I'm over at AAR today with

2 audiobooks reviews in the Speaking of Audiobooks column.   There's plenty other stuff in the column from Lea and other reviewers too.  Come say hi :)

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas, narrated by Tanya Eby

Note:  Review originally written for Speakingof Audiobooks .  Permission has been granted to publish review in its entirety here.

Why I read it:  I was so looking forward to listening to this book.  I adored Blue Eyed Devil and Smooth Talking Stranger and I love Tanya Eby’s narration.  The combination of this author and this narrator felt like an automatic win for me.  And I did enjoy it, but...  well,  let’s get to what the story is about first.

What it's about:  Sam Nolan is the owner of the old Victorian House and proprietor of the vineyard at the end of Rainshadow Road on San Juan Island, Washington.  We met him in Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor which featured his brother Mark and his, now, wife-to-be, Maggie.   Sam’s gorgeous and talented and friendly and sexy but he doesn’t do commitment.  Ever.  He’s always honest about it.  He’s not a cheater or a deceiver but his experience with his alcoholic parents and their toxic marriage has scarred him for life.  

Lucy Marinn is a glass artist, working mainly on stained glass windows.  We first meet Lucy when her boyfriend of 3 years, Kevin, dumps her for her younger (and very spoiled and not at all nice) sister Alice.  We are told that Kevin has awakened Lucy’s sensuality and taught her about trust in a relationship (as she’s not otherwise a very trusting person) but frankly, Kevin is an asshole.  We see that there are no redeeming aspects to his character at all.  He whines.  He blames everyone else for his shortcomings (eg, “It might be your fault, but it’s definitely not my fault” [that I cheated on you and slept with your sister]).  I wondered why Lucy had been with him at all.  Kevin was a caricature and didn’t fill me with confidence in Lucy’s judgment in men.