• Taken, Not Spurred

  • Lone Star Burn, Book 1
  • By: Ruth Cardello
  • Narrated by: Mary Kowal
  • Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (619 ratings)

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Taken, Not Spurred  By  cover art

Taken, Not Spurred

By: Ruth Cardello
Narrated by: Mary Kowal
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Publisher's summary

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ruth Cardello comes the steamy debut to the Lone Star Burn series.

Would-be writer Sarah Dery has just turned twenty-five and feels like her life is on hold. She’s done squat with her English degree and is just killing time working for her parents. So, when the opportunity to spend the summer working on a ranch in Texas comes her way, she jumps at the chance - figuring it might be just the jolt she needs to get her creative juices flowing.

Tony Carlton is a handsome and reclusive horse trainer with a tortured past and an eye for trouble, this time in the form of a naked blonde stranger he finds in his shower.

The wrong turn that led Sarah into the arms of this sexy, brooding cowboy turns out to be just what she needed to find her steamy inner voice, but will their connection be enough to break down Tony’s defenses?

©2014 Ruth Cardello (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

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What listeners say about Taken, Not Spurred

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    309
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    76
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  • 1 Stars
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Performance
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  • 4 Stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    271
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    168
  • 3 Stars
    71
  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too Much Verbal Porn

I really wanted to like this book but the constant explicit descriptions of bedroom stuff turned me off. I got the attraction between the main characters the first 15 minute description of what they wanted to do to each other, so more descriptions and no action was too much!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A bit too graphic for me...

Would you try another book from Ruth Cardello and/or Mary Kowal?

I liked the sense of humor but it just went over the edge of too graphic for me. Also for what I read of the book (about 1/2 way)... Tony was a real ass!

What didn’t you like about Mary Kowal’s performance?

The male voices, especially Dave...awful

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Sadness that Sarah allowed herself to be treated that way.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another good R. Cardello story; laughed out loud!

Would you listen to Taken, Not Spurred again? Why?

I thoroughly enjoyed it and chuckled out loud thru the majority of the book due to Sarah, the main character’s personality and the way a lot of her dialogue was from the point of her talking to herself in her head. It was a fantastic job as narrated by Mary Kowal & after listening to her, I can imagine I’ll hear her voice as I read the book which will enhance the reading of the book!

What aspect of Mary Kowal’s performance would you have changed?

As an audio, the male character’s voice as done by Mary Kowal kept me from fully enjoying the first half of the story until I got somewhat used to it; it felt forced & unnatural and although I thought about that less as the book went along, I couldn’t totally ignore it. If the males had been narrated by a man, I think I would have enjoyed them much more, but the story still was gripping & kept me going in spite of it & I enjoyed it overall.

Any additional comments?

This is my first time doing a review, but I enjoyed this book so much that I decided I needed to share my point of view. Sarah and Tony’s, the main male characters, seemed like the perfect ying/yang relationship. The story had a slightly unique twist and the main points that determined both of their characters emerged slowly as the story progressed which kept me guessing. I have read all of Ruth Cardell’s Legacy Collection & enjoyed them, so decided to try her new Lone Star series and am glad I did. I’m looking forward to book 2 in the series

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story

I enjoyed the book and the amazing love story portrayed. I was angry, sad, happy and cried because of the pain revealed and The intensity of the love shared.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Gi
  • 05-21-18

Love It!!!!

I really enjoyed listening and reading this book. It was really good from start to finish.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Taken, Not Spurred

I loved this story. The idea of both of them having deep scars and helping each other get past them and move forward was intriguing. The innocence of Sarah and the toughness of Tony made the story play out so well. However, The narrator choice was wrong for this book this person should have had a Texas accent and the voices for each character were just wrong.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

My Musings

While I did enjoy Sarah's character, I would have liked more depth to Tony's character. I had a difficult time liking him. I listened to the book so perhaps, what I found annoying would have been fine if I'd read only. I didn't care for the narrator either, so that could have played into it as well.

Ms. Cardello used a lot of internal thoughts for both the hero and heroine. At times, it was difficult to figure out whether it was dialogue or internal thought. Of course, that was probably more noticeable because I was listening instead of just reading.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the book and look forward to reading the next book in this series. I have already listened to Taken Home, book 3, and it was great. Happy reading!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Be warned that this is a high imagination fantasy.

Any additional comments?

I mean.. She goes to wrong ranch, jumps in shower, realizes "oops, wrong ranch" when a brooding cowboy catches her in his shower, and then just kinda stays for an undetermined amount of time and sexual 'research.'
Her brand of innocent batshit crazy was just the recipe to bulldoze this sexy cowboy's carefully constructed emotional fortress. Naked ping pong.. Okay;)

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One hot funny read that will keep you laughing

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

Yes and I more or less did.

Any additional comments?

It is not very often a story can bring a tear to my eyes, it is unheard of if a book can do this twice (this book did). I was on the fence on the rating until the author throws some twist in there that kept me laughing. My husband thought I was nuts as I listen to this audio and laughed out loud. Sarah is a hot mess as she works her way into Tony's life knocking him off his feet as she takes him by storm. You will be saying OH MY more than once in this book as the author takes you off on a tailspin in the first few pages. There were times I shook my head and covered my eyes as these two got into mess after mess. I did find things to do around the house so I could finish listening to it.

Sarah wants to write a romance but finds this is harder than she thought. She hasn't had the best lover nor was he romantic. She isn't happy working for her parents so when a friend said she could come stay with her in Texas she jumped at the chance. What could be more romantic than Texas and cowboys? When she gets there no one is home she decides to take a shower to get rid of the dust from her drive. This is where things gets very INTERESTING in a big way. She soon finds she has taken the wrong turn and is on the wrong ranch, just how many ranches in Texas have the same names.

Tony comes home and finds the shower running now who breaks in to take a shower humm. What he finds is one very naked sexy blonde lady that hasn't a clue she is on the wrong ranch. Things get complicated when he finds she has nowhere to go and he decided she can stay the night.

At first I really liked Sarah but thought she should have known when to just throw in the towel. I thought she was a little too much and to push as a lot of women are when it comes to men but she grew on me and I came to adore her. Tony well he is one hard nose man who doesn't want any woman they are good for only a few things and one of them is warming up his bed. I had mixed feeling for him until I heard his story at that time he owned my heart. They both have issues they must overcome before they can even deal with a meaningful relationship. There are trying times ahead for these two which will break your heart as you learn their story.

Melanie the housekeeper I adored from the start, I loved the way her mind worked and the pranks she pulls. By the end of this book I was so hoping she would get her story she sure is one spitfire. I was thrilled when I looked through this authors books and found she does and that I had already had the book in my library. When I check the audio I found I could get it for 1.99 I was all over that. This is a book I totally liked and there were not any characters that I didn't like. There really are some wonderful ones that I came to love and hope they get their own story.

Mary Kowal as a narrator I thought was good. I had some trouble getting into her male voices and at times it pulled me away from the story. As I got into the story I focus more on it and totally enjoy the listen. I thought her female voices were outstanding I just didn't care for her male ones. There are no background noised and you cannot tell she took any breaks. The tones of emotion are wonderful you are never left guessing to how or what each character feels. All in all I thought this was a very good audio and will give it a 4 stars I just cannot get over the male voices. That is the only trouble I had with this. I thought she brought the humor out on the story and she made me laugh. I most likely would listen to her again.

The author has written a wonderful story with a great plot giving us wonderful characters you can relate to. I truly enjoy each character as each play a big rule in bring the story together. I thought it was well written with emotion and the author gave lots of thought to the plot. The author pulled me in and didn't let me go. I do wonder if I would have enjoy this more reading it than listening to it but I believe it is a draw. I am thrilled to have gotten the audio for book two at a good price, I am so looking forward to listening to it.

Whether you listen or read this book I feel sure you will be laughing as I was in no time. I totally loved the humor and the passion these two have. They sure do burn up the town as they heat up your kindle. I am still chuckling at these two and the things they get caught doing. I am so looking forward to reading more of this series. If you are looking for a wonderful comedy which will keep you laughing I highly recommend you pick this up.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Way too erotic for me!

I just couldn’t finish the book! The narrator was very good, but too much sexual detail. Leaving some to the imagination works much better!

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