Marry Lies

Ravaged Castle

By: Amanda Richardson

Narrated by: Michael Gallagher, Fiona Hardingham

He never wanted a wife, but for her, he’d spin a web of lies.

Miles: The idea of seeking a wife to salvage our family’s reputation starts as a joke…until it spirals into a desperate reality. Before I know it, I’m lying my way into a marriage of convenience with a woman who is everything I’m not.

Estelle Deveraux radiates warmth where I’m shrouded in darkness, exudes vibrant colors while I dwell in shades of gray, and irritates me with her maddening cheerfulness.

I find myself entranced, watching…craving.

Before I know it, she's not just my wife, but an all-consuming obsession—one I didn’t anticipate.

And one I can’t let go.

Stella: Being presented with an opportunity to kickstart my clothing line is a dream come true.
The only caveat? I have to stay married to Miles Ravage for a year and sing his praises to anyone who will listen.

Bad-tempered, unsmiling, and cold, Miles is exactly the kind of man I loathe.

However, beneath the ice, I uncover an enticing complexity–a veiled darkness that lures me in, begging me to discover his secrets.

One watchful secret in particular…with me as his sole obsession.

Marry Lies is a marriage of convenience, opposites attract/frenemies-to-lovers romance with a voyeur hero and Beauty and the Beast themes. It is book two in the Ravaged Castle series. All books can be listened to as standalones.

Warning: This book contains a grumpy hero who hates everyone but her. It also contains explicit sexual situations and strong language. There is no cheating, and there is a HEA.

©2023 Amanda Richardson (P)2024 Amanda Richardson

Loved it but...

I loved the voice for Stella and I loved the voice for Miles, but when the voice actors had to be the other partner their voices were sooooo annoying.
if you can ignore that, it is awesome!

He’s Not Too Beastly

With his family’s reputation in shambles, Miles Ravage needs to save face by finding a wife. Estelle Deveraux needs money to launch her clothing line and agrees to marry the bad-tempered Miles for one year in exchange for what she wants. Miles soon finds that this exchange make work more in his favor than originally planned

Marry Lies is the second book in the Ravaged Castle series. I have not read the first book in the series but this one reads perfectly well as a stand-alone. The book has vague Beauty and the Beast undertones but the MMC is just an irritable human. There is explicit content throughout.

The MCs start out seeming like opposites but the further into the story, you realize how deeply flawed and vulnerable they both are. They find a certain balance in each other. While the spicy scenes are plentiful, I think the bond that grows between them goes beyond the physical.

I was not previously familiar with either of the narrators but I think they did an excellent job. Sometimes with explicit content, narrators will over act to the point of awkwardness, but that is not the case here. Both Fiona Hardingham and Michael Gallagher did well differentiating between all the characters. The accents along with the French pronunciations were done well.

This is the first book that I have read from author Amanda Richardson but I plan to look into more of her backlist.

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Female narrator needs improvement

Things I Like:
The overall story for Miles and Estelle is really good. The cute story of how they met until they get married and eventually fall in love, with a little bickering and teasing along the way. I enjoyed seeing how Miles wanted to support Estelle's dream. It is also fun to hear about the other Ravage brothers and how they tease each other throughout the story.

The male narrator does a great job on Miles character as well as any other characters that he has to narrate throughout this story. The female narrator does great on the female voice for Estelle's character.

Things I Didn't Like:
The female narrator needs drastic improvement on her narration for male characters. It is hard since she narrates so many portions for Miles and others throughout the book. I almost stopped listening because she sounds so robotic, but I stuck with it because I wanted to hear the rest of the story.

I recommend the book, as long as you can push past the female narrator for the male characters.

Oh my!!!

This marriage of convenience was oh so good!!

Absolutely loved every moment and how hard both fell for one another. Amanda is giving me life with these Ravage men!!!

I love how each brother’s book hits a certain trope and has all the micro tropes we all love and adore!

Female voice killed it for me

Loved the book and male narrator however the female narrator when doing all the other characters was horrible . Kinda threw off the sex appeal and vibe