stronger together

Alec Kincaid met his match. Desiree is the spark that started the fire in Alec's life and now he is scrambling to control his desire to keep Desiree in his life. She ends up making Alec question everything in his bachelor life. Alec forces Desiree to make personal connections when she is feeling fractured and broken.

This story is a great tale of how our pasts do not determine our futures. Alec and Desiree defy many odds. There are moments that made me cry with sadness, humor and happiness.

Rosalind James strays from her popular series, Escape to New Zealand, to share a Stateside love. The audio by Emma Taylor does James' story justice and I will be listening to more from this author and narrator.

"I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.”

3 people found this helpful

Business and Pleasure...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. In addition to Emma Taylor being a fantastic voice actress, the story is fantastic. It can be read on its own or you can read it right after the first in the series (Welcome to Paradise). I would classify it as a "realistic romance" and I really enjoyed hearing about all the fancy start up business stuff in addition to the romance stuff.

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

I have also listened to Welcome to Paradise and she gives a fantastic performance in both of those books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I didn't want to stop listening. But the story was easy to pick right back up if I did have to take a break while listening.

Any additional comments?

This is really fantastic book. Alec Kincaid is such a dreamboat. I really liked that Ray was a strong character. She overcame her geekiness to become hot stuff in the business world.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

2 people found this helpful

very sweet story

I enjoyed this story, but I thought the external conflict was a little obvious. I still, enjoy the actual romance so that was okay.

the weakest of the trio

Love R J but this one seemed to have too many sex scenes used as filler... more time spent showing Kincaids character development would have been better.

Great characters and story line

While I was able to predict the ultimate bad guy pretty early in the book, I loved the author's usual style of building up relationships without a bunch of unnecessary angst. This isn't Shakespeare, but it's a fun, entertaining listen that will keep you coming back for more.

Something very personal

Would you consider the audio edition of Nothing Personal to be better than the print version?

I personally liked the print version better. Although the narrator did a good job, the pacing seemed a little slow for my taste.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This is Book 2 (out of 3) for the Kincaids Series. In this book Alec is a strong, technology guru. He meets his match in Desiree, who I feel steals the book. She is a strong, savy woman, who tries to keep things professional, however things get personal quickly. Add in add in thriller/mystery and you have a very well written book that will keep you engaged from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

1 person found this helpful

Dumb not Hot

Desiree was introduced as a tough, smart professional woman who doesn't take crap from anyone. Unfortunately, that only lasted until she fell in love with Alec, then she digressed into a wish-washy bimbo - as if being in love makes all women stupid.

Since Desiree and Alec work together, they decided to keep their relationship private (mature thinking), then they have aggressive sex in the conference room where anyone could look through the glass paned door (very immature).

Alec was too inconsistent to be interesting; he was raised with morals and values yet became an arrogant man whore until he met Desiree. Once Alec "conquered" her, he was often controlling and self-absorbed, then sometimes kind.

Since I didn't connect with either Desiree or Alex, my mind started wondering, and I don't remember how it ended.

2 people found this helpful

Business and Pleasure - Nothing Personal

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Def. yes. Because its a good story and worth a listen.Any Rosalind James story is...

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Her voice takes some getting used to as it becomes monotone-like after a while and the 'male' voices sounds alike-not much difference there so it got a bit confusing as to who was actually talking at certain points.

I would advice the narrator to work more on the male voices and try to spice up the tempo a bit, so the story doesn't become monotone-like in the future.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, sadly I had to split it up this time. I usually listen to a story in one sitting most of the time, but life got in the way this time.

Any additional comments?

Nothing Personal is a lovely story as any of RJ's stories are....and I loved the fact that the female wasn't a pushover and came out a strong and complex character. I loved Ray - made me smile a lot. :)

Alex as a male lead character worked well as a sexy, yummy and handsome lead but I think Desiree stole the show in this Audiobook with her wit and humor in her quest to resist Alex.

Rosalind's story here is quite different from what Im 'used' to reading from her. She's written a story involving about corporate espionage. It gets a bit too technical at times but there are twists and turns that keep it interesting. She does a great job of looking at the business side of life and she hit the nail on the head with the work groups, HR lingo and setting up a new venture-something I've worked quite a bit with myself so Im familiar with that language.

I liked the story....but voiceover needs quite a bit of work as the males voices were hard to differentiate and the tempo of speak became very monotone-like. I kinda zoned out every now and then which didn't happen when I read the story.

But all in all, a good story that just needs a bit of work with the narration.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

1 person found this helpful

Great Modern Romance!

I am a huge fan of all the books written by Rosalind James.To me, to be able to read and listen at the same time to "Nothing Personal" was very exciting! I love how Alec and Rae, a modern day couple, face a conflict of interest because of their working conditions.

You can read/listen to this book alone or read the whole series which I strongly recommend.
The narrator Emma Taylor is as good as Claire Bocking who narrated the "Escape to New Zealand series, which is my all time favorite.

I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own

1 person found this helpful

Good book, worth every penny

Any additional comments?

One of my favorite of Rosalind James. She gives us a smart female lead who isn't a pushover to the men in the book. Accomplished Rae holds her own against handsome and rich Alec, and although this category can be really formulaic, I find Ms. James does a wonderful job of making each book unique. Rae and Alec take time to get to know each other and, without adding a spoiler, they have a history. Their relationship is believable and takes time to develop which I always appreciate. Add in Rae’s grandma and you have a great story!

There is an interesting side story involving about corporate espionage. It gets a bit technical but there are twists and turns that keep it interesting. She does a great job of looking at the business side of life and she nails the HR lingo, work groups and setting up a new venture.
I had a bit of trouble with the narration. I felt like Rae’s, Alec’s and some of the male voices were too similar in tone and volume to tell apart. I had to wait until the end of the sentence to understand who was speaking. The one tell tail for Alec was a rasp as the end of his dialogue which Rae had at times as well. I found it unattractive especially during the sex scenes when I expected it to him to be softer and sexier. He sounded like he was scoffing. I think the narrator should have used different volumes at least between the bedroom and the boardroom. She did a great job at the accents for various other characters, such as Rae’s friend and neighbor I just wish she would have added a bit of an accent to friends like Joe and even the other office workers.

There is wonderful romance, funny lines and enough to keep you intellectually interested so I recommend it, I just am really particular about my ‘audio’ leading men.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

1 person found this helpful