Sweet Talk: A Novel

Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna, Book 10

By: Julie Garwood

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

When FBI agent Grayson Kincaid first encounters Olivia MacKenzie, she makes quite an impression. The beautiful, tough young attorney has stumbled into the middle of an FBI sting operation and reduced it to chaos. Months of surveillance and careful planning down the drain, Kincaid’s partner is furious and lets Olivia know that she’s ticked off the wrong guy. After all, he’s FBI.

But Olivia isn’t intimidated by his partner’s bullying because she’s something even scarier...she’s IRS.

And working for the IRS is no picnic. She’s on the trail of an elaborate Ponzi scheme, one that threatens to ruin the lives of naive and unsuspecting victims, and one she has personal reasons to be angry about. But after she asks the wrong people questions, her life is suddenly endangered. She’s accustomed to looking out for others who are weak, but being vulnerable herself makes her realize she needs help. In desperation, she calls Grayson Kincaid.

Together they join forces to fight corruption, but Olivia is also fighting the immediate and intense attraction she feels for Agent Kincaid, and that may be a battle she is bound to lose.

©2012 Julie Garwood (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"As always, Ms. Garwood creates engaging characters who come alive page after page. The banter and interaction between Ellie and Max is beyond charming. Ellie is a spirited and strong heroine, and Max is charming in a stoic, gruff sort of way." ( New York Journal of Books on The Ideal Man)

"Julie Garwood creates masterpieces every time she writes a book. Indeed, she is the Rembrandt of romance novels." ( The Kansas City Star)

"Julie Garwood has become a trusted brand name in romantic fiction." ( People)

Good story

I love Julie Garwood. Been a big fan for years. I have read them all and listening makes it that much more enjoyable.

really good

I love Julie Garwood. Her stories have humor and mystery and romance. I don't usually listen to romances but these are full of spice.

Sweet and Poignant!

Olivia is a cancer survivor, who was treated shamelessly by her family, when she was a child. Therefore, her relationship with them is almost non existent. The sting operation that she inadvertently stumbled into has repercussions that are farther reaching than the FBI. Enter Grayson Kincaid, who is immediately taken with Olivia and her show of courage, and sets out to befriend her; in the course of things realizes someone is out to kill her.
This was a very entertaining story, and yes I do recommend it.

Angela Dawe did a fantastic job with her performance of the story.

A sweet introductory scene

While the preface wasn't believable, it was fun and I liked it. Chapter one was also worth several grins, although for me the narrator (who can, bless her heart, do humor) puts the emphasis in, for me, unlikely places. I find myself repeating the phrases to figure out why they didn't 'work'. But then, it wasn't distracting enough to make me stop listening.

If you've read Julie Garwood before, you know what to expect, and you'll get it in this book. It doesn't feel phoned in and, while I may not listen to it again any time soon, it wasn't a waste of time or money, either.

Horrible narration.....

Would you try another book from Julie Garwood and/or Angela Dawe?

Love Garwood.
Hate Dawe.

What did you like best about this story?

JG's books are always sweet and funny! Love the strong women and men and their quirky sense of humor.

Would you be willing to try another one of Angela Dawe’s performances?

Absolutely NOT. Will likely return this book because of the horrible narration. Every sentence was rushed/anxious. Ms. Garwood's books are sweet, fun, and sensitive. This narration did not portray any of those emotions. There was no difference in speed or inflection between warm romantic scenes and suspenseful angry scenes. On a scale of 0 to 10, for me she was below 0. Very disappointing.
From the first sentence, listening to Dawe was a trial. I will not listen to her again, even for a Julie Garwood book :'(

Better Read than listened to

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Another great story by Julie Garwood but the narrator annoyed the heck out of me. Her inflection was horrible most of the time. She needs to put more feeling into her performance because she takes away from a fantastic author's work.

What did you like best about this story?

Olivia's personality

How could the performance have been better?

Get another narrator

Did Sweet Talk: A Novel inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Luv, Luv Sweet Talk!

What did you love best about Sweet Talk: A Novel?

I loved all aspects of this story! The main characters, of course. I loved how Julie Garwood wove the plot & sub plots together.

What did you like best about this story?

Of course, the developing love between Grayson & Olivia! I read the complaints that Grayson is just a one or two dimensional character. Perhaps. But I saw him as complex: a tough FBI agent; a sweet, tender lover who was steadfast (yes, periods of absenteeism but working on her behalf even when she was not aware of that); an involved and caring Uncle; protector of those in his life; very supportive of Olivia's goals (her care for her friends, her goal towards her father, etc).

What about Angela Dawe’s performance did you like?

I have always been a fan of Angela Dawe. She does not have as great a range of voices for the characters as some narrator's have but you can tell character changes (if story is clear) and she injects a needed enthusiasm into the story that is necessary to keep interest.

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

Yes! And I will listen to this story again and again.

Any additional comments?

While it is true that this book follows the Garwood "format" for her books: strong hero, somewhat independent heroine, beautiful, beautiful, (and yes, often nauseatingly) beautiful H/h, nevertheless, she comes up with some good stories to go along with such. I would prefer there not be such an emphasis on physical attributes as, certainly, not The Most Beautiful & Endowed people can attain such a beautiful love. I ignore The Beautiful and ENJOY the story! Also, all the sex gets BORING after reading descriptions time after time. I would love this book without the sex. I am quite capable of figuring out what is happening without being treated like sex starved teenager. After having said that, this is my favorite book that Garwood has written although I LOVED the Buchanan stories and wish she would do more.

hard listen

The narrator's voice is aggressive and annoying. She sounds like she's in agony and trying to keep from screaming.

loved it great story and narrative loved the narra

loved it! kept me interested great story and narrator I have read them all and probably will reread

Is this narrator a computer?

The story is good, but the narrator sounds computer generated. Ruined the story. A natural phrase has a crescendo to the middle, then a decresendo to the of the sentence. This narration ends just about every phrase on a question or a crescendo. Who talks like this?