to to find his HEA, even if it was with this admittedly trying heroine.  Add in the superb narration, and Stormy Persuasion is a decent overall listen, particularly if you have already read or listened to a good number of the books in the Malory-Anderson Family series.

BJ

Narration:  A

Book Content:  C

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Fighting

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Stormy Persuasion was provided to AudioGals by Blackstone Audio for review.