When gruff mountaineer Dominic Hartington-George seeks sponsorship for his latest expedition, his London PA insists on a more media-friendly profile—like dating celebrity supermodel Zeb Z.
Zeb can’t make the date, so he asks his identical twin, Aidan, to stand in for just one evening. Aidan, a struggling playwright, shuns the limelight to the extent people don’t even know Zeb has a sibling, but he reluctantly agrees.
When the deception has to continue beyond the first date, Aidan fights to keep up the pretense. Dominic likes his sassy, intelligent companion, and Aidan starts falling for the forthright explorer. But how long can Aidan’s conscience cope as confusion abounds? Will coming clean as “the other twin” destroy the trust they’ve built?
Listening Length: 6 hours and 21 minutes
Narrator: Rusty Topsfield
Reviewer: Shee Reader
Ok. Before I start the review, I have to say I sort of loved this story and also hated the audio. The story was terrific. The narrator was super. He has a lovely voice, great characterisations and beautiful emotive expression. My problem was, this is a story set in London, England. The characters are English, the expressions they use are English (and being a Brit myself, that was a rare treat). However, the narrator is American. It grated on me throughout. So much that if I hadn’t have been listening to review the book, I would have stopped listening.
That mini rant out of the way, I’ll tell you about the story.
Dominic is a mountaineer determined to climb the Eiger, as his father had done years before, but being short of funds, his agent comes up with a plan. Dominic should go on a couple of very visible dates with Zeb Z a high profile fashion model, and secure sponsorship for his quest. Zeb is a busy man, and having a diary conflict, he engages his twin to help him. Since Aiden resolutely stays out of the limelight, most people don't even know the effervescent Zeb had a sibling, let alone an identical twin running around. Aiden is a struggling playwright in need of funds himself, and against his better judgement, he agrees to help Zeb and himself with a date with the mountaineer.
Little did Aiden and Dominic know they would spark something magical, and soon fall into several dates and bed! Once Dominic’s funding for his trip is secure, Dom’s agent discusses their ‘exit strategy’ and Aiden is hurt by the idea that Dominic doesn't want him anymore. This wouldn’t be romance-landia without the odd misunderstanding, and this culminates in Dominic seeing ‘his’ Zeb kissing another man. The relationships are engaging, the setting entertaining and the sibling stuff between Zeb and Aiden was perfect! In the end, the declarations were sweet, the ending happy, and the supporting characters are well crafted and interesting.
The story was lovely, really lovely, and I would have adored it with an English narrator. On the whole, it was thoroughly disappointing and frustrating. Maybe, for non-British listeners, this would be a wonderful listen. But for me, this is the wrong narrator for this story.
See our ebook review here!
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