In the Garden of Disgrace

The Garden Series, Book 3

By: Cynthia Wicklund

Narrated by: Tanya S. Bartlett

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

When 17-year-old Lady Jillian Fitzgerald sneaks out to spy on a duel, she believes she is merely guilty of an indiscretion. But when the duel takes a deadly turn and Jillian becomes an unwilling passenger in the fleeing carriage of the infamous "Lord Wicked", she knows what began as a lark has become a disaster. One night of bad judgment and her life is changed forever.

©2010 Cynthia Wicklund (P)2012 Cynthia Wicklund

Horrible narrator

This was painful to listen to. The narrator is stilted, unemotional, and utterly ruins this book.

Don't ever listen to this narrator!

I stopped listening in the first chapter, just couldn't get past how bad she was. I am going to try to get the ebook because the story sounded interesting.

Great Story/Bad Narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The Narrator needs some lessons in pronunciation. It really distracts from the story.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tanya S. Bartlett’s performances?

Probably not unless someone checks her readings for mispronunciations.

Worst Narrator EVER!

What would have made In the Garden of Disgrace better?

A different Narrator

If you’ve listened to books by Cynthia Wicklund before, how does this one compare?

I loved Cynthia's book "In The Garden of Temptation". Great story, good narrator. So I know that this book is probably really a good read, but the narrator makes it impossible to enjoy. Sometimes I just have to get used to the quirkiness of the narrator and then I'm good with it and its enjoyable, but there's no chance of that with this book. A shame good writing is made to be so unenjoyable.

What didn’t you like about Tanya S. Bartlett’s performance?

She hesitates like she isn't sure of the next word. She isn't fluid in her reading. Her inflections are all wrong sometimes like she didn't realize where the sentence was going. She's super slow. I've listened to a ton of audio and this is one of the worst.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration from listening to the narrator.

Any additional comments?

Like I said, this review is no reflection on the story or writing style. It's a shame they let this go all the way to the finished product with this narrator.

Disgrace

What would have made In the Garden of Disgrace better?

A narrator with a proper command of the English language and adequate reading skills

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was a forgone conclusion, but the journey was made unnecessarily painful by the extreme shortcomings of the narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tanya S. Bartlett’s performances?

Not in this lifetime unless (1) the title was free, and (2) I was in the mood to be entertained by a bit of word butchery and stumbling/stilted narration.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I am angry at having paid for this experience, but that anger derives from the inexcusably poor performance and not the book. I was looking forward to the book for a bit of pleasant diversion, but my focus kept getting diverted to trying to suss out mangled pronunciations so as not to lose too much of the thread of the storyline.

Any additional comments?

The story is a worthwhile READ, especially if you are into this genre and have enjoyed the other books in this series. This particular title, however, is better read as hardcopy or as an ebook. I am reading book #4 in this series since it has the same narrator as this book.

Usually not critical of narration, but....

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

a wonderfully written book. Could have been one of my all-time favorite audio books. However, the narration is horrible. Hesitant, choppy, and mispronounced to the point that it is too distracting

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the development of the characters and their relationship. The secondary characters were rich and well rounded.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Tanya S. Bartlett?

I should think anyone, including myself, could have done a better job. This is the first time I have ever been critical of a narrator. However, this narration is unforgivable.

Did In the Garden of Disgrace inspire you to do anything?

I might very well purchase other books in the series, as long as there is a different narrator.

Good addition to series, very uneducated narrator

I liked this book, light, frothy romance with typical bitchy heroine. The biggest problem was the narrator, who makes multiple pronunciation mistakes even with truly common words. She also missed the point of some sentences and emphasized the wrong words. Luckily it was part of my Romance package so was not paying specially for it. Might not be creditworthy if it annoys you to hear the reading of someone who obviously isn’t a person who enjoys reading herself. She just was way too unfamiliar with words to be very literate.

Good Story?? I can't tell, I just can't listen.

Would you try another book from Cynthia Wicklund and/or Tanya S. Bartlett?

I'll read this author rather than listen to Ms.Bartlett. She is hard to listen to.

What was most disappointing about Cynthia Wicklund’s story?

I haven't completed the story yet .

Would you be willing to try another one of Tanya S. Bartlett’s performances?

No, I don't think so.

Excellent story...

If you could sum up In the Garden of Disgrace in three words, what would they be?

Redemption.

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Garden of Disgrace?

I enjoyed the "storm scene"

Would you listen to another book narrated by Tanya S. Bartlett?

I don't know if I would listen to this narrator again--her cadence was off and I found her less than wonderful to listen to--

Wonderful Regency Historical

I'm a big fan of Cynthia Wicklund's Garden Series so I was excited when audio book editions of her books started arriving. I grabbed this one and Book 1, In the Garden of Temptation, immediately.

There have been a few negative reviews about the narrator of this book. I do know that sound quality varies a lot depending on the medium used to listen to an audio book so perhaps that's the problem, but don't let that keep you from giving this wonderful romance a chance.

One foolhardy act by young Lady Jillian Fitzgerald changed her life forever. She lost everything -- her fiance, her good name, her acceptance in polite society -- all because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would be easy to blame the events of that day on Adrian St. John, Earl of Wickham, but "Lord Wicked" as he was popularly called was no more at fault than she.

Unfortunately, Lord Wicked left England and didn't know what had happened whereas Jilly was forced to face the wagging tongues and the scorn of the ton for eight long years until he returned.

In eight years, Jilly grew up and, instead of hiding her face in shame, she rebelled against all the restrictions women faced. She refused to be cowed and held her head high. Now a woman of independent means, she has a mind of her own and a will to match. A mind of her own? A strong will? How unthinkable for a woman in Regency England!

Jilly is a heroine you'll love. She is determined that if Adrian is to like her, then, by God, he'll like her for herself, as she is, without pretending that she is like all the other women. Adrian, the delicious Lord Wicked, is a hero you'll adore because he's determined to do the right thing, and, in so doing, finds himself ensnared.