Narrated by Laural Merlington
I remember reading this soap opera Western years ago and enjoying it. Some things shouldn’t be relived, and I think this is one of those. Published in 1987, Sweet Wind, Wild Wind is a good example of that 1980s formulaic series. Albeit formulaic, it reminded me of a more intense Diana Palmer. It is also well narrated by Laurel Merlington, so pick it up if you’re in the mood for that.
Lara Chandler has returned to her Montana childhood home to document the history of the Rocking B Ranch for her thesis. Carson Blackridge has just inherited the Rocking B upon the death of his adoptive father, who also happens to be Lara’s biological father. She’s been lured home by Carson, who is determined to win Lara back after rejecting her innocent offering years ago.
Four years ago, Carson pursued Lara for his own revenge plot. Realizing he was unfairly blaming her for things that were not her fault, he bolted, inadvertently breaking and freezing her heart. This time around Carson wants Lara to be his wife. While the reader is not made privy to the exact reasons, one can form a pretty good guess early on what Carson’s “big secret” is.
Laural Merlington creates an enjoyable listening experience. Her enunciation is clear, her pacing just right. The prose tends towards flowery descriptions of the scenery; Ms. Merlington’s narration actually brought some of that scenery to life, and I found myself visualizing the horses amid the Montana backdrop. The heroine Lara’s impassioned and romanticized view of history as an academic discipline was a bit too much, and here I cringed listening.
Ms. Merlington also distinguishes between the multiple cowboys, using more gravel or a hoarse voice to conjure the elderly cowboys from the younger ones.
Overall this is a good audiobook of the genre narrated by an above average narrator.
Megan
Narration: B-
Book Content: C
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: None
Genre: Contemporary (vintage) romance
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Sweet Wind, Wild Wind was provided to AudioGals by Dreamscape Media for a review.
I wish I could get into Laurel Merlington’s voice and narrative style, but I just can’t. This one will be a pass for me since the narrator isn’t good enough for me to ignore the content rating of C