Noble Intentions

Daniel is a self-made man. He grew up poor but his mother pushed and encouraged her kids to become more. She worked hard to get them scholarships to private schools and then to prestigious colleges. Both of her kids have made something of themselves, but when Daniel gets a call about an upcoming reunion with his private school classmates, he's reminded that he doesn't have the privilege and last names of those he went to school with and is dreading going. His assistant recommends that he finds a date to take to the reunion and sets him up with a matchmaker. Just hours after meeting with her, she calls him with someone he has to meet.

Barrister Robert Ashton is surprised to find out that his uncle has died and he's inherited the title of Earl. Along with the title, he's inherited two properties that have been in his family for ten generations. He's taken to view the properties which are both in disrepair. He's overwhelmed with the repairs needed and unable to pay for them. When discussing what to do with the properties, including selling, his mother throws the crazy suggestion of marrying for money, much like families have done for generations. Robert is not interested in her suggestion and doesn't think the plan will work, but his mother sets him up with a matchmaker. The matchmaker introduces him to Daniel Fabian. The two men meet and find a connection, and decide to spend more time together. By the end of their second day together, they've both agreed to marry so they each get what they want. Daniel will get a title and Robert will get the money and help to restore the estate.

I loved both Robert and Daniel's characters. They were good guys with big hearts, and aren't afraid of hard work. Though neither realize it, they're both looking for that connection they find in each other and family. The story is written from both characters' POV, and at one point Robert referred to an object in a way that only someone from England would and I realized what a spectacular job the author did of providing distinct voices for each character.

Once I started reading this book, I was drawn into it and hated to put it down! It's such a beautiful story with a great ending. This will be one I read over and over! I highly recommend you read Robert and Daniel's story, I'm sure you'll fall in love with them too!

This story was narrated by Robert Nieman. I found his voice easy to listen to and felt that he had a good pace while narrating. I was disappointed in his accents, or lack of accents in this storytelling. There were many different characters from areas with distinct accents, and I didn't feel the narrator attempted any. Sometimes Robert would have an accent but it wasn't consistent and I didn't think it was an accurate one. The narrator did give characters individual voices that made him easy to listen to.

Overall: 4.5 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 5 stars

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the narrator CANNOT read!

nor is he capable of understanding what he is reading. absolutely awful performance! so many times during the book, he would pull you out of the moment being crafted by the author by his fumbling words.

Solid sweeter romance with good characters

I’ll admit that reading the blurb alone may not have tempted me into reading Noble Intentions. While I generally enjoy Mr. Grey’s books and characters, and find the writing to flow smoothly, I have to be in the right mood for a lower angst, sweet romance. However, when I saw this book happened to be narrated by one of my very favorite voices, I went ahead and dove right in.

In many ways, I wasn’t completely expecting the story within Noble Intentions. I simply haven’t encountered many arranged marriages or partnerships in the m/m genre, so even though the blurb mentions it, it still caught me a bit off guard when it came up in the book. Honestly the whole idea put me off the story a little bit. However, it ended up working out better than I anticipated. I appreciated how the match came about and, as far as arranged relationships go, this one had a fairly natural feel that was plausible.

I liked the characters of Noble Intentions as well. Mr. Grey often creates characters who have an easy and likeable demeanor to them, not overly intense and with good hearts. That’s precisely how I viewed Daniel and Robert. There are no other-the-top dramatics or intense scenes, just a sweet romance between two nice and charming characters. The relationship conflicts that arose made sense but weren’t drawn out unnecessarily or overly angsty. Rather, it presented some hurdles for the couple to navigate as they try to make their arrangement work, ultimately it added some balance between the men and provided opportunity for character growth as well.

As always, I really enjoyed Mr. Nieman’s narration style. His relaxed, steady rhythm suited the story perfectly. I thought the two voices he used to delineate between Robert and Daniel worked well for the characters, they weren’t caricatures, but different enough to distinguish who was talking during longer dialogue exchanges. In many ways, I think the Mr. Nieman’s narration made this book that much more appealing to me. If the story of Noble Intentions intrigues you, or if you are looking for a sweeter romance, this would certainly fit the bill and I most definitely recommend the audiobook version.

*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*

Noble indeed

Where does Noble Intentions rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. At least, not as much as I enjoyed the book.

Which scene was your favorite?

The board room toward the end, very nice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at all and that pains me. I really loved the eBook but the narrator did not do the story justice. I was so confused, more often than not, because he didn't even attempt to use a different accent. My suggestion, skip the audio and read the book, you'll love it.

Any additional comments?

Tams eBook review from December 2016...

Robert Ashton's usually boring life is turned upside down and inside out when he learns that he is the new Earl of Hantford after his uncles passing. His mother cut off all contact with her family and Robert has never really met any of them. The title and estates he's inherited aren't exactly up to snuff though. It will take money Robert doesn't have to polish up Historic Ashton Park Estate.

Daniel Fabien is wealthy and successful, but has never garnered the respect he thinks is deserved. Enter the lovely matchmaker for people of Daniel and Robert's status and there just might be a solution to both of their problems. You know what they say... one problem solved, several more arise.

Their marriage of convenience slowly evolves into something more as both men grow quite attached to each other. But neither is certain the other feels the same way. In the middle of Daniel and Robert opening up to each other they learn that the estate will take a bit more time, effort and money than initially expected. And then the bottom falls out when someone tries to steal Daniel's business that he built from the ground up, out from under him.

Grey is getting back to his squishy, sweet, romantic type of story with this new release and I absolutely loved it! I thoroughly enjoyed traveling the journey of friendship, self awareness and, eventually love with these two men. They were very much alike, and yet, quite different. It wasn't all sunshine and roses from the start, they had to work together to figure everything out. But it was worth the wait and was sad when I came to the end, with a sigh and a smile. Definitely a must read. But then, it's Andrew Grey, everything he does is golden.

A business deal gone right

If you could sum up Noble Intentions in three words, what would they be?

Sweet, sexy, fun.

What other book might you compare Noble Intentions to and why?

It is an Andrew Grey book that speaks for itself! Always a good story!

What does Robert Nieman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I loved the accent Robert Nieman gave Robert. I did stay engaged in the story but at times I felt the reading was just a little choppy.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes. Roberts proposal was quite tearing jerking.I said AWE! out loud LOL I made my heart happy.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I love stories set in England and add in a rich American businessman you have the best of both worlds. The story does move fast but the storyline is sweet both character's intriguing and though the sex isn't overly hot it is perfect for the story.
If you are looking for a book to kill a few hours and lift your mood this is a great choice.

Not as great as I was hoping

Any additional comments?

This review is hard for me to write, the audio was pleasant to listen too, but so many trivial things kept popping up that I found the overall enjoyment lacking in many areas.

I think this is the exception that this should be read only, not listen to. I think a lot of these would not be found by the average person in book form.

The story itself had a good baseline. An old idea, brought into modern times. An English gentleman by birth was left a title, a grand home but no money. An American from the wrong side of the tracks fought his way to the top and now has everything but the prestige he feels he’s life is somehow lacking. Together they strike a deal. I’m a sucker for these stories and was charmed by the idea.

These two MC’s seemed to get along, and ‘on page, had chemistry’ or at least they kept having adult relations. However, I had a tough time seeing it. They were cordial enough but I felt they had so little time together and when they did, orders and demands were being issued about the state of things, how could they ‘fall in love?’ Maybe if it was longer? If we had more time to build an actual relationship. I enjoyed the mother being able to relive a childhood/young adulthood. And listening to the ideas of making the home beautiful again. I would have liked more details in that so we could have had a better end picture in our heads.

The other thing that nagged at me was this was a split international book, and I get that an American author wrote it. But besides a few coined words, and one very poor phrased sentence this was all American. We hold our British authors that write American books to lofty standards and I feel we should do the same when an American author tries to write a British one. Watching British shows on PBS does not make one an expert on all things British.



Overall, I felt like the story was too short, we started too many ‘projects, life events, potential relationship news’ and then the story ended.



I’ve heard this narrator several times before and he does a decent job. I’m not sure this was a good fit for him. But like any professional you do the best with what you must work with.

Not the best narrator choice

I’d had this book on my TBR list but hadn’t gotten to it by the time the audiobook came out, so I was psyched to listen to it, as I usually read a book before I listen and I consider it a treat to listen to a book for my first exposure to a story.

In general I’m a fan of Andrew Grey and I find his books to be a reliable source of low angst, feel-good romance that you can trust for a solidly enjoyable experience. Some of his stories really touch me and some are just pleasant, but rarely am I disappointed.

I was disappointed with this.

Part of the reason why – I think – is because the narrator choice was just wrong. I’m actually a fan of Robert Nieman and I find his narrations to be enjoyable most of the time. But he has a specific style and tenor to his voice that really didn’t match up with this story and his lack of appropriate accents was glaring.

I don’t know how much “artistic license” an author has when choosing a narrator, but I do think someone else would have been a better choice. Nieman used a vague British accent inconsistently for the British characters and gave no Texan accent to Daniel despite the fact that his accent is referenced in the story. He also gave no New York accent to anyone though the story is set in the city for some of the time.

I could have looked that over except that Nieman also has a style that is more rambling and chaotic with speed changes and pauses that aren’t always what I’d predict and that can really work in some cases (ie Amy Lane’s Clear Water) but didn’t work here. He also mispronounced a few words and that always bugs me.

Nieman is easy enough to listen to and the sound quality was fine but I don’t think he added to the story.

Now, about the story. I love the premise and I thought Grey did a fair job of making me “believe” these two guys could form a partnership in this day and age based on the idea that they each offered something the other needed. However, Daniel’s “need” was weak at best and didn’t seem to fit given that he was already leery of “gold-diggers” before he and Robert met. I wanted him to spend more time explaining why Robert’s version of gold-digging was okay before he accepted the proposal.

Beyond a very superficial amount of concern regarding distance and the particulars of the partnership there is almost no tension in this story. As a result there is very little chemistry or drive for the relationship on an emotional level either. When our MCs get their HEA it didn’t feel “hard won” or even that difficult and I wasn’t that invested in the outcome.

I stuck with the story easily enough and wasn’t ever tempted to stop, but it wasn’t something I’d recommend to a friend either.

All in all it was like bland tea and dry toast – it filled some empty spaces but that’s about it.

2.75 rounded to 3 of 5 stars