Well Written and Entertaining, but Old Story Llne

Stand alone, the book was good and the performance excellent but I'm finding the books in this series all have the same basic story line. There are enough differences that it was still entertaining but there were no surprises. I may not have noticed had I listened to them months apart (as they were written) but I bought and listened to them back to back.

I did not give the book a 5 star rating because the herioine did not show as much pluck as she portrayed in the preceding book and there was not much of Sand's usual prevailing humor.

Sands writes sex scenes well and has a tendency to over do erotica in her romance novels, as do many authors. This book had too much discriptive sex so I fast forwarded a lot. I kind of figure one or two good sex scenes, with more implied sex than detail is better than hours/pages of steamy sex. In my opinion, once the intial sexual rapport is achieved, repeated drawnout sex scenes are fillers and indicate lazy writing.

All said and done, I recommend this as a good read.

9 people found this helpful

idiotic.waste of time

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This was a story that was full of irrelevant details that caused it to be slow moving. I was actually expecting the author to provide details on how to walk..I put my right foot ahead of me , then I put the left foot, then I put the right foot again..etc.
There was the scene on how to have a bath, wash your hair first, then your body, so the water is clean enough to rinse your hair....bathing 101 is not what makes for a romance.
The heroine Sade, is shot with an arrow and there is a discussion regarding what type of arrow she was shot with and the process, pull it out or push it through...yes, this was an actual discussion that took 6 minutes.
This book was a series of sex scenes with filler in between.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Nothing from this author

What aspect of Penelope Nederhorst’s performance would you have changed?

Not much. She was good, but some of the male voices sounded the same, so it was a little difficult keeping track of who was speaking.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

All of the above and a bit of revulsion. There is a scene where the heroine is shot with an arrow in the breast. This allows the author to have her dress cut away from the area so that a 9 year old boy can see her breast. At the same time her 7 brothers ( as 2 or 3 just aren't enough for this farce) can also view her naked breast. While she is bleeding the brothers discuss how she has "filled out" and that she has a good figure. If the author wants to add this creepy scene in a romance, then I will not be listening to any further books from her. This scene made my skin crawl. I really have to question some of the reviewers that indicated it was a wonderful book.

Any additional comments?

This book was a farce and just a lot of filler. I wasted a credit on it.
The author uses a classic fable, " the scorpion and the frog", 3 times which takes up a lot of time. There is also an apple dessert that gets a lot of mention, but I tried to find out what it was, but could not. I hate when an author uses such an obscure reference so the reader has no idea of what the importance of the detail is to the story.
I am so angry at the reviewers that gave this awful book such good comments and a high rating. It is not worth the time. I guess it was better to use a credit instead of paying the purchase price, and that's the best thing I can say about this book!

9 people found this helpful

This was really good

This wasn't just a romance it was a murder mystery also. This was a really good listen well worth the credit.

4 people found this helpful

Can I give more than 5 ⭐'s please?

I always enjoy Lynsay Sands. However THIS one was exceptional! The characters are so well crafted as individuals that I not only felt as if I know them but it was as if they leapt off the page at me (or out of the earphones as it were). And I rarely get stumped by " whodunit" stories but this one kept me guessing and enjoying it!
Yes this was one incredibly well developed, expertly written, remarkably enjoyable and totally captivating tale!

NARRATOR : Another hit! There is not a single thing to be improved upon in this extremely skilled performance!

CREDITWORTHY ? Oh Yes! Without a doubt! if you want a not typical medieval scottish historical romance full of all the brawny highlanders you could ask for and a HEA, then this is it!

HEAT FACTOR: Ouch! Definitely a scorcher!!

***review edit: third listen and still love it!

3 people found this helpful

the book is awful.

the book is awful. you can not understand a word she is saying. worst ever

1 person found this helpful

Loved this story!

Lyndsay Sands has written some of my favorite historical romance and I truly enjoyed this one! The heroine is a rather ‘unladylike ‘ young woman, raised along with her 7 brothers as one of the bunch. She unexpectedly witnessed something earlier that has her puzzled, as her cousin involved in the first incident has now buried 4 husbands in 4 years. Wanting to get down to the truth, she decides to go visit her newly widowed cousin. There she meets and is greatly attracted to the new Laird, a former mercenary sword for hire. He’s equally besotted with this unusual woman and pursued her pretty much from day one of her visit. Then things start happening to her, which brings her brothers to come there. Overall it’s a good mystery/romance that keeps your attention. Narration was very well done with narrator having great accent!

1 person found this helpful

Good story and plot

Liked Penelope Nederhorst narration.
Though not her best still Ms Sands did pretty good.
Good story, good plot that kept me jumping from one suspect to the other.
Love how the h was thought to defend herself by all of her brothers. Loved the banter between the H, h and the brothers.
Though a bit long at times it's a good fun listen.

1 person found this helpful

A Bit disappointing

I like this authors blend of humour and strong female characters. However this story seemed rushed. And the characters lacked the depth Ms Sands normally provides.

1 person found this helpful

True Scott

Love the story, love the narration. Pretty factual with wording and phrases. Love the thick Scottish Brough!

Love and murder

Good combo, I enjoyed this book a lot. Mystery too, who doesn’t love some mystery and intrigue, I know I do. Narrater was excellent with a soothing voice and accent.