A Summer Down Under

By: Adrianna Blakeley, Alison Pensy

Narrated by: Sherill Turner

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling young-adult author of The Custodian novels, Alison Pensy releases her debut romance under the pen name Adrianna Blakeley. Please note - this is not a young-adult novel.

Sam, a clumsy, self-conscious young woman, sets off on a journey backpacking around Australia. Some would say she was "running away". Sam would tell you she wanted to "find" herself. Whatever the reason for her travels, the very last thing she wants to "find" is love, especially after her only other disastrous experience with it.

When money runs low, Sam finds a job working as a Jillaroo (Aussie cowgirl) on a sheep station in the Australian outback. Little does she know that the station owner's son just happens to be the gorgeous guy she sat next to on the plane over from England. The very same guy who tried to sweep her off her feet during her stopover in Bali.

If that wasn't enough to deal with, she has her suspicions that the sheep have launched a secret vendetta against her. Not to mention the spiders, the snakes, and the shearers.... Oh my!

A heart-warming romantic comedy that will have you wondering if this is what would have happened if Bridget Jones had met The Man from Snowy River instead.

©2012 onward Alison Pensy (P)2013 Alison Pensy

Sweet and Interesting!

If you could sum up A Summer Down Under in three words, what would they be?

Sweet, interesting, realistic

What did you like best about this story?

Loved how this author explores a setting unfamiliar to me (a sheep station in Australia) as she plops her young and inexperienced heroine in the thick of it. Her character, Sam (short for Samantha) is a mixture of clumsiness and fire as she bumbles about in unfamiliar territory but isn't afraid to fight for the right causes. So I guess the humor in the situation was my favorite aspect of the story.

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

No, but I will look for her again. LOVED her voice and was especially happy with her portrayal of Daniel.

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

Yes, but I couldn't.

Any additional comments?

I was so shocked by but relieved with the ending! The book kept me guessing until the very end!

Enjoyable Read/Listen

Any additional comments?

Quotes from the authors facebook page and Amazon Reviews:

"Loved the characters and "landscape". Really got in to this book and read it non stop. A little bit of country and a bit of romance all in one."

"A very easy read and very close to home for me with my farmer I found down under! Would recommend to anyone who just wants to enjoy a bit of romance and country. Great Chic Lit!"

"I Am at times picky about romances I read. I have read other novel's from Blakeley/Pensy. Really love how she Writes. So After Getting a Summer Down Under, I was not shocked at all by how much I loved the story. I Laughed out loud at many points. It was one of those novels For me as soon as I Pick it up, I had to finish it. Only taking a break to Eat."

"Do I recommend it? Yeah, it's got everything: romance, some very interesting information about something you never thought you wanted to know about, a couple of LOL moments, a story about traveling and it's Oz...I definitely recommend it. It was a sweet story. "

Excellent read!!

What did you love best about A Summer Down Under?

Great story line and very lovable characters.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved learning about the country lifestyle in Australia. The book was very adventurous.

Any additional comments?

This was a great book, it had a little of everything, romance, excitement, thrills, humor, and adventure. Highly recommend this book as well as the authors other books. Everything I've read of hers has been awesome.

Accent issues

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I really enjoyed the story but the aussie accents were dreadful and the pronunciation of some Australian words and places were hard to listen to.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I would suggest that a book set in a country should have a narrator from that country.

Timing was off all around

Started out entertaining enough but quickly lost its charm when the author put in way too much description of mundane everyday details. Also, the heroine's painful past was explained too late in the story, and since the whole book (and the heroine's odd behavior) centered on this painful past, I spent a lot of time being annoyed by her instead of sympathizing with her. The hero was a bit too tied to his parent's apron strings, actually the whole cast of characters (including the narrator) acted as if the hero/heroine were around fifteen or sixteen. Just not to my liking.