Thirty and a Half Excuses

By: Denise Grover Swank

Narrated by: Frances Fuller

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Life in Henryetta, Arkansas is turned upside down with the arrival of a televangelist, but it's the death of a little old lady on Rose's street that catches her attention. The Henryetta police deem her death natural causes, but Rose suspects foul play and so does an unlikely supporter - the president of the Busy Body Club, her eighty-two year old neighbor Mildred.

But Rose is in the middle of opening her nursery with her sister Violet, who's separated from her husband Mike, as well as stalling her boyfriend Joe's family, rich socialites who are determined to meet her. Along with her multiple encounters with Fenton County's new assistant DA, Mason Deveraux III, it's just another day in the life of Rose Gardner -chaos.

©2013 Denise Swank (P)2014 Denise Swank

Questionable pronunciations by the narrator.

What made the experience of listening to Thirty and a Half Excuses the most enjoyable?

I enjoy this series very much. It is fun and keeps me interested.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the fact that Rose is learning to be strong, independent, and empowered.

How could the performance have been better?

I have not read the written versions of the first three books in this series, so I am not sure if the narrator mispronounces numerous words or if the books are written in this manner. By the third book, I started writing down some of the mistakes:"Besirch" instead of besmirch "Seniortitis" instead of senior-itis, "Conscious" instead of conscientious, and "Tenively" instead of tentatively. These words are a very small representation of what I believe are errors by the narrator in all three books that I have listened to in this series. The narrator pauses inappropriately and reads awkwardly. However, I like her voices for the different characters and her accents.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The Series is Beginning to Lose Me

Enjoyed books 1 and 2 but the whining and "I love yous" are beginning to fray my nerves. I suppose it's all part of the main character's maturity but the plot seemed to drag because of it. I'm going to hang in for one more book because I'm invested in whether this girl can develop more backbone...come to think of it that may have been the author's design all along.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

good

I'm officially addicted to this series. :-) I love the narrator, she does a great job

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love this Rose Gardner series...

This a very entertaining series. I'm on book 3 and I'm thoroughly enjoying the ride. I think Frances Fuller is a good fit as narrator, however, she does mispronounce quite a number of words which I do find bothersome.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Bored with this Narrator

Glad to see this is the last book in the series with this narrator, which is the only reason I've powered through. I like the overall story, but find myself bored by the narrator's performance.

OMG

My heart just broke!! never have I cried so hard reading a book! I have not been disappointed at all in this series. I am now gonna eat a gallon of ice cream because that's what you do when you have a broken heart lop.

okay

This one truly surprised me and left me speechless at the end. Sometimes long-winded and others were simply boring. Has not deterred me off the series.

Good series

Really like this series. I listen to them and the reader really creates a picture of Rose and the other characters with her voice.

Entertaining and light

This is a nice little story to listen to when driving. You don't have to pay full attention to it. It's an OK story was somewhat interesting characters. It is a bit sappy. We may go on to the next one because of the ease of listening and the delightful narrator with a country drawl that adds charm to the storyline.

disappointed, but want to see what happens.

This relatively low rating is almost entirely because of the end of the book.....so spoiler alert.

since book 2, Joe has been a little controlling and difficult, and it's like she is scared to share anything about her life with him. this makes sense as she obviously couldn't find the love of her life immediately after learning to stand up for herself, and Joe was good for that. I just expected her to realize that this was an issue and end things with Joe because of it. no dice. instead she begs him to stay and it's his evil parents that become the reason for the breakup. I expected better from our blossoming Rose.

otherwise, the story was engaging as always, and I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book. :)