Caine's Reckoning

Hell's Eight Series, Book 1

By: Sarah McCarty

Narrated by: Zoe Winslow

Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The 19th century. The Hell's Eight is the only family he's ever needed, until he meets the only woman he's ever wanted...

Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. And Caine's honor won't let him refuse.

From the moment he beds Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron, and while she needs his protection, she's determined that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it isn't enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. He wants her screams, her moans, her demands...everything. Yet there's still a bounty on Desi's head, and keeping her sexually satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.

©2007 Sarah McCarty (P)2007 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Hot Texas Ranger Historical Romance

McCarty does an excellent job of defining her characters and creating believable dialogue and actions that are consistent with the characters. My only criticism is there’s 90% dialogue and only 10% action in this book.

Zoe Winslow does a great job with narration. Her southern accent fits this story.

Beautiful

Westerns are not really my "thing", although I do like them occasionally. A friend recommended this author and I read a book in a different series before finding this on Audible.
First, I'm super picky about narrators. I am a snob about it, really, but Zoe Winslow was fantastic. She had just the right amount of drawl, her voice is not too high pitched, and she differentiated between the various character voices without it sounding like an obnoxious cartoon (did I mention I'm a snob?)
Anyway, I loved this story. Desi had been terribly abused and at first I thought she might end up being one of those TSTL (too stupid to live) heroines with no sense, or that she'd be a doormat.
She struggled early on with that, but she grew and changed and the way Cain helped her heal was just... ::happy sigh::
I love the way Cain approached her - not ignoring her trauma or discarding it but also not letting it define her. And I love that he never judged her.
Oh, and it was really, really, really hot. Super hot. Turn on the fan hot.

Erotic read

I normally like a mildly clean to a little spice in my romance, but this was beyond a little spice. It was a very erotic read with multiple sex scenes.

Luckily, I can tune out what I'm listening to and did that quite often. Once I was able to tune out the "scenes" I really liked the story. It was a marriage of convenience between a Texas Ranger and a young woman who was a "whore" (she was chained to a bed and raped, at no time was she willing but the label of whore was given😠). The title she was given by those generous town folk (the ones who raped her) was one that she didn't earn, but felt like she had. Caine helped her realize that he was the only man that counted because he was the only man she concented with. That was the heart of the story, Desi realizing that the label forced upon her was totally wrong and that she deserved to be loved. It would have been FANTASTIC if there were fewer and far less detailed sex scenes.

Could not stop listening!

This book kept me interested the entire way thru. The story behind the TX Rangers and how they came to be "hells eight" makes you a fan of all of them. Sams Creed was just as intriguing and I cannot wait for a third!

Excellent narration of a super steamy romance

Zoe Winslow is good. REALLY GOOD. She was spot on with the pace, rythm, voices, ...everything. This story could/would have rated lower without her interpretation.

The novel is basically a super steamy romance, with its descriptive language bordering on porn. If someone picked up it's movie rights even men would enjoy this one. hahaha

I, personally, did not find the plot very believable. But I'm a sucker for a love story so I'm rating it right up there.

Not a fan of Historical Romance but this was HOT &

Where does Caine's Reckoning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top!

What other book might you compare Caine's Reckoning to and why?

Any in the Hell's 8 Series

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

She is a fantastic performer...I enjoy listening to audio books.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I cannot think of 'a moment' - the book was action packed.

Any additional comments?

NOT a typical romance book. It includes graphic Adult/Mature content

Hells eight is nothing like the Black dagger bro.

Where does Caine's Reckoning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The narrarator sucked she sound like she Reba Mcentire when she says wwhhyy.
The story was so slow I wanted to listen to something else not a western where sugar cubes where like gold and women in the story are victims of human trafficking and turned into whores ( don't get excited PG book). Finally the end was near an it had a cliff hanger on the main characters twin sister, so I skipped a couple of books to Trackers story and it wasn't like I missed anything because that book caught you up. and it has a way better narrator.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was predictable heroine and her hero.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Zoe Winslow?

She sounded like a child and I was so glad she was replaced in later series.

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

No to blaring I listen while cleaning. This book was mostly PG.

Great Story

I've listened to this story several times now and it gets better each time. I love how the author created a female lead with a past, yet isn't meek and submissive. It's also nice to see an Alpha male who makes mistakes, admits to them and tries to fix things. This book was a little long for me but worth the patience. I wasn't crazy about the narrator as the accents she used seemed to be overdone for my tastes but I did finish the book.

Wonderful! More like this!

Although I have been a fan of Sara McCarty for several years, this is her 1st book I have listened to in audio format. It is so good that I can't wait for the next in the "Hell's Eight" series. I wish the purchasing department of Audible.com would make available more unabridged reads in romance and erotica.

Hooked

This book is off the chain. I enjoyed it so much i'm listening to it again. I could feel the heat of the moment and it reminds me of the charcter that plays in the new TV series on cable JUSTIFED with the star Timothy Olaphant as a Texas Ranger.

If you looking for something to get you hot and bothered this is it.