Typical Well Narrated 'Harlequin' Fare.

This audiobook consists of two separate stories -"Winter Rose" and "Cattleman's Choice - each one being of comparable length.

"Winter Rose" is an age gap romance. Our main male character is dominant, obsessive and powerful. Our lead female possesses a strong moral character. The tale is essentially of good against evil and of what is right conduct opposing what is wrong conduct. I thought that it could be the retelling of the "Cinderella" tale in a modern dark and twisted manner.

I found that the romance section was a little thin and often boring. The on-again-off -again- on-gain style romance had little appeal. Whilst, we have a fiercely independent female character, it is disconcerting that she utterly capitulated in the presence of the lead male character. I prefer characters to have consistent character traits. I would have preferred our lead female character to of had a great backbone to match her staunch independence. I thought that the crime threads and budding romance of the sheriff have significantly more interest compared to the lead romance content.

"Cattleman's Choice" tells the story of our lead male trying to transform his perceived maverick 'outlaw' persona into that of a refined gentleman. Our lead male character tries to change his manner to match that of the lead female character in order to successfully seek her affections. But, on a deeper level it conveys the message that ' true love' is attainable only when we cherish every aspect of our partner's being. My one disappointment was that, in the end, the lead female character took on the mannerism (brawl) of the lead male character.

The combative nature of the banter between these two lead characters developed and held my interest throughout the narrative. Few things hook my attention better than continued fast paced witty retorts. I thought that the actual romance content is mediocre but, it's significantly better than that of the first story.

The narration is exceeding well done for a single male narrator. Whilst, the narrator imparted a substantial effeminate quality to the vocals of the female characters, it's ultimately not totally convincing. However, given that the trade-off to forgo employing two narrators was made, I found the narration is quiet enjoyable.

Overall, a representative 'Harlequin' offering that is well narrated.

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