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Corralling Callie  By  cover art

Corralling Callie

By: Amelia Smarts
Narrated by: Gideon Welles
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Publisher's summary

For 18-year-old orphan Callie Broderick, going west as a mail-order bride seems to be the only hope she has for a decent husband. But when she sets out for the gold-mining town of Sacramento with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a stagecoach ticket, she quickly discovers that the trip will be quite a bit different than she expected.

As a former soldier and an experienced coachman, Jude Johnson is used to difficulties and dangers of all kinds during the arduous journey west, but he has never had to deal with trouble like Callie before. Not being the kind of man to kick a penniless orphan off his coach, he puts up with the sassy, disobedient girl for as long as he can, but when Callie's antics put the lives of his passengers at risk Jude is forced to take matters into his own hands and spank her soundly.

The stern punishment leaves her thoroughly chastened and promising to behave, and Jude soon realizes that when she puts aside her foul-mouthed, defiant façade, the real Callie is as sweet and kind as she is beautiful. As the days pass, he takes it upon himself to guide her, care for her, and give her the loving discipline she so desperately needs, as often as she needs it. But when they reach their destination, will he be able to give her up?

Publisher's note: Corralling Callie includes sexual scenes and spankings. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.

©2016 Stormy Night Publications (P)2017 Amelia Smarts
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: Romance

What listeners say about Corralling Callie

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Mail order spanking!

This book from the start was so good, I couldn't stop listening. Amelia Smarts can take a naive girl and a dominant man can create the hottest stories while keeping the storyline enjoyable and believable. Callie, an 18 year old orphan has been corresponding with her soon to be husband and has to get to Sacremento to marry him. Jude, a coach driver, is convinced to take her on his wagon while he is making the trip. Through her naïveté, spunk and bravery, she creates all kinds of havoc during this trip while trying to keep his paying customers happy. Her misbehaving results in blistering spankings and Jude's feelings developing to love. The slow burn between these two is hot it has to end once Callie reaches her fiancé. Or does it?

Gideon Welles has an incredibly low voice, that rasps perfectly for an old west character. His portrayal of this book is nothing less than perfection.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A ROLLICKING WILD WEST AUDIO LISTEN!!

Where does Corralling Callie rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is very high up there because of the pure entertainment value and the authenticity of the narrator's depiction.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jude the hero was my favorite character because he was such a strong and stalwart, ruggedly sexy man of the west .He was tough yet tender and had am exquisitely gentle touch!

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

Narrator Gideon Welles breathed so much flesh and blood life into the beloved characters of Jude Johnson and Callie Broderick that I truly felt like I was transported to the Wild West and was a passenger on the long, dusty journey from St. Louis, MO to Sacramento, CA! His rough-hewn, rumbly baritone and raspy western drawl was perfectly suited for the role of gruffly sexy former soldier-turned-expert-coachman Jude Johnson, and Mr. Welles did a very admirable job of portraying sweet, native Callie as well!I found myself so immersed in the story and the vivid emotions of the characters that my heart was palpitating, my girly parts were tingling and my belly had flutters throughout. I literally could not stop swooning, squirming and giggling in girlish delight and kept smiling from ear to ear.

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

Yes! This was most a definitely binge listen for me and left me positively giddy!

Any additional comments?

CORRALLING CALLIE gave me WARM FUZZIES and SWOONY feels throughout!!! So if you have a hankering for a high-spirited and homespun western romance chock full of love, drama, heartache and yummy bottom warmings, then I highly recommend this AMAZING audiobook!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

OLD FASHIONED SPANKING... AT FIRST!

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.

I was thoroughly entertained listening to this story. Callie was so adorable, mixing tall tales with stretched and unbelievable but true claims. Jude stood no chance against her willingness to please him. Spanking for discipline was customary in those times but when the feelings go beyond platonic, well... touches usually do, too. I wanted to see a bit more heat in those alone times, though. The HEA had a twist thrown in that was unexpected.

Narrator had a good "Western" voice. Worked well with the story.

Two Thumbs Up!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful

Callie needed taming. She is an 18 year old orphan/mail order bride on her way to Sacramento to get married but nobody has taught her how to behave in polite society. Her punishment for misbehavior in the orphanage up until the beginning of this story was to be locked in a closet for long periods of time.
Jude is the coachman taking her to Sacramento and he cares for her and teaches her a thing or two about life.
They begin to have feelings for each other and ... You will either have to read the book or listen to the audio version to find out what happens.
It is a delightful story and the narration by the gravelly voiced Gideon Welles is great.
I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
I was supplied with the audiobook version by the author and this is my unbiased and honest review.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Callie and Jude

I really enjoy Amelia Smarts’ writing style and this book is no exception. Callie decided to go west as a mail order bride. She starts her journey with only the clothes she is wearing and a stagecoach ticket. Jude, the stage coachman, puts up with smart@ss Callie instead of kicking her off the coach. When her actions threaten the other passengers, Jude takes things into his own hands by punishing her. Gideon Welles did a good job with the narration. I received this free copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator Pauses A Lot and Callie Acts Young

Would you try another book from Amelia Smarts and/or Gideon Welles?

Gideon Welles is a good narrator. If he doesn't do this pausing thing in other works I'm good with checking him out. Smarts wrote an interesting story, however her characters need more work. If she has progressed in that department I would check out more of her material.

Would you recommend Corralling Callie to your friends? Why or why not?

It depends. If you can get past Callie and the pausing in the narration, yes. If you want more from the characters, then no.

What about Gideon Welles’s performance did you like?

He had a nice deep voice that would work well for a romance novel.

Was Corralling Callie worth the listening time?

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite audio book experience.

Any additional comments?

Hey Guys! Today I'm reviewing the audiobook Corralling Callie by Amelia Smarts and narrated by Gideon Welles. 

Let's start with the narration. Gideon Welles has a deep voice. It is steady and sexy. However he pauses a lot. He pauses so much I thought my app wasn't working or that my phone had broken. When checking that my phone and app were working I became a little frustrated by how much he pauses. He would say a sentence like this: Well I don't...know....but well I....guess that's....fine. Now I'm from the south and I know we can talk a little slow, but people don't just pause for seconds in the middle of their sentences. And I highly doubt they do that over in Texas! In the last forty minutes of the audiobook he redeems himself and stops the annoying pausing habit. So the audio gets a 4/5.

Now for the plot. The plot itself is interesting. Callie is going on a month long trip to San Francisco to meet her fiance for the first time. On the way she has a thing with Jude, the stage coach driver. They fall for each other, but can't have each other. The story though is a tad boring. Nothing much is described. We are told what happens. I would have liked to see more scenes like the one where Jesse James comes to rob them, or Callie sitting in the dark humming. I didn't feel like I traveled with them, just heard about it. 

There also was not much romance. It was only in the last thirty minutes, and it was definitely not graphic. For a book that said it was 18 plus I figured there would be more sex? But I guess not. 

Callie was an issue. She acted like a ten year old most of the time and a five year old when she had tantrums, but she's supposed to be eighteen. I don't believe for a second she is 18 years old. And the fact that Jude, a 30? something year old man, is interested in her is just plain gross. It has to be for the fact that she is young looking. She doesn't really have a personality outside of her temper tantrums and naive and ignorance. I understand she was locked in a closet during her time at the orphanage when she would act out, but was she locked in their from 5 to 18 years old? Because she has not grown up at all! The only times Callie was somewhat redeeming as a character were when Jesse James came to steal from them and when she was in the dark humming to herself. The rest of the time she was too young for her age and didn't really do much in the story except wreck everything for everyone. 

Overall I'd give the narration a 4/5. Story 3/5. And total experience 3.5/5.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • DK
  • 03-25-17

Gideon Welles has a New Fan!

Corralling Callie

The good: The narrator, Gideon Welles is fantastic. His deep, strong voice made the portrayal of rough-and-tumble, former soldier Jude Johnson was to be expected. However, his ability to perform a sensitive, timid, abused 18-year-old orphan – Callie Broderick seemed to come just as naturally. His performances are brilliant.

The not so good: I had difficulty in believing this was an HISTORIC book, at times. 'Callie's' behavior was also confusing to me, given her past.

Sometimes one is looking for a 'naughty' book without a complex story. This book would be great for that mindset.

Overall this book was not for me, but I am willing to give the author another chance. And I will not hesitate to pick up a book narrated by Gideon Welles.

Business:

*I received this work in exchange for my review; good, bad or meh. I've written all 3 kinds.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fabulous story!

This is a fantastic short story. It’s a good listen that had me rooting for Callie at every turn and twist in the story. This is a well written story. I very much enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I recommend this audiobook!
The narrator does an amazing job with the characters and the voices of each character making it easy to distinguish between the characters. He does really good male and female voices.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

Love a good Mail-Order Bride Story

Callie is quite a spitfire for a mail-order bride. I loved listening to her story and watching sparks fly. A fun story that will keep you wanting to hear more. Enjoyable all around.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

From the Frying Pan Into the Fire

I received this free audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed in exchange for an honest review.
For me this story should have ended in Sacramento at the Chapel before the graphic details of the 'honeymoon'. If this book was labeled erotica, I wouldn't have picked it up. Callie was an orphan in a horrible situation and ran off to e a mail-order-bride and met up with Jude the wagon master who set his sights on her and controlled her unruly behavior. In my opinion, his discipline was abusive and took away from the otherwise good story. The narration was good.

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