M

I have read quite a few of the Cynster series, and really liked the first 3 or 4 of them. But this book has far, far too many long, drawn out sex scenes - and that's coming from someone who likes a good sex scene or two! But it was just so repetitious with each scene trying to outdo the previous one that I found it nauseating. I would estimate the sex took up at least half of the book.

And it did not have enough of a story. The characters were poorly developed and just plain annoying. I really don't think that putting the typical male Cynster traits (dominant, arrogant and oversexed) onto the main female character (as manipulative, arrogant and oversexed) worked very well. I just didn't like her. And he wasn't a whole heck of a lot better.

And for my personal pet-peeve.....it would be a pleasant change if Ms. Laurens could come up with some new words and phrases every now and then. But no such luck. Many of these are the same expressions she has used in all of her books, over and over and over again.....I am sick to death of hearing the words "shattered" and "intrinsic" and "Evocative! Provocative!". Evocative of what? That one doesn't even make sense! She must have put them together simply because they rhyme! In just this one book these words and phrases were repeated countless times....made me grit my teeth! Grammar and vocabulary DO matter!

Simon Prebble is very talented and did his usual excellent job, but because I kept trying to picture him reading this drivel, all I could do was pity the poor man! He deserves better.

To me, this book was more soft porn than romance. If you want lots of sex in your books, buy it. If you want a decent story as well, skip this one.

I had never read this book before, nor do I recall the movies. But I now understand why it is considered a classic. The emotions expressed by the protagonist are complex and profound and heart wrenchingly real....Graham Greene's prose is just exquisite.

But it was Colin Firth's narration that made it a real listening pleasure - he delivered an absolutely sublime performance.......you simply cannot improve on perfection!

I now consider this to be one of my top ten, right along side Jeremy Irons' narration of Lolita.

Highly recommended....you'll be glad you spent the credit.

I like a romance novel to be about a man and a woman' s relationship, and how it evolves.

Seems like the author of this novel was once a gynecologist or midwife herself... far to much focus on giving birth, gyno exams, STDs, date rape, midwifery, and babies. Probably written for teens and very young women - too many parts of it came across as "educational" in nature.

The men, some of whom were really just boys, were all tall, handsome, muscular and just too darned "sensitive" to be be believable. No edge to them at all when they were around the women. And the women were all tiny, perfect and beautiful (except, of course, for the poor woman giving birth on the birthing video, who was described as sweaty and hairy). So unrealistic it was kind of sickening .... far too sappy and "sweet" for my taste.

A pet peeve....I hated that the men always said nah instead of no, and yeah instead of yes. And every woman's name was "baby" to them. Just got really annoying...they all sounded like a bunch of unsophisticated hicks. Small towns folks are just not that ignorant any more, if they ever were.

The narrator was just OK...not bad, but not great either. By the end of the story, the characters all sounded alike.

I started listening to this series in order, based on the reviews, and thought the first one was promising, and the second was just OK, but this one put me off completely. I will not be continuing with it.

I have listened to Anne Flosnik before, and had decided then to never again buy a book that she had narrated. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that she was the narrator for this one, which popped up as a $4.95 sale.

She is just so nauseatingly expressionless, and enunciates her words so unnaturally, and she never, ever, EVER, changes the cadence of her words.....it is actually painful to listen to her. Like nails on a chalkboard, her voice just makes me cringe. And from reading some other reviews about her performance, I know I am not alone in this opinion.

The story might have been OK, I guess, but I'll never know, since I was so distracted by the narration that I couldn't finish it.

NOT recommended.

This is a bit "warmer" version of the Jane Austen classic, but no less compelling. I like how it wraps up the lives of the original characters. It's got all the angst, misunderstandings, charm and wit of a period romance, as well as action and adventure. The story of Lizzie and Darcy's relationship is perfect.... very well done. I had a hard time putting it down, even when I'd listened to it a second time almost a year later.

I also loved the language in it. I found myself looking up words that you just don't see in modern day romances - I thought it was very much in keeping with that of upper class society at that time. Nothing vulgar at all, but it was interesting to see the choice of words the author used to describe some of the sexier scenes. Linda Berdoll did an outstanding job!

Great narration by Rosalyn Landor - I have listened to her before, and thought she was very good, but this was by far her best.

Well worth the time and the credit - I highly recommend it.

I couldn't get into this very poorly told story - an eight grader could have written it better No emotional engagement or character development whatsoever. The narrator wasn't very skilled either, but might have been better if he'd had something decent to work with. I will not download anything from this author again.

I bought the first 3 audiobooks of this series because they were on sale prior to Halloween - thought I'd try something different.

BIG mistake! I should have stayed with my usual genres of history, classics, mystery/thrillers and historical romance. I have never read a vampire book before, and after this first one, I never will again. Maybe I am selling other authors of this genre short, but I did not like this one at all. No redeeming qualities whatsoever - no wit, no humor, no real emotion, predictable plot. Nothing but bad language, unrealistic characters (if you can call a vampire "real"), and way too many violent images. It may appeal to teenagers, who I suspect were probably the target audience, what with the Twilight books/movies being all the craze nowadays, but I would be surprised if anyone over 30 would like it.

And for someone who appreciates outstanding and very professional narrators like Barbara Rosenblat, Davina Porter, Humphrey Bauer or Simon Prebble, as I do, Joe Frangione's narration was just plain awful. Extremely monotone and dull, with absolutely no characterization at all. I will never again download a book that he has narrated.

I tried to keep going to the end, since I'd paid for it, but after about 5 hours I just couldn't tolerate it anymore. I'm going back to something that is truly exceptional for both story and performance, like one of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries! Fantastic...and worth not only the credit, but the time spent listening to it!

I hope Audible will let me return the other two Black Dagger Brotherhood books I bought, since I haven't even download them yet. If not, I will have thrown my money away....

Absolutely NOT recommended.

I liked the format of 6 individual historical incidents, none of which were overly long, but each of which was detailed enough to paint a clear picture of how life had been during the period. The topics were not the typical ones most of us learned in school, and it was refreshing to hear how individual personality traits, political intrigue, and racial and religious intolerance also played a part in the history of our country. And the narrator was great as well.

I listened to this audiobook pretty much all in one sitting, and strange though it may be to say about a history book, I will probably listen to this one again...

The book, possibly. This audiobook, with this narrator, absolutely not!

No. He does not appear to recognize the difference between a comma and a period. Too many phrases were read as if full sentences. Seems like his focus was on enunciating his words to the exclusion of all else. Slow and plodding and expressionless. I have to say he was just about the worst narrator I have ever heard on Audible. Buy the book instead.

Georgette Heyer has been a favorite for years - I never get tired of her stories. "The Toll Gate", as narrated by Daniel Hill, made me appreciate her skills even more, if that is possible. Absolutely outstanding performance of the characters voices as well as descriptions of the action - particularly the scene in the cave towards the end, which was very well done - fast paced and thrilling!

I sincerely hope that Mr. Hill will narrate more of GH's books. I will most definitely be looking for his name in the future....."Regency Buck"? Or "The Talisman Ring", perhaps?