House of Shadows

By: Nicola Cornick

Narrated by: Heather Wilds, Fiona Hardingham, Beverley A. Crick

The wooded hills of Oxfordshire conceal the remains of the aptly named Ashdown House—a wasted pile of cinders and regret. Once home to the daughter of a king, Ashdown and its secrets will unite three women across four centuries in a tangle of romance, deceit and destiny…

In the winter of 1662, Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, is on her deathbed. She entrusts an ancient pearl, rumored to have magic power, to her faithful cavalier William Craven for safekeeping. In his grief, William orders the construction of Ashdown Estate in her memory and places the pearl at its center.

One hundred and fifty years later, notorious courtesan Lavinia Flyte hears the maids at Ashdown House whisper of a hidden treasure, and bears witness as her protector Lord Evershot—desperate to find it—burns the building to the ground.

Now, a battered mirror and the diary of a Regency courtesan are the only clues Holly Ansell has to finding her brother, who has gone missing researching the mystery of Elizabeth Stuart and her alleged affair with Lord Craven. As she retraces his footsteps, Holly’s quest will soon reveal the truth about Lavinia and compel her to confront the stunning revelation about the legacy of the Winter Queen.

“Fans of Kate Morton will enjoy this thrilling tale.” —Candis Magazine

Good story but the narration...

I enjoyed the overall story but listening the performance of the narrator performing the Winter Queen made me want to scream! Whoever allowed that person be recorded and published should have to listen her over and over for all eternity. The other narrators were great which what made that one stand out even more. Sheesh! Audible, please don’t publish anymore books with that narrator!

Frustrating but good

The historical parts of the story that drive the plot are fascinating and surprising. Apparently the story of the white queen and her commoner is known to many but not to many but not to me. If you don’t know it don’t look it up until after you have you have read the story. I found the absence of activity by police and his wife over Hope’s brother’s disappearance to be annoying but overall it was essential to the plot and only annoying

Author should be LIVID!

This was a pretty decent book. I don’t require War and Peace quality or the narration of vocal angels, but honestly, the narration from Heather Wilds (the Winter Queen) ruined the audiobook experience for me. Awful awful awful! If I was Nicola Clark, I’d be pissed, because I’m sure the narration turned people away from purchasing this book. Why do they choose such horrible narrators? Don’t the editors or production companies or somebody look at the reviews or listen to these actors themselves? Come on!
Now that I’m done ranting, House of Shadows was a pretty good story and I loved the part read by Fiona Hardingham. I’m looking forward to listening to the third book in the Timeslip series. (No Heather Wilds, I checked😊)

I loved this book!

This was an excellent story! I look forward to the other books in the series!

Strange Book!

I guess I'm alone in that I love Heather Wilds as a narrator. Her segment of the book, however was rather creepy and confusing. The book was too much of a fantasy for my taste.