Audible Book Review: A Bachelor Establishment by Jodi Taylor

This is a charming Regency Romance.
A Bachelor Establishment
By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 09-15-15
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Humor, Historical Romance, Regency Romance
My Rating: 5.0 Overall; story and narration!

Publisher's Summary
High adventure and dark mystery combine in a sparkling historical romance, by Jodi Taylor writing as Isabella Barclay from The Chronicles of St. Mary's.
Bascombe, widowed and tied to an impoverished estate, has learned to ask little of life. With no hope of leaving, the years have passed her by. Lord Ryde, exiled abroad after a scandal, has returned to strip his estate and make a new start in America. A chance encounter changes their plans, plunging Elinor and Lord Ryde into adventure and not a little peril until, finally, they are forced to confront the mystery of what happened on that night, all those years ago.
Are they both so entangled in the riddles of the past that they are about to miss this one last opportunity for future happiness?
©2015 Jodi Taylor (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Review:
Elinor Bascombe is a widow trying to maintain the impoverished estate of her missing brother-in-law. The brother-in-law, a younger son, had championed Elinor against her abusive husband but he disappeared under suspicious circumstances and has not been heard of for 14 years.

Elinor has an unexpected encounter with her neighbor Lord Ryde. He has been abroad for years after being punished by his father over young man scandal. Lord Ryde has returned to strip the home estate he detests and move to America for a fresh start. Elinor and Lord Ryde hit if off on a strident tone. Their unplanned second meeting thrusts them into danger when shots are fired in their midst.

Lord Ryde steps in to protect Elinor and their close encounter places them into a close situation where a grating friendship blooms even as they have to face their different, passioned views on what happened the night years ago when Lord Ryde’s father died.

I do enjoy historical romance with a mystery and this story is wonderful. I loved the characters and the humorous tone of this story from beginning to end. The tension existed between the characters throughout and it was fun to see their romance grow beyond their differences. The jousting repartee does eventually turn into some very nice prose. The danger of an unknown assailant, and confusion as to the actual target, adds to the conflict and adventure of the plot.

I have enjoyed several of the St. Mary Chronicles series by Jodi Taylor and yet missed the pen name Isabella Barclay. It is perfectly fitting with the wonderful humor of this author. I liked that the romance was not graphically overdone. I want to read/listen to more in this nature. I recommend this to readers who enjoy a good Regency with mystery.

Audio Notes: Anna Bentinck does a spot-on job with the narration. I enjoyed the voices for female and male characters. I will take a look at other books narrated by Bentinck. I am glad to have listened to this.

Source: January 2018 Audible Daily Deal $2.95. This qualifies for 2019TBR, 2019Audiobook and 2019Alphabet goals.