Dirty

By: Megan Hart

Narrated by: Elenna Stauffer

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

This is what happened: I met him at the candy store. He turned and smiled at me and I was surprised enough to smile back. This was not a children's candy store, mind you, this was the kind of place you went to buy expensive imported chocolate truffles for your boss' wife because you felt guilty for having sex with him when you were both at a conference in Milwaukee.

Hypothetically speaking, of course. I've been hit on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears. Sometimes I went home with them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake. The problem with wanting is that it's like pouring water into a vase full of stones. It fills you up before you know it, leaving no room for anything else.

I don't apologize for who I am or what I've done in or out of bed. I have my job, my house, and my life, and for a long time I haven't wanted anything else. Until Dan. Until now.

©2007 Megan Hart (P)2007 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Good, but not great

The lead female character's role in the plot was a bit irritating. Many charactors intertwined from the other Megan Hart books. Narrorator was not up to par with the male voices.

Not what I thought it would be... Voice horrible

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

Ranks in the top 20

What did you like best about this story?

The erotica and the twist in the story about her past.

How could the performance have been better?

Not use this voice artist. She can't do male voices well and her voice is annoying

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

This is basically a more in depth Law & Order SVU story...with more details.

Any additional comments?

Good enough book that I think I will get 'Broken' next as suggested.

Good and Dirty

This was a great story. Well written and realistic, it carried the reader along effortlessly and made you care about the characters.

It's not often that an erotic tale so neatly blends the harsher things in life with a happy ending. All too often we get all the sex with none of the substance, or when we do get a more complex tale, it ends badly.

I appreciate that Ms. Hart told us the tale of a realistic woman, learning that it's okay to love.

not what I expected

This story was not what I suspected it to be, and there was no indication of what I was getting into from the blurb, so in one way I felt a little tricked into being pulled into a story addressing issues far more serious than I was looking for.

It didn't take long before I started to suspect, what was simmering beneath the surface of the main character, but by half way through I needed to see Elle overcome her past. It was a good book, but I was looking for sexy romantic/erotic escapism, but got sucked into the "overcoming child-hood trauma and/or neglect" story which I purposely stopped reading years ago (now I think about it - around the time I became a parent myself).

The narration was good, but male voices were not great, it didn't spoil the experience but there are some female narrators who do great male voices (I'm yet to hear a male narrator who can go a great female voice LOL).

Lives up to it's title

I could have gone either way on this book, but in the end it won me over. If you are squeamish about explicit sex, this isn't the story for you. However, there was something about the lead female character that appealed to me despite the serious issues she struggled with. The lead male character was particularly yummy; not only was he sexy, but he showed amazing insight in sifting through Elle's hang-ups and went to great lengths to to fulfill her needs.

This was my first Megan Hart novel, and though I have since read others, I think it is her best.

more than I bargained for and not in a good way

When I purchased this book, I thought I was getting only romance. There is more to this book than that. The main character has endured molestation from a brother and 10 years later, she is trying to come to terms with it. Although I don't like my romance with such sad themes, I have to say that this book was well written and insightful. I think it shows how a person could possibly deal or not deal with such an ordeal. If you are looking for something light and fun, this isn't it. If you like your romance with a side of horrible past, this is the one you are looking for.

Surprisingly good

I enjoyed everything about this book except the narrator's poor try at a male voice...raspy. Not only was this book hot but it had a decent story line too.

So-So

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. While the lead female was interesting and the story about her engaging, I felt the male lead was rather "blah". Being described as not the most attractive man I've ever seen, or average in any sort of way makes me not want to picture the character.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

How very involved in the life of the main character we became.

Would you be willing to try another one of Elenna Stauffer’s performances?

No. Her voice did not fit the male parts for me. She has a lovely speaking soprano that was great for female and children's roles, however.

Additionally, I feel it is important to learn how to correctly pronounce the areas that you are reading about. Being raised in the Harrisburg area, it was a bit disconcerting to hear the River mispronounced repeatedly.

Could you see Dirty being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

just hang on till the end

Hang on for the ending..... There were parts where I wondered where she was going, but the ending made it all worth it.

Decent Story - Terribly Performed

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I wanted to have the basis of the book to move forward in the series but, I'm not going to lie, the woman reading the book almost made me want to stop listening at least once a chapter. I had to work had to enjoy the story beyond the awful narration.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Again, I can't say I have a favorite character - the narrator stole my own images right out of my head with this confusing rendition of the book. I caught myself resaying the story aloud in my car to try to undo the inaccurate images she was forging with her whining voice - communicating the story as if it were a succinct version of the nightly news. The wierd thing was that there would be moments where I could tell she sounded very nice and didn't have to talk this way; which further confused me as to why she chose to tell the story this way.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Elenna Stauffer?

Jill Redfield

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I honestly can't say right now. Maybe the next book in the series will help bring this story into better focus for me.