Hazard

Rockliffe Series, Book 5

By: Stella Riley

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

Hazard: A game of Chance and Luck, made riskier when Fate is rolling the dice.

For Aristide Delacroix, the first throw summons shades from his past. A man he had met, just once, over a card-table... and the lovely girl indirectly responsible for plunging his life into catastrophe.

For Lord Nicholas Wynstanton, tired of waiting for Madeleine Delacroix to make up her mind, it slyly suggests he begin a whole new game with loaded dice; while for Madeleine, it devises a terrifying lesson in missed opportunities and the uncertainty of second chances.

And for Genevieve Westin, hoping widowhood will be happier than marriage, it brings a rude awakening - leaving a single, wild gamble as her only option.

A cardsharp turned businessman, a duke’s charming brother, a stubborn, razor-edged beauty, and a desperate widow.

Four players in a game of Hazard... all playing for very high stakes.

©2018 Stella Riley (P)2018 Stella Riley

Stellar Stella and Awesome Alex

What a delightful audio diversion! Apart from some minor challenges keeping track of the cumulative cast from prior books, this is another winner.

In Love

There is not a Stella Riley book that I have not thoroughly enjoyed. Her stories are full of wit, cleverness , and the storyline is always interesting and entertaining . The plot is well done and the narrator is fantastic. I recommend any book you wish to read by this author.

Great characters and storyline!

I love Stella Riley’s writing. She creates characters I love and story lines that captivate me.

One of the Best Georgian Era Romances

Ah ... the Rockcliffe series! If this is the finale —- and I dearly hope it’s not — what a sweet, tender HOS of the last two romantic couples. Riley provides just enough historical context to make this world and its characters believably Georgian. The story has just enough fluff so as not to be overtaken by that context. Some of the phrasing and plot devices are photocopies of the previous books in the series, but that actually works well because Riley is a lovely writer whose imagination populated this community of friendships with hunky, honorable men. Best of all, the women who become their wives are not ‘by-the-book’ romantic heroines. In this male-dominant world, those women are all the more enjoyable because that masculinity isn’t overbearing. The heroes’ vulnerability is believable yet unexpected. And of course, Alex Wyndham is a FANTASTIC narrator. That French accent is DREAMY.

More Please!!

This book grows on me, every time I've replayed it. I will admit that I originally preferred it in the written form but having only a few Audible books as yet, I find I like it better each time I have listened. As Mr Wyndham's interpretations have grown more familiar, they have settled into place. I still find some of his characters not quite as I imagined them, and he differentiates the individuals to an extent by age and type/position, but his general narration is excellent.
Having read the book first and the rest of the series as well - I've been an avid fan of Ms Riley's works for years and I was very glad when she resumed her writing career - I am pleased to say that she has continued to delight me with her characters and their stories and I hope she carries on with them. They have developed into friends with problems to be solved or assisted by other known people and the romances which are the raison d'etre are carried out with feeling.