Just Stop Me

Escape to New Zealand, Book 9

By: Rosalind James

Narrated by: Emma Wilder

Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes you have to run away to find yourself.

Lots of young women dream of being a princess. Nina Jones isn't one of them. After escaping from her palace/prison by burying herself under sacks of fertilizer, she ends up in a beach cottage on New Zealand's South Island. She's meant to be looking after a cantankerous widower. Too bad she doesn't know how to boil an egg. Iain McCormick may be an All Black, a member of New Zealand's elite rugby team, and a bona fide celebrity. During the offseason, though, he's meant to be a regular Kiwi bloke. A good son, a good neighbor, and a good citizen. But civility comes harder when you've been dumped at the altar. He doesn't need anybody he has to look out for. He definitely doesn't need to fall in love. Yeah, right.

Note: This book, like New Zealand, contains some steam. In fact, it gets downright hot in a few places, and more than a little adventurous. If that isn't your cuppa, maybe visit another country...er, book.

©2016 Rosalind James (P)2016 Rosalind James

Thoroughly Enjoyed This One

I love the Escape to New Zealand series. This is number 9 in the series and a fun and compelling story. Girl on the run meets giant teddy bear of a man. The pacing of the story was good and it held my interest throughout. In fact, I had trouble setting it aside to get things done. One of my favorite things about Rosalind James's books are the epilogues. She really gives the reader a satisfying ending. Overall, this is a fun and wonderful love story. I highly recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Another fantastic NZ book from Ms James!

Any additional comments?

This is the latest installment in the Escape to New Zealand series, and it is every bit as good as the others in the series. Once again, Ms. James has created characters that are very well rounded and that I have become emotionally invested in. We not only get to meet Nina (the runaway bride) and Iain (the All Black on holiday), but we get to know Iain's parents (and their continuing love story) and his occasionally grouchy widowed grandfather Arthur, whom I loved shortly after 'meeting' him.
And as always, her description of the scenery is so fantastic that I can very easily picture myself there, even though I've never seen it firsthand.

I admit, it took me a chapter or 2 to appreciate the new narrator, as I'm so used to hearing Claire narrate. But Emma did a fantastic job & I would love to hear her read more of Rosalind's books.

A couple words of advice - this is part of the Escape to New Zealand series, but could be read as a standalone book. (However, I absolutely recommend reading the others if you haven't!) Also, the love scenes do get quite steamy and adventurous, so be prepared to skip past those parts those parts if they're not quite your speed.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I Love Visiting New Zealand!

Any additional comments?

Just Stop Me (Escape to New Zealand Book 9) is another solid entry to Rosalind James' increasingly popular and anticipated rugby romance series. It's a bit of a twist on Beauty and the Beast--though the real beast is more in the form of Nina Jones' ex-fiancé, Prince Matthias, than it is her not-quite-so handsome, "Incredible Hulk" new interest, Iain McCormick. 

The book centers on the growing relationship between Nina and Iain, as well as the personal growth each experiences. Nina, in particular, strives to stand on her own two feet and become independent from the influence of others. Though she has always earned a living, her destiny has always been heavily influenced and controlled by others.  

While I enjoyed the developing relationship between Nina and Iain, I especially appreciated the secondary plot lines and characters. Iain's grandfather was particularly endearing and my favorite character in the book. Arthur and Nina develop a close relationship as they help one another move on to the next stages of their lives. Both are hurting and they seem to be the perfect salves to one another. Arthur also offers sage advice to the younger members of his family, including Iain's parents, who are going through an especially difficult patch in their marriage. I very much enjoyed their story as they find their way back to one another. It’s nice to read about a love story of an older couple.

I less enjoyed the darker subplot which involves Prince Matthias unable and unwilling to let Nina go. It  made the book a little less "escapist" than I was expecting.

The Escape to New Zealand audio books now feature a new narrator, Emma Wilder.  Replacing a longtime narrator of any series isn’t an easy job and Emma does an admirable job. I appreciated that each “voice” was distinct and felt that the pacing was just right. After the initial two or three chapters, I Gave no thought to the fact that it wasn’t the narrator that I was accustomed to hearing. Nice job!

I strongly recommend this book for all lovers of romance novels and especially for lovers of Rosalind James' novels. Readers will not be disappointed.

I was given a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for the review nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions stated are solely my own.

Three times the Love!

If you could sum up Just Stop Me in three words, what would they be?

Love times three!

What did you like best about this story?

I of course enjoyed the setting, a new part of New Zealand to experience. I also enjoyed Arthur's verbal sparring with Nina and Iain.

Which character – as performed by Emma Wilder – was your favorite?

Arthur

Finding personal strength

I really appreciate the struggles Nina goes through to find herself, and her personal strength. Even in standing up to Iain. James does a very good job of writing the male and female characters and the different ways each reacts to a given situation.
My only issue: It is my heartfelt wish that no author of M/F mainstream romance writes about a certain type of sexual relation more commonly engaged in by M/M partners unless they’ve tried it for themselves. It belongs in a more erotic genre, or less romantic stories about hooking up geared to a young adult audience programmed into thinking they’re required to do this. There are times when you’re ready for a more erotic story and times when you’re not.
Wilder does a good job of narration. She is able to seamlessly take over from Bocking as James’ primary narrator.

Not every girl wants to be a princess...

This story is slightly different others in the series as it starts with a new narrator and a runaway bride. Emma is an excellent performer for the story! And Nina, the not-to-be-princess is fierce and brave, and escaped to NZ to find her own voice.

There are several stories intertwined in this book, but the characters are all connected. It is a suspenseful, romantic, comedy-drama (confused?) to keep you guessing at the twists and turns. I think this is my favorite of the series, though. Sexy and dynamic, whistful and suspenseful, reflective and thoughtful... the book has it all.

What a great book!

This is a wonderful New Zealand rugby romance and after listening to it twice, I enjoyed it even more. Emma Wilder is a new narrator for Rosalind James' books and at first I wasn't sure, but after a few chapters my ears adjusted to her and I loved her.
The story has wonderful characters which will make you laugh, cry and really dislike! Once again Rosalind gives a well written romance with some well written steamy bits! Kick back and enjoy New Zealand.

Just stop me

Any additional comments?

Just Stop Me.....such a sweet story! It happens to be just one of my favorites in the Escape To New Zealand series.

I highly recommend listening to this book on Audiobook! Emma Wilder does a fabulous job bringing this story and these characters to life. I always look forward to hearing Ms. James books on audio.

When I had the opportunity to read this books a while back, I wasnt sure how i felt about Iian. As i read further into the book he started growing on me. I ended up loving Iian....along with Nina, Arthur, Carmella and Graeme. Great set of characters!

Though Nina and Iian didnt start off with and instant attraction for each other, as their relationship grew, so did my feelings for Iian. He had me pulling for him and Nina until the very end,

Nina is set to marry Prince Matthias and is set to become his Princess. As the wedding approaches, Nina starts having second thoughts and decides this is not what she wants. She becomes a runaway bride and ends up hiding out in New Zealand. Iians mom, Carmella, hires her to be a caregiver to her father, Arthur. This is where the storyline starts to blossom for everyone, Though I loved the storyline between Iian and Nina, I loved the relationship between Nina and Arthur as well. All 3 storylines in this book were awesome.
Very well written.

I definitely recommend you listen to this book. I dont think you will be disappointed. Definitely worthy!

* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and i was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own,

Great escapism...

This series is fun. The recurring characters make it more interesting than it would otherwise be. The stories are fairly simplistic, but the setting (beautiful New Zealand) give the tales a good twist. Enjoyable.

Another Great Escape to NZ

Would you consider the audio edition of Just Stop Me to be better than the print version?

No, I preferred the Kindle version. But that's just my preference. This book was a bit more angsty than the others in the series, and the audio seems to make it feel more so.

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

This was my first book of Emma's that I've listened to (that I know of). As with nearly every audiobook I've listened to, I felt some of the voices were "off" for the first several chapters but then settled into the characters and truly enjoyed them. This was an excellent representation covering several generations and accents and Emma handled it so well!

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

The Kindle book made me laugh and cry, but I can read this book much faster than listening to it. So I was unable to listen to 14+ hours at one sitting and I think the choppiness of my own listening availability made it less personal and more difficult to get into. But the story is captivating and if I was spending more time driving these past few weeks I think I would have been found bawling in the car!

Any additional comments?

This is a terrific story. Here is my Kindle review from Amazon.com:

From Rosalind James' blog: "It’s about three generations of love, three stages. Finding love. Recovering love. Losing and remembering love." What a beautiful story behind this book and how wonderfully written it is.

A terrific stand-alone addition to the "Escape to En Zed" series, "Just Stop Me" introduces a new All Blacks rugby player and a strong-willed young lady that is finally asserting her independence. Interwoven with their budding romance are the subplots of his parents' relationship going through a bit of a crisis, and his grandfather's struggle to keep living without his soulmate. This is a rare novel in the series where the geography and culture of New Zealand, as well as the sport of rugby, are not as prominent, but there is a foray into "romantic suspense" with an obsessed bad guy to complicate matters. (If you like this aspect, definitely check into RJ's "Paradise" series of romantic suspense novels set in Idaho - they're terrific, too!)

Normally Rosalind James' novels are quite real and believable, but I have to say the "runaway princess" is a bit of a stretch, but beyond that, this book hits the reader with real situations, witty dialogue, and strong emotions. I can absolutely understand where other reviewers mentioned that they were crying because I found myself a little teary-eyed myself. I may have found myself holding my breath in the more suspenseful parts of the book. Light & fluffy romance, this is not.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. These are my own words and my own opinion.