A House Divided

By: Kimberla Lawson Roby

Narrated by: Gwen Hughes

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

Life is close to perfect for the Reverend Curtis Black and his wife, Charlotte - except their son, Matthew, and his girlfriend, Racquel, are about to become parents at the tender age of 18. Even though Curtis and Charlotte wish Matthew could focus on Harvard instead of fatherhood, they are determined to welcome their new grandson with open arms. But for Charlotte, welcoming her future in-laws is another story. Try as she might, Charlotte can't stand Racquel's mother, Vanessa - and the feeling appears to be mutual.

When the tension between Charlotte and Vanessa finally erupts, the stress sends an already-fragile Racquel into early labor. Everyone is quick to blame Charlotte, including Matthew and Curtis. That her own husband would side with someone else infuriates Charlotte and strains the relationship they've only recently been able to repair. Her one ally is Racquel's father, but that brings problems of its own.

While Charlotte schemes against Vanessa, Curtis is consumed with his own concerns about Deliverance Outreach. A mysterious figure from his past has been sending Curtis cryptic messages threatening to take away Curtis' coveted position as senior pastor and destroy everything he has worked so hard for. But who could hate Curtis that much? And how can he fight an enemy he can't even name?

Times of trouble are descending upon the Black family in more ways than one. Will they be able to overcome their challenges and stand together against someone who could take it all away? Or is the Black family finally out of miracles?

©2013 Kimberla Lawson Roby (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Surprisingly disappointing

I was surprised at this performance of the latest Curtis Black novel. The performance really took away from the story line, making it very hard to complete this novel. I would not recommend this as a listen for anyone. Gwen Hughes was not a good fit for the narration of this novel and because of it, I'm considering getting my credit back. I have enjoyed all of the other Curtis Black novels and have decided to try another avenue to read this book.

Performance sold melodrama of story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It's a little melodramatic, but nevertheless, you can't help wanting to know how it ends, it's such a crazy story with such crazy out of control characters. I felt like Gwen Hughes was as into the story as the listener is, trying to make Charlotte seem like a real person. I felt for the son.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kimberla Lawson Roby? Why or why not?

Probably not, but I liked this one.

Have you listened to any of Gwen Hughes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. This was only one. She has a nice voice.

Was A House Divided worth the listening time?

Sure.

Only if there's nothing else

Would you try another book from Kimberla Lawson Roby and/or Gwen Hughes?

Sure, I always look for her books, even waited for this one. But THIS PARTICULAR BOOK WILL NOT HAVE ME WAITING FOR THE NEXT.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kimberla Lawson Roby? Why or why not?

Yes, but in my opinion, she didnt keep up with the character's character. I mean Charlotte wouldn't behave this way. She never had before, now a change in personality. Repeat readers know all of her characters. We know the difference, a turn off.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

No, not her fault.

Do you think A House Divided needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nope, Its time to retire the family, and give up something else.

Any additional comments?

let it go already.

Please choose another narrator!

It took me a couple of days to finish this one because of the narrator. Her voice is extremely annoying. In my opinion. She doesn’t have the voice for narration. Other than that I enjoyed the storyline.

Shockingly Bad

I love the Curtis Black novels however, the narrator is VERY important in audible book. This narrator was shockingly bad. She over performed and whined a lot for some of the characters voices. The best narrator of this series so far was Paula Jai Parker Martin.

I’m starting to think the author has no say in who narrates their books and if that is true that should change because the author knows the tone of their books and how it should be delivered. The narrator will absolutely get a book returned even if it is a good book.

Didn't like the narrator

It took me a while to get through this one. I didn't like how the narrator made every woman sound like they were whining except Charlotte. Choose a different narrator.

My least favorite book in the Curtis Black series

I'm a huge fan of Kimberla Lawson Roby and was sooooooo looking forward to her next book in the Curtis Black series. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The writing style seemed a bit different then the other books (in this series)....more conservative I guess. Something seemed to be missing :(. The story line was okay, but no where near comparable to the previous ones.

I'm still and will ALWAYS be a fan of Kimberla's, however this book was mediocre at best in my opinion.

The narrator voice is extremely irritating

I can’t continue listening to this story. I usually love all of Kimberla Lawson's books.

Another Twist

Of course, I always loved the narrations. This is another twist for the Black family. How Kimberla come up with these story lines is amazing. Off to the next book.

Narrator was AGGY!!

I've enjoyed the Black series thus far, but I expected to see some kinda change in Charlotte. Overall, the story was okay, but the narrator of this novel detracted from the entire experience.