Somerset

By: Leila Meacham

Narrated by: Teresa DeBerry

Length: 22 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

One hundred fifty years of Roses' Tolivers, Warwicks, and DuMonts! We begin in the antebellum South on Plantation Alley in South Carolina, where Silas Toliver, deprived of his inheritance, joins up with his best friend Jeremy Warwick to plan a wagon train expedition to the "black waxy" promise of a new territory called Texas. Slavery, westward expansion, abolition, the Civil War, love, marriage, friendship, tragedy and triumph-all the ingredients (and much more) that made so many love Roses so much-are here in abundance.

©2014 Leila Meacham (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Meacham sets her tale against the backdrop of historical upheavals, even the Civil War takes a backseat to the Tolivers’ domestic dramas full of intrigue and tragedy." ( Booklist)

A Prequel done RIGHT!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The book, yes. The audio version, mmm, not so much. The narrator was the only drawback to an otherwise AMAZING book.

What did you like best about this story?

It takes the time to cover 4 generations and develops the characters so that you get a very clear understanding of the story. Loved how it touched on everything from slavery to the civil war to Texas history, and wove in tangled up stories of love and loss and life. VERY well written.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator made the characters speak S-L-O-W-L-Y, as in made the southern "drawl" into something painful. All female voices were (annoyingly) high-pitched and whiny, and all the men gruff and raspy. I would have enjoyed it much more if it was read conversationally and each character was given their own "voice". And I think the southern accent could have been achieved without making them sound, well, slow.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I REALLY wish someone would make this into a movie!!! I thought that the whole time I was listening. I don't know how to summarize it into one line. Except that if it was done right, it would be long. As in Lonesome Dove long!

Performance Trouble

The southern accent used by the narrator for some of the characters was cringe worthy. It was so bad the story suffered. I endured it to the end but I will be sure to avoid Teresa DeBerry’s work in the future.

Great story, terrible narration

Loved Roses and this is a great prequel! Had a real problem listening to it however. The narrator's accent is terrible but it is manageable when she is reading the male characters. When it comes to the female characters though, she speaks very slowly and uses a very high pitched voice. It makes all the female characters sound like they don't have an intelligent brain cell in their head. It is painful! I tried speeding it up and that is better, but decided the best way to enjoy this book was to just read it!

Historical fiction

Takes place mainly in Texas during the westward expansion period and covers slavery, Civil War, and other historical events and how they effect this family.

Epic story is a prequel to the author’s Roses.

at least it wasn't steamy!

I look for long historic fiction, which I thought this was. it was more of a romance, but not terrible - except for the narrator, who sounded like a shaky old woman.

Boring book, affected performance

I don't know when I bought this but I wish I hadn't . the performance is very affected and the story has no redeeming quality.

Elegant beauty

The book was fantastic from start to finish. The readers were phenomenal, and it really brought you back in time highly recommend.

A favorite book!

I have read this and now listened to it and it remains one of my favorite books! Leila Machen is a very talented writer and I enjoy her stories!

Tragic story

The book is well-written and engaging. The narrator is wonderful. I bought it because it was so highly recommended and a friend loved it as well. I love historical fiction - especially a series! However, I just couldn’t take the heartbreaking tragedies that befell the families over and over again. I stopped listening with 2 hours remaining. It’s a good story, but I guess I was looking for an escape from real life tragedies and didn’t get it from this one.

Outstanding

I just finished this with tears in my eyes and so grateful I have Roses to listen to next. Beautifully written. The reader was perfect.