Midnight Rainbow

By: Linda Howard

Narrated by: Brenda Sweeney

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

A romance in the jungle - Grant Sullivan, tough, masculine and handsome, is a retired military expert entrusted with a mission in the Costa Rican jungle - to find hostage and socialite Jane Hamilton Greer. When Grant rescues her in a rather cavalier and physical fashion, no love is lost between them. But gradually, their mutual attraction and passion becomes apparent and the jungle smolders in more ways than one.

©1984 Linda Howington (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Narrator nightmare

The story was ruined by the narrator. She was fine on the storyline, but her voice for the characters was so awful that I was more focused on that than on the story. I won't purchase any other audiobooks with this narrator.

Incredibly annoying voice for heroine!!!

Would you try another book from Linda Howard and/or Brenda Sweeney?

Linda Howard is a dependable, quality author so I would try another audiobook written by her. Brenda Sweeney totally missed the mark with her portrayal of Jane, both in tone (she sounds like a breathy airhead, not the capable strong willed character the author wrote), and performance, which sometimes sounded like she was reading a telephone book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Midnight Rainbow?

When Jane and Grant first became sexually aware of each other in the jungle.

Would you be willing to try another one of Brenda Sweeney’s performances?

NO.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Midnight Rainbow?

Nothing needs to be cut.

Any additional comments?

Good story, totally ruined by the narration. Usually I read a good book and think "I have to hear this performed", with THIS book (which I haven't read yet), I thought "I know I'd enjoy this more if I was reading the book."

Jungle HEAT..Ex Cia Operative rescues Jane 4STAR

PLOT: Jane needs rescuing by ex CIA operative Grant Sullivan. Early but goodie by Linda Howard.

1984 early Linda Howard...first of her "mercenary".....adventure romances. Spoiled RICH....Jane Greer is "held captive" in hot Central America. Her father hires "ex CIA operative Grant Sullivan. Grant known as the Tiger for his stealthy moves and golden eyes. Grant gets close enough to see Jane who is a "captive" ..but Grant feels Jane is .anything but a CAPTIVE ....maybe a 'willing victim?'...... But Jane also knows where some very "valuable" microfilm everyone wants. Jane chooses to make good on her "escape" at the same time Grant "rescues her"... the two end up together one step ahead of the BADDIES hot on their trail. Born loner Grant is drawn to Jane. as the Romance and the JUNGLE both "heat up"...the fun does not end with her "rescue"....Jane sets up a plot of her own to bring GRANT back to "rescue" her yet again.........Grant has many walls around his heart and has lived alone...by choice and Jane is the first woman to get emotionally close to Grant. This is the FIRST book by Linda Howard that adds ADVENTURE to the romance. An early gem. Good story. I give the Story 5 STARS....Performance 4 STARS...Brenda Sweeney is pretty good but her "Jane voice" at times is a bit whiney....that is the only that keeps me from giving Brenda Sweeney 5 stars.....Thank you Dreamscape Media lets keep these coming.

Voices sound elderly

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I thought the wording was old fashioned. Some sentences threw me as to the language used in the 1940's. I didn't like Jane's character...she was whiney and not in a funny good way.

What didn’t you like about Brenda Sweeney’s performance?

Nothing against her performance as the narrator. That voice would have been better for the main character. The voice she chose for Jane came out sounding...elderly. Jane is supposed to be still young and vibrant. As with all Linda Howard audible books...the voice doesn't match what the book describes. I hope LH reads these comments so she puts in some opinions on the casting.

Did Midnight Rainbow inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to write my comments. Fed up with the elderly lady voice.

Awful Narrator!!! Save your $$

What disappointed you about Midnight Rainbow?

I had to stop listening to the book because of the narrator. The heroine is described by the author as independent, strong and fearless. yet the narrator gave her an annoying baby voice that made the character sound brainless and stupid. The male lead is an 'all male' hero who rescues her in the jungle. Again the author creates a character who is supposed to be stealth, masculine, husky.. But the narrator gives him this goofy southern drawl that makes him sound more like a hick. I liked the story line but I had to stop listening because I good just no longer stand the narrator's voices and overall performance. I like Linda Howard. This was a real disappointment. I listen to on average a book a week and a rarely write a review. I felt compelled to write this review to alert other listeners. Buyer beware.

Would you be willing to try another one of Brenda Sweeney’s performances?

no

Old book + new narrator = sound entertainment

Steal the microfilm and run for your life! One of Howard's best "older" books, written in about 1984. The first of a series. Fast-paced action adventure set in Costa Rica. Undercover operative Grant Sullivan must extract socialite Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer from evil terrorists and then lead her safely through the jungle. Together, they battle bloody snakes, armed gorillas, old trucks, storms, cliffs, hunger, fear-of-the-dark, and exhaustion. (But not bugs, cuz clever Jane packed yeast pills. I wonder if that really works.)

During their week-long adventure, this soul-weary ex-spy learns to trust and love and laugh again. Jane turns out to be so much more than Grant had expected. Courageous, stubborn, and funny, to boot. I chuckled several times.

In my opinion, Sweeney's narration was fine, but for Jane's annoying girlish voice, and some lock-step phrasal reading. Also, at times Sweeney's tone of voice didn't match the text. For example, in chapter 3, she didn't speak with urgency in this passage:

"Grant grabbed Jane's arm. Run! That shot will bring every one of them swarming down on us!" The urgency of his tone made it possible for her to obey, though she was rapidly depleting her stores of energy." (His tone was not urgent. It was normal.)

Still, congrats to Sweeney for a solid performance -- she especially handled Grant's dialogue well, with only a few minor exceptions. He felt very real to me. I also loved her "narrator" voice. I could listen to that voice forever. Easy on the ears.

A favorite read. However, when listening, I'm less able to skim over redundant sex scenes, so it felt slow at times. After the first few sex scenes, I wanted to see the plot move forward. Grant and Jane needed to escape from the nasties, and they needed to sleep to sustain their breakneck flight through the rain forest to the port city of Limón.

However, I gotta say, Howard writes the best love scenes. Her passionate heroes simply curl my toes.

Fun ending scenes in Europe of all places. Jane led her Tarzan on a merry chase, all right.

I hope and expect to see audiobooks for the rest of the series. We will see more of Jane and Grant in a sequel, Diamond Bay.

Awful performance by narrator...Save your credit

Would you try another book from Linda Howard and/or Brenda Sweeney?

Linda Howard..,definitely. She is great. Granted, her older books don't compare in quality to her new ones, but they are still worth a read. I will always try her books.
Brenda Sweeney...NEVER

What didn’t you like about Brenda Sweeney’s performance?

The narrator was horrible. The voice used for the narration was okay, but the lead female sounded like an 8 year old child. Very annoying and distracting. Her performance was bland and lifeless.

good..but

the story was good and unlike other reviews the narrator's voice was fine.....EXCEPT for the voice she used for Jane. she made her sound like an idiot.

Didn't live up to my Linda Howard

Would you try another book from Linda Howard and/or Brenda Sweeney?

Will definitely listen to Linda Howard, wasn't the best narrator...something was "off" about her voices, I didn't think she was believable.

Any additional comments?

It wasn't my favorite...but it wasn't my least favorite.

Narrator fail

Another old Linda Howard favorite botched by unbearable narration. Other reviewers have said it all. Wasted opportunity. Sad.