Bluegrass State of Mind

Bluegrass, Book 1

By: Kathleen Brooks

Narrated by: Eric Dove

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

See where the USA Today best-selling Author Kathleen Brooks began!

This is the first book in Kathleen Brooks' Best-Selling Bluegrass Series.

McKenna Mason, a New York City attorney with a love of all things Prada, is on the run from a group of powerful, dangerous men. McKenna turns to a teenage crush, Will Ashton, for help in starting a new life in beautiful horse country. She finds that Will is now a handsome, successful race horse farm owner. As the old flame is ignited, complications are aplenty in the form of a nasty ex-wife, an ex-boyfriend intent on killing her, and a feisty race horse who refuses to race without a kiss. Can Will and McKenna cross the finish line together, and more importantly, alive?

©2011 Kathleen Brooks (P)2013 Kathleen Brooks

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I loved the series enough to pick up the audible version.... HATED the narration. These are southern people. He read so fast that it wasn't fun to rehear the book:(

Bluegrass State of Mind Bk.1

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this was a delightful story & I am fixing to start my second book of the series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh, that not fair. I love the three sisters, they kept that town in order, The story was in A Southern town of Kentucky & these three sisters kept the old fashion motels in tact, they to kept the town grapevine movie. I really liked all the character's so this wasn't easy for me to pick just one character.

Which character – as performed by Eric Dove – was your favorite?

I really don't know.

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

Not real sure what you mean. If this book were to be into a movie I wouldn't' t change a thing.

WOW

I thought this would just be a love story was I surprised. Great mystery & crime novel with love thrown in. Had to put down. Want more.

Loved it

Relished to the book had been a long time and it was great to hear the story again after all the time.

I love this series

I have listened to this series many times. The characters all feel like family! Every time I listen again it’s like visiting old friends.

Awesome

My second go around listening to this series and it was just as amazing as the first time! You won’t be disappointed!

5 Bluegrass State of Mind Stars

I read this book back in 2014, and this town has stuck with me. So I had to do a re-read to see if I liked it as much as I remembered and I have to say I liked it even more.

McKenna is so down to earth, and I love that she is soo a city girl but she adapts to country life without a hick up.
She had to leave the city, and is on the run as is her best friend Danielle they have seen somethings that put them in danger.

I loved the tension and the mystery of this book, keeps you hooked.
I am a Will fan who wouldn’t be he is just lush.

The whole community take McKenna in, not with open arms she does have to prove herself. But once she does the whole town becomes her friend. I can’t even tell you how great it is to read a book that is just a sweet all round romance.

I loved it and I can’t wait to continue the series <3

I forgot how much I love Eric G. Doves narration, he does voice so well, From men & women to old ladies!! I can’t tell you how great it is. You have to listen for yourself.

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

Loved it!

Where does Bluegrass State of Mind rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the whole story. Kathleen Brooks writes wonderful books.

What does Eric Dove bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice really embraced the light Southern drawl that you hear in KY. I was also impressed that he didn't make me cringe when he did the women's voices. Some times men doing women's voices are hard to take. This wasn't the case here.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES! I usually listen to audio books while working in the yard or exercising. It made me not want to stop.

Can’t consider this one steamy

The storyline was great and the small injection of suspense was an added touch. I only wish there was a bit more passion mixed in since I felt the story could have been so much better with that addition. The narrator also did a very nice job with the characters but his voice for the prince was superb. It was hard not to imagine Antonio Banderas for that personality. The second story in the series is about the prince so even though I am certain the passion will be lacking, thanks to the narrator, I will have to purchase that book as well.

Skip this one

What did you like best about Bluegrass State of Mind? What did you like least?

The southern atmosphere and the town togetherness was what I liked the best. I'm a southern girl I like the small town life and southern hospitality of this place. What did I like the least, hmmm...I had a hard time listening to the dialogue, it just felt too forced to me. Also, I didn't really like the main character's little fashion comments and high-end label dropping all the time, it was a weird addition to the story.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something that's actually suspenseful (hopefully).

Did Eric Dove do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, he did. I thought he was a bit of a strange choice for this since the story follows a woman's perspective, but he wasn't a bad narrator. He definitely changed his voice for different characters, so you can tell who is who for the most part.

Did Bluegrass State of Mind inspire you to do anything?

Maybe watch some horse races, although that might also be because the Kentucky Derby was only a few weeks ago...

Any additional comments?

I feel pretty let down, this booked seemed fairly well liked but I just thought it was kinda dumb. It was over-the-top cheesy (I can't tell you how many times I rolled my eyes) and pretty predictable. When I picked it out to read, I was in the mood for something suspenseful but with some romance in it. This didn't hit the spot. Several things bugged me about the book - first, this woman sure doesn't act like she's in fear for her life or hiding away. Sure, she leaves NY quickly, but she doesn't really do much to cover her tracks. I mean, her first stop is Hershey Pennsylvania because she wants some chocolate? No. Second, the relationships...there's no build-up or getting to know each other very well, it's like, bam! I love you! You don't get to see the attraction or love build, you just read " three weeks later" blah, blah, blah. So yeah, anyway, that was just kind of a downer to me. Then, I kept waiting for something to happen with these dangerous people she witnessed doing this awful thing, but really? Nada. No, really. Someone shows up somewhere once and doesn't even do anything dangerous, he was just there. It was very anticlimactic. I did like the idea of this town and the way they all support each other and the different characters have potential to be interesting, but the writing of the dialogue isn't great, so you kind of have to just push through it. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised I finished it. I hate to finish a review like this, nothing sounds positive at all...how about I sum it up like this: This book has potential and if you don't read an insane amount of books (like I do) and have really great reads to compare it to. You might actual find this book "cute," if that's the case, but I wouldn't recommend this many (probably more accurately, any) people I know.