Catch up with the characters from the Just series

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I am a HUGE fan of the Escape to New Zealand series, Rosalind James and Claire Bocking as a narrator. I feel this reunion book is a thank you note to her fans and Claire did a great job with all the different voices. The All Blacks- old and new- are on December holiday and we catch up with old friends while they prepare for the wedding of Josie and Hugh from Just Not Mine.

At the center of the action are Hannah and Drew (Just This Once Book #1) who are expecting their third child any day. One of the most touching chapters includes Drew urging Hannah, with the help of his extended rugby family, to accept help with the household duties especially when she returns to work. The characters comments are engaging, and somewhat poignant.
Many of the wives are expecting and we get a glimpse of how things started and have continued for many of the character. This is where it became a bit cumbersome for me. There are eight players, their partners and seventeen kids. I know the series well, but although Claire does a great job with the voices, I found myself thinking, 'Whose kid was that?' Or, 'Wait, how were Ally and Nate connected to Drew and Hannah?'

There are steamy scenes with buff men in new places and with pregnant bellies involved. Some of the discourse is about making your pregnant woman feel special. James did a nice job of describing a man's love (and lust) for his pregnant wife. Thank you for that Ms. Rosalind.

It is a trip down memory lane for Hannah and Drew and I highly recommend it for lovers of the series. If you haven't heard the first books I would not recommend you start with this one. Save it, do the others first and then crack this one open.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

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8 people found this helpful

Catch up with the Escape to New Zealand families!

First off, this book could possibly be listened to by itself BUT the reader would probably feel like they're not completely "in" on everything since it involves history laid in the 1st six books. If a story based around rugby, more specifically the provincial,super and All Blacks teams interests you, this could be the series for you to explore. Now having said that AND having read the other books . . . it was good to "b" able to Escape to New Zealand once again. The play on the "b" is because of the background, believability, babies/pregnancies, brotherhood, bonding, beaches, bedrooms, backseats, and beginnings. It was fantastic to have details of situations from past books be filled in to really round out the stories. The book also makes the characters even more endearing because their insecurities and feelings of being "less than perfect" are revealed and dealt with in a very realistic manner. Pregnancy and babies are handled in a broad spectrum--from the issue of not being able to have biological children to should we have more to holy smokes, what have we really done & how are we going to manage another child? The interweaving of the lives of fictitious past and present All Blacks gives possible insight into the issues they might really have to deal with. The book helps to forge new bonds and strengthen old ones. Obviously the beach is going to factor into a book that is set in New Zealand in December--both in the bonding and "steamy" factor. Speaking of steamy . . . in addition to the beach, there's also bedroom and backseat happenings as well. As for the beginnings--so many to witness. From a wedding to a newly engaged couple to the growth of families. Can't wait to see how these evolve in future Escape to New Zealand installments!

As for the narration, I have to say that Claire Bocking really brought great stories to life once more and has reached a new level of phenomenal for several reasons. Her Kiwi accent is spot on and she seamlessly switches from narrator mode (her own voice) to Kiwi characters (including Paheka and Maori) to American characters. Not only that, she does a marvelous job of giving close to 20 individual characters their own voice and you can clearly tell who's "talking" even with out the prompting text/bits. We're talking a range from toddlers to young children to older children to teens to young adults to older adults. Once again, she emotes the narration and character speech with sincerity and believability. I found myself laughing, sighing, groaning and even crying because of the emotion she brings to the story. I just can't imagine anyone else doing the narration for this series of books and being so successful at it.

Now for the legal bit . . .I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own. If you look at my reviews here, one Amazon and Good Reads you will find that I don't always leave a 5 star review. BTW--I would have gladly purchased this audio book with my own funds/credits.

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5 people found this helpful

AMAZING!!!

Absolutely AMAZING!!! I LOVED this book! The first book in the series and now this book are officially my faves! It is so amazing that all the characters were brought together and we see them progressing in life, love, and everything else. Definitely the change up the series needed! THANK YOU ROSALIND! Please never stop writing escape to New Zealand books. You're amazing and the narration is stunning as well! Seriously if Claire does all of the voices on her own I'm incredibly impressed. Each character has their own special voice and the male characters and accents are spot on and don't sound like a female pretending to be a male. Love, love, love. There is not one negative thing I could imagine to say about this book. I am anxious to listen to the next one!!

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3 people found this helpful

Romance is for Remembering

What made the experience of listening to Just Once More the most enjoyable?

Between the wonderful story about characters met in previous rugby romance books by Rosalind James and the amazing voice of Claire Bocking, this was a wonderful experience.

What did you like best about this story?

Romance is remembering is what the character, Reka, says at one point in the story and nothing is truer about this book. It brings together all the characters from Ms. James romance rugby series, Escape to New Zealand, from Drew and Hannah to Hugh and Josie. At times funny, heartwarming, steamy, and downright teary, it is a wonderful story.

What about Claire Bocking’s performance did you like?

Claire Bocking is amazing . She somehow brings every character to life, whether male or female or young or old, they all come alive with her performance. She makes it seem as though you are right in the midst of their lives. You can feel the emotion and experience the moments.

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

I think it would be what the character Reka says, that romance is remembering. Because Ms James not only brings us up to date in the character's lives, she also helps us remember what brought them together and the depth of their ongoing love.

Any additional comments?

I would definitely commend this Audible book to everyone. It is an uplifting, enjoyable read. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

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3 people found this helpful

Full Circle - Back to Drew and Hannah

In life, some things come full circle. Rosalind James’ Just Once More brings her Escape to New Zealand series full circle, back to Drew and Hannah. This story catches up with all of our favorites as they visit and prepare for a wedding. So much fun! With lots of love, babies and memories, this is the author’s vision of what comes after “The End”.

Claire Bocking does an extraordinary job as the narrator for this work. She manages all of the voices and all of the accents seemingly with ease, and her portrayal of Hannah in labor is wonderful. I read the story a while back, but hearing the story from Claire brought so many details to life! I also really enjoyed the cast of characters read by the narrator at the end of the story. You might want to listen to it first, since she tells you who everyone is, what story they were from, their ages and relationships to the other characters. If you haven’t listened to this series, you should! Then, come back and visit everyone again in Just Once More.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own. AND, I would give this book a positive review even if I had paid full price for it! Love this author and narrator, love this series!

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3 people found this helpful

Loved it! New Zealand update and great narration!

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This was the best pairing yet! I loved the update on all the characters from the Escape to New Zealand series. I think this was Claire's best narration out of all that I've listened to so far. The character intonation was all spot on! I loved Finn's voicing. Can't wait to hear the next of Rosalind James' work voiced by Claire!

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Rugby romance at its finest!

What did you love best about Just Once More?

This is by far my favorite Escape to New Zealand book. I love revisiting all of the characters from previous books. It may seem a little busy at some points but hey that's normal life and if you read all the previous books you will have no trouble keeping up.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Hearing Drew trying to convince Hannah he still wants her just as he always has brought tears to my eyes. I will admit I cried at a few different points during the book.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

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2 people found this helpful

Awesome Rugby Romance.

Well it was great to catch up with all our escape to New Zealand friends and go back to the places Rosalind describes so well, and so good to hear Claire do her thing with the male/female voices.
Can't say this will go down as one of my favourites, there was so much going on, although it still had my attention from the beginning, like all of Rosalind's books do.
The glimpses into the lives of our past leading characters was heart warming and sometimes steamy, (I just love Kate and Koti). Koti's car seeing plenty of action in this book, in more ways than one.
Drew and Hannah, Hemi and Reka and Kate and Koti were my favourite catch ups this time and I'm Looking forward to a new leading couple in the next book.
"I received a free copy of
this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my
review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion
expressed here is my own."
Cheers Michelle in Australia.

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2 people found this helpful

What a re-union

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Such a huge fan of Rosalind James "Escape To New Zealand" series. Ahhhh, what more could you ask for. New Zealand setting, Rugby, Romance= Rugby Romance. First off, I do recommend that you read/or listen to her other books in order. It will all make perfect sense if you do. They are all great and I love them all. It's impossible for me to even try to choose which one is my favorite.

This is a true re-union book that brings all the previous couples back together. We get updates on relationships, marriages, families, etc. The Escape to New Zealand journey begins with Drew and Hannah, so it fitting that everything comes full circle, and ends with them. They are one of the main couples in this story. Don't get me wrong, all of our other favorite couples are in this story as well. It's great to see where each couple are in their lives, what they are doing now, and about their families. They all come back for the wedding of Josie and Hugh, and we find Hannah about to give birth to her 3rd child at any time. This book had me snickering, smiling, left me feeling tense and emotional at times.Great characters, Great series! Very addictive! Warning: There are some steamy parts in this book, but shoot, who couldn't stand a little steam in their lives.

I have to say that Claire Bocking is truly an amazing narrator! There are so many characters in this book and she gives each character their own distinctive voice.The accents are superb. She brings these stories to life. I can hardly wait to hear her put her magic touch to these books. I don't know how she does it, but I'm so glad she does.

* I received a free copy of this audio-book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

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2 people found this helpful

A Lovely Visit with Old Friends

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Just Once More is a "can't miss" for fans of the "Escape to New Zealand" rugby romance series by Rosalind James. For the most part, Just Once More is a reunion novella that takes place shortly after the end of the last book, giving the reader a glimpse of where life has taken the primary characters from the first six books. Most of the action takes place in the days immediately preceding the wedding of Josie Pae Ata and Hugh Latimer, the reason the couples have reunited. There are also a few flashback scenes and shared tales which fill out some of the details in different couples' stories. As always, there is a good amount of spice. Though the book touches base with all the couples from the previous books, the primary focus in this book is back on Drew and Hannah Callahan, who were featured in the very first book, Just This Once. 

Visiting with "old friends" can be very enjoyable and this is the case with this novella, which is roughly half the length of the other books. Because of the shorter length and the more widespread focus, the book lacks some of the emotional depth that is so integral to the other books. That said, this book is a lot of fun; I enjoyed listening to it and seeing where life had taken all the characters. 

The narration by Claire Bocking is excellent. She has clear and identifiable voices for each character which makes the book a more enjoyable "read."

I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.  I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own. 

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2 people found this helpful