Joining

By: Johanna Lindsey

Narrated by: Sharon Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

The remarkable Lindsey magic is stronger than ever! The spectacular #1 best-selling author returns with a glorious tale of passion and duty set in medieval England.

A betrothal has been announced that will join together Britain's two most powerful families - a union of wealth and influence to rival even the King himself. However, not only does the ambitious King John oppose this wedding, but Milisant and Wulfric - the intended bride and groom - are equally unhappy with the arrangement. Two passionate, headstrong people, they resent being thrown together for purely dynastic reasons. But fate's many twists and turns - and the unpredictable predilections of two unconquerable hearts - will turn an unwanted marriage of convenience into a true and eternal joining of desire and love.

©2000 Johanna Lindsey (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Always, Ms. Lindsey gives us what we want - a memorable, wonderful read that brings us laughter and joy. That's her magic." ( Romantic Times)

Enthralling listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

loved the book from the start. Great characters, great story, easily got lost in the book while running and couldn't wait to run again

What did you like best about this story?

The ongoing battle of wits between H and h. I love witty heroines

Which scene was your favorite?

Can't say there was a favorite. There were a number of scenes that made me laugh, made me cheer, made me smile

Any additional comments?

Most of the Lindsey novels translate well to audio. This one was particularly good. Now if only they would get all of the Lindsey novels on audiobook ... oh wait, I'd spend my entire paycheck buying them all.

Good

So if you are looking for a good, solid historical romance, this is it! Nothing spectacular or unexpected but it's a good, solid story with great characters. The narrator could have been better though but it wasn't unlistenable.

TYPICAL MEDIEVAL ROMANCE

I actually really liked this book. If you are a medieval/romance lover you certanly will like this one, it is exactly what you would expect, predictable and kind of enjoyable. I loved that Wulfric and Milisant hated each other since childhood and the way they constantly irritated one another to all of a sudden "realize" they love each other.

It's funny how Milisant desperately serches for a way out of the marriage and how the murder plot makes for a way to bring them together.

If somewhat typical, this book is pretty good.

Long and boring

It was like listening to Katherine Hepburn talk for 9 hours. The story was so tedious and long. I don't recommend it, especially if you're already suicidal. This will put you over the edge. I only finished it out because I paid for it. Ugh.

Couldn't finish

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The narrator killed it for me. I have read the book before, and it is fluff, no true substance to it, but entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

The heroine isn't meek in any sense of the word. She does on occasion cross the line to shrew territory, but these moments are usually followed by a redeeming quality.

What didn’t you like about Sharon Williams’s performance?

She sounded like she was trying to be...a snob, almost. The male voices are so bad it's comical. Her voice grated on my nerves so much, that I had to stop listening.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really. I won't listen to it again, and did delete it from my computer.

Any additional comments?

Don't get this audio book. The narration is painful, and the story isn't good enough to try and struggle through it. The story is okay, not correct historically, of course, but you don't expect that from a Johanna Lindsey book, after all. It is the equivalent of cotton candy for the brain. There are much better historical audio books that are much better choices.

UNREFRESHING

I liked the story line but found the heroine annoying, especially her voice. The narrator was great, but the voice used for the heroine was to sharp and unfeeling, it didn't warm you to her, her sisters voice was lovely and would have been much more alluring for the heroine. I enjoy most of these audio's by Johanna, but this audio, whilst parts were great, left me just shrugging and saying, it was just ok.

Not as good as her other books

This book was ok: not bad, but not as good as Johanna Lindsey’s other books. She was more interested in showing off her historical knowledge about fashion and language than developing a complex story. It was originally written/published in 1999, so it was one of her earlier books, I’m guessing, and that might be why it’s not as great as her other novels.

The Medieval form of Jesus as a swear word is far too over used, to the point of annoyance.

Although she is trying to create a strong woman in her lead character, the historical absurdity of her feminist attitude is also distracting from the story. This character wouldn’t have existed in that time; her personality would have been beaten out of her (sadly) during that era in history, despite the author’s explanations for it not happening. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, it just didn’t work all that well. There are other romance novels out there were the author has been more successful with a feminist character in Medieval England.

There were also times when it felt like the characters were repeating themselves over and over and over again and it got boring at those points.

No problems with the narrator; Sharon Williams’ performance was wonderful as always.

The taming of the shrew is very tedious

I downloaded this book after finishing Fire series by Anita Mills expecting something of the similar nature, unfortunately it was not for me. I did not enjoy the “witty banter” between H/H, to me it was childish and irritating, heroine does not come across as strong and independent but as shrewish and obstinate. Could not finish.....

Narration A+

I liked the story overall but I think the narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story out to its fullest potential. It was an enjoyable listen.

Terrible voice for Milicent!

If the heroine did not have the voice of an old crone or evil witch, I might have enjoyed this book. The narrator destroyed any hope of liking the lead character with the haughty, spoiled whiny gravelly voice which grated on my nerves like chalk screeching across a blackboard! Yikes! I would not recommend this book unless it is narrated by someone else.

Enjoyed historical English Customs & language used

Enjoyed the use of old English language and the historical
customs used for the setting of this story.