Es hätte die perfekte Urlaubsaffäre sein können–bis eine Leiche auftaucht.
Langweiliger könnte diese Führung durch ein englisches Herrenhaus nicht sein. Und dabei ist Amelia Bennett der größte Jane-Austen-Fan. Kurzerhand stiehlt sie sich davon und fällt einem Mann buchstäblich vor die Füße, der sogar noch heißer aussieht als Mr. Darcy selbst. Der charmante Adlige Tom Calder steht vor dem Ruin und muss Sundew Abbey, den hoch verschuldeten Landsitz seiner Vorfahren, verkaufen. Spontan lädt er die junge Amerikanerin Amelia auf eine letzte Verköstigungstour in den Weinkeller ein, wo sie sich durch die unschätzbar wertvolle Sammlung probieren. Als die beiden am nächsten Morgen in Toms Bett aufwachen sind sie überzeugt, mitten in der Nacht–trotz ihres vom Alkohol benebelten Zustands–einen Mord beobachtet zu haben.
Es gibt nur ein weit und breit ist keine Leiche zu finden und niemand glaubt ihnen. Bis auf die finsteren Gestalten, von denen sie durch die menschenleeren Räume und den weitläufigen Park des uralten Anwesens gejagt werden. Es beginnt ein Rennen um Leben und Tod. Tom und Amelia müssen ihre schemenhaften Erinnerungen und eine Reihe verwirrender Hinweise zu einem Bild zusammenfügen, um das Verbrechen aufzudecken–und sich gleichzeitig mit der Schmach des Morgens danach und den unverkennbar sprühenden Funken zwischen ihnen auseinandersetzen. Doch je mehr sich ihre unerwartete Beziehung vertieft, desto dringlicher fragen sie sich, ob sie von Dauer sein kann–sofern die beiden lebend aus der Sache herauskommen sollten.
As a journalist, Brynn Kelly once spent her days chasing stranger-than-fiction news reports. Now she spends them writing larger-than-life novels, in a happy bubble of fiendish plots and delicious words.
She's a RITA® winner and an RT Book Reviews Reviewer's Choice Awards nominee.
She has a journalism degree, and has won several other prestigious writing and journalism awards, including the Valerie Parv Award, Pacific Hearts Award and Koru Award. Her debut novel finaled in the Golden Heart®. She’s also a bestselling non-fiction author, in her native New Zealand.
I was expecting a light, quirky mystery. What I got was rambling mess I ended up slogging my way through.
This audiobook suffers from two major flaws. Firstly, it’s just too long for what occurs. Second, it has a bit of an identity crisis.
Drunken one night stands can be awkward under the best of circumstances, but when both parties experience missing memories things begin deteriorating fast. Then both Tom and Amelia agree they’re reasonably sure someone or errr…. something carried a body past the window at some point in the night things go from bad to worse. There’s some definite “The Hangover” vibes happening throughout the book.
The most promising aspect is the setting which takes place in Tom’s ancestral home. The crumbling manor, filled with hidden rooms, passages, and valuable antiques. The house is a character herself, in fact, Tom calls her Miss Havisham (Great Expectations). Max Roll’s narration is probably the sole reason I finished this, otherwise I would’ve DNF it within three chapters, so shout out to his talent. The female narrator was grating and shrill off and on for the first 50%, but she did improve towards the end. Her style felt too peppy for the material.
The book reads as though the author had an amazing brainstorming session and tried to cram ALL the ideas into a single novel. Instead of, gathering a few of the strongest elements for one book and saving the rest for future projects. There’s decent bones somewhere beneath all the rambling. The mystery isn’t captivating, but with some tweaks maybe it could have been? The romance felt far fetched. I wasn’t buying the chemistry or the attraction given the scenario. If two people, who barely know each other are being hunted like animals, they’re in survival mode, dehydrated, no one has showered or brushed their teeth. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say they would not be thinking about how much they want to have sex over hmmm, how much they want to SURVIVE.
Even the ending drags, my finger hovered over the fast forward button.
Unfortunately, I found A Murder to Remember to be a book to forget.
The murder was fine. The romance was a little too instalove and cloying. You just met, and this person is the piece of your heart that was always missing? Ok
I also don't need the characters to cite their sources so much. Either you get the Austen references or you don't, but I don't need the characters saying what book and character they're referring to every single time.
Additionally, we all know the love languages by now. There's no need to explain them.
Probably wouldn't have finished the book if I didn't want to know who did it. Felt like it wasn't written by a real person.
Story 4 stars. Narration 5 stars This was good. Way better than what some reviewers say it was, so I ended quite happy with it. It’s a romance and really not a cozy one like the picture on the cover makes you think. This couple falls for each other very quickly, into lust for sure. It takes place in a centuries old British estate where the heroine visits due to its connection to Jane Austin novels and movies. She’s on a long vacation from America and meets the viscount that lives there when she wonders off from the tour. What follows is the one night stand that nightmares are made of. Dead bodies, actual nightmares and all kinds of events happen. Or do they? It ended up being quite the adventure unlike any adventure I’d ever want to go on. And I’m leaving it there. I liked the main characters and found them well realized and engaging right off the bat. There’s also villains and thriller moments as well as a good romance. At times I was on the edge of my seat so there’s definitely quite a bit of suspense. Recommended to romance/romantic suspense readers probably ages 15plus. Spicy scenes happen, but it’s closed door. FYI- If you have a problem with instalove this might not be the one for you. Personally I don’t like instalove except in werewolf books but for some reason I was okay with this one.
Was it a light, fun, quirky mystery? Yes, definitely.
Was it confusing? No, never.
How was the length? It was fine.
Was it predictable? Maybe a bit.
Did you Google the psychotropic salamander brandy and find out it was real? You better believe I did. What a funny concept, and an interesting and unusual way to begin in medias res.
Which part did you find most unbelievable? The neighbors and how they acted in the woods versus how they acted in the end.
Was it annoying? Not really. Except for the part where
Who would you recommend this to? People who like movies based on Jane Austen novels.
What is a Wildcard 5? I am a softie when it comes to rating books. I take a "5 star until proven lower" approach. And sometimes KNOW in my bones a book isn't truly a 5 star book, but I personally enjoy it enough that I cannot deny the author the 5 stars.
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"Real" Rating: Somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. It's a made for audio novella, so I definitely cut it some slack.
Was this a perfect 5-star read? No. Were there flaws? Yes. Did the characters hit you over the head with 5 different metaphors for every life lesson even if it made the dialogue feel like a script from a skit you might see in a middle school assembly while well-meaning people try to impart said life lessons to the goblins that are pre-teens? At times.
But I don't bloody care. It's my Goodreads account and I can rate something 5 stars just because I enjoyed it as a fun, quick listen if I want to.
3.75 Started out good then dragged on, then action, then quick ending that was meh. Liked quirky characters, Jane Austin references throughout, British accent.
I absolutely loved this book! I will listen to this one a few more times, it was everything I like, it was a rom-com, it was a little spicy, it was a mystery. They talked about Jane Austin throughout the book. It was just good!
Loved listening to this! My only complaint is I wish they would’ve had the actors voices when it split into her chapter vs his instead of listening to the actor try to talk like a British man or American woman 😂
0 Stars if that were an option. This is the worst book I’ve ever come across.
I went into this book expecting it to be lighthearted and a little quirky, the audible version of a Hallmark romance movie. I was not expecting a great work of literature that would change the world and make history.
Having said that, this book was a disappointment on every single front.
The characters are one dimensional, with no substance making it impossible to feel any sort of emotion towards them. I found myself rolling my eyes for a large chunk of this book.
The dialogue is juvenile and includes what are meant to be grown adults saying lines like “holy shitballs” as if a 16 year old was writing what they believed to be edgy dialogue.
This was essentially word vomit that needed at least 5 serious edits before it should have even been considered for the general public.
I will definitely be avoiding anything by Brynn Kelly in the future.
This one was hard to finish. At first I thought I wasn't into it because I was so distracted by other things going on but it never picked up. And they kept saying basically the same things over and over. Both main characters had the same epiphanies and explained it to us at length in several chapters. I thought the book would never end. The actual mystery part of the plot was decent. If it had stuck more to the mystery it would have been better. Even the mild romance, though a little forced and awkward at times, was ok. But the subplot of personal growth was too drawn out.
The book has a lighthearted tone that is suitable to the "Jane Austen" atmosphere, but there are times they try to make some sexy scenes happen and it ends being kinda awkward on my opinion. Also, there is waaaaay too much useless dialog, the *big question* of the ending (that was 100% predictable of course) took like 3 chapters to happen... I wanted to like it, but it was a struggle to listen until the end. :/
Este libro me ha dado un abracito al corazón muy fuerte. Sinceramente, no sé lo que me iba a encontrar porque realmente no había escuchado nunca sobre él. Recientemente me he suscrito a Audible y me salió en recomendaciones así que dije: ¿por qué no? Y de verdad ha sido increíble. Me ha gustado mucho sobre todo que es un libro que va poco a poco, y quizás si lo hubiera intentado leer en físico (que no existe), me hubiera parecido pesado pero no ha sido el caso y lo recomiendo un montón. Por fin, los dos protagonistas me caen súper bien. Me he reído muchísimo con ellos y además me ha mantenido muy intrigada la trama. Escuchadlo!! Merece mucho la pena. Y es curioso, porque la trama transcurre a lo largo de dos días y estos personajes tienen más evolución que libros en los que pasan meses. Amelia y Tom son los mejores 💛💛
You never quite know what to expect from Audible Originals in the Plus catalog, but this one was a delightful surprise! It was fun, fast-paced, and had a lot of action. The mix of humor, nerdy charm, and tender moments had me hooked. Plus, it had just the right touch of romance, even if it leaned a bit into cheesy territory. Exactly what I needed at the moment, and I loved every minute of it!
Insanely fun read. Romance-murder mystery with a case of alcohol-induced amnesia set on a Jane Austen themed tour… literally what more could a (specifically, this) girl want???
3.75 stars (Audible). Surprisingly good after a string of "Audible Originals" duds. Loved all the literary references + the murder mystery was well done. A little romance mixed in was also welcomed!
I loved the concept, the writing style, the characters… but boy this was WAY too long. I like long audiobooks but this felt like it could have been half the length, with 5 hours left i skipped to the last four chapters to see the ending