Terms of Surrender

De: Lorrie Farrelly

Narrado por: Keith Tracton

The War Between the States not only destroyed all Michael Cantrell loved, it left the young, former Confederate cavalry officer without faith or hope, a solitary, haunted man trying to escape his demons in the vast western frontier. Then, one spring day along the Wind River, he finds himself suddenly in the thick of another life-and-death struggle - Annie Devlin's war.

Desperate to hang on to her ranch and her life, waylaid by gunmen hired by a powerful rancher who covets her land, Annie and her young brother, Robbie, fight a furious, rapidly losing battle for their lives. When all seems lost, into the fray steps a cold-eyed, steel-nerved stranger - Michael Cantrell - who saves Annie and Robbie, but is himself grievously wounded.

With Annie's care, Michael recovers not only his strength but a portion of his embittered soul as well. Fighting his powerful feelings for her, convinced he has nothing to give, Michael determines to stay with the Devlins only long enough to ensure their safety against the treachery that would destroy them. Reluctantly, Michael, who for years has known only loss, allies himself with a stubborn, courageous young woman who will take his heart by storm and test the limit of his honor, his mettle - and his passion.

A finalist for the prestigious Orange Rose Award, Terms of Surrender takes the listener on a stirring adventure that is also a heartfelt, emotional journey.

©2010 Lorrie Farrelly (P)2012 Lorrie Farrelly

3 ½ stars. Good story. Kept my interest.

It was not run-of-the-mill like so many other romance stories. I’m happy the couple did not have a fight-breakup, which most romance authors do. And there was no stupidity and none of my other pet peeves.

A trope I do not like is someone being framed for a crime and then having a long drawn out helpless guy in jail or being on the run. In this story a bad guy was planning a frame. I was worried I wasn’t going to like it. But when it played out, it wasn’t bad. And it was short. I thought ok, that was a reasonable way to move the plot.

The main weakness was the sex scenes. A couple of them seemed too long and drawn out - especially the one traveling to and during the hot springs scene. My mind wandered.

There was one rape and one attempted rape. They might be ok for sensitive readers since they were not long or detailed.

There is a touch of paranormal with the ghost of Gavin talking to a couple characters. Gavin was Michael’s younger brother who was killed in a civil war battle.

ANOTHER REVIEWER:
Amazon reviewer Mountaineer said the following. “I felt the author reveals too much. I predicted *almost* every single bad thing that happened. She needs to keep her cards a little closer to her chest, instead of revealing everything the villains are up to, as the third-person POV switched from hero to heroine to villains.” I am guessing that Mountaineer likes mysteries and suspense, but not thrillers. The difference is: in thrillers we are in the bad guy’s head and watch him as he plans. In suspense we don’t know what’s coming. I enjoy thrillers - knowing what’s being planned and then wondering HOW the good guy will succeed. This book is done in the thriller style rather than the mystery suspense style. Different strokes (genres) for different folks.

THE SERIES:
This is book 1 in the series. You can read them as stand alones. But if you’re interested, I’d suggest reading them in order since the characters interact with each other. I liked all three.

Book 1 - Terms of Surrender - Annie and Michael
Book 2 - Terms of Engagement - Robert is Annie’s brother - he meets Tess
Book 3 - Terms of Temptation - Kinley is the daughter of Annie and Michael - she meets Bram

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Sadly I had problems with the narrator Keith Tracton. He had some good voices, but others not good. He sounded like an effeminate gay guy when speaking for women and children. Other male narrators do women and children without sounding that way. He should learn how to do it. Second, his voice for Michael was artificial - too low, gravely, and whisper like. I didn’t like it. If a guy is going to read a romance novel, I want him to have a sexy voice for my hero, or at least a normal guy voice. As for non-dialogue narration, he sounded robotic. Frank Mueller was a great narrator who read with a sense of wonder in his voice. I think Keith could learn from him. On the positive side, he was not as bad as some narrators whom I won’t listen to no matter how good the story. At least I was willing to listen to him.

Genre: western historical romance with a sliver of paranormal

Awesome, moving, post civil war romance

What made the experience of listening to Terms of Surrender the most enjoyable?

Mr Tracton, who read this story did a very good job. His expressions, accents and emotions help to make this audio experience as good as it was. He has a clear and easily understood voice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Michael the main male character was my favorite followed by Annie. Michael was a man who could have let the loss of his father, brothers, home, friends, land and even the Confederate' s loss destroy his true nature but he didn't. He went to Annie and Robbys aid without thought of what could happen to him or what he could get out of it. There's not enough truly honorable men in this world or in books so I was very pleased by his honor.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scenes were the ones involving Gavin. Especially when Michael and he were 'talking' while he was recovering from his shoulder injury. Then again he an Michael 'chatted' after he and Annie first made love. Later on when Gavin and Robby were discussing Robby going back to Michael and Annie.

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

Pride, persistence, honor and love will prevail.

Any additional comments?

This story and characters show true strength and love. The author was able to capture the values by which the two main characters lived their lives in spite of trials, violence around them and the prejudice of others. The book contains compassion, suspense, intrigue as well as love. The commitment they showed one another throughout the story strengthened the characters and stories theme. I look forward to reading more stories by this author.

Great period piece full of adventure and intrigue.

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

I would recommend this audiobook to a friend because I enjoyed the historical and natural settings and storyline.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Michael because he was very complex, with all of his past secrets and hurts that he was working through.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when the cavalry came to pick out the horses and Michael discovered an old friend.

The Wild West comes alive

The story of Annie and Michael was engaging and brought to life the real struggles of former soldiers following the Civil War. There was a diversity of characters and scenes to keep the story moving yet sufficient internal thoughts to understand the characters motivations.

The performance was okay. I disliked the narrator's manner when he was not reading dialogue-it was wooden and inflection less, in the manner of a child learning to read out loud. Many character voices were great, but the choice for Michael was puzzling as the gruffness was not called for in the text, and made his Southern accent unbelievable

Excellent Western Historical Romance!

Where does Terms of Surrender rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm fairly new to audiobooks, but have found that listening to a book is a great way to conquer my mountainous TBR pile that never seems to get smaller.

What did you like best about this story?

The author did a superb job of capturing the flavor of the era. The story was historically accurate, gritty, romantic, and full of suspense.

Which character – as performed by Keith Tracton – was your favorite?

I think Keith did an outstanding job with all the characters. Each character had a distinct voice. His portrayal of Michael is to be commended - not only did he have to voice the character with a southern drawl, but he also had to sing! Kudos to the narrator.

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

If I could have, I would have listened in one sitting. It sure made my time at work fly by!