Strife

De: Sky Corgan

Narrado por: Marie Smith

From USA Today best-selling author Sky Corgan comes a darker version of Pretty Woman.

Pepper has hit rock bottom. After being thrown out on the streets, she's willing to do whatever it takes to survive.

Dmitri Strife is a world famous rock star trying to break into the movie industry. Seedy company leads him into a chance encounter with Pepper that will change both of their lives forever.

Strife is a story of privilege and poverty, of kindness and cruelty, and of learning who to trust when the whole world seems to have turned its back on you.

Heal level: Hot!

©2016 Sky Corgan (P)2017 Sky Corgan

Entertaining

Any additional comments?

An entertaining, engaging and enjoyable story. You can't help but make the comparison to a Pretty Woman Scenario. Every girl want's to find their knight in shining armor, no matter what coarse your life has taken, where you come from or what you've had to do to survive.

What is a girl to do when she is all out of options. Pepper's undesirable, yet rock bottom last resort for a job brings her into the life of Dimitri. A knight she never expected to find.

An unconventional romance for an unconventional pair. Some steamy romance, a dose of heartbreak, a bit of drama, a little suspense and a HEA.

Regardless of thee circumstances it's hard not to get emotionally attached to someone who you are in an intimate relationship with.

Marie Smith did an really good job with the narration. She has a pleasant voice that's easy to listen to for long periods of time. Her male and female character voices are good. When she is out of male character voice and just narrating what they are thinking she drops the male character voice and it was confusing at times. Her narration is clearly spoken with a nice pace. She was able to bring the characters, their emotions and the story to life. I would definitely listen to her narrate other books in the future.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.

Flighty Woman

Kicked out of her house at 18, Pepper needs to make money, a lot of it and fast. When she has the chance to work at an escort service, Pepper finally sees a way to earn enough money for school and a decent place to live. Dmitri Strife, a former rocker, is switching careers and embarking on acting. When he meets Pepper, he knows exactly what she is but he can’t deny the attraction between them, and when he senses she’s new at this, he wants to prevent her from making the worst mistake of her life.

The blurb says a darker version of Pretty Woman. It’s a standard trope, young prostitute meets a wealthy man, they fall in love. Just the premise of the story requires you to suspend belief. This story had me rolling my eyes. I found Pepper’s constant inner musings tiresome and her rejection of help, considering what she’s willing to do to make money, was beyond ridiculous.

I’m sad I didn’t like this story because Sky Corgan is a good writer and I like most her books! This one just fell short in a big way.

Marie Smith has fully voiced this almost 11-hour audiobook. I thought she did a nice job. Her pacing was perfect and she voiced both genders well. I think this is the first audiobook that I have listened to with her as a narrator, but it won’t be my last!

This audiobook was given to me at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review, thanks, Audiobook Boom!

Not sure what to say!!!

The storyline seemed to good. But the narrator seemed to give it a depressing feel. The love verses where not believable but I can say the sad “crying” verses was on point. I made it to the end but it was like watching paint dry. If there was more life to narration it would have made for a much better listen.

Pretty womanish

What did you love best about Strife?

I loved that even though Pepper was down and out she tried to maintain her dignity

What was one of the most memorable moments of Strife?

The nightclub scence when Pepper runs into Demetri

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite was the end who doesn't love a hero

Any additional comments?

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

ESCORT'S 1ST GIG WINS HER A STAR...SKY'S BEST YET!

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook through Audiobook Boom at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

Sky Corgan's best (that I've listened to) so far! No cheating us listeners on the time, either... over 10 hours!

The story was classic but the pace was perfect. No "insta-love" here. By chance, Dmitri, Rock God and actor, ends up at a private "Escort Girl" party where he finds Pepper... Dmitri is NOT into the scene because he's ready to settle down, meet and woo his upcoming co-star, and hopefully fall in love-ever-after. Pepper, on the other hand, has her own plan... make money so she doesn't end up on the streets. Abused as a girl, she's perfected turning herself off and just having sex. On her first night as an escort, she's alone on the balcony preparing to be "broken-in" when Dmitri appears, needing to escape the party. Some chit-chat and a decision...

Marie Smith is a seasoned narrator. I've listened to one other book read by her. She's very good.

TWO THUMBS UP

Great Read

I truly enjoyed listening to this book, Sky Corgan and Marie Smith did a great job keeping my focus throughout the entire story.

Underwhelming at best!

Hmmm...where to start? Story had potential, hard to get past poor narration. Reality suspension ...failure

Overall okay story

Overall this was on okay storyline, I would describe it as a modern day telling of Pretty Woman. Pepper is down on her luck after being kicked out of her home at 18 with only $700 to her name after being sexually abused by her stepfather and her mom not believing her. She moves to CA to try and make it as an actress and becomes an escort to pay for school in case that doesn't work out. Her first night as an escort she meets Strife and they have instant chemistry and start to fall for each other. It's a tale of ups and downs from there as Strife continues to book her and she fights her feelings for him. To me parts of it drug out and I found it frustrating as the characters just didn't communicate. Yes that's usually part of romance stories but here it just didn't seem to work for me. It irritated my rather than just rolled into the storyline like it normally does. The narrator wasn't one of my favorites but she did a good job and I would listen to her again.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for my unbiased review.

Hot romance!

We have a famous guy who isn't into meaningless sex anymore, and a young woman who's been kicked out and turns to sex to support herself. It's nice to see the chemistry between them, and follow them to their HEA!

I took a star from the narrator because, while super pleasant to listen to, at times I was confused by who was who since she used the same "voice" for all characters.

As for the story, I didn't completely love it because I thought the main characters could have avoided so much trouble, or at least gotten over it faster, had they just communicated better.

I was given this book for free in exchange for an unbiased review, but will be checking the author in the future!

Not the best Narration.

If you could sum up Strife in three words, what would they be?

Pretty Women inspired.
This is the dark story of pretty women with a few things different. That's at least what it feels like.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

To make this story more enjoyable I'd change the dynamic between a few characters and I'd have done some major changes in the interactions and actions that happen between Dmitri and Pepper.

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

I can't say that Marie really brought much to the story. I felt like the voice didn't match the character in my mind so that kind of threw me a little off and make me enjoy it a little less.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Distaste was one extreme reaction I had to this book. There are more than a few scenes that cause real anger and loathing so be prepared. I couldn't believe some of the crappy things that were happening and Pretty Women kept going through my head through most of the story.

Any additional comments?

I think at some point I will go back and listen to this book again. It's not in my top favorites and it kind of gives me the creeps at times but I guess that's a sign of a great author. Someone who puts you in touch with the characters feelings you feel as if you're that person yourself. If you want to go on a risque adventure kind of like a pretty women story, then here is your chance.

I received a free copy of this audio-book in exchange for a honest review.