Good story let down by the performances

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A more contemporary approach by the readers

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked the peripheral characters far more than those at the centre of the story. Ellie was just annoying. Where had the rebellious girl of her youth gone (running away doesn't count)? She behaved more like a teenager than a woman of 33...

What didn’t you like about Maggie Mash and Gerri Halligan ’s performance?

It's true that the readers made it easy to tell the characters apart but why, oh why did Connor - the vibrant, exciting, sexy man of 44 - have to sound as if he was a ponderous ancient and Ellie like a Woman's Weekly heroine, circa 1965??

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I plodded on, determined to hear how things panned out, but have to admit to adding a few comments and expletives of my own in the second half as I listened. Goodness knows what my fellow dog-walkers thought!

Any additional comments?

It's been asked before, but how are the readers chosen? This wasn't quite total ruination for me, but I have to work hard now to remember why I thought, despite this, that this was really a good story.

10 people found this helpful

a superb read

Would you listen to Secrets of the Lighthouse again? Why?

Yes. The narrators were good to listen to and the story was really good, kept me enthralled. Best of all the description of the scenery was so good I could really imagine myself there.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ellie because it was so easy to empathise with her because of the way the story was written.

What about Maggie Mash and Gerri Halligan ’s performance did you like?

Superb, you always knew which character was speaking.

8 people found this helpful

Harmless I suppose...

Predictable with numerous petty flaws with a wee bit of O'irish stereotyping to boot.
Not my cup of tea.

2 people found this helpful

Which Character is speaking??

Would you consider the audio edition of Secrets of the Lighthouse to be better than the print version?

There probably wouldn't be any difference since this narrator doesn't make each character stand out so that you never know which one is speaking.

What could Santa Montefiore have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Choose a Narrator with a bit of life in their voice.

What aspect of Maggie Mash and Gerri Halligan ’s performance might you have changed?

Chosen somebody else to narrate it

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Knowing the after life!!

Any additional comments?

The story was fairly good but as I have already said you needed someone with a bit of life in their voice to narrate it. Although do you really want o know what the after-life feels and thinks and also maybe choose a different sex to read the after life voice as it is very difficult to decipher which voice is reading which character to keep a track on the story. As quite often you had to rewind it and listen again.

2 people found this helpful

The most disappointing Audible experience!

What would have made Secrets of the Lighthouse better?

Selecting narrators that could speak at the same speed as each other and could narrate in good Irish accents. the characters slow speech made it sound as if they were speaking to children.

What could Santa Montefiore have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not sure that the author could have done anything about the narrators.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Maggie Mash and Gerri Halligan ?

The main narrator in the book has a very good speaking voice, however the character voices were slow, and a very poor reflection of the Irish accent. Ellen's voice sounded as if she was straight out of a Walt Disney children's film.

Any additional comments?

I have read and listened to many Santa Montefiorie books, but I for me, this is the weakest, and the audible experience was so poor, I had to buy the book in order to finish the story.

5 people found this helpful

Good book

I really enjoyed this book. It was a Good easy to listen to book, which I would certainly recommend anytime

1 person found this helpful

A good way to spend my time

What did you like most about Secrets of the Lighthouse?

I liked the story and the going back and forth between the first and third person narrator.

What other book might you compare Secrets of the Lighthouse to, and why?

It's similar to some past-present books, as it has a present story and one that happened in the past. I was kind of reminded of Kate Morton, but with a paranormal twist.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

My knowledge of accents isn't very good, but I wish I could have seen a little more distance from the irish to the american one.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Love can makes us do powerfull things

1 person found this helpful

Predictable and rather annoying

Would you try another book written by Santa Montefiore or narrated by Maggie Mash and Gerri Halligan ?

I would not try another book by this author - clearly not for me. The narrators largely did a good job job - although I found Ellen's voice to be very annoying - she was made to sound like a naive teenager.

What could Santa Montefiore have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

It was incredibly predictable. I was shouting at loud in the car at some points and it was very annoying that the reader was miles ahead of the any of the characters in the book!

How could the performance have been better?

Ellen was very annoying - but not sure if that was deliberate or not - it certainly did not make me warm to her and Connor sounded awful too.

What character would you cut from Secrets of the Lighthouse?

Ellen and Connor - so not much of a book left really.

Any additional comments?

I thought I'd try something different, but this was just very dull and predictable. With no liking for the main characters I really didn't care what happened. I don't why I struggled on with it. I think I was hoping that there must be more to it than there was, but I was wrong.

1 person found this helpful

Very mills & boon

What disappointed you about Secrets of the Lighthouse?

Poorly written with predictable story line. In the audio book the male Irish accents were very irritating.

What was most disappointing about Santa Montefiore’s story?

Predictability and quality of writing.

2 people found this helpful

Chick-lit - and poor chick-lit, at that

Oh dear. Cliche-ridden, predictable, over-padded, DEFINITELY over-long (if you cut out the last four chapters you won’t be missing anything) and totally without any emotional engagement. I thought I’d try something light after overdosing on some heavyweight historical fiction… but this was harder work, to be honest. Another author to cross off my list.