Jewels of the Sun: Irish Jewels Trilogy, Book 1

I have read this book before and enjoyed it very much, the writer's feel for and love of Ireland speaking to me and taking me back to the green hills I love so much. Having thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Born In series audios, I meant to continue my little mental vacations with this series and thought the reader would be okay from the sample, even though it only contained the American main character. Alas, much to my dismay when I settled down on a long flight to enjoy it, the reader's version of every Irish female turned out to be a rather shrill version of the Lucky Charms leprechan. To anyone who has spent any real amount of time in Ireland and loves the beautiful, gentle rhythm of the Irish voices, this reader will not sound like anyone they have ever met there, and her strained cadence actually interfered with expressive reading. They should have used the reader who did the Born In series again, as his voice was easy to listen to and his accents smooth and accurate. I will NOT be listening to the rest of this series unless I read it aloud to myself, that's for sure!

This average book might have been elevated to bearable if it had been narrated by Davina Porter or Susan Erikson was made completely unbearable by this narrator. I cannot believe she is paid for this work.

This book is a beautiful, well-written and colorful story with such dynamic descriptions of the Irish countryside that you truly feel like you're there. Unfortunately, the narrator is not quite as appealing. The first few hours of this book are almost painful to listen to, but she does improve and the other two books in the trilogy are much better. Hang in there, and it's worth it!

I like to read Nora Roberts novels on occasion, they’re like a Lifetime movie on the page, easy, formulaic, predictable…sometimes that’s just what I want. The real problem for me was that the narrator was so lifeless; it really made the story painful to follow. If you’re looking for a beach book, this could be it…just get it in book form, not audio. If you’re looking for a great audio romance novel, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Sometimes a good reader can take a lousy story and make it fun but unfortunately this was not the case for Jewels. The reader sound very stilted and uncomfortable with her story telling. She was hesitant and never developed a cadence or rhythm with the characters or the story. Many times a reader starts slow and then relaxes and begins to actually make the story a pleasure. This did not happen either and the reader for Jewels maintained the hesitancy and awkward pausing throughout the story. I managed to make it through but not without perseverance and patience. I would recommend going to a used book store and reading this one if you like a Nora Roberts romance.

Although the narrator takes a little while to get used to before you know it you are sucked into the book just like you where in Ireland with them! Another wonderful story, can't wait to hear the next one!

Unfortunately, the reader is so bad at reading, that it is so distracting it's impossible to listen to the story. Yes, it was that bad. Don't bother.

I am glad I only paid $5 for this because after about 10 minutes I had to stop listening. The narrator has a way of stressing certain words that should not be stressed. She will be going along fine and then change her cadence. After 10 minutes, I stopped following the story and could only think about her speaking pattern. I can't listen to it.

Really nice story with lots of great characters. Loved the two main characters and their tug of war into a relationship. Made me want to go to Ireland and live in a cottage by the sea. Highly recommend this for an easy story to help you escape reality.

I found this whole series to be delightful! I read a couple of reviews (prior to purchase) -- on individuals who weren't crazy about the narrator's accents...but I thought she did a great job. On multiple occasions, I found myself laughing out loud. Nora's books are always wonderful, a great escape, and this audio book was done very well.