Brilliant

By: Marne Davis Kellogg

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Meet Kick Keswick, an elegant and self-possessed American who has been at London's venerable Ballantine & Company Auctioneer, Ltd., for over thirty years. She is an expert on paintings, furniture, and objets d'art, and so far has lived a perfectly happy life with things on her mind other than love. In fact, Kick rarely lets anyone into her private world. She prefers it that way. She adores her elegant London flat, her books, her music, her delicious meals, and, most of all, her jewels. Kick doesn't need a man in her life messing things up. But when American industrialist, scoundrel, and womanizer Owen Brace grabs the faltering Ballantine & Company in a corporate takeover, he turns Kick's world upside down, opening her eyes to large-scale love, romance and sensuous pleasure.

Something tells Kick that Brace's motives are anything but sincere, however. And when he gets near enough to threaten Kick's closely guarded life, Brace learns the dangers of underestimating this woman. From sophicticated London to Kick's secluded farm in Provence, France, BRILLIANT is a playfully delicious novel of suspense, masterful revenge, and secrets of the multi-faceted kind.©2003 Marne Davis Kellogg; (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

pretty good!

Kate Reading makes every book a little better--even when she loses her American accent a quarter way through the book!
It's a light, enjoyable listen--interesting plot and solid characters.

LOVE! Please record the other books with same read

This is truly one of the best authors that you have on this site. And the reader of this book is spot on. Kick has become my friend in the listening of this book. I only wish, PRAY that the other Kick Keswisk novels finally make their way to this site with the same reader. I have read and re-read this book. I don't always have time to pick up the written books which I have read in book form. I am often in my car driiving in crazy LA traffic and taking Kick with me would make it so much more enjoyable. Why oh why have the subsequent Kick Keswisk novels not been recorded? If I could afford it I would pay to produce them. I want to contact the current publisher to see what can be done to make the recordings happen with the same reader. Please see what can be done.

Cotton Candy Listening

I loved listening to this book. It is light and witty and delicious. My dog got a lot of extra walks so that I could keep listening. The reader is wonderful. Don't expect great literature, but for pure fun, you can't go wrong.

Lots of fun and a great escape in gridlock!

If you could sum up Brilliant in three words, what would they be?

Lots of whimsy and wish I live around the corner from Kick Keswick. Reader is fantastic.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Main character of Kick Keswick - picture Grace Kelly and she is the thief - not Cary Grant.

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

She was perfect in the role.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction - just did not want the book to end.

A fun read

MDK spins a fun tale of theft, romance, mystery, possible murder, and the high life in this first Kick Keswick installment. Kick is an executive assistant at an auction house for luxury items in London by day, and an extremely capable jewel thief by night. When the auction house gets sold, Kick is swept up by the handsome playboy owner, Owen Brace. The relationship is passionate but not especially profound, and Kick soon realizes she's dealing with a shady guy. Unfortunately, he also underestimates her, a terrible mistake.
This book was more graphic than I usually go in terms of steam and language, requiring some skimming on my part (I just don't go for it, don't care what people think), but overall I enjoyed the descriptions of the food and jewels and basically how Kick is confident in who she is. I thought it was especially charming that she considers herself "born with an extra 25lbs" but doesn't let that stop her from dressing well and flirting with men. In any case, it was a fun read, and I already started the sequel lol!