Angel Claire

As with most of the female population I have read FSOG, but I still downloaded this book with some trepidation. I had read the book reviews on Sherri Hayes website and knew that the book didn't contain any graphic BDSM scenes but I wasn't sure that this topic/genre (sex slaves) was one that I really wanted to know about.

Anyway five minutes into the story I found that I was hooked, I really needed to know why this had happened to Brianna (Anna) and how she came to be in a situation that obviously was not of her choosing. As the story progressed I felt so sad for her, she was lost and broken. Her ten months as a sex slave had reduced her to a shell - fragile, empty and with nothing to call her own.

But having said that, as I became more involved in the story I came to a conclusion that surprised even me. I understood why the person best suited to care for her was a Dominant - and this is where we meet the lovely Stephan. I can't say that I have any greater understanding about what attracts people to this lifestyle but that isn't what this book is about. This book is about Stephan and Anna, caring and trust.

I won't go into the story because that is there for you to read but I will say it was worth the listen and because the ending is left hanging I will download the sequel. The narration was fantastic - using both male and female narrators gave the reading more depth and the listener a greater understanding of the emotions building at that time.

This is a book about faith and trust and I guess that because it is a Christian book I would be reluctant to recommend it to those who would not hear the message it carries.

I enjoyed the many twists and turns in the story - it kept me interested and wanting to hear more. I guess the bit I liked most about this story was listening to Paul Falcon talk about his faith and his family.

When Paul and Ann married.

I didn't listen to it in one sitting but it was my constant companion for two days.

I hadn't read or listened to any of Dee Hendersons books before and have now become an avid fan. Listening to this book had me intrigued about the O'Malley's and so I have now started reading that series. Unfortunately only book 6 is available as an audiobook.

Shiver is the story of Sam, a hard working single mother who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book follows her frantic efforts to keep herself and her young son one step ahead of a ruthless drug gang. Thrown into this mix is the undercover FBI agent who Sam must learn to trust in order to stay alive.

This is a great storyline but the writing itself is so wordy and slow that it had me to the point of frustration. Every facet of the story is described to the nth degree - it was so frustrating listening to a ten minute description on the furnishings in the lounge room. At times the description of a scene was so long that I lost track of what the story was actually about.

I really enjoyed the narration - Shannon McManus was excellent and I look forward to listening to more of her work

Shiver is an exciting book that keeps you wanting to know what's happening next - it is just such a pity that the book has been spoiled by being padded out with some much unnecessary dialogue.

This book follows on from Slave. Anna makes the decision to stay with Stephan and become his submissive.

Even though Anna is still haunted by her time with Ian she does start to embrace her new life but she still suffers panic attacks, is unable to cope with crowds and would have difficulty living in anything but a very controlled environement. Consequently her life is still very isolated - though I guess this is how Stephan wants it anyway.

One of my issues with the book is that it does tend to portray Anna as child-like, especially in her vocabulary, thoughts and self-perception. I'm not sure if this is due to the narrator's influence or if Anna's personality would still come across this way if I read the book in it's written state.

Because I see her as a child, I now view Stephan's behaviour as predatory. Possibly that isn't fair - but that's where it is.

Again this book finishes on a cliff-hanger.

I wasn't really sure about choosing this book until I read a review that mentioned that the main character of this book - Robert Stone (or Clever Bobby to his friends) was written with the character of Robert Goren (Law & Order Criminal Intent) in mind. Right I thought - I can put a face to Mr Stone's character and from there this book took on a life of its own.

The story centres around Borough Hall Director of Finance - Robert Stone and new employee Maria Lewis. Robert is a big man, tall and stocky, middle aged, greying at the temples and with a very dry and illicit sense of humor. He is dominent, issues very kinky challenges and enjoys taking risks; risks he enjoys even more when they involve our young Maria.

As with Suite Seventeen and In Too Deep, Portia Da Costa has written these books in the first person. They all involve the Waverley Grand, Saskia, Borough Hall and Greg the IT Geek. Reading them is like touching base with your kinky old friends.

Yes the book does involve diverse sexual activities and some language that may offend. But it is romantic, funny and does have a happily ever after.

The narration by Petra Kollander is excellent.

I tried very hard to find something positive about this book - but I just found the storyline very confusing. Usually Clare Claremont gives life to all the books she narrates but I think even she was lost with this one.

Gwendolynn Price is a 30 year old librarian who is recently divorced and describes herself as curvy and just a little overweight - I would liken her to Bridget Jones.

In the libraries suggestion box Gwendolynn receives an erotic and passionate letter from an admirer named only as Nemasis. From what is written in the letter she realises that the author is a person she sees in the library everyday. To go any further would tell too much but I will only say that it you need something to brighten your day and steam your senses - this book is a great choice.

Gwendolynn has an extremely quirky sense of humor and as the book is written mainly in the first person it is a very funny read. Yes it does have some crude language and very adult themes but it is also sensual and romantic.

The narration by Imogen Church is amazing - her accent suits the characters so well. A delight to listen to.

Knowing that Ana was able to bring her '50 Shades' into the light. I had been told that I would need to read all three books to fully understand the story of Ana and Christian and even though it was hard going sometimes I was really pleased that I persisted and read to the end.

I really enjoyed the last two chapters when we heard Christians first impressions of Ana - she had him from the start. He was so arrogant - but with this coming at the end of the book it was great to know just how Christian ticked.

I have also read the book and I think Becca was able to give the characters more definition.

Strangely enough it was the third last chapter when four year old Christian speaks (in his mind) about what life with his new family means to him. Unfortunately this is fiction imitating life. I felt so sad for this little boy who had endured so much.

This was not romance or erotica it was porn. Clare Claremont's middle eastern accents were unbelievably bad.

Definately. Lora Leigh needs to find new story lines and maybe widen her vocabulary. I'm sure she could find more sensual ways to describe the female anatomy.

I don't think that even Davina Porter could have saved this book.

The list is endless.

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade is a stand alone novel in its own right, but anyone who has read/listened to the Outlander series will find that this book adds depth to those stories. In fact as soon as I had finished this book I found I had to re-read Voyager because all of a sudden so much of it made sense.

Lord John is one of my favourite characters and in this book we learn more of his wit, humanity, sensitivity and generally courageous character. Yes I know as others have said there are some very tender and extremely steamy moments - but that is part of the life and character of Lord John.

I guess the only problem I had was hearing Lord John's voice as read by Jeff Woodman. I am so used to hearing Davina Porter's 'Lord John' that it took me a little while to get used to the change.