The Dark Garden

A Novel

By: Eden Bradley

Narrated by: Madison Cole

Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

If you loved Fifty Shades of Grey...get ready to enter The Dark Garden - a deliciously potent tale of one woman's quest for self-discovery.

Rowan Cassidy likes to be in charge - especially in her personal life. As a mistress at Club Privé, the most exclusive bondage/S & M club on the West Coast, Rowan can live out her dominant fantasies safely, and with complete control - until the night Christian Thorne walks in. Self-confident and sophisticated, he's a natural dominant if Rowan's ever seen one. Yet she can't stop thinking about him and imagining his touch.

Christian has returned home, hoping to break free from his dissatisfaction and malaise - and discovers the cure in Rowan. He's dying to get his skilled hands on her and watch her surrender, to unlock the mystery of her that captivates him. Determined to be her master, he makes Rowan a daring proposition: give herself over to him for 30 days.

Rowan finds Christian's offer terrifying - and impossible to resist. But abandoning herself to Christian's power might be more than she can handle.... Or it might be the realization of her true nature and the dark garden within her. There will be only one way to find out….

Bestselling and award-winning author Eden Bradley writes dark, edgy erotica and erotic romance (as both Eden Bradley and Eve Berlin). Two of her books have been Romantic Times Top Picks, and her novel Forbidden Fruit was profiled in Cosmopolitan's Red Hot Reads column in 2008. The Dark Garden hit the top paperback fiction charts in the UK. Eden has appeared regularly on Playboy Radio and conducts workshops on writing craft and writing about sex. As someone who has been involved in BDSM practice for much of her adult life, she relates in particular to her BDSM and kink stories, infusing them with her own truth about kink practice from her life experiences. Visit EdenBradley.com or her group blog Smutketeers.com.

©2012 Eden Bradley (P)2012 Random House Audio

good story, bad reader

Madison Cole, sounds like Karen White. Ok on the males voices, but hard to believe her female voice is a femme fetal. Starts out as BDSM, but quickly moves to core romanance story. Happy ending

Acceptance

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

Yes, the description of this story is good but it leaves a lot out of what to expect.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Christian. He help Rowan work through a truly awful experience from her past that left her closed off and basically just functioning through life.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Love Decker and April's story as well. It was so in line with Christian and Rowan's.

Amazing Narrator!

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

Made all of the characters come alive. Very clear articulate & easy to listen to voice. She does great male voices and I'd like to see Madison read more titles.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the story. Eden Bradley introduces one to BDSM with grace and style. Well done!

It's a touching love story based around BDSM

Purchasing this book was a bit of a gamble but I was a bit fed up with my usual listens and felt like a change and I'm glad I did.

Yes, it started out as a Dummy's Guide to BDSM, but it soon turned into 2 love stories of passion, denial, acceptance and eventually love. The main female character Rowan, had deep issues and mental scars from a past abusive and violent relationship but despite this she was drawn to dominent sexy Christian who challenged her and changed her way of thinking about herself.

Worth a credit? Despite the fact that Rowan's anguished thoughts were a little bit repetative and dull, I still don't regret the purchase but true BDSM fans may be disappointed because it's not hot enough and romance fans may be disappointed because it's a bit too spicy.

2 stories in 1

Would you listen to The Dark Garden again? Why?

Yes I'd listen this again. Its got a great story line.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dark Garden?

When all the characters fell in luv

Any additional comments?

There r 2 stories going on this book. Its got a great story behind it. Didn't really care much for the reader but she does an k job. I luved the irish accent she gives the one guy. Its a great book of people finding themselves and fallin in luv. How most romantic books go except with bdsm.

😒

I don't like that it's two different stories in one story it's very confusing and the story drag on and on and on I'm ready to send it back

Interesting BDSM read!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would change the way the book was written. The chapters were some what choppy and cut short.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Decker and April. Decker seemed more intersting than the main lead male.

Which character – as performed by Madison Cole – was your favorite?

April bec/ even though she was new to the scene, she had herself more together than the so called veteran/main character of the book.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Better flow to the story, more background on the characters.

Does not compare to Fifty Shades!

What disappointed you about The Dark Garden?

I wasn't given the opportunity to become invested in the characters. The plot was definitely lacking and the sex scenes weren't as spicy as the BDSM storyline could have allowed. The secondary love story was actually more compelling than the primary.

What didn’t you like about Madison Cole’s performance?

It was a "slow" read, but her saving grace was Decker's Irish purr.

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

Decker and Aprils secondary storyline. If she had expanded this there might have been hope for a book you think about later.

Any additional comments?

This book was very forgettable. The sex scenes were dull and the romance was lackluster. Definitely not a Fifty Shades.

Yawn....Zzzzzzzzzzzzz So boring

Oh wow where to start, I have read and listened to tons of BDSM books but I have never been so bored that I wanted to go to an insurance seminar to spice it up. The review I read on this book made it sound so great well I have to disagree with them. There is very little plot and I felt very detached from the entire story.
If I had to pick I would say the secondary characters held more interest than the main ones. Sorry I wasted my credit.

O the misery of courtship.....

Sex and tears...that's about it. No story, no plot, no character development. So if you are in the mood to just listen to sex and angst go for it!