Dragon Rose

Just Riveting!

Any additional comments?

This is my first adventure with author Christine Pope. Dragon Rose is written in first person which is a difficult voice to write. Valerie Gilbert, as narrator, was a great choice for she truly conveyed the emotional upheaval Rhianne experienced when she chose to take the place of her best friend and marry Theran Blackmoor, the dragon of Black’s Keep. Ms. Gilbert is the reason I picked this book to listen to in the first place. She has a great presence and entirely engulfed me in the author’s world.

Rhianne was unique. She had two gifts. As a ‘seerer’ she was haunted with dreams, difficult to forget. She also had a love of nature and the ability to paint, something she learned from an elderly painter and an occupation she should not follow. With this skill she worked through her dreams and fell in love with her painting of the man in her dreams. Little did she know how important this skill would be for her very life!

This tale reminds me of Beauty and the Beast. A mage spell kept Theran in dragon form. He was obliged to marry young girls from the nearby village – if he didn’t the curse would manifest itself by destroying more lives. Theran was reduced to marrying even though he knew the fate of these young women. 500 years of marrying and still the curse continued. Would there be no end? Could Rhianne save her dragon whom she’d come to love? Could she save herself?

Plenty of suspense and danger. The story was riveting, yet very much a fairy tale. I’m thoroughly delighted to find another author who writes fantasy with romance inclinations. And writes so well! Recommended highly for those who love fairy tale plots with just enough twist to keep the reader guessing.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Beautiful writing, sloooooow story

Absolutely beautiful writing, but the slow pacing of the story coupled with the even slower pacing of the narration lends itself better to reading than to an audiobook. There is a very gradual buildup of suspense, which suddenly gives way to the highly predictable happy end, leaving me feeling a bit cheated.i would recommend the book for lovers of atmospheric, light gothic romances, but don't expect any big surprises or twists and turns.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great Story and Good performance

The story was excellent. I loved every minute of it.

I thought the voice actress did an amazing job. However there was a brief time when background noises could be heard and the voice was not edited. Other than that it was really good.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Beauty and the Beast

An engaging story that I enjoyed. The narrator did a good job, my only complaint was her inability to keep a consistent volume. Part of the story was spoken in a low mutter that was hard to understand and required frequent adjustments as she seemed to whisper, then speak in a normal voice which was too loud at the current volume.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sounds like Ms. Gilbert is reading through a can.

This is a very entertaining Beauty and the Beast Story but I am sooo distracted by the low recording quality as it sounds like it is read through a can. Ms. Gilbert also has a very mature voice that does not fit a young lady of 19.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Dragon Rose

The story is sort of like a fairytale. It reminded me of a retelling of beauty and the beast. Rhianne steps in for her best friend who is chosen to be the next dragon bride. She has no clue what she’s getting into but only that a new bride is selected every few years. The tale is filled with mystery. The thing I did not like was that all of the brides secrets were held until the end. (Of course it was part of the curse and was not allowed to be discussed). Overall I really enjoyed the story and listened to most of it with my teenage daughter who loved it as well. Nice job on the narration.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The editing was amateurish but the rest was top notch.

As far as fantasy romance novels go, I really liked this one. It uses the same romance formula other romance novels use but improves upon it. The protagonist was just the right amount of smart, stubborn, and naive. Not the eye rolling naïveté of most romance books (I rarely read romances because of this) but of one who grew up in a fairly sheltered environment and who grew up having to adhere to the rules of the time/environment. It's fairly laid back and tame but with just enough mystery, romance, heartwarming moments to make it thoroughly enjoyable. I giggled, I cried, and really enjoyed the journey. The only negative thing that really detracted from the book was the poor editing. The narrator's voice as they cut and pasted sections of the book from different takes would be distant/muffled one sentence and clear and distinct the next. You could hear the ambient air for some sections and then it would disappear. This was a little distracting and kept taking me out of the story and into the studio. Other than that, the narrator did a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. The narrator herself gets 5 stars, the post production gets 3, hence the 4 star rating on performance.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This book was a wpmderful surprise...

Would you listen to Dragon Rose again? Why?

Yes, and I also bought the e-book. This story has a very simple plot, but at the same time is captivanting, so charming... I loved it!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like the Dragon lord... he was mystery and generous... intriguing.

Have you listened to any of Valerie Gilbert’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't think so. But I enjoy the experience.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

I like the story. Very interesting the way the author wrote the book. Although was a romance, is not the tiresome book. When you pick this kind of book you know what Waits for you, but at the same time was so good diovery and follow the path of the caracthers... A very, very pleasant experince.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Distracting but disappointing

While I loved the idea behind the story, several things hindered my complete enjoyment. most glaringly, the narrator. One chapter would be performed in an echo chamber of a broom closet, her words distorted and alien. If that were not bad enough, her alternating chapters took place in some public space wherein the sounds the traffic dragged me from my escape into this fantasy world. It was most distracting, to say the least and entirely inconsistent.
lastly, the actual story had such build up, such promise before rushing the ending and wrapping things up quickly, though clumsily. I was very disappointed in elements that were never addressed or re visited.

Having enjoyed other books by this author, I can only surmise this was written with a late deadline or with laziness. She is normally such a strong writer and again, I enjoyed the setup and development of the story greatly. It is the resolution, so called, that has left me unhappy.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Cute story, HATE recording

I liked this book. it was cute. reminded me of another book. very beauty and beast themed. I HATE HATE HATE the why it was recorded. it is like no one liatened to it for a quality check. no wonder it was on sale.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful