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Just Stop Me
- Escape to New Zealand, Book 9
- Narrated by: Emma Wilder
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
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Just Stop Me
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Summary
Sometimes you have to run away to find yourself.
Lots of young women dream of being a princess. Nina Jones isn't one of them. After escaping from her palace/prison by burying herself under sacks of fertilizer, she ends up in a beach cottage on New Zealand's South Island. She's meant to be looking after a cantankerous widower. Too bad she doesn't know how to boil an egg. Iain McCormick may be an All Black, a member of New Zealand's elite rugby team, and a bona fide celebrity. During the offseason, though, he's meant to be a regular Kiwi bloke. A good son, a good neighbor, and a good citizen. But civility comes harder when you've been dumped at the altar. He doesn't need anybody he has to look out for. He definitely doesn't need to fall in love. Yeah, right.
Note: This book, like New Zealand, contains some steam. In fact, it gets downright hot in a few places, and more than a little adventurous. If that isn't your cuppa, maybe visit another country...er, book.
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What listeners say about Just Stop Me
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Susan
- 23-07-21
Almost perfect....
The unusual storyline of Nina and Ian is well summarised by others but left me feeling a bit cheated by the ending.
Nina had been modelling since she was eight years old in a successful career strictly controlled by her mother, who had decided that the pinnacle of Nina's career would be a high profile marriage to European royalty. Nina rebelled just before the wedding and on impulse flew to New Zealand where she fell into the job of carer to the grandfather of Ian, a prominent sportsman, who was also recovering from his own disastrous romance. Their romance was unconventional, unusual and definitely rocky. It was also emotional, moving and felt very real. Neither of them were perfect, they both made mistakes, but they also both owned up to their imperfections and were, mostly, honest and upfront about their issues.
I loved this book right up until the last few chapters. The Prince was marrying Nina not for love, but for his image, and because he thought she could be manipulated into a suitable wife. Nina, a supermodel with an international profile, had left him a few days before the wedding and was now living in the home of a famous sportsman. Through the whole book I kept waiting for the social media explosion. The furious Prince could have destroyed Nina's career and reputation, and could have seriously damaged Ian's reputation at the same time. Well placed hints of mental illness, addictions, instability and infidelity would have been lapped up by the media and online gossips. Instead the world's media obediently attend her press conference and then seem to happily accept her declaration that her private life is not up for discussion. They also don't seem to notice she was living in the home of a famous All Black a few days after jilting the Prince.
Nothing about the final chapters made sense. Nina carefully explained to Ian why she needed to have some degree of independence before their relationship progressed, but he failed to comprehend her worries in a disagreement that seem contrived simply to separate them long enough to allow the Prince his opportunity to attack her. Meanwhile the Prince, after a lifetime spend carefully cultivating his reputation, flies his private jet to provincial New Zealand, and after attempting unsuccessfully to force Nina to return to him, then follows her to Auckland, where he chases her through the suburban streets and attacks her on a public beach.
Like most in this series, this book is very very good. I just wish the ending had not fallen for the cliche of needing the hero to rush in and save the heroine so that they can live happily ever after.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MF
- 07-01-17
Great fun listening
Wow this is a fun listen! I am sometimes disappointed when listening to a favourite book, but not on this occasion. Can a woman narrator do justice to male characters?
On this occasion, emphatically yes!
Emma Wilder really brings the characters to life. I loved grand dad Arthur's gruff life wisdom, he is spot on. Carmela and Graham' marriage revival is an added dimension too.
Light and shade, fun, humour, drama - there's lots of listening variety.
This is part of the New Zealand series but is absolutely a stand alone book.
Ian and Nina take a while to get together but when they do, it's typically steamy. If you haven't read the book you might want to be aware there are some fairly explicit sexual descriptions that the narration really brings to life!
I am still not a fan of the 'prince' element but that's a tiny personal point on my part, just being honest.
Control and choice are strong themes. Ian isn't perfect- he stuffs up but admits it and keeps trying (got to love him just for that!) and Nina has to toughen up to confirm her self belief. There's adjustments on both sides - just like real relationships.
New Zealand wraps around the listener and somehow the vibe and feel of the country is even stronger when spoken aloud.
Credit to all involved.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way or obliged to be positive. This is my own opinion.
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