Trial by Fire

Insta-romance with some suspense and humor

Any additional comments?

This fun and sweet romance actually has a little bit of everything: humor, insta-love, suspense, some emotionally charged scenes, action, heartache, some sexiness, and even a kidnapping!

For over two years Aussie cattle station owner Lachlan McCoughney has been looking for his runaway sister. Instead of the happy reunion he hopes for he instead finds out his sister and her husband have recently been killed in a plane crash leaving behind their infant daughter in the custody of her husband's twin brother, Holden Sheffield.

Lachlan immediately rushes to Texas to take custody of his niece from Holden. There's friction between the two at first, but, of course, that friction turns to sparks and the two fall in love. Lachlan recognizes how perfect Holden is with their niece Chloe, and he tries to work out how to break it to his parents that Chloe will be staying with the family she already has. However, when Chloe is kidnapped the two men must work together to bring her home.

Yes, it is bit dramatic at times, and the insta-love is super fast (especially under the circumstances), but I was prepared for all of that and enjoyed it all.

The only thing I was baffled by is how Holden, who runs a huge rodeo operation in the U.S., and Lachlan, who runs an enormous cattle station in Australia, would be able to make a relationship work. In the end obviously there's a solution, but I didn't quite buy it. I found myself having to suspend my disbelief a lot in order to enjoy the HEA.

Rusty Topsfield is a great narrator and I enjoyed the narration overall with one glaring exception. I'll admit I didn't care for his Australian accents. Though I give full kudos for him making an effort, I felt like his Aussie needs some work.

If you're looking for an insta-romance with some suspense and humor, and are a fan of the Dreamspun Desires series, I think you'll enjoy this as much as I did.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Really enjoyable

I I like the characters and the narrator and can't wait for the next book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Rusty's accents aren't that great but good emotion

Lachlan’s sister Adie left her life of cloistered richness to run away with a rodeo bull rider who is the twin of Holden Sheffield. When she and her husband die they leave behind a 3 month old baby girl that nobody in Lachlan’s family knew about but are determined to keep.

Holden is of the impression that the McCoughney’s are ruthless snobs who can’t possibly be good enough for his little niece even though her new uncle is a hottie.

When the ranch faces some danger – including the kidnapping of the baby! – everyone must band together and when that happens – some surprising feelings surface.

**

Boy oh boy – there’s a lot going on in this story. There’s the single parent thing, the grieving brother thing, the cattlemen from two countries things, the danger/ransom thing, the big misunderstanding thing and the insta-love thing…. A lot.

I found myself confused a bit as I read this and had to go back and forth to catch up to what exactly was going on – there are a lot of people in this story and a lot of Aussie slang as well as some “cowboyisms” that keep you on your toes.

I had no problem with the two MCs falling for each other right away – but some of the other drama seemed to really bog the story down and detract from their romance. The MCs only spend a few pages together and the rest of the time it’s them and their families – sorting things out.

There is even another little side romance that occurs – again, though nice it detracted from the MCs time together.

Like the other books in this series, this one is a little OTT and drama-central, but if that’s your thing – you’ll really enjoy this.

Audio
This is a mixed bag for me. Rusty Topsfield definitely handles the emotion in this story very well. When he gets to cussin’ – ooooeeey – you feel it right with him! But… there are Spanish accents, Texan accents and Australian accents and really – he just can’t do all of them justice. He gives it a great try – but his Spanish accent isn’t great, his Texan is pretty good and his Aussie is only sometimes passable. It’s hard to do – I’m sure – but he’s just not that great at them. I think he added to my enjoyment of the story by brining it to life with his vibrant portrayal of the characters, but I think it was a bit too much for him in the end.

Overall 3 of 5 stars

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

God Damn Accents!

arrrrg. For the love of Pete. If you can't manage to hold an accent don't bother trying!! i have aaalll the issues with this one. and they start and end with the narrator...Gahlaaa not garla...oh god, if you're australian don't even bother. the botched accent made my teeth hurt and confused me. Oh and it's pronounced Brisbin not brisbaine. there were other issues but yh
at was the main one

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

i love it

i wish i didn't end so worth it you will not be disappointed it is so good i love it a lot

entertaining

Any additional comments?

So I had mixed feelings about this audio. Once you took away the idea about the reason why these two met in the first place, and once they got over the who could one up each other and who was better for whom. It ended up being a pretty good story.

We start the story with a three or so misunderstanding? A run away sister that this multi millionaire couldn’t find, but knew pretty much who she ran away with? And she really never hide, competing in riding competitions and such. But once she died, then we find her. And the family hiding her.

Once that is sorted out and the story begins, we have a story of two cowboys, learning to share, love and grow together.

They do okay. Lac and Holden both bring different things to the table, both plus and minuses that we can live with. As well as the familiy in general. What I really liked is bottom line everyone says the girl,baby,comes first.

Narrator did a good job capturing the accents of both American and Australian in this story.

Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance

4.5 rounded up

Story Review:

Sometimes an over-the-top storyline pulls me out a book. Other times, like with Trial By Fire, it works for me and actually brings an additional level of enjoyment to my reading experience.

Trial by Fire was a great addition to the Dreamspun Desires line-up. It upheld the old romance ideals while being fun and entertaining. There was so much going on that I am sure I missed some of the nuances, but I didn’t care. I loved Holden and Lachlan. I loved their personalities and the way they handled their parents and the people around them. Yes, the kidnapping plot was wayyyyy over the top and unrealistic, but it added suspense and emotion and was a great way for the author to show us more about the characters and help bring them together. It established a chain of custody for that baby going forward and I don’t think reader will doubt who should be her guardian.

The romance was way fast, but it wasn’t rushed. And it FIT with the characters and the family history. I really enjoyed this one and kinda hope the bodyguards get their own story in the future!

Narration Review:

Rusty Topsfield really brought this story to life. He captured the spirit of the story and brought out the emotions of the characters. His narration added to my enjoyment of this story, even if some of his accents were a bit odd.

great book. I loved it. I highly recommend it

I loved it. I highly recommend it. love books that a great ending and this is one of those

1 of 2 people found this review helpful