Audio Review ~ Royal's Bride ~ Kat Martin #AudioChallenge #ShelfLove

Royal's Bride by Kat Martin
Brides Trilogy #1
Narrated by: Anna Parker-Naples
Release Date: February 28, 2017
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Tantor Audio. This did not affect my rating and my review is voluntarily provided. 
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #AudioChallenge, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Though he is a tilted nobleman, Royal Dewar is singularly unlucky...forced to choose between his soul mate and his salvation.

After years abroad, Royal has returned to Bransford Castle to find his father dying and the family treasury nearly empty. Then the old duke wrests a final promise from his guilt-ridden son: that Royal will marry heiress Jocelyn Caulfield and restore the estate to its former glory. However, it is not his finacee who quickens Royal's pulse, but rather her beautiful cousin Lily Moran.

Penniless Lily knows that nothing can come of their undeniable attraction - but there is a way she can help Royal. Enlisting some questionable characters from her past, Lily concocts an elaborate ruse to recover some of the Bransford fortune from a notorious confidence artist. As the dangerous scheme unfolds, Lily and Royal are thrown together in pursuit of the very thing - money - that keeps them apart...

This was my first Kat Martin book and I'm congratulating myself on the choice as well as for having the foresight to request the entire trilogy. =) Royal's Bride deftly dealt with the social customs, norms, and mores of the day while also delivering a riveting story inhabited by a colorful and well-developed cast of characters. I'm eager to start #2, Reese's Bride. (edit: I'm halfway through!)

Highlights:

• Character Development
  KMartin does an incredible job at fleshing out not only the MC's - Royal and Lily - but also an all-star cast who is also deeply involved in the plot. They are all good, loyal, and kind people and I'm hoping they'll be a part of the future installments.
• Plot
  The plot made the story both exciting and suspenseful. Royal and Lily set about trying to solve the mystery of the loss of the Dewar fortune. Would they figure it out? Could they refrain from falling more deeply for one another while they try? Should Royal follow his heart or his head? I had some thoughts on what had happened to Royal's family's money but I was entirely wrong on all counts. I certainly enjoyed following Royal and Lily as they solved the mystery and set about recovering the money.
• Romance
  The romance between Royal and Lily (and the romance between some side characters) was sweet and genuine. I could feel the affection between Royal and Lily - knew fighting it was hopeless. But then Lily was not set with the money Royal needed. I think watching Royal fight himself was the most entertaining.
• Narration
  Anna Parker-Naples did well in keeping the pacing just right and conveying the emotions of the story. Her male voices gave her a bit of a problem but the book does have a rather large male cast. Overall, I enjoyed her delivery.