Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas (The Ravenels #4), read by Mary Jane Wells

Summary from Goodreads:

A woman who defies her time: Dr. Garrett Gibson, the only female physician in England, is as daring and independent as any man—why not take her pleasures like one? Yet she has never been tempted to embark on an affair, until now. Ethan Ransom, a former detective for Scotland Yard, is as gallant as he is secretive, a rumored assassin whose true loyalties are a mystery. For one exhilarating night, they give in to their potent attraction before becoming strangers again.

A man who breaks every rule: As a Ravenel by-blow spurned by his father, Ethan has little interest in polite society, yet he is captivated by the bold and beautiful Garrett. Despite their vow to resist each other after that sublime night, she is soon drawn into his most dangerous assignment yet. When the mission goes wrong, it will take all of Garrett’s skill and courage to save him. As they face the menace of a treacherous government plot, Ethan is willing to take any risk for the love of the most extraordinary woman he’s ever known.

Continuing on my Ravenels read on audio – I really dug this romance between the doctor and the spy from the previous book, Devil in Spring. The medical research Kleypas did for Dr. Gibson – who was practicing at a time when technical advancements in medicine were really starting to jump forward – was excellent. And who could resist Ethan and his sexy Irish brogue? (sorry, Welshman Rhys still wins the sexy accent competition) I loved how they trapped the villain in the end.

A weird note in the audiobook production: Mary Jane Wells is spectacular as usual, but there was an odd moment (in the trainyard, when Garrett is escaping London with Ethan to the Priory) where I would swear the speaker was West Ravenel, who is voiced as a very blustery/jolly-ish English toff, but Rhys’s Welsh accent pops in for about two paragraphs. And he was present earlier in the scene, but I had thought the character left the scene prior to this conversation. I rewound and listened a few times, but I couldn’t figure it out.

The next book in the series is Devil’s Daughter but I’m thinking I might have to pause and jump back to Cold-Hearted Rake because I can’t quite remember how we got to this competent, very capable version of Devon, Lord Trenear.

Dear FTC: I borrowed a copy of this audiobook from the library via Libby.