The Groom Says Yes by Cathy Maxwell

Narrated by Mary Jane Wells

This is the final book in Cathy Maxwell’s Brides of Wishmore trilogy, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have listened to the previous books in order to understand or enjoy this one. The Groom Says Yes boasts a fairly straightforward story with an added touch of mystery concerning the threat to the hero, and both central characters are likeable and well-matched, but I suspect that had I read it rather than listened to it, I’d have found it a little bland. The audiobook, however, benefits from another fine performance from Mary Jane Wells; and while she can’t rework the story, she does infuse it with colour, light and shade by virtue of her skilful characterisations and by injecting both humour and emotional depth into all aspects of her narration.

Soldier, surgeon and impoverished Irish earl Cormac Enright has been imprisoned for a murder he did not commit, his conviction based upon the false testimony offered by local magistrate Robert Davidson. Furious and despairing as he awaits his execution, Mac is astonished when a visiting priest reveals himself to have been sent by Davidson to aid him in his escape. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Mac doesn’t ask questions and grabs his chance, even though it appears that his accomplices may have been captured. He manages to make his way out of Edinburgh and to Aberfeldy, where he plans to confront Davidson as a first step towards clearing his name. But, weakened by his prolonged imprisonment, Mac succumbs to a raging fever and is just able to get himself to an abandoned shepherd’s hut (known as a bothy) before he passes out.

Sabrina Davidson is twenty-nine and on the shelf, most of her marriageable years spent nursing her sick mother. Having accepted her spinster state, and used to the pitying looks cast her way by so many of the women of the village, Sabrina’s position as her father’s hostess at least means her position in society is secure. But her life is turned upside down when, completely out of the blue, the notorious widow Bosley informs her that her father has proposed and they plan to marry very soon. Feeling betrayed and devastated, Sabrina refuses to accept the widow as her stepmother, knowing that she will be relegated to the position of poor relation once the pair is married.

Needing time to come to terms with the news and to organise her thoughts, Sabrina heads off into the countryside where she discovers the seriously ill Cormac in the old bothy. She can’t leave him to die, but before she can inform her father of her intention to bring him into their home so that she can take care of him, Davidson rides out as if the hounds of hell are at his heels, giving Sabrina no explanation.

Left to her own devices, Sabrina manages to get Cormac into the house, where she is able to treat him and eventually see him on the road to recovery. She can’t help but be fascinated by this handsome stranger and once his fever has passed, she can’t resist kissing him, just to see what it feels like. One kiss leads to another and then to much more – and here’s where my credulity was stretched a bit too far, because I really find it difficult to believe that a man who was close to death just a day or so earlier would be interested in or able to have sex so quickly after being so very ill!

Anyway. When Cormac comes to his senses and realises what happened, he is dismayed. He is a decent man however, and makes it clear to Sabrina that their encounter wasn’t meaningless and that he will stand by her should the need arise. He is intrigued by her and attracted to her from the start, although Sabrina finds it difficult to believe that any man could possibly see anything to admire in a plain, uninteresting woman such as she is.

Once he is able to explain his situation, Cormac tells Sabrina that he is looking for Richard Davidson – and is stunned to realise that he has found the man’s daughter. Together, Mac and Sabrina discover the reason behind Davidson’s perjury, reasons which lead to danger and which force Sabrina to make a difficult choice between her family and the man she loves.

I enjoyed the story, but the mystery element is fairly simplistic and while Mac and Sabrina make a great couple, the romance is somewhat underdeveloped. I felt for Sabrina as she was compelled to face some unpleasant truths about the father in whom she had trusted so blindly, and I liked the fact that Ms Maxwell chose not to reconcile them in order to wrap things up neatly at the end.

I continue to be impressed with Mary Jane Wells as a narrator of romance audiobooks, and she delivers another solid and enjoyable performance in The Groom Says Yes. The story is set in Scotland, and although Sabrina doesn’t have a Scottish accent (which is quite believable, given her status as the niece of an earl), when Ms Wells does employ regional accents for the various local people and servants, she does so with accuracy and consistency throughout. Sabrina’s uncle, the Earl of Tay, is almost always slightly inebriated – and sounds it – and the harsh, gravelly tone Ms Wells adopts for Sabrina’s father very quickly alerts the listener to the fact that there is a disparity between the man Sabrina believes him to be and the man he really is. Her interpretation of Mac is particularly satisfying, as she brings out the big Belfast brogue I so enjoyed listening to in Devil’s Lady, and the resonance she adds to his tone leaves the listener in no doubt of his masculinity. The narrative is well-paced and expressive, and I really can’t find anything negative to say about her performance, which is terrific all round.

Caz

Narration: A

Book Content: C+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in (but at the tame end)

Violence: Minimal

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Harper Audio