Mine To Take by Jackie Ashenden

Narrated by Romy Nordlinger

Mine To Take introduces us to the members of the Nine Circles club, a group of incredibly rich individuals who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Their power, money, and influence give them the impression they’re above the law, and, in some respects, they are not wrong about that.

Gabriel Woolf is a man on a mission. It’s the one thing that’s kept him going since his mother’s death. He blames one man for the mess his mother’s life became, and Gabriel is determined to bring him down. The fact that this man is Gabriel’s father matters not at all.

Honor St. James has learned to hide her feelings. When her older brother disappeared into the streets of New York City, causing their mother to suffer something resembling a nervous breakdown, Honor learned everything rested on her young shoulders. Then, her mother remarried, and Honor was relieved of some of her responsibilities.

Now, Honor is doing everything she can to save her stepfather’s failing hotel chain. Not only does she want to save him, but Honor herself invested heavily in the venture. Its failure will bring about her own financial ruin.

Gabriel is overjoyed when he is offered the chance to invest in the chain of hotels. He’s now one step closer to bringing down his father. You’ve got it. Gabriel’s father and Honor’s stepfather are one and the same. Gabriel meets Honor and is instantly attracted to her. He comes up with countless excuses to spend time with her until he fears his feelings for her will ruin his plans completely. Can he really do what he’s always longed to do, even if it means hurting Honor in the process?

This was my first experience with narrator Romy Nordlinger. At first, I found her style quite off-putting. Her voice is a little on the husky side, but without the resonance I expected. I described her to a friend as having a “high yet raspy” sound, something that took me quite a while to get used to.

Once I settled into the story, I realized that Ms. Nordlinger’s unique sound was not necessarily a bad thing. She is able to create both male and female characters in a way that is totally believable. Her vocal range is quite wide, allowing each character to stand out from the rest.

I was quite taken with Ms. Nordlinger’s portrayal of the steamy scenes. She imbued them with a certain amount of grit, which worked incredibly well. Sex between Gabriel and Honor is rarely tender. Instead, it’s raw and wild. Ms. Nordlinger was able to make me feel the pain and longing our hero and heroine experienced.

I was a little disappointed with her British accent though. Zach, another member of Nine Circles, is from England, and, while I was always able to tell when he was speaking, Ms. Nordlinger’s British accent was far from authentic. It sounded forced, and there were even a few times when I laughed, even though the dialogue was not at all funny.

I enjoyed the time I spent getting to know Honor and Gabriel. The intrigue was quite well-done, and the romance was very believable. I was rooting for the HEA long before either Gabriel or Honor thought it was possible. They balance each other out so well. Ms. Ashenden has given us a fabulous start to what promises to be an exciting, action-packed and sensual series. And while Romy Nordlinger is far from my favorite narrator, her performance here was above average, and I can honestly say I hope she continues to narrate the series. I just hope she works on her British accent before Zach’s book is released.

Shannon

Narration:  B

Book Content:  A-

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Escalated fighting, domestic

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Mine to Take was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.