Dakota Blues

By: Lynne Spreen

Narrated by: Caroline Miller

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

While visiting her Midwestern hometown after many years, workaholic Karen Grace risks a few extra days away from the office, to get reacquainted with her extended family and childhood friends. She visits the crumbling homesteads of her prairie ancestors, and rediscovers their immigrant dreams and sacrifices. When her tyrannical boss fires her, she's 1,500 miles from home, just one more middle-aged worker out of a job in a tough economy. To make matters worse, her husband just left her for his pregnant girlfriend.

At a crossroads, Karen must find the courage to change. Needing time to think, she agrees to take an elderly neighbor on one last road trip, but on a deserted highway in Wyoming, Karen is forced to make a lethal and life-changing decision.

I wrote Dakota Blues because I'm fascinated by the idea that the second half of our lives could be more powerful than we've ever imagined, but there's a problem: Our culture teaches us that our youth is the good half, and once that's over, forget it. In Dakota Blues, I try to show a woman who breaks free at midlife and struggles to win her freedom.

©2012 Lynne M. Spreen (P)2014 Lynne M. Spreen

Dakota Blues

Any additional comments?

This is one of those stories that will not appeal to everyone. It's about learning to let go, coming to terms with your life and finding your own happiness. While it is an overall interesting and entertaining story it's not a fast paced exciting action packed tale. It is a story that feels "real" and has some really good parts but at the same time there were periods where the story dragged for me.

It's a mid-life coming of age story. Many of the issues Karen deals with in the story are ordinary things many of us have dealt with or will have to deal with at some point in our lives. It's a story of personal discovery for Karen after the death of her mother, the connection/history we all have to a place, it's people, the memories, the things we've forgotten vs. the path our lives have taken.

When Karen's comfortable familiar life is suddenly turned upside down on several fronts and she is basically cast aside she has the chance to re-evaluate what she wants and the direction she wants her life to go.

Really enjoyed Karen's relationship with Frieda. We all need a Frieda at some point in our lives. The older people in our lives have a wisdom gained through a lifetime of experiences to share, if you just listen.

Loved F**k It list, I think I have one those just didn't call it that. It's more of a I'm too old for this sh*t list.

Caroline Miller did a really good job with the narration. This is the first time I have listened to a book she has narrated. Pleasant voice. Very easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Good character voices. She was able to bring the characters and story life. Very enjoyable

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.

On the Fence

I truly can't decide if I liked this novel or not - while there were parts I did enjoy, I struggled to get to the end. The writing was fairly good but the dialogue seemed weak and unrealistic at times. The story bumped and dragged a bit, edged on boring more than once. I didn't love the narration either, as the tone and pacing was unnatural.

I'd likely recommend the print version of this book, but I'd have to say pass on the audio.


I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Dakota Blues review

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

The way it was told.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dakota Blues?

The way it was written, told, an interesting main character.

What about Caroline Miller’s performance did you like?

Yes, by details.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Nothing.

Any additional comments?

No.

Great audiobook

Any additional comments?

This audiobook will surely touch women who have faced strife and have come out the other side changed and renewed, or those who are wanting to do so. The characters are real and flawed. The situations are current and believable. The author brought the listeners into a part of the world I didn't know and made me feel like I do know it. Dakota Blues is a lot like real life in that everything doesn't always get resolved in a neat package even if we want it to.

Good Book

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book about a middle aged woman who's life goes through many changes, seemingly at the same time, which makes her to learn about herself all over again. The narrator did a great job.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A touching story of the challenges of lifechanges

I liked this book about Karen, who when life changes a lot, learn to know herself again and also get new friends. The narration was good too.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Crisis or catharsis?

Any additional comments?

This listen was an homage to a life lived, whether on your own terms or not, and what happens when you realize they were not your terms.

The road trip was the center of the book but I enjoyed the story more when Karen, the main character, was in North Dakota and interacting with her family. The author did a great job detailing the surroundings, the culture and the history of the area. It felt real.

On the other hand, the road trip felt surreal. I know you meet all kinds of people on the road but...

The narrator was perfect for this listen. There was a 'background singer' vibe to Karen's life and the narrator nailed it.

I'm a sucker for a happy ending but I couldn't figure out if this book had one. Just like life.
And love. And the blues.

Life after middle age

My Review

This is the story of a middle aged woman who has been thrust headlong into the strange and unfamiliar world of the discarded. Karen has been rejected by both her husband and her employer and in consequence, her ego has suffered a massive blow. She had thought herself well loved by her husband and also had believed she was irreplaceable at work. She was neither.
The author, Lynne Spreens, had reached midlife before finding the freedom to pursue her own lifelong dream of being a writer, this book though, her debut novel, is not about a middle aged dream chaser but, as Lynne herself puts it:
"older people who think they have the world figured out, but then something happens and they're forced to refashion a life out of the rubble that remains"

Karen had taken a few days leave to attend the funeral of her mother, and it is here in her hometown that she learns she has lost her job. Already made vulnerable by the loss of her mother, Karen had been attempting to come to terms with the loss of her old life as she new it - her own home, a loving husband and an important and all consuming job.
Not as important in the eyes of others as she once thought herself to be, Karen has huge life adjustments before her. It seemed to me that maybe Karen had developed a somewhat condescending attitude to her Midwestern family and friends, that she had pegged them as simple folk lacking the will to "improve" themselves. Yet, in a twist of fate, circumstances had forced her to lay herself bare, no high powered job or city lifestyle to hide behind she became about as vulnerable as a woman could be. Here she was though, surrounded by those she had left far behind in more ways than one, gradually rediscovering how truly strong these women are, Karen rediscovers her own true strengths.
This book has some enjoyable characters, Freida, the old lady determined to get her own way, made the road trip a little more interesting. The story, however, had some issues for me, I don't know why it was necessary to include a certain episode of, let's say involving scary men, I'm not sure what the odd couple added, if anything, and I don't know why Friedas' daughter had to be such an unlikeable and unreasonable idiot. I think the story was good enough on its own, didn't need the dramatising.

Narrator
I have read that there is to be a sequel and I look forward to it, Caroline Miller is easy to listen to, has a nice, easy pace and is able to change character easily and distinctly.

This audiobook was gifted to me in return for this, my honest opinion

A WONDERFUL ADVENTURE!

I love how the main character who is a workaholic is changed on a visit home due to her mothers' passing. I love how you can go home again and learn all that you've forgot. Sometimes you just need to slow down and enjoy life. This books is so much fun and truly a road trip with in a book.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Dakota Blues

The story of a 50's year old woman who has put her all into her career discovers that, that doesn't always matter and definitely is not the best choice to make in like.

Karen goes back home for her mother's funeral only to be terminated from her job for taking time off. Her husband has left her for his younger pregnant girlfriend. With nothing to loose she begins her travel from South Dakota to California via Colorado with her mother's 90 year old neighbor. She learns the importance of being who she wants to be not how the world thinks you should be.

While it is a work of fiction it is an eye opening story about how people in the 40's and 50's perceived in our world force.

Caroline Miller did a great job. She has a great tone for audio books and makes it easy to differentiate between characters.