Minding Benji

Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs, Book 5

By: Sandra E Sinclair, Sweethearts Jubilee Springs, Sweet Americana

Narrated by: C.J. McAllister

Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

Prudence Fairchild went from riches to rags. The world she knew was swept from under her with the death of her parents. Destined to a life of servitude, she realizes the struggles of being poor comes with the risk of being taken advantage of.

She uses everything in her to ward off the advances of her employer. His threats to have her on his return from a business trip drives Prudence into action. She must get away and protect her virtue at any cost. It's all she has left. As a last resort, she answers an advertisement to be a mail order bride.

Austin Alwin is not happy about the condition placed on him in his uncle's will. If he is to keep the only home he's ever known, he must find a wife within a few weeks or lose it all. As time is of the essence, he forgoes all the usual protocols in obtaining a mail order bride and will only have a few short days to make up his mind once he meets her.

Both Prudence and Austin are about to have a life altering decision to make as they are faced with an unexpected addition to their pending nuptials.

Will this bundle of joy pull the couple together or tear them apart?

©2017 Sandra E Sinclair (P)2017 Sandra E Sinclair

The author nailed another one

If you could sum up Minding Benji in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, fun, entertaining

Who was your favorite character and why?

Benji. For a baby, he seemed to know that God had his best interest at heart and was going to make everything ok.

Have you listened to any of C.J. McAllister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. He did another good job with this book also.

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

Yes, it was a quick listen.

Any additional comments?

I got this book via audiobook boom and enjoyed it. The story was well developed and ended well.

Delightful Western Romance

Becoming a mail order bride appears to be the only solution to Prudence's increasingly
precarious present situation. She accepts an offer to become the wife of Austin, a man who is in danger of losing everything unless he marries. When Prudence is about to board the
train, an old man thrust a baby, along with a note in her arms and fled. Prudence has suddenly become responsible for her brother's baby. When she arrives at her destination, her intended is very unhappy about the child, but grudgingly accepts the situation. Adding to the enjoyment of the book, is the audible narration expertly done by C.J. McAllister. His mellow tones make each character quite distinct without exaggeration. I recommend this delightful book to all Western romance fans.

Sweet novella with a good, solid story

Would you listen to Minding Benji again? Why?

I wouldn't listen to Minding Benji again. It was a good one time novella, but I don't typically listen to or read books more than once unless they are absolutely fabulous-I'm talking Game of Thrones good. That isn't to say that this isn't a good novella though.

What did you like best about this story?

I was just a good, sweet novella that was enjoyable to listen to. There wasn't one particular thing that stuck out as the "best" part of the story. I suppose if I had to pick something, it would be the end, where everything falls into place as it should and everyone gets their happy ending.

Have you listened to any of C.J. McAllister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first C.J. McAllister narrated novel, so I have nothing to compare it to, though I think he did a good job with the narration.

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

I didn't have an extreme reaction to this novella either way. It was a sweet novella, but at under 4 hours, it makes it difficult to really fall in love with the characters. It was a solid listen though and there was more character development in this novella compared to others that I've listened to that are around this length and a little longer.

Any additional comments?

I have to say that I can't stand the cover image. Pru looks to be all of 12 years old and Benji was obviously photographed in different lighting and clearly Photoshopped in. Since the cover is the first introduction to the novella, I had this image of Pru in my head which stuck with me throughout listening to the book. For this reason, I had a more difficult time connecting to the main character. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

Minding Benji

A short but very enjoyable story.
Narrative was enjoyable even if at times it come across a little monotone/stilted.

Sweet and Clean

This book is a sweet and clean listen set in the past (my guess is mid to late 1800's). The author wrote interesting characters that fit their time. The narrator did an awesome job performing the various characters and giving the right emotions. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it. This is a standalone listen and part of a series. I was provided with this review copy audiobook at no charge and have voluntarily written this review.

very sweet!

I really enjoyed this super sweet romance. I loved these characters and how their story developed. Narration was great - really great job of bringing these characters to life.

The best laid plans just may not work

Prudence needs to get away from the house she is working in due to the unwanted advances from her boss. To get away, she offers herself as a mail-order bride to Colorado. She has found her husband and is getting on the train to join him when a man gives her a basket with a baby, her nephew. Prudence knows that she now has in her had the one condition that her betrothed said he did not want to have, children.

Austin must get married or lose everything that he has built due to his uncle's will. He turns to a mail-order bride agency and thinks he has found the perfect woman. As he meets his future wife he also sees that she has a kid, the ONLY thing he said that he did not want to have.

As these two get to know one another, misunderstandings and insecurities along with a meddling brother could very well cause Austin his ranch and the woman that he just may be able to fall in love with if he can overlook the little boy who just may also capture his heart too.

Sandra weaves a great story of desperation, confusion, enlightenment, and love. I enjoyed it! C.J. McAllister's performance was good.

A sweet mail order bride romance

What made the experience of listening to Minding Benji the most enjoyable?

I loved the story of the mail order bride who ran away from a bad situation, and ended up with a man who misunderstood what he was getting himself into.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Minding Benji?

One of the most memorable moments for me, was when Austin found out that Benji was not Prudence's son by birth, but by that time he had already fallen in love with both Prudence & Benji.

Which scene was your favorite?

At the end, when the two main characters finally admitted their love to one another, out loud. Beautifully done!

Any additional comments?

I thought the narrator did a great job of changing his voice just enough to let us know who was speaking, and yet it sounded like someone telling me this wonderful story. Great job!

Mail Order Romance 3 hours

In this enjoyable, lightly Christian, mail order bride story, Prudence turns to arranged marriage to escape an aggressive lascivious employer and travels West to meet Austen, who has to marry to keep his home.

Sweet

The story is so sweet. Of course, there are ups and downs, but in the end it all works out, which I love in a book. I've just recently discovered books by this author and will be looking for more.

The narration was acceptable.

I requested this audiobook from the author and am voluntarily leaving this review.

A very enjoyable book!

This book is really sweet as two people learn how to trust and put someone else first in their lives. I really enjoyed listening to it!
I received a free code for this book from Audiobooks Unleashed to listen to on Audible. This review is my own honest opinion.

Minding Benji

Any additional comments?

This book wasn't bad however I felt that there was some hypocrisy when it came to Prudence flitering with another guy to get Austins attention. She had to apologize for it even though his brother (the minister) invited the guy to get his brother jealouse because he was showing interest in Prudence and yet he did not have to apologize for it. He even asked her not to do it again and he was upset with her! Unfortunatily this scene stuck with me throughout the book.

The book also ended quite quickly at the end. I would have liked to know what happened to her brother all those years he was away and more importantly why he never came for her at the beginning and what is going to happen to his son. Will he never see him again or only on visits.

I noticed that some of the reviewers did not really like the narrator but I thought he was not that bad. His voice suited this type of book. He is not the best but he was OK to listen to.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.