ARE YOU LISTENING? FRIDAY: THE AMERICAN HEIRESS AUDIO BOOK - A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO

BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S

"ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"

I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THIS FRIDAY'S

"ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"
AUDIO BOOK CHOICE IS.....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE AMERICAN HEIRESS

An Audio Book

BY DAISY GOODWIN

ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.

Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Cora’s story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James.

"For daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century, it was the ultimate deal: marriage to a cash-strapped British Aristocrat in return for a title and social status. But money didn’t always buy them happiness." --Daisy Goodwin in The Daily Mail

PRAISE FOR THE AMERICAN HEIRESS,THE AUDIO BOOK:

“Dripping with acerbic affectation and perfect British and Newport upper-crust accents, Katherine Kellgren deliciously portrays wealthy, beautiful, naïve Cora Cash…This story is filled with a full cast of unlikeable characters…Kellgren delivers each perfectly and convincingly conveys the worst that lack of character has to offer on both sides of the pond.” 

–AudioFile Magazine

“Ketherine Kellgren, a truly accomplished voice actress, affects a la-di-da intercontinental accent for the narration of this puree of Edith Wharton, ‘Downtown Abbey’ and pulp romance.” 

–-The Washington Post

“This audiobooks is full of historical detail about the lives of the rich and famous at the turn of the last century, from fashion and food to living spaces and manners. I think I listened to the descriptions of Cora’s Parisian-made trousseau about five or six times so that I could picture each sumptuous, amazing gown clearly in my mind.” 

–-Star-Telegram

“When I first started buying audiobooks, I always went for ‘bang for the buck’ and with 13 hours of listening time to the pleasant voice of Katherine Kellgren, you definitely get your money’s worth on this one.” 

–-5 Minutes for Books

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

DAISY GOODWIN, a Harkness scholar who attended Columbia University’s film school after earning a degree in history at Cambridge University, is a leading television producer in the U.K. Her poetry anthologies, including 101 Poems That Could Save Your Life, have introduced many new readers to the pleasures of poetry, and she was Chair of the judging panel of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. She and her husband, an ABC TV executive, have two daughters and live in London. The American Heiress is her first novel.
MY BOOK CLUB READS THE AMERICAN HEIRESS:
My book club entered a giveaway for THE AUDIO BOOK of THE AMERICAN HEIRESS and won copies for all of us. We meet next week and I am anxious to know how they liked it. Many have not done an audio book before but most are educators or counselors so off for the summer and I imagine will enjoy the luxury of relaxing and listening to a good audio book as much as most do including myself. I shall keep you posted!
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
Listening to the audio book of Daisy Goodwin's novel THE AMERICAN HEIRESS was a look into the world of wealthy Americans in the late 1890‘s. During this “Gilded Age” where the well-to-do ruled in the extravagant ways of the time, keeping up with the Jones family, or the Astors, was not abnormal but rather the norm. THE AMERICAN HEIRESS tells the story of Cora Cash, one of the wealthiest American debutantes, who starts the novel with her elaborate coming out party. Despite months of planning and thousands of dollars, an unexpected accident REALLY makes it the talk of the town for reasons Mrs. Cash had not planned on.

With Cora being the premier catch of the season, her mother is resolute in her determination to add to the family name by having Cora marry into a titled English family. Cora is set on getting married to escape from her overbearing mother, and so she agrees to go along to England to “tour” the most sought after titled young men. Quite by accident, Cora meets Duke Wareham who she never would have looked at but he grows on her and before you know it, they are married. Their wedding is not only popular with the crowds who want to catch a glimpse of the new “royals” but also with Cora who has not only escaped her mother’s clutches but also has actually married for love. Or did she? What of the Duke, Ivo, who owns the family estate that is grand in structure but needs much work, and money, to be put back into its original splendid condition. So did the Duke marry for love, or for money?

Although I found the beginning of the story to be a little stilted, and it took me a few minutes to warm to the accents as well as the likes of these mostly superficial people, I found myself enjoying the story. The characters were really different from those I normally read about and Goodwin did a nice job fully developing them, faults and all. The servants were even a big part of the story. Bertha, who was Cora’s maid, was a favorite character and what seemed like innocence I think was a character with a good heart as well as much common sense and an innate need for survival. I became caught up in her story as much as Cora’s. The seemingly straight forward, interesting read does lead the reader along some twists and turns that really give the story its life. I even grew to care about poor Cora who was subjected to the very stilted and seemingly ridiculous rules of the English blue bloods!

I think this was a perfect audio book for this time of year. Each time I listened, especially when driving in my car in this 98 degree heat, it would carry me away to this other world that Daisy Goodwin created. THE AMERICAN HEIRESS is an enchanting and captivating way to spend a few hours so give it a try. 

GIVEAWAY 

THANKS TO MY FRIENDS AT MACMILLAN

AUDIO, I HAVE TWO COPIES OF THIS GREAT

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER AUDIO BOOK TO

GIVE AWAY TO TWO LUCKY READERS

 

--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: READ ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK ABOVE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE AMERICAN HEIRESS  THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: GO TO MACMILLAN AUDIO BOOKS WEBSITE HERE AND LISTEN TO PART OF THIS AUDIO BOOK IN AN EXCERPT ON THAT PAGE AND COMMENT HERE THAT YOU DID IT OR ABOUT IT

+1 MORE ENTRY: SIGN UP FOR SWAGBUCKS IN MY RIGHT SIDE BAR AND EARN SWAGBUCKS TOWARD PRIZES-WHEN YOU EARN, I EARN AS WELL AND THAT IS HOW I BUY SOME OF THE BOOKS I GIVE AWAY. IT ALSO GIVES YOU CHANCES EACH MONTH FOR EXTRA ENTRIES TO MY GIVEAWAYS. IF YOU ALREADY SIGNED UP ON MY WEBSITE THEN JUST TELL ME AND I CAN CHECK. THANKS!

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, JULY 13

GOOD LUCK!