Audio Lovin': Audio Book Review of Reckless by Amanda Quick

Audio Lovin: Audio Book Review of Reckless by Amanda Quick
Performed by Anne Flosnik
Briilliance Audio Unabridged Version
11 Hours : 55 Minutes
Story – 3 Heart Review
Narrator – 5 Heart Review

At sixteen Phoebe Layton had imagined that Gabriel Banner was a brave and valiant knight, a noble-hearted hero born to rescue ladies in distress. Which was why, eight years later, when she desperately needed help to carry out a vital quest she could think of no one more suited to the job than Gabriel.

But when she lures her shining knight to a lonely midnight rendezvous, Phoebe finds herself sparring with a dangerously desirable man who is nothing like the hero of her dreams, and when he sweeps her into a torrid – and blatantly unchivalrous – embrace, she can’t help but fear that she’s made a dreadful mistake. It’s a kiss that will seal Phoebe’s fate. For now the exacting Earl of Wylde has a quest of his own: to possess the most intriguing, impulsive, outrageous female he has ever met…even if he has to slay a dragon to do it.

Right off the bat, I knew I was going to have fun with this audio book. The narrator (voice performer?) Anne Flosnik did excellent voices, and the hero and heroine had me wrapped around their little fingers very quickly.

This was audio book that had me literally smiling as I drove down the highway. First off, Anne does a wonderful job with the voices transporting you to the time period. What made me smile was that if ever there was an audio book made for a drinking game this is it and the narrator adds so much fun with her tone!

Just what do I mean? Well, without giving away any spoilers, I can tell you the hero and heroine are on a quest to find a book called the Lady and the Sorcerer. Now – take the word Sorcerer and make it Sore-soar-roar in a sing song voice and you have an instant drinking game! Mrs. Quick includes the title of the book so many times you’ll be drunk before you’re even past the first few chapters. It could have been insanely annoying, but again, the way the narrator says the line cracked me up every time.

My issues with this audio book didn’t involve the great narration. Instead, I was disappointed in the characters as the story moved forward. I adored the heroine Phoebe at the beginning of the story, but found myself falling out of love with her as the story progressed. Why? Because the author created such a smart, intelligent and witty woman in Phoebe and then made her seem to regress in intelligence and become more naïve as the story went on. Phoebe lost the wit and spunk she showed in the first few chapters and this made me lose interest in the story.

There were also a few parts of the story I felt didn’t feel right. Phoebe and Gabriel were smart and yet they only watch the front of a building when trying to catch a thief. Hello – everyone knows thieves don’t go in the front door! It felt like this part of the plot was forced and didn’t go well with what the characters would have thought to have done.

Gabriel was a hero readers will swoon over and Phoebe is great in the beginning. She’s still “her” at the end, but I just felt that the story didn’t hold up the promise of her character that was presented at the beginning. It’s like, LOOK – awesome strong historical female, and then she slowly loses her intelligence. I just shake my head as I write this because Phoebe rocked it at the start of the story.

I did get many chuckles – even beyond the drinking game phrases – and enjoyed listening to this historical romance. I will definitely be listening to more of Amanda Quick’s audio book and cannot say enough about how well Anne Flosnik did with the voices.