The Romantic Ruse

By: Barbara Goss

Narrated by: Ann M. Thompson

Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Amazon Best Seller in April 2016.

Desperate circumstances called for bold action. Lily couldn't resist the invitation to masquerade as her friend Emma to escape an undesired courtship. Her ruse backfires when she falls in love with Emma's intended. How could she possibly tell him her real identity? This deceit has also put her life in danger. Gus finds her working in a saloon and turns his back on her. Now her main objective is to win him back - no matter what it takes. A sizzling clean romance.

©2015 Barbara Goss (P)2017 Barbara Goss

Trust and Love, Lies and Deciet

Lies, deceit, being forced to do what she did not want nor should not have to do. Losing, trust, love, and confidence in the one person he thought he could count on. . . toss in a kidnapping, a saloon, and a merry race and you have one great action packed love story!

Barb tells another great story! I love the way Barb weaves her western stories and how she takes her readers through the lives of imperfect people who discover who they are while holding on to their faith and working through their problems. This one does not disappoint!

For me, Ann M. Thompson's performance was okay. Her character voices were good, but I personally had problems with the choppiness of some of the narration. I could very well be me though.


This audio book was given to me for an honest review.

Great story

There are so many twists and turns in this book but it is very easy to follow.
Lily 'borrows' a ticket and leaves home under a cloud to meet up with her sister-in-law, Emma's potential mail order husband. She masquerades as Emma and this is where the fun begins.
The story is full of potential danger, 2 kidnappings, new and old friendships, family ties, adventure and the building of trust and love between two very special people.
I loved the way my attention was held throughout and would have been totally happy to have the story continue, but all good things must come to an end I guess and thank goodness there are more books by this author that I can still read or listen to.
The narration of the audiobook version by Ann M. Thompson was interesting. I think she has a good voice but doesn't always use it to her full acting potential, however, it was adequate as a read story.
The audiobook version was provided by the author at no cost and this is my honest and unbiased review.

Good, clean fun

I loved the story of Gus and Lily. They had a lot of ups and downs but they put God first and made it through. Lily decided to take a train ticket and pretended to be her sister in law Emma to run from her arranged marriage. Emma was writing Gus and decided to marry Lily's brother. Lots of suspense and drama. I was given a copy through ARC for an honest review. I highly recommend.

Good

Good clean western series, as all of the series by the author are, to enjoy. The narration by Ann added to the story and enjoyment.given audio for my voluntary review

Twists, turns, keeps you guessing.

I listened to this one on audio. I thought it started out iffy because of the narrator, but then it was fine. The story was great! I loved the twists, turns and unexpected events happening in this book. I Loved this book. This is one of those books I will read again in a year or so again.

Clean Western

4/5 The Romantic Ruse by Barbara Goss Narrated by Ann M. Thompson Summary: Lily Brewer flees an unwanted courtship by using a train ticket intended for her friend, Emma. Before she can come clean to Gus about the deception, she’s kidnapped. Additional Comments: - The romance in the story is of the instant variety. - The villain’s pretty clear-cut. - I had a little trouble figuring out the sibling and married pairs in here. (Emma and James; Lily and Charles) Emma is Lily’s friend and Charles’s wife. - Barbara Goss usually has happy endings as dictated by the romance genre, but these two had a bit of a rougher journey to get there than most. - It’s almost a comedy of errors with the missed near chances and sheer number of misunderstandings. I confess to doing a fair amount of yelling at these characters. (Get it together and talk it out, people. No, don’t tell her that, you moron. That’s the worst advice you could possibly give her.) I suppose that makes them more realistic as well as infuriating. - Ann M. Thompson’s performance was fine. Conclusion: If you like slightly clueless but nevertheless lovable characters and clean western romance, give it a go. *I received this book for free. I voluntarily chose to review it.

Switching places

Oh what a tangled web we weave when the truth is held back! One of my favorite of Barbara's stories (yes I say that about all of them!) . Lily and Emma were the best of friends and Emma had been corresponding with a man out West to become his mail order bride. But her old love came back and they married. She asked Llly to post Gus a letter she had written to let him know she had to break it off. Lily's father was determined to marry her off to a man that would help him with his business and she saw her way to escape when she read the letter Emma had written and that it held a train ticket in the envelope. Lily goes to meet Gus and pretend she is Emma, but things go pretty quickly and they are both attracted to each other. How will she tell him? Wow what an excellent narration by Ann Thompson who was perfect for this story. Then the journey the two take to try to find their happy ever after. Some good advice and Bible passages that bring this one all together!! Perfect!

Romantic Ruse

Lily needed a way out of the relationship her father forced her into, so used a train ticket intended for her friend Emma to go out west as a mail order bride. That was the start of many adventures including mistaken identity, kidnappings, working in a saloon and more. It also set the chain of events in place for Lily to experience forgiveness, unconditional love and ultimately the love of God. Good, clean and enjoyable romance. Narration was well done and easy to listen to. I was voluntarily provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Perils of Pauline?

[AUDIO] The somewhat overly bouncy vocalizations of the first chapter quickly smooth down and even out as the plot and characters take charge of the action in this clean, sweet, Christian Western Romance. We have some wild goings on, mistaken identity and multiple happy endings in this delightful novella.

DISCLAIMER: “I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.” Actually, I selected and requested this particular title because it sounded like fun--and it was!

Fun Western Romance

Any additional comments?

Lily has no interest in an arranged marriage and flees, pretending to be her friend Emma. When she falls for Gus, Emma's intended, the deceit backfires in grand fashion. Let the fun begin!

Fast-paced and loaded with adventure, The Romantic Ruse is sure to please. Filled with twists and turns, this was such a fun listen! Gus and Lily's road to love was definitely a bumpy one, fraught with peril and distrust. Oh, the things we do for love. The narration was very good and enhanced my listening experience. The Romantic Ruse was a pleasure to listen to and I would recommend it.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator. This review is my honest opinion.