Audiobook Review: Midsummer Magic by Catherine Coulter

Midsummer Magic
Magic Trilogy #1
Author: Catherine Coulter
Reader: Anne Flosnik
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Romance
Run Time: 11 Hours
Released: January 1st 2012
Review Source: Brilliance Audio
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Dear Listener: Midsummer Magic, the first novel in the Magic Trilogy, was published at the end of 1987.Philip Hawksbury, the Earl of Rothermere, obeying his father's dying wish, hies himself to Scotland to offer for one of the daughters of Alexander Kilbracken, the Earl of Ruthven.Frances Kilbracken, informed of the earl's arrival and his mission, disguises herself as a bespectacled dowd so she won't be the one selected by the young earl. But choose her he does, and for all the wrong reasons.The newly married couple return to England, together but not at all happy. Philip dumps Frances at Desborough Hall, his ancestral estate, and heads back to his old life in London. Ah, but Desborough has a stud farm and racing stable, and Frances is magic with horses.When the earl returns to his home, driven by guilt, he discovers the woman he married has grossly deceived him. What follows is a battle of the sexes that will have you chuckling, maybe even howling with laughter.Let me know what you think of this first of the Magic novels - it's one of my own favorites.Catherine Coulter

The beginning of the book sounded promising, when a heroine with spunk enough to take matters into her own hands and hide behind a facade of a mousy character to avoid the inevitable, but once the hero comes into the picture depicting an uncaring, chauvinist and abusive character everything starts loosing it's charm.
In repayment of an honor debt to an old friend for saving his life. Hawk's father informs him, he is bound to keep a promise of an arranged marriage to one of his friends daughters. Frances fights with tooth and nails not to be the chosen one, but ends up being the one, all for the wrong reasons. He thinks, she has no character and would be easy to ignore and hide to keep up with his old life. Once the marriage is consummated, considered pretty much a rape, I could not fathom the ideas that she could fall in love with someone that shows no remorse or care. His interest shows when he realizes that in fact she is very attractive, so very predictable.

The audio performance was good, although sometimes delivery was very slow, could blame the plot to be at fault for that.