Intimate Surrender

Do yourself a favor and skip this book. Hanna was raped when she was 15 years old. Her circumstances gave her no other choice but to become a prostitute. Apparently a very good prostitute because in a few years she had saved enough money to buy the bordello and become a Madame. And this is when the story starts to get ridiculous. This experienced prostitute could give Mother Theresa a run for her money. The only reason she kept the bordello is to earn money to keep up an orphanage. She is such a good prostitute/person that her best friends are duchess. The whole story has only one very mild sex scene almost at the end. Hanna and Rafe fall in "love" at first sight yet they spend months sharing a few kisses now and then. At age 30? Oh please!! Yes our hero Rafe is a vicar but towards the end after all the morality talk he still has sex with her before marriage. Only once. The dialogue, the plot, the characters were all unrealistic, ridiculous and predictable.

The narration was ok and it's the only reason why I actually listened to the whole book but if I had know the story would be so implausible I would have saved my time and money.

I have to admit that I was concerned when I read the prologue. Which contained not only a vicious rape by a Vicker, a brutal beating from a father then a 15 year old girl being left for dead on the side of a road. But instead it just continued along those veins for another 300 pages. If you like a book that makes you happy while reading it choose something else.

I've read so many romance novels from this period that it was hard to believe that there isn't a story line that I haven't read before but this was an entirely different take on "two potential lovers who meet and the challenges they encounter"... who would have thought that a prostitute and a victor would manage to get together.

The plight of women; however, continues to anger me.

The characters are really enjoyable. I read about Lady Grace in the last book and I like the continuity.

The worst part of this book is that the author really removed from reality to make this book a little over the top dramatic. The part where Rafe gets shot and beaten was not really necessary, and it doesn't really make sense. In those days, as often in our own, your clothes and appearance reveals much about the person. Rafe is obviously a gentleman, and so he would have not been alone, as he would have a carriage. Also, all he had to do is threaten the thug by telling him who he was and that would have been the end of it. No one would attack him in real life as that was instant death for those people. I know its a small part, but it bothered me the whole time it was happening. I understand that the author wanted drama to move the main characters along, but in my opinion, it was just too much. And slightly ruined the book for me. I really love the character of Hannah and it bothers me that she ruined her story with over the top silliness.

I LOVE Sarah Coomes. I love her narration and the slight inflections in her voice. One of my favorites.

I had a difficult time listening to this book. I actually kept switching to the Kindle version to see if that would improve the book.
The narrator was difficult to listen to. I felt she was overly dramatic. I have enjoyed other Laura Landon books but not this one.

One of the best regency romance books I've ever listened to. This book was my favorite in the series. Great performance also.

Reviews are a tricky thing. In this book's case, the reviews kept me from listening for a long time. Well that was a mistake! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I have many of Laura Landon's books.

To get some back story you should FIRST LISTEN to Intimate Deception! Having additional info on Hannah and some of the other characters made this book more complete. Characters are developed in Intimate Deception so although Intimate Surrender could be a standalone book.....it is a richer more enjoyable listen when read second.

This is a PG-13 listen. There is some violence in the beginning and then only one love scene. BUT the entire book is full of angst and blooming love.

I like Sarah Coomes as a narrator. She is one of those you either like or you don't. She is pretty dramatic, but I would rather that than no feeling at all.

First story I tried by Laura Landon and probably my last. The story was lackluster and I swear if I had a nickle for every time the word prostitute was spoken . . . Sarah Coomes was bland and made me want to scream every time she uttered the word prostitute. Alright already... she's a prostitute... we get it. Perhaps others will like this story and narration but this was not my cup of tea.

Somewhat worth it. The story was good but the narrator had way too much drama and breathlessness in her voice. Sarah Cooms needs to tone down the drama in her voice.

I would have given an overall 4-start rating if not for the narrators voice

A better narrator

To read this book and to understand the characters you most read Intimate Deception where there is much explain about Hannah and her friends. This book gives a closer to her story and a happy ending for the horrid beginning she had to go through . Even though they did not group these books as series, they should so that you could get the background of the characters. The book is a story that shows that even when it seems bad, it can turn around to become good if we look for it and not to our own circumstance.