In the Garden of Disgrace

The Garden Series, Book 3

By: Cynthia Wicklund

Narrated by: Tanya S. Bartlett

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

Good story devastating narration

The story is well written and the plot fresh. The love seens are sexy sweet. The characters are rounded and believable.
The narration destroyed it. The mispronouncation of words and the rhythm and cadence are so off that I started to loose track of the story in frustration. The only way I could finish it was by turning up the speed to 1:5 . I would ask the author to have the story re-narrated as I think overall it would be worth the trouble.

The Narrator Ruined The Book

This is not quite a four star, but more than a three star effort. Wicklund crafts her plot so that the characters and story development are well paced. In the Garden of Disgrace infatuation is not seen as love and love is not a result of sex. Characters admit to emotional confusion and fear and a man falls in love with a woman and fights for her.

Jillian is a feisty heroine, whose need for self preservation makes her a strong willed woman who seems unwilling to accept that she has fears and unwilling to admit that having the ton turn its back on her cuts her deeply. But Wicklund sets her up that way so that during the latter part of the novel readers could truly understand her desire for independence and her need to be strong and to be accepted as she is.

Adrian is a hero you have to love. He simply does not give up on Jillian. His pursuit of her is admirable and well written. Each encounter with Jillian, even if it is frustrating, leaves him feeling more admiration for her. It becomes clear why he loves her and why she loves him. My greatest displeasure comes from the overly stubborn heroine who thankfully manages to win me over with her emotional honesty.

Tanya S. Bartlett was terrible and ruined the book. I can't believe that this performance passed the the editor.

Narration

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

The Narrator is terrible I feel like she is just reading the book. She doesn't get into each character and the room that she is narrating in sounds hallow. I have the first two and was very disappointed by Tanya Bartlett narration.

Would you be willing to try another book from Cynthia Wicklund? Why or why not?

Yes as long as it isn't narrated by Tanya S. Bartlett!

Good book, bad narration.

What disappointed you about In the Garden of Disgrace?

I was not disappointed in te story, but in having to read it at the same time as I listened to it

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

Ms Bartlett needs to learn how to read. She repeatedly made huge mistakes in words, which changed the meaning of a sentence. She pauses when there is no punctuation justifying it, and Fails to do so when there is. The only difference between characters voices is shrill to ear piercing shrill. The reading is stiff, and ncomfortable at times. I ultimately ended my torture and just read the book. I would be really upset if I had paid more than $1.99 for ths audio. I must assume there are directors, or at least someone who actually listens to the audio before releasing it, they did not do their jobs.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from In the Garden of Disgrace?

I would not have cut anything, as I believe an unabridged recording should be jut that. I do think they should have been a little more concerned about the integrity of the story though.

Any additional comments?

A few classes on public reading. Maybe some poetry reading....

Absolutely Horrendous Narration

This could have been a fairly decent story had it not been for the narration. The narrator stops and starts with wild abandon. She must have English as a second language because the number of times and ways she mangles words is phenomenal. Numerous times I found myself pulled from the story and yelling the correct pronunciation at the narrator. There is humor in this story but it is lost due to the narration. Also the story is marred by the presence of background noises throughout. I was tremendously disappointed.