Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Bluestocking by Christi Caldwell Narrator: Tim Campbell
Series: Wicked Wallflowers #4
Published by Tantor Audio on May 7, 2019
Genres: Historical Romance
Length: 10 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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Gertrude, the eldest Killoran sister, has spent a lifetime being underestimated—especially by her own family. She may seem as vulnerable as a kitten, but given the chance, she can be as fierce as a tiger. Her adopted brother, Stephen, has just been snatched back by his true father, and she’ll be damned if she relinquishes the boy to the man reviled throughout London as the Mad Marquess.
Still haunted by a deadly tragedy that left him publicly despised, Lord Edwin holds only hatred for the Killorans—the people he believes kidnapped his son. And not one of them will ever see the boy again. But when Gertrude forces her way into the household and stubbornly insists that she remain as Stephen’s governess, Edwin believes he may have found someone madder than himself.
With every moment he shares with the tenderhearted Gertrude, Edwin’s anger softens into admiration…and more. Is it possible that the woman he loathed may be the only person who can heal his broken soul?
The best thing about Historical Romance novels is you can usually jump into any book in a series with absolutely no trouble. That is completely true of The Bluestocking, the fourth book in the Wicked Wallflowers series.
What a fun sort of enemies to lover’s tale. Lord Edwin lost his wife and unborn child to a fire years ago; he assumed his little boy also perished in said fire. But he’s found his son years later, living with a crime family gone respectable. Stephen grew up in the streets; he is a rough and tumble boy, quick with a knife and slight of hand. He is about to go home to the father he can’t remember and learn how to become an aristocrat; he is not exactly happy about it. Good thing Edwin can be a patient man even if it tears him up inside to try to get to know the boy he thought dead.
Gertrude is his sister but has been like a mother to him his entire life and in a swell of determination and nerve has decided she will stay with Stephen until he is settled into his new life, even if she is despised by the father. She doesn’t blame him really since her father was the source of the fire that killed Edwin’s wife and baby all those years ago.
I loved the struggles Edwin had coming to terms with his growing feelings for Gertrude and finding that the daughter was nothing like the father and maybe had more reason than even he did to hate the man that sired her. I completely enjoyed Stephen and all his shenanigans adjusting to his new life back with his father. Gertrude is fantastic; she is a flawed woman and has been underestimated by her family most of her life. This is her chance to show what she can do and the bond between Stephen and Gertrude is kinda adorable.
I had a lot of fun with this book and really liked the ending of it and the growing romance between Gertrude and Edwin. I enjoyed it so much I put the rest of the series on my to be read list.
“I loved him long before you knew him,” he said hoarsely. “I loved him when your family ripped him from my life, and I love him even now, angry and hating me as he does.”
He kissed her as though he sought to memorize the feel and taste of her. As if she were the only woman in the world. And she, Gertrude Killoran, long invisible to all, felt what it was to be wanted and hungered for . . . and so very much alive because of it.
Narration:
I believe this is the first book I’ve listened to performed by Tim Campbell, which is a surprise as he has a lot of books under his belt and it shows. You could tell he is a seasoned narrator and the flow of his performance was pretty flawless. I’d definitely listen to something else narrated by him. I listened to this book at my normal 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Tim Campbell
Tim Campbell is an award winning actor and singer who lives in Los Angeles, CA. He works primarily in audiobook narration and voice over and has narrated hundreds of titles spanning almost every genre. He has won or been nominated for almost every major award in the audiobook industry, including most recently a 2018 Audie, a 2019 Audie (nom), a 2019 Voice Arts Award, and several Independent Audiobook and Audiofile Magazine Earphones awards.
He lived and trained in the UK and Germany, narrates as both an American and a Brit, and has studied performance diction in German, Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese, and Latin. He specializes in accents, dialects, and character work and holds three degrees in theater and music as well as graduating from the esteemed two year Great Books Colloquium of Pepperdine University.
In his other, musical life, Tim sings regularly with the LA Master Chorale, Los Angeles Opera, and in studio sessions for TV and Film. Highlights include principal ensemble in Candide at LA Opera, Courfeyrac in Les Miserables at Fresno Grand Opera, Jud in Oklahoma with Cabrillo Music Theater, and Anthony in Sweeney Todd with Pacific Opera Project and singing on the soundtrack for Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker and films such as Creed 2, Venom, and many others.
About Christi Caldwell
USA TODAY Bestselling author CHRISTI CALDWELL blames Judith McNaught’s “Whitney, My Love!” for luring her into the world of historical romance. While sitting in her graduate school apartment at the University of Connecticut, Christi decided to set aside her notes and pick up her laptop to try her hand at romance. She believes the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she rather enjoys torturing them before crafting them a well deserved happily ever after!
Christi makes her home in southern Connecticut where she spends her time writing her own enchanting historical romances, chasing around her feisty seven-year-old son and caring for her twin princesses in training!
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Oh it’s been a while since I haven’t read a HR but I love those
My favorite tropes are the Enemies to Lovers and Married to a Stranger. It was a fun read.
I’ve not read one of hers, but I think I have one on my Kindle. This one has a great set up and sounds like the whole story was engaging.
I totally liked how wild Stephan was and how well his father tried to understand the creature that was his son. Plus the romance was great and I like a heroine that isn’t perfect looking.
This sounds so good and the cover is amazing. Love all of those colors!
I liked the cover too and Christi Caldwell is becoming a trusted HR go to for me as well.