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The Bastard  By  cover art

The Bastard

By: Brenda Novak
Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
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Publisher's summary

Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent - and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way. Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.

To Lieutenant Treynor, honor means everything…. Born a bastard to a wayward marquise, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor was given to a poor farmer to raise and was maltreated until he ran away to join the Royal Navy. Treynor is determined to prove he’s as good as any other man and rise to captain his own frigate. But once he finds Jeannette aboard The Tempest he must decide whether to return her to the man he knows would abuse her - or risk everything, even his life, to keep her safe.

©2011 Brenda Novak (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Bastard

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    89
  • 4 Stars
    65
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    18
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    78
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    30
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    80
  • 4 Stars
    65
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    10

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another good story ruined by a bad narrator

Omg this woman should never be allowed to narrate any book. Her voice of the hero makes him sound like a pompous feminine idiot, only a shade different than his mother's voice, and the heroine's voice is no better.

Oh, the story. Ms Novak has written a number of good romances and this is one of them.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A good story ruined by the narrator

What did you like best about The Bastard? What did you like least?

I like the story. The narrator's voice ruined the character of the hero, Trainer.

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

Again the story was the most interesting aspect of the book. The sometimes sing song cadence of the narrator was pretty irritating.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Almost all the male voices sounded like the main villains voice.

Was The Bastard worth the listening time?

Yes, the story was worth the time, not so the listening. One would be better off reading the book.

Any additional comments?

Sarah Coomes has been added to my list of narrators not to listen to.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

PAINFUL on the ears! But a GREAT STORY!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A differant narrator!!!! Its a great story but painful to listen to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bastard?

The confrontation at sea. A very wide statement considering. But from the personal to the political the confrontations are the height of it.

Did Sarah Coomes do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

NO NO NO NO NO!! I can't even express how awful it was. Ii wanted to hear the story but winced everytime a character spoke. The narrators speaking voice is pleasant but when she attempts voices they are slovenly, thick, painful slow and idiotic sounding. Its like all the characters open their mouths to speak and turn into drunken illiterate old men who have trouble breathing and speaking and are hoarse and spittle plagued.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I DID LOVE THE BOOK! The story in all aspects are splendid. .. but READ it... don't waste a credit or a dollar on the audio version!!!! Its such a shame.... it really is.

Any additional comments?

If it had a different narrator I would wholeheartedly praise this book. But if you want lighthearted fluff with giggles and luxury then this one isn't for you. And if you want steamy hot and bothered erotic scenes then this still isn't for you. But if you want a good tale woven with gritty facts and suspenses then yeah, it's for you.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Bad narrator

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Could not even finish the book, the narrator sounded like a screeching witch.

What was most disappointing about Brenda Novak’s story?

I wanted so bad to listen to this story, but i guess i'll have to read it!! It sounds like a great book.

How could the performance have been better?

different narrator

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the story, but not the narrator.

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

Yes. But I might suggest they read it. I really didn't like the male voices the narrator created. I amost stopped listening to it because of it. The story, however, captivated me and I continued. Happy that I did because it's a very well written story.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

the male voices all had a nasal / whiney sound to them. Very unappealing. I would suggest she work on them.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

a better narrator.

Any additional comments?

A very good story line. Kept me interested. Lots of twists and turns.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

narrator failed

between over melodramatics and nasal sounds it often made me think this would be better to read without listening. The Kindle book title is Honor Bound.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

good story, but...

oh my gosh. I read this book several years ago and enjoyed it. I thought I would like having it read to me by a professional narrator. I was wrong. the reader sounded like a British-accented Captain Kirk trying to overdramatize something. Some of the chapter breaks ("Chapter Four" for example) sounded like she was having an attack of the vapors, "Giles, get my smelling salts, won't you please..." Killed the whole story, for me. While I could tell some differences between the characters' voices, all the men -- most annoyingly the Hero's -- were nasal and whiny-sounding. He sounded almost petulant, the entire book. I will avoid this reader's performances in the future. Like the plague.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story

I would have liked this book much more without the narration, as always the audio never fits the characters.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Narration MINUS 5 stars! Bad, very bad!

I WANT TO GIVE THIS NARRATION MINUS 5 STARS! It was so bad. One of the worst narrations I have listened to.

How to even describe it? Painful for starters.
Anyway, all the men sounded like they were old, gay, drunk, and throw in scratchy voices.

The "french accent" the heroine had was so very bad.

A robot would have been preferable to listen to.

Read this book, unless you want your ears to bleed and your body to cringe. I listened up to 28% before giving up and turning off the audio.

The story was okay, not my favorite Brenda Novak book. But honestly, I think the narrator had already ruined it for me, I can't get those sounds out of my head! sigh....

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I couldn’t get past the reader

I can only guess this could have been a good book… but I couldn’t get past the horrible reader. It is like nails down a chalk board. Maybe I will try to read it straight out. I can’t listen.

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